Page 118 of Saving the Rain
The slithering words of my father spread foul tendrils the length of the barn from where they’re standing off with each other outside. In between the racing of my pulse and numb sensation crawling through my limbs, I crouch low and move as quietly as possible to the left,avoiding being in a direct line of sight through the partially open doors.
Jesus. There’s nothing within reach to use as a weapon. And I don’t want to leave Kayce to stand up to that psycho alone. Even if he is foolishly trying to protect me.
“Go on. You wanna rob me? Search the house? Take what you fucking want and piss off.”
As Kayce keeps arguing, I duck around the side of the building, keeping as low a profile as I can while carefully navigating to the shaded area at the back of the barn. There’s excess wood stacked back here. Debris from the ranch. Machinery. Nothing fucking useful for me to defend us with that I can see as I inch forward, doing my best not to make a sound.
Each carefully placed footstep through the remnants of snow and ice lingering beside the barn feels like an eternity. I just want to sprint—to race out there. But in my gut, I know that’s the worst thing I can do. Since the asshole has followed me here, he’s found a way to connect me to Devil’s Peak. Now that he knows Kayce is here, I hate to think what shitstorm he’s brought with him.
My heart is in my mouth, hoping like hell that Kayce will just keep him talking. Don’t be a fucking hero, Kayce. Just talk and buy me time until I can get there. Please don’t try anything with him.
Just hold the fuck on until I can get there.
As I draw nearer, their muffled voices sound curt, growing more agitated, and my entire heart is damn well pumping in overdrive. I’m terrified—colder and more sick to my stomach than I’ve ever felt before—that there’s gonna be the worst before I can get there in time.
Please. Kayce, I promise I’m coming.
I’m not leaving you to face this alone.
Inching as close as I dare to the corner of the barn, I remain partly hidden by a pile of timber stacked beside the wall.
I see him. I come face to face with the monster himself.
The most miserable and pathetic of men. Witnessing my abuser in the flesh. His hollowed face and sallow skin. Countless years of alcohol and drug abuse are present in those sunken, beady eyes.
And as I shift my weight, trying to control my breathing, trying tomake a fucking plan—my entire world tilts on its axis. A vile, hideous trick of fate.
My stomach plummets through to the soles of my boots as the asshole steps forward, revealing the worst possible scenario. All my fucking fears have come to life.
With a gun in one hand, he toys with a lighter wheel in the other. A five gallon gas can sits at his feet.
“I’ll put a bullet straight through the eyes of every single one of these horses. Fuck me around, Wilder, and I’ll show you just how serious I am.”
Oh, Jesus.
No. No. No.
Kayce shields the horse with his body. My fucking beautiful man is protecting Winnie as she shifts her weight and her nostrils flare. “I don’t fucking care if you shoot me. You so much as put a scratch on one of these animals, I won’t be held responsible for what happens next.” His voice is low, deadly serious.
I know exactly what he would give for these animals, and if I was terrified before, now I’m doubled over with the painful realization that he’ll absolutely do something stupid if he thinks it’ll protect Winnie.
“That’s ok, boy.” My father sneers and gestures with the barrel of his gun. “How about I shoot you first, put a bullet in both knees real easy like, then set fire to this place. You can lie right there in the dirt and watch your precious horses burn.”
“Fuck you,” Kayce spits. “Piss off back to the hole you crawled out of.”
“Ah, but you stopped playing along nicely. You didn’t give me any choice.”
“Mom deserves to be rid of you. She should’ve kicked your rank ass to the curb years ago.”
“You shoulda kept your nose out of it. The hospital was mighty helpful in letting me know who’s been paying for my wife’s rehab. Certainly didn’t take long in a small town to find out where you were hiding these days.”
“You don’t care that she left you. All you care about is the money.”
Fuck. I see the way my father keeps readjusting his grip on thatgun, and I edge another step closer. What if I can only stop Kayce from getting hurt, but not Winnie? I don’t know if he could handle that. He’d lay down his life for these horses; that's how pure his heart is, and it sends a chill straight to my core, realizing the precipice we’re dangling from.
One wrong move, and I might lose him in an entirely different way. Not to a bullet, but to guilt—to demons he’s done so much to come back from—if he feels like he failed to protect the most vulnerable lives on this ranch it’ll end him.
My father clicks that lighter wheel again and gestures with the gun. “Damn straight. I couldn’t give a shit where she goes. But I ain’t gonna be walking away without the money I’m owed.” He takes a step forward. “Moneyyounow owe me, you little shithead.”