Van, Becca - Slick Rock Cowboys [Slick Rock 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (12 page)

“Tara, where are you?” Clay yelled from inside the house.

Tara sighed, knowing she was going to have to answer and would end up getting a lecture from Clay, but she didn’t want him worrying over her.

“I’m outside, Clay,” she yelled in reply.

Clay came storming out of the house, and she heard the fast, frantic footsteps of Johnny following close behind.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing? If you weren’t already hurt, I would put you over my knee and tan your ass. You know you’re not supposed to be moving around by yourself. What if you had fallen and hurt your leg even more?” Clay asked through clenched teeth.

“Then I would have hurt my leg. Look, Clay, Johnny, you can’t be treating me like a fragile piece of glass. I’m a lot stronger than you think. I just needed to get out of the house for some fresh air. I was going stir crazy staying inside all the time. I have to learn to get around by myself. What if there was an emergency on the ranch and you and Johnny had to leave? I wouldn’t even be able to go to the bathroom by myself. Stop pampering me. It’s not that I don’t appreciate it, because I do, I love you both very much, but you’re both driving me insane.”

“She’s right, Clay. She does have to learn to get around. We can’t be here twenty-four-seven, even though we’d like to. We have to let her move about on her own. How about I get you a cell phone and program our numbers into it? That way if we’re not here you can still get in touch with us if you need to.”

“I think that’s a great idea, Johnny. What do you say, Clay? You can’t be with me all the time,” Tara reiterated.

“Yeah, okay. So you have a point. Johnny, go for a quick run into Slick Rock and get Tara a cell phone. I’ll stay here and keep her company. Is there anything else you want in town, baby?”

“Something to read would be nice, and a new leg?” Tara replied with spunk.

“What am I going to do with you, Tara?”

“Love me, Clay. Just love me.”

“I already do, baby.” Clay leaned down and kissed her on the cheek.

Johnny followed suit and placed a gentle kiss on her lips then turned toward his truck with a wave over his shoulder.

Clay sat down on a chair beside Tara and they sat companionably, listening to the twittering of the birds and the ranch animals. Tara hated being cooped up inside. She had always loved being outside, especially when her dad was around. All he and her mom ever seemed to do was fight. Staying outside and far away from the house when she was growing up was her sanity. She had spent way more time with Clay and Johnny than her own parents. It wasn’t that she didn’t love them, it was just she couldn’t stand to hear them fighting all the time.

Tara closed her eyes and drifted in her mind. Thinking about the family she wanted with Clay and Johnny. Hoping one day one or both of them would ask her to marry them. She didn’t want to have to choose between the men she loved and hoped they never asked her to. She’d always dreamed of having Johnny and Clay by her side. Even as a young girl she used to envisage her two men coming home to her after working all day on the ranch. She would have dinner ready for them and serve it as they washed up. They would talk over their days as they ate, and after she had cleared up, her men would carry her off to the bedroom to make love to her all night long. Eventually there would be children to nurture and care for. Her need to love and be loved for who she was, unconditionally, would be fulfilled. That’s all she’d every really wanted in life, to love and be loved in return. She felt her heart expand as the thoughts drifting by filled her heart to overflowing with love.

Johnny was back from town a lot faster than she expected him to be, and she watched as he walked up the decking steps with a frown on his face.

“What’s wrong, Johnny? Were you able to get a phone?” asked Tara.

“Yeah. I’ll just go inside and set it up for you, sweetheart,” Johnny replied as he entered the house.

Tara saw Johnny thrust his chin forward to Clay, indicating he wanted his brother inside with him so he could talk to him out of her hearing range. There was a lot more going on than he was letting on. Tara listened intently, but all she could hear was the rumble of their voices. She couldn’t ascertain what either of them was talking about. Maybe they had some news regarding Celia. She just hoped whatever it was, they reasoned it out.

* * * *

“What’s going on?” Clay asked. Johnny moved further into the kitchen and kept his voice low so Tara couldn’t hear them. He glanced toward the window and was glad to see it was closed.

“Celia’s been spotted in this area, but the law hasn’t been able to catch her. I’m worried she’ll come back and attack Tara.”

“Fuck it. Maybe we should hire a bodyguard for her.”

“Yeah, that’s what I’ve been thinking. I’d better go show Tara how to use this cell phone. At least we’ve taken one step toward protecting her from that crazy bitch,” Johnny advised, walking to the door.

Johnny walked back outside with Tara’s new cell phone, squatted down in front of her, and proceeded to show her that he had already programmed his and Clay’s cell phone numbers into the speed dial.

He heard Clay come out on the decking and glanced toward his brother, seeing the mug of coffee his brother had brought out for Tara. Johnny stood and moved to the side as Clay pulled up a small iron table within her reach and placed the mug on it. He saw Tara smile and heard her thank his brother. Johnny sat down beside her and carefully lifted her injured leg over his lap and went back to playing with her phone so she could see how it worked. Just then he heard Clay’s cell phone rang.

“Shit…All right, we’ll be there as soon as we can. Thanks, Steve.” Clay disconnected the call.

“Tara, we have a mare foaling out in the east paddock and she’s in trouble. Johnny and I are needed to help out. I want you to go back inside so we know you’re safe while we’re gone,” Clay stated.

“Safe from what? There’s no one here to bother me, Clay. I’ll be fine. Go on, go and help out. I’ll go back inside soon,” Tara replied.

“I’d prefer…” Clay started.

“I’ve made up my mind, Clay. Besides, I know how to call 9-1-1. Go and help that poor mare.”

“Love you, sweetheart,” Johnny said and kissed Tara, then moved back to give his brother room at Tara’s side.

“Love you, too, Johnny.”

“Love you, baby,” Clay stated with a kiss on her lips.

“Love you, too, Clay. Now go.”

* * * *

Tara watched as her men ran to the barn. Moments later they walked their horses out, mounted, and galloped off. Peace and quiet, at last. Tara sipped her coffee until the mug was empty and let her mind drift again. She didn’t even feel the lethargy stealing over her before she slipped into slumber.

Tara woke up with a jolt as a loud noise penetrated her sleep. She sat up and realized she must have been asleep for quite a while because it now looked to be late in the afternoon. She looked around and saw no evidence of anyone and wondered what had woken her. Her bladder was begging to be emptied, and Tara wasn’t about to ignore the call. She leaned over to grab her crutches from the decking but couldn’t find them with her hand. She moved forward a little more so she could see where they were and frowned with bewilderment when she didn’t see them. Tara felt a chill run up the back of her spine and settle on her nape. She looked around again and spotted movement from her peripheral vision. Celia was standing off the end of the house with her crutches in her hand.

“Looking for these, bitch?” Celia snapped out. “You think you’re so high and mighty now that you’re living with and fucking my men, don’t you? Well, let me tell you, you won’t last. None of them ever do. They will always come back to me, time and again. They’ve done it before, and they will again. When you’re gone, they will come crawling back to my bed and will never leave it. I’ll be so sad over their loss—
not,
but they won’t know that. They’ll come to me for comfort and won’t ever want to leave. Then it will be me in this house, fucking my men. Not a little slut like you.”

Tara was too shocked to reply. The woman was totally out of her mind. Tara held her cell phone down at her side and pushed the speed dial button for Clay. She just hoped he and Johnny could hear her and Celia and hauled ass to keep her safe from the psycho woman.

“What do you want, Celia? I’ve never done anything to you. Why did you try and run me over?”

“I was trying to kill you,” Celia screamed as she walked closer to Tara. “With you out of the picture, they would be mine all over again. You ruined everything by coming back to Slick Rock. I didn’t think you’d have the guts to ever show your face in this town again after what your father did.”

“What did my father do?” Tara asked, dread knotting her stomach.

“He stole money from my father’s business, and my daddy ended up bankrupt. My daddy couldn’t take the loss of his business, so he killed himself. It’s all your father’s fault, and now it’s your fault Clay and Johnny don’t want me anymore. I’m going to make you pay, for my daddy and me,” Celia screamed.

“Celia, I’m sorry about what my father did. I had no idea he had stolen money from your family. I was just a kid. I don’t even know where my father is. He left my mother and me, and we ended up having to sell our home.”

“Your father’s dead. I killed him. He deserved to die after what he did to my family, and you’re going to die, too,” Celia said with a giggle as she moved closer to Tara.

Tara had nowhere to go. She was stuck with a totally insane woman bent on killing her.

Tara looked around for anything close at hand to use as a weapon. Her eyes took in her coffee mug and the small iron table it was resting on. They were better than nothing. She picked up her mug and pretended to take a sip of coffee so Celia wouldn’t be suspicious of her motives. She gripped the handle so tight, it was a wonder the handle didn’t break off.

“I’m so sorry for what my daddy did to your family, Celia, and I know an apology won’t change anything. But do you really think killing me is going to make Clay and Johnny love you? No one can make someone love them. We can’t pick and choose who we love. Sometimes I wish we could, but it doesn’t work that way.”

“What would you know? You’ve never been without love. My momma is sick in the mind from the things your father made my daddy do. Your precious daddy stole thousands and thousands of dollars from my father. My father had to take out several loans just to keep his business afloat, and when he couldn’t make the payments he was so angry he beat up on my mother, and then because he couldn’t live with what he’d done to the woman he loved, he took a gun, put it into his mouth, and pulled the trigger. My mother doesn’t even know I exist anymore. You’ve still got your mom, and now you’ve got Clay and Johnny. I’m not letting you take them away from me,” Celia yelled with mad fury as she took another step closer to Tara.

Tara drew back her arm and aimed it for Celia’s head, hoping to knock the mad woman out. Celia was too quick and ducked the flying cup. Celia stepped forward and raised the crutches over her head, ready to hit Tara with them. Tara grabbed the metal table and lifted it just in time, using it as a shield in self-defense.

Tara was so involved with keeping an eye on Celia she didn’t hear the pounding of horses’ hooves. One minute she was staving off another blow with the metal table, the next she was being hauled away by Clay.

Tara watched as Clay wrenched the crutches from Celia, threw them to Johnny, and wrapped his arms around the mad, struggling woman. Johnny threw Tara’s crutches in the house onto the floor, out of Celia’s reach, then quietly took the table out of Tara’s hands. The sound of a siren could be heard wailing in the distance, but it got louder as it got closer.

“Tara, are you all right? Did she hurt you, sweetheart?” Johnny asked as he squatted down in front of her.

“No, I’m fine,” Tara replied then burst out sobbing.

Johnny gently lifted Tara up, being careful of her leg, and placed her down on his lap sideways. He held her as she sobbed against his chest, her body shaking in reaction to having to face a mad woman and learning her father had been murdered. Johnny cuddled her close, running a soothing hand up and down her back.

Tara’s tears eventually slowed and finally stopped. She looked up to see Johnny and Clay watching her with concern. She glanced around Clay and saw the sheriff put Celia in the back of his car. Luke got in his front seat and drove away with Celia ranting in the back.

“Are you all right, baby?” asked Clay.

“Yes, thanks. Did you know my dad had been killed?”

“No one ever knew for sure what happened to your dad, baby. We all suspected foul play, but your momma didn’t want you to know until it was certain. She was trying to protect you,” Clay opined.