Chapter Eight
September Third
Tanya
Pulling my car in front of the barn, I read over the text message for the hundredth time, and my stomach starts to twist in knots. My father has been calling nonstop since I did not show up at his house when ordered to. Over the last two weeks, I have tried to block his number three times, but he just calls from another line the next day.
He finally started texting earlier yesterday morning, something he has never done before. The first few were just more threats, but they grew nastier with each one he sent. The last message came about thirty minutes ago, claiming he knew where I was. Well, he thought he knew I was living at Hadley’s, but that is close enough.
My door flies open, scaring the shit out of me, and Major reaches in and unbuckles my seatbelt. “Hey, baby. You come to eat lunch with me?”
Knowing I can stare at it all day and the words aren’t going to change, I stick my phone back in my pocket and look up at Major. The smile on his face is so beautiful that I hate to tell him my news, but I don’t really have a choice. My father will be showing up here any moment, screaming accusations and throwing out demands.
“Dad’s on his way,” I say, watching his smile fade.
He grabs my hand, pulling me out of the car, and tugs me against his chest. “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it.”
I lean my forehead against his chest and let out a sigh. “He’s going to act like a lunatic. I don’t want you to have to put up with him.”
“I won’t put up with his shit, Tanya.” Major’s hand runs up and down my back, calming me with each pass. “I’ll run his ass off our property before the motor of his car even has the time to cool down.”
The ding of a new text has me stepping away from Major and pulling my phone from my pocket. I’ll be there in five minutes, and you better be ready to leave.
“Oh, shit,” I mumble, still staring at the phone. “Dad says he’ll be here in five minutes. I gotta let Mom know. She’ll need to make sure Rusty is occupied.”
One of the farmhands, a man that obviously listened to our entire conversation, walks up to us. “Little Man is going with me to find the missing colt.”
Rusty has earned the title of Little Man during the short time he and Mom have been here. It seems my brother is the horse whisperer. He has a natural affinity for the animals, and they love him nearly as much as he loves them. He spends his days in the barn or the corral. He doesn’t care if he’s cleaning stalls; he just wants to be near the horses.
Major nods his head. “Yeah, get him out of here as fast as you can.”
“Rusty,” the man yells, followed by a loud whistle. “Let’s get going.”
My brother runs past us, not even taking the time to look my way. He does lift his hand to Major before running to catch up to the man that called his name. He follows the farmhand to an old, beat-up truck. A second later they are heading toward the field, a cloud of dust trailing behind them.
“He knows to keep an eye on Rusty?” I ask, worried that my brother may get distracted and wander off.
“Your brother will be fine,” Major says with a smile, pulling me back against his chest and brushes a kiss over my forehead. “Are you sure you don’t want to just marry me? Then your dad will know his plans for you to marry his buddy are dead.”
He has asked me to marry him every day since we got back from moving Mom and Rusty down from Cat Scratch. Each time has been playful, like he is being now. So far, I’ve been able to laugh it off. I know the minute he shows me a ring, I’ll say yes. As crazy as it sounds, I know he is the man for me.
“You want me to trade one wedding for another?” I say, trying to be playful.
“I knew you were mine the minute I laid eyes on you. You’re my one, and a Brady man always knows his one,” he says, all humor gone from his voice. “One of these days, I’m going to convince you to be my wife. When that happens, I’m going to be the happiest man in the world, and I’m going to make sure you’re the happiest woman.”
Before I can reply, before I can tell him that I think he’s my one, too, Mom comes rushing out of the house. “You need to leave, Tanya.”
“What?” I ask, pulling away from Major just enough to look at Mom.
She runs over to us, her face a deep shade of red. “That father of yours is on his way here, and I don’t want you here when he shows up.”
Mom is so angry her entire body is shaking. She is going to rip Dad a new asshole the minute he gets here. If he wasn’t such a bastard, I would feel sorry for him. Considering he is, though, I’ll be happy to watch her tear into him.
“I think it’s too late for that,” Tucker says, walking out of the barn and pointing down the long driveway.
I follow his hand, seeing my dad’s midnight-blue BMW coming down the drive. It’s the same car he bought less than a week after claiming not to have the money for my brother to go to autism camp. He’s flying over the gravel, not even worrying about the damage it causes to his expensive paint job.
“Oh, me,” Hadley says, walking out the front door. “He’s here.”
We all stay quiet as she walks over and stands beside her husband. The silence remains while we watch Dad’s car come to a stop in front of the farmhouse. As soon as the engine cuts off, Dad’s door swings open and he climbs out of the car. He looks around for just a second before his eyes land on our little group standing in front of the barn.
“Tanya, you get your little ass in the car!” he shouts, sweat beading on his face. “Right now, little girl.”
Major’s body goes taut, his arms tightening around me. He slowly releases me and takes a step forward. Before he can say anything, Mom rushes to Dad and slaps him across the face. He stumbles back a step or two, but she follows him, slapping him again and again.
“I cannot believe you!” she screams, tears starting to fall down her cheeks. “I cannot freaking believe you would sell our daughter.”
Her words cut me to the core because they are true. He did sell me like I was livestock instead of a living breathing person. I always knew he wasn’t the fatherly type, but I did think he loved me. This proved me wrong.
“Now, Marie,” he says, trying to block her hand from landing against his cheek again. “I’ve tried to explain this to you. It’s either she marry him or you and Rusty will be homeless.”
“Give him the house, give him everything.” Mom finally quits trying to hit him and takes a step back. “If you weren’t such an ignorant ass, you’d know Rusty and I already moved. I promise you, we won’t be going back. From the moment you told me what you had planned, I decided I would do anything I needed to keep my daughter safe.”
Dad seems to freeze with shock, his hand resting over his chest. He looks at my mother as if he cannot believe the words coming out of her mouth. His mouth opens and closes, over and over again.
Finally, Major goes into action, walking over and laying a hand on Mom’s shoulder. “You need to leave, Mr. Walsh.”
Seeing Major standing beside my mother, having her back, causes my heart to beat an unsteady rhythm. Everything he does, every damn thing, makes me love him more. Taking care of me, including Rusty in his life, and now being at my mom’s side, proves he is a man that is worthy of my love.
“Who are you?” Dad asks Major and then looks at Tucker who is standing right beside him. “And who the hell are you?”
“This is our farm,” Major states and points to me. “And Tanya is mine. I want you to get the fuck off my property and stay the hell away from my woman.”
Dad blinks, looking confused as hell. “What do you mean, she’s yours?”
“What I mean is she wakes up in my bed every damn morning. Every fucking night, she goes to sleep in that same damn bed, and that shit’s not gonna change.” Major grabs Mom’s arm, pushing her to Tucker, and takes a step toward Dad. “Now, get back in your fancy ass car and get the fuck away from here.”
Dad doesn’t do as he is told. Instead, he starts to shake his head and mumble under his breath. He takes a step back to the car and then walks toward Major again. He does this a time or two before turning to look at me.
“If you don’t come with me, I’ll take your mother to court for custody of Rusty,” he states, clenching his fists.
My breakfast attempts to force its way up my throat as I whisper, “No.”
“Do it, Bobby. I’ll show up to court with bells on.” Mom starts to laugh, drawing my attention to her. “Take me to court, tell the judge you want custody of the child you haven’t visited more than a handful of times in the last few years. I want to be there when you explain to the judge why a man who has never spent one single night alone with his son is fit to care for him full time.”
My stomach settles, and my heart beat slows when I realize she is right. Dad could never get custody of Rusty, especially not now. Mom has a home and a job; she’s no longer dependent on Dad to provide for Rusty. Even if she wasn’t, no judge would turn a child over to a man that barely knows him.
“You can’t do this; you have to help me, Marie. I need Tanya to marry him,” Dad says, shaking his head manically. “If not, I’ll lose everything.”
I finally get up the courage to stick up for myself. “If you lose everything, it’s your own fault. You made those debts, not me, and it’s not my place to repay them. You’re gonna have to find another way to figure out how to fix it because it’s not gonna be by using me.”
“You’re leaving, man.” Major steps in front of Dad; blocking my view. “If you don’t go willingly, I’m forcing you to go.”
“I’m not going anywhere without Tanya!” Dad shouts, sounding nearly out of his mind. “She’s my daughter, and she has to do what I say.”
Tucker has had enough, and he proves it by saying, “You either get back in your car and hit the road, or I’ll be heading inside to get my gun. I will plant enough buckshot in your ass that your ride back to Cincinnati will be hell.”
Everyone goes silent, taking in Tucker’s words. I’m not sure if he is being honest, not sure he would actually shoot my dad, but I think he is pissed enough to do just that. Hadley told me that he was worried about her. He was worried that her father might have tried the same thing, if she hadn’t already been married to him.
“You can’t just shoot me,” Dad says, moving closer to his car. “You’d go to jail.”
Major shakes his head, stepping back to throw an arm over my mom’s shoulder. “We’re in Kentucky. We got a stand your ground law in this state. You come on our property causing trouble, my brother can blow your fucking head off.”
I’m not really sure Major understands the stand your ground law, but I’m glad his explanation of it has my father crawling back in his car. He slams the door, without saying another word. A second later, he is cruising down the driveway.
Mom reaches her hand up and pats Major firmly on the shoulder before turning to look at me. “Now that he’s gone, I’m going in to finish lunch.”
With that, she turns and walks into the house. Tucker comes over and grabs Hadley’s hand, pulling her into the barn. Major comes right to me, wrapping his arms around me. His lips come down on mine, giving me a soul searing kiss.
When he pulls back, I say the words I’ve been holding in for the last few days. “I love you, Major Brady.”
“About fucking time you figured that shit out.” A smile spreads across his face as he brushes another kiss over my lips. “I love you, too, Tanya Walsh. Love you to the moon and back, baby.”