Page 22 of Falling For Her Cowboy (Silver Creek Ranch #9)

Chapter Thirteen

R idge felt his brother’s eyes on him, but he couldn’t look at him.

All he could see was Melah who had a confused expression in her eyes.

Hearing that someone had broken into the women’s bunkhouse while she’d been in the shower had him seeing red.

Something didn’t sit right with him. There had never been any incidents like this on the ranch.

Who would be bold enough to come on their property and then vandalize a building?

Even though Melah had confirmed nothing had been taken, he could tell it was directed at her. Only her room? Something was going on, and he wanted her to tell him everything .

“Now, I want to know what is really going on. You know something,” he said through gritted teeth.

Draven moved over to the front of his truck and leaned back as if to appear casual, but Ridge knew his brother. He may not be looking at them, but he was listening to every word.

“There’s not much more than what we told the deputy. My room was ransacked and nothing was missing. We don’t even know how they got in. The doors were locked when we checked,” she said.

He released her hand for fear of hurting her. He lifted his hat and raked his fingers through his hair.

“So you don’t know who could have done this?

” He was trying to get himself under control.

Being around her brought out the protective nature in him.

He wanted to be the one she turned to. He wanted to be the one to shield her from the world.

She may be a military woman, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t need someone to have her back.

“There’s a reason you’re carrying your gun now. You haven’t done this before.”

She glanced down at her holster on her thigh. He had been shocked at first when he’d arrived at the group and saw she had a gun on her. It wasn’t uncommon to carry a rifle when dealing with predators coming onto the ranch and trying to take out a calf or smaller animals.

“I mean, I suspected someone, but I seriously doubt it was him.” She blew out a shaky breath and folded her arms.

She took a few steps away from him, and that was too far. He reached for her and gently took her arm and turned her back to him.

“What do you mean?” he asked softly. He didn’t want to scare her away and have her keep anything from him. This thing between them was moving fast, but he didn’t care. He was in for the ride and wanted her. Whatever he had to do to make her stay, he was willing to do.

He needed her.

Ridge swallowed hard. Melah’s brown-eyed gaze landed on him, and the air in his lungs rushed out. A weight settled on his heart, and it was then he realized his heart belonged to her.

“There was a reason I left the military when I did.” She hesitated.

She blinked, and her muscles stiffened underneath his touch. He released her arm and took her hand in his.

“I’m listening. There is no judgement here. Not from me?— ”

“Or me,” Draven cut in. He tossed them a look over his shoulder before going back to staring out at the landscape.

Ridge already knew he and his brother were going to have a conversation. If Melah meant something to Ridge, then already Draven would accept her.

Her eyes cast down to the ground. He tipped her chin up so she could see he was open and willing to listen to whatever it was.

There had always been something hidden in her eyes.

Something haunted her—hell, half the vets who came to Silver Creek had something weighing them down.

Demons chased them all. But whatever it was that bothered her, he wanted to take it away from her.

“I was raped by my sergeant,” she whispered.

Ridge’s heart stopped. Pain, embarrassment, and shame flooded her eyes. She tried to look away from him, but he held her steady. This wasn’t the first time he’d heard of something like this happening in the military. Most times it was covered up and brushed off.

“I’m so sorry,” he said.

She studied him for a moment as if to see if his opinion about her had changed.

It hadn’t .

Hearing what had happened to her only made him want to do bodily damage to whoever the fucker was who’d done such a horrid thing to her.

“You don’t need to apologize.” She sniffed.

She blinked, and he saw a strength in her come to the forefront.

“I filed a formal complaint. Charges were brought up against him. He was arrested. There was a trial, and he was sent away to prison.”

“Good.” The word fell from his lips automatically. Hearing this just proved how strong she was. Not many women pushed forward to get justice from the person who’d assaulted them. Melah was a special woman.

“They tried to break me, you know. Everyone tried to get me to drop the charges. Told me I would ruin his career.” A sarcastic chuckle fell from her lips.

He released her face but still didn’t want to stop touching her.

She reached up and brushed a few rogue strands of her hair from her face.

“But no one talked about how his actions ruined mine. I lost everything. The man I was supposed to marry, who claimed to love me, didn’t believe me.

He accused me of lying and using the charges as a way to hide an affair between me and Theo. ”

Now there were two men on Ridge’s shit list. Whoever the man she had been engaged to was, didn’t deserve her. How could he not believe her if she’d said another had raped her?

“Melah,” he murmured.

But she held up a hand and shook her head. She took a few steps back from him.

“No, you wanted to know everything, so I’m going to just say it.

My ex-fiancé accused me of cheating after I told him I was raped.

I was held down, taken against my will, but no.

He believed everything he heard from the rumor mill, people trying to discredit me, but not me.

The trial exposed everything about me. My father had to listen to the details of Theo attacking me, forcing himself on me, the details from the hospital visit—they embarrassed me, dragged up every sexual ordeal I’d ever had just to try to prove that Theo was innocent and that I wanted him to do those things to me.

But everyone on that damn base knew he wasn’t innocent.

I wasn’t the first woman he’d assaulted.

I was the only one brave enough to come forward.

” By this time, tears were streaming down her face.

The pain in her voice and in her eyes was enough to crush a man .

Ridge reached for her and brought her into his embrace. Her body shook from the sobs coming from her. He held her tight and looked over her shoulder. He was sure the dark expression on his brother’s face was mirrored on his.

Ridge wanted to hurt someone bad for causing this pain in his woman. He actually hoped the burglar was this Theo character. A chilling feeling he hadn’t felt in years claimed him. If he ever did come across Theo, he guaranteed the other man wouldn’t be walking away.

“You’re safe here.” He brought his lips to her temple and kissed her skin.

She was no longer going to have to carry the burden of this pain all by herself. She may not realize it now, but this was where she belonged. He was going to prove that without a doubt his arms were where she needed to be—forever.

Her sobs finally subsided. His shirt was balled up into her tiny fists. She rested her forehead on his chest, and a tremor snaked through her.

“Is he still in prison?” Draven asked.

“For all I know, he’s supposed to be.” She lifted her head from Ridge’s chest. She wiped her face with the back of her hand. Her eyes were slightly swollen.

“I have a few contacts I can reach out to. I need to know his entire name and I can confirm whether or not he’s been released,” Draven said.

His brother slid his phone from his back jean pocket.

The elder Harvey sibling had served for way longer than Ridge had.

Draven was a legend. His former team was special ops, and there was much that Draven couldn’t speak about, but if he said he still had people he could reach out to, Ridge was certain Draven could have information in a manner of minutes.

“Theo English is his full name,” she said softly.

Ridge reached for her hand and entwined their fingers together. Draven asked a few more questions before confirming he had all he needed.

“This won’t take long. I’ll let you know what I find.” Draven gave them a nod and walked off, leaving the two of them alone.

Ridge waited until his brother had disappeared around the barn before he turned his attention back on Melah.

They stood in silence staring at each other.

“I come with a lot of baggage,” she admitted.

He shrugged and tugged her to him. Hearing the horror of what had happened to her didn’t scare him off. It just proved she was a strong woman who he was falling in love with and he’d do anything to help her. He didn’t like seeing her like this.

“Is that supposed to scare me off?” he asked softly.

He tilted her chin back and gazed into her eyes.

He wanted to ensure she saw all of his feelings for her.

It was too soon to drop the ‘L word’, but he knew he was falling for her.

This woman already owned his heart, and after the night they’d shared together, he was ready to give it to her.

“I don’t know.”

He lowered his head slightly and pressed his lips to hers. She parted hers immediately and welcomed him. She had been through so much, and he wanted to prove to her that he found her desirable and wasn’t going to run away because of a past she had no control over.

Her arms came up to wrap around his neck. He slid his hands down to her lower back and held her to him. He slowly broke the kiss and peppered small kisses to her lips.

“I’m not going anywhere, Melah Battle. Now, you’re going to pack your stuff and come stay at my house.”

“I am not.” She tried to pull away from him, but he held her to him firmly. “I’m not running away from someone. We don’t even know who did this. For all we know it could be some punk kids playing a prank—a stupid one—but a prank nonetheless.”

“Does it matter? I need to know that you’re safe at all times.” He wasn’t going to argue with her on this. He’d do what he needed to ensure she was safe and secure.

“I’ll be fine. The guys have volunteered to patrol for a few nights to make sure whoever it was doesn’t come back.”

She rolled her eyes and tried to push him away, but he didn’t budge. He was being serious. The only way he could keep her safe was to have her in his house.

She glanced at him again and exhaled. “I can’t just up and move in with you, Ridge.”

“Why not?” he demanded to know.

Everyone on the ranch now knew they were together. He hadn’t been thinking at the meeting. He’d had tunnel vision and only saw Melah as they’d spoken about what had transpired in the bunkhouse.

“Because…um, I don’t know. I just know I can’t move in with you,” she exclaimed.

“Then I’m going to stay with you. Let me run up to my house and grab a bag,” he said.

If she wasn’t going to come to him, then he’d stay with her. It didn’t sit right with him that someone had been in the house when she’d been vulnerable. Anything could have happened to her.

“What? No, you are not going to stay in the bunkhouse. You have an entire house here on the ranch?—”

“That you can stay at! Aimee can come, too.”

“She already said she’s not leaving, and I’m not abandoning her there to be alone.” Melah folded her arms.

There was a stubborn tilt to her chin when she met his gaze. There was no reasoning with Melah, he could clearly see that.

“Fine.” Ridge exhaled. He knew when he was fighting a losing battle. He ran a hand along his face and nodded. “If you’re sure you will be okay, then I’ll trust your judgement.”

“Aimee and I will be fine. I promise you, the next time someone enters the house uninvited, they will be leaving in a body bag.”

Ridge’s cock immediately stiffened. His woman was no damsel in distress, and that was what attracted him to her the most. He stepped forward and gripped the back of her neck. His lips curved up as he stared down at her.

“And what if a certain person kidnapped you for a few hours and took you back to his house? What would happen to him?” he growled.

She leaned toward him, erasing the distance between their bodies. Her curvy frame fit his perfectly.

“The brave man better at least let me shower first since I’ve been working all day or he might get hurt. After that, he can take me away for a few hours since this certain person promised me dinner tonight.” Her grin was wide, and she stared up at him.

Ridge barked a laugh. Hell, he didn’t care that she’d been working all day. He wanted her just as she was. He’d worked a ranch his entire life, but he knew he’d better concede.

“Very well then. I’ll take you home for a quick shower, then I’ll make good on my promise.”