Page 24 of Reins

Panic seizes me in a gridlock.

Frozen in place, I can only stare as my brother stands so fast it knocks the chair over backwards to bounce off the column.

“No, it wasn’t fucking Cade,” he yells. “He’s too busy hiding in the shadows and making our lives hell. Black Gulch owes us, Rosalyn. Or are you too damn stupid to understand that?” His face mottles red and purple as his voice continues to raise.

The hatred that pours from him suffocates me. My lungs spasm trying to breathe, but I’m still paralyzed by the shock of his outburst.

“What do you mean?” Is all I can squeak out.

Does this mean what Cade said might be real?

“Do you know we didn’t get a dime when Ava died? We should own that ranch, but Cade and his filthy, selfish kin made sure we had to bury her out of our own pockets.” Spittle flies from his mouth in his rage.

I don’t remember the last time I saw him this mad.

Yes I do. I’m pretty sure a man died.

“What’s the yellin’?” John stomps out of the back room, furiously glancing between me and Eli.

“Same as always,” Eli grumbles, then pushes past him to leave.

John glares at me. “What the hell did you say to him?”

My breath comes in tiny pants. “Just ‘good morning’.” I bite the inside of my cheek hard enough to taste the metallic tinge of blood.

“Bullshit,” John exhales, shaking his head. Then he fixates on the shattered plate and food oozing down the cabinet. “Clean that crap up and leave him alone.”

All I can do is nod and crumple to the floor as his boots turn and carry him away.

Any doubt I may have had that my brothers are involved with what is happening at the Black Gulch is broken like the shards I’m sweeping up.

Chapter 14 - Cade

I’m wasting my time coming back. I told her I’d be here, but I just don’t think she’s ready to help me.

Not that I blame her. She was right. I couldn’t keep Ava safe. Hell, I was the one who caused her death and set all of this bullshit in action.

So it’s a shock when I’m pouring myself a steaming cup of coffee from my Stanley when I hear the even plod of heavy hooves working their way through the forest.

“You came back?” I don’t bother with my rifle this time.

Rosalyn slides off her horse and wraps her reins around a low branch.

When she turns, I can see the streaks of tears on her reddened cheeks. It makes my chest tighten. Reflexively, I hand her my cup.

Her fingers curl around the steaming mug as she stares at the dark swirling liquid. “It was them,” she whispers. The simple words drift in a small misty cloud above the rim, yet the impact is nuclear.

All the questions that I want to ask boil up to the tip of my tongue. It’s torture, but I wait in silence until she’s ready to continue.

After a long ragged breath, she purses her lips to take a small sip. “Eli threw a plate at me when I asked about Val.”

That makes my brows knot and my head tilt in confusion. I have no idea what it means.

“Are you hurt?” I’ve always hated Eli.

He was often cruel to Ava and was the most outspoken when he found out that I was with her.

I’ll never forget the fury in his eyes when she told him we were engaged.