“You want me to teach them?” she asked, taken off guard.
“Why not? You ran your family ranch, Garrett ravesabout your cooking, and you need a job,” Rebecca said, pointing out her qualifications.
“You’re not doing this because you’re pitying me over Garrett?” she asked, suddenly feeling embarrassed.
“No,” Rebecca assured her. “You can work for your room and board because I know you won’t accept our charity. There’s a new cabin recently built near the community housing. Dr. Greene stays in the one next to you, and the other remains empty. I do have to warn you, Garrett accepted a position working with us on this side of the ranch, which means he’ll be patrolling the area.”
“I’ll be sure to stay out of sight on his rotations,” Riley said, wiping her eyes with a tissue Rebecca handed her from the table. “I don’t understand how things went from me seducing a man for the first time this afternoon to getting kicked out in my nightie.”
“I’m afraid Garrett wrestles with demons of his own. Until he decides to address them, he’ll never heal,” Rebecca said quietly.
“Listen to her. She attends a lot of therapy and can probably diagnose you on her own. In layman’s terms, Garrett’s a dick, and until he decides to change, you can’t do anything about it,” Rachel volunteered. “When I followed Matthew here, I acted like an idiot. Delaney helped me see the light because she told me if I didn’t like myself, then I needed to do the changing. It took a lot of self-reflection and work. Your past doesn’t define you. If you don’t like the narrative, then change it.”
“Yeah, it makes sense,” Riley agreed.
“Come on, I’ll take you to the new cabin. You can keep using my truck until we find you different transportation. Rebecca will follow us and bring me home.”
Riley rose, feeling somewhat better. At least she didn’thave to stay in the fleabag hotel. Rachel pulled into the driveway of a cute log cabin structure. Rebecca pulled in behind, and they entered the house together.
“All the cabins have the basics, and we leave a week’s worth of frozen meals in the freezer. Tomorrow, Matthew will go over your pay,” Rachel said, showing her about the area.
“I’m working for room and board,” she reminded her.
“Yes, but he may use you from time to time when things get slow, and we’ve placed everyone. You get paid for his extra duties. You can help prepare the cabins for the next group during your downtime. It’ll take the pressure off Delaney and me. With her pregnancy, she tires easily,” Rachel explained.
“Thank you again. I’ll pick up Tara, and we’ll grab some groceries. I’ll get your truck back to you as soon as possible,” she said, taking the keys back.
“Don’t stress about it. Most of my job, I do from my office at home, and there’s always a vehicle here for me to use,” Rachel said, waving her off. “Get a good night’s sleep and tomorrow will seem brighter, I promise.”
She bade the women goodnight, took her pillowcase stuffed with her clothes to her room, and hung everything up. It didn’t have the homey feel of Garrett’s place. She felt like she belonged there. This place made everything feel temporary. Then again, she planned on saving enough money for her and Tara to settle in Corpus Christi. Garrett’s cabin resembled what might have been: the story of her life.
Garrett sat on the couch,feeling the emptiness of the cabin. The cold beer he held in his hand appeared warmerthan the room as he searched for Riley’s presence. He made it halfway through the ranch’s land when he turned the truck around to apologize. By the time he returned, she already packed and left, making his home feel empty.
Racking his brain, he went over the conversation in his head with Kenny. The man knew too much about Riley for it to be a mere coincidence. He knew about the necklace and claimed it came from a customer. The rescue mission to save her turned out relatively easy considering all the factors, making the doubt in his mind double. Did she set him up?
Returning to the day he hit her with his truck, he recalled asking her if she knew him. She said no, then wished to hell she never heard his name. It backed up Kenny’s story. She came searching for him. Did she feel desperate enough to run in front of a moving vehicle?
Groaning, he rose, walked about the cabin, and entered Tara’s room. The closet no longer held the few clothes the teen owned, and the bed had been made recently. He sat on the edge, wondering if Riley had taken her from the party. She didn’t seem keen on letting the teen go to begin with, and Garrett handed her the ammunition to take her away.
His head pounded as he felt the guilt override the doubt. On the small desk lay the laptop he purchased for Tara. Frowning, he picked it up and turned it on. Tapping on the email icon, he scanned the messages, hoping to find something to prove him wrong.
Nine hundred emails went back and forth between Kara and Tara, and the word ‘forever’ was mentioned in every other sentence, making him chuckle. His finger drifted over to the drafts folder, and he clicked it.
He leaned in, seeing messages from Tara to her mom.
Dear Mom,
I hear Riley crying every night when she thinks I’m asleep. She’s worried about the money. Dad didn’t pay the taxes.
Dear Mom,
Riley said we’re leaving in the morning. I don’t know how he found us, but he’s angry and drunk. She won’t go to bed. Riley sleeps in front of the door to keep me safe.
Each letter detailedthe last two years, from sleeping under a bridge when they didn’t have money for a hotel to the joy of sleeping on a bed for the first time in three months.
“Shit,” he muttered, growing angrier with himself. He let his past dictate his future and lost the one person he truly cared about, no, make that two people. Tara’s heartbreaking letters tore him apart but revealed Riley’s resilience. He continued to the dates when he came into the picture.
Dear Mom,
