Chapter Fourteen
Becky couldn’t tear her eyes from Pam as she raced her horse around the barrels. Sophie was so excited, Mac laughed. “Damn, girl, that baby loves the rodeo.”
She didn’t answer. Her heart was in her throat as Pam took her horse around another barrel at an angle that made Becky’s lungs seize. Becky leaned as if she were on the horse, not her sister-in-law. “Go Pam!”
All of them were as close as they could get to watch Pam in her timed event. Brian, Pricilla, Abby, Logan’s lawyer-friend Brody, and Mac all watched. More people came and went, many angling to get a chance to meet Becky.
Kendra hung out there, too.
Pam cleared the last barrel and road full bore to the finish line.
They all turned to the clock.
“First place!” Logan roared and turned. “Did you see that, Sophie? Your aunt took first place.”
Sophie craned her head, trying to see Pam as she rode out of the ring. The baby’s face crumpled and she protested when Pam was out of her sight.
“I’ll be damned. She really did recognize her,” Mac said.
Becky hugged her daughter, rocking and soothing her. “You can see Aunt Pammy soon.” Her daughter adored Pam even more after their San Francisco trip.
“I got some great shots. Look at these, Logan.” Kendra shoved her camera into his face.
Sophie sucked her fist, getting more agitated. “I’d better go feed her.”
Logan looked over. “I’ll walk with you.”
“Hurry back, I have more shots I want to show you.” Kendra patted Logan’s arm.
Becky gritted her teeth and started walking, willing herself not to overreact. The last couple weeks with Logan had been amazing, and they spent each night wrapped in each other’s arms. Today they were surrounded by family and friends enjoying the rodeo. But Kendra bugged Becky with her possessive tone around Logan and his family. And Logan…
We just fell into bed a couple times. Now it’s over, it was nothing. His words haunted her—what if that’s how Logan would feel about her at the end of three months?
He caught up to her. “Something bothering you?”
What did she say? She didn’t own Logan, not really. Basically they had a three-month agreement. Yeah, things were going good, but Logan had said no promises.
“Talk to me, Becky.”
“Kendra. She’s always around.” The thought of him touching Kendra, kissing her… Becky closed her eyes, struggling to swallow the vile emotion churning in her. She’d fallen deeply in love with her husband, but not knowing if he felt anything real for her brought out her vulnerabilities and jealousy.
“I’ve known her since I was eight. She’s just a family friend.”
“Who you had sex with.” She winced, hearing her snappish tone. She didn’t want to be that clinging, desperate girl who’d do anything for affection from a man.
“Are you jealous?” He tugged her to a stop and tucked a loose strand of hair back behind her ear. “I told you it was over. I don’t hound you about men you had sex with.” His eyes darkened. “I don’t want to think about another man touching you.”
“I haven’t slept with anyone here, so you aren’t running into them, imagining—”
“Shit, yeah that would piss me off.” He put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her and Sophie into his side and resumed walking. “I get it, but I don’t want to rock the boat too much. You saw the piece on you, me, and Sophie. She’s showing us as a committed family, and that’s good for both our goals.”
“True. Even the social worker has seen it.” They’d had a surprise visit from Molly Grover this week. She’d conducted their first interview for the court-ordered home study.
“Kendra knows we’re over. I slept with her twice. I’d come home, she’d broken up with a boyfriend, and we used each other. That was it. I didn’t feel anything for her, not like I feel for you.”
Everything in her cried out for a commitment. Something more than let’s take two months and find out. And, no promises, no pressure. They reached the area where the Knights had parked their trailer. “I’m fine. I’ll feed Sophie and if she sleeps, I’ll rest in here, too. Go on, go hang out with Brody and Mac.”
“But not Kendra. You’re the woman I want.” He kissed her then strode off.
Becky went into the front half of the trailer that was as nice as any motor home. The back portion housed the horses and tack. She quickly changed Sophie and settled her into breastfeeding. They had both dozed off when she heard a commotion.
“Let me go.”
She snapped awake, recognizing Pam’s voice. After quickly fixing her shirt, she laid Sophie in the travel crib.
“Cade, stop it. I’m not in the mood.”
“Well I am.”
Chills went down her spine at the man’s ugly tone. Becky opened the door, went out, and looked around.
“No.” Pam’s upset voice came from the horse trailer.
Becky strode around to the opened back end. Inside, the man had Pam pinned to the wall. “You couldn’t get your mouth on my dick fast enough last time. You want it, all whores want it.” He shoved his mouth on Pam’s while his hand went to his belt buckle.
Whore. That word exploded in Becky’s head. She stormed into the trailer and grabbed a broom from the wall mount. “Let her go!” She wacked the broom against the bastard’s back.
Cade yelped and spun around. He was about even with Becky in height, but he had more meat on him and his face turned purple with fury.
Pam ran past Becky.
“Bitch, you’ll pay for that. You want to play with a broom?” He advanced on her.
Shit. Sophie was alone in the other part of the trailer. She turned to tell Pam to get the baby away from here, but the girl was gone.
A wall of pissed off male slammed into her. Becky hit the floor of the trailer. She felt a shock of hot pain in her left forearm. Dang, that hurt. She tried to roll off her arm, but she was trapped by the heavy weight. “Get off.”
Becky fought, her muscles straining but he had her pinned. Sick fear spread through her.
A roar sounded, and Becky lifted her head as Logan exploded into the trailer. He picked up the man as if he weighed nothing and threw him clean out of the trailer.
Logan leaped out after him.
“Becky, oh God.” Pam knelt by her, crying. A blur of people filled the trailer.
My baby is alone in the trailer. Have to make sure she’s safe.
Worry for her baby drove out any thoughts of pain. Rolling over, she blurted out, “Sophie’s in the living quarters.”
Pricilla whipped off her jacket and wrapped Becky’s arm. “I’ll go get her, but honey, don’t move for a few minutes. Your arm’s bleeding, and we need to make sure you’re okay. ” She got up and said, “Abby, take a look at Becky, see if we need the EMTs.”
Becky couldn’t lay there on the trailer floor, so she carefully sat up. Heat prickles broke out on her body, black spots danced in front of her eyes for a few seconds.
“Breathe, Becky,” Abby knelt next to her and Pam. “Did you hit your head?” She unwrapped her arm, examining it.
“No. Just my knees and arm.” Taking a couple breaths, the pain in her arm eased and everything slid into focus. It was just shock, she wasn’t really hurt. Outside the trailer, Cade was crumpled and moaning on the ground. Logan stood over him, every muscles and tendon bulging.
“What the hell happened?” Brian bellowed.
“It’s my fault,” Pam burst out, her eyes wet with tears.
Her father turned on her. “What did you do?”
Pam gestured to Cade writhing on the ground. “He attacked me. I went home with him the other night—”
Brian’s face turned purple. “When you act like a whore this is what happens! First you got thrown out of college and now this.”
“Brian!” Priscilla stopped at the edge of the trailer, her lips white. “What is wrong with you? That’s our daughter and she’s just been attacked.” The woman was so angry, her voice shook. Charging into the trailer, she handed Sophie to Becky and hugged Pam.
Her aunt’s sobs caused the baby to wail in distress.
Becky held her daughter to her chest, and tried to keep from crying, too. How could this happen? Pam had been attacked and now Brian was calling his daughter something so awful.
…
Logan leaned against the trailer that housed the first aid station for the rodeo. He still couldn’t believe Becky hit Cade with a broom to protect Pam. She should have come to him, or called him on his cell. That guy could have killed her. When he’d run up and saw Cade on top of Becky, heard her cry out, he’d gone right into kill mode. It’d taken Brody and Mac to pull him off the man.
All he wanted to do now was scoop up his wife and stepdaughter and take them home. Pricilla was having none of that—she was mothering Becky by cleaning and bandaging the cut on her arm. Logan had been firmly kicked out of the first aid station. Pam and Sophie were with them, too.
His father strode up and Logan shoved off the trailer to confront Brian. “What the hell was that, calling Pammy a whore?” His sister’s ravaged face twisted his guts. He wanted better than an animal like Cade for his sister, but she wasn’t a whore. She was a sweet, beautiful girl who loved animals, clothes, and, judging by how she adored Sophie, babies. She just didn’t know what she wanted to do with her life yet, and last time Logan checked, that was part of growing up.
His father glanced at the trailer then back at him. “I won’t have my daughter running around with lowlifes. She’s not going to end up like your mother, singing in dive bars, sleeping on buses and chasing tail.”
Logan wasn’t even shocked. Nothing changed. Somehow, someway, his father always brought everything back to his mother. Always.
“Nor will I have my son making a fool out of our family name.” Brian ran his hand through his hair. “All this psychobabble about a bullshit camp with a bunch of long-haired hippies crying because they had to do a man’s job. It makes me want to puke.”
Logan refused to rise to the bait. The entire battle between him and Brian was wearing on him. “Do you have a point? Because I have a wife to take care of.”
“A wife who had another man’s kid four months ago.”
It took every technique he’d learned to keep his temper. “Be very careful how you talk about my wife. Becky’s better than all of us. In case you didn’t notice, she saved Pammy’s ass tonight.”
“Yeah, she’s got mettle, I’ll give her that. Now it’s time you prove your manhood. No more chasing after your dreams like your hippie mother.”
“You mean the woman you were in love with and married?” Hmm, guess he was rising to the bait after all. Would he and his father ever break out of this same old routine?
“Fine, I loved her. But you know what? She wanted me to choose between her and the ranch. She ran off and I chose to be a man and do my duty. I learned my lesson. Love means nothing. I found a decent woman, married her, and made it work. Love has nothing to do with it.”
The gasp in the doorway caused both men to spin.
Pricilla stood with Becky, Sophie, and Pam. His stepmom stomped down the steps and slapped her hands on her hips. “You never loved me? All these years, I gave you two kids, took in your son from another woman as my own, and you don’t love me?” Hurt and anger colored her face and vibrated in her voice.
Logan couldn’t believe how the family was unraveling. Scaling the steps, he took Sophie from his sister, kissed her cheek, then helped Becky down. “Come on, I’m taking you and Sophie home.”
Becky hesitated, her gaze sliding around the uneasy group. “Uh, while we were in the first aid station, I told Pricilla and Pam they could stay at our house tonight. They don’t want to go home with Brian after what he called Pam.”
“No! Absolutely not.” Brian bellowed. “My wife and daughter are coming home with me.”
Pricilla got right up in his face. “Not until you apologize for calling Pam a whore. And even then, Brian…” Sadness dragged her shoulders down and softened her voice. “I don’t know if I want to return to a man who doesn’t love me.”
Logan had no idea how all this had happened. Christ, he came home to his land for peace, not a family war.