Not screaming as I fell from the ladder was the hardest thing I’ve never done in my life. I knew Mr. Henderson would be angry with me for not only causing a ruckus but also breaking open the bags that fell on my leg. I had half hoped he wouldn’t have heard with his bad hearing. Luck wasn’t on my side though as he and the sexiest cowboy I’ve ever seen walked through the back door.

The way he stuck up for me, then helped me up was something I’m unused to. His dark gaze bored into mine like he could read my every thought as tears had silently streamed down my face while he pulled the heavy bags off me.

The immediate pain to follow still hasn’t left me three hours later. I’ve kept quiet about it but moving my leg at all is beginning to wear on me. Thankfully my shift is done in just over an hour. The only problem is I have to walk the two miles home now and then I have to take care of the boarder horses, get dinner on the table for Luke and figure out how to stay out of my mom’s crosshairs when she gets home from the local grill and bar as a waitress. She’ll likely have a fresh bottle of whiskey when she does. By morning it’ll be gone.

The hour flies by, much to my regret, and before I know it I’m in the sweltering heat limping my way home. Sweat pours down my face and back, and I can feel myself getting dizzy as the distance to home grows closer with each step.

Thankfully our little boarding barn is literally on the outskirts of town. On a good day, this walk would be no problem. Today has just been one bad thing after another, and my knee is the worst of it.

Seeing our small cabin-like house in view I nearly weep with relief as I hear the horses in the barn. I know they want food, and watered down, and likely a run. I just need to sit for a few minutes. First, I need some water. I want to put some ice on my knee too.

As I reach the porch steps, I’m once again saddened by the dilapidated state our home is in. The shutters on the windows are falling off, the shingles on the roof needed replacing like ten years ago, and I’m not entirely certain the porch should even be walked on anymore.

Everything about this house screams poor. It screams all my pain and anguish about staying behind. Becoming trapped in this town I used to love. Mom ruined that for me like she ruins so many other things.

Grabbing a glass of water, and a bag of ice, I sit on the bowed couch with cushions so thin it feels like cardboard and lean my head back. When my eyes close I fight to keep them open, reminding myself I have chores to do. They don’t listen, and soon I feel my body relax into peacefulness.

“Ady,” I feel my shoulder being shook, “Ady, come on. Wake up!” Luke’s panic finally registers.

“Luke?” My voice is groggy with sleep.

“Yeah. Come on. Mom’s on her way home. You have to get up.” His voice is filled with an emotion I can’t get my sluggish brain to register right now.

“Home? What time is it? Shit. The horses.” I fell asleep. Crap.

“I already took care of them. Dinner’s almost done too, but you have to get up.”

I look at Luke then, really look at him, and I finally see it, fear is in his eyes. “What did she do to you?” She must have done something. He’s never been afraid of her before.

“Nothing.” His gaze flickers.

“Tell me, Luke.”

“She just said some things,” he hedges.

“What things, Luke? Dammit, tell me.” He helps me to my feet and obviously knows I’ve hurt my knee because he helps me walk to the kitchen where I see he’s got chicken in the oven and potatoes boiling. This is the Luke I’ve always known, the one who makes all the pain and suffering worth it.

“She hates you, Ady. I don’t get it, you do everything around here.”

“Yeah, tell me something I don’t know.” I try to lighten his mood.

“That’s not it though, she was drunk a couple months ago and said some things, I don’t want anything happening to you Adilynn.” He’s on the verge of tears now, and before I can do anything, our mother walks through the door, a mean scowl on her face.

“Why isn’t dinner on the table?” She yells, and I can tell she’s sloshed already.

Shrugging I tell her, “My car broke down on the way to work this morning, so I had to walk home. I was late is all.”

“I ain’t paying that bill,” she grouches.

“Wouldn’t ask you to Mother.” Crap. The day has obviously caught up with me if I’m sassing her.

She stumbles her way over to me, and I push Luke behind my back–even though he’s officially bigger than me–and she gets in my face. Spit flying from her mouth as she grabs a chunk of my hair. “Listen here, you ungrateful little bitch, I don’t want or need your back talk. Keep it to yourself and do as your told.”

The sting from her pull has tears gathering in my eyes for the second time that day, but I fight the urge to tell her off.

Luke, however, doesn’t have the same sense as me. “Let her go!” He yells stepping forward.

“Excuse me?” She growls, reminding me of the wolf with rabies from Ol’ Yeller.

Reaching back, I grab onto Luke’s shirt, hoping he’ll just stay quiet. “You heard me.” His voice is quiet, frightened. He doesn’t want to face off with her any more than I do.

“Go to your room Luke,” I order him. Our stares meet briefly before he nods and leaves.

“That’s right, you little bastard! Runaway just like your daddy did!” Mom taunts him.

I can’t believe her. The look in my brothers eyes is one I never want to see again. “How dare you!” I practically yell at her. Worry for myself gone. “He’s twelve! You may have ruined my childhood, but I’ll be damned if I let you ruin his.” I take a step forward, and she moves back, shock at my backbone evident on her face.

She’s quick to recover though. “You threatening me girl? The bastard bitch of another man who ran out because you’re nothing!”

I don’t’ know how it happens, but the next thing I know my hand is connecting with her face. She’s always throwing it at me, that I’m nothing, a bastard, I’ll be nothing and a bunch of other crap that for so long I’ve believed her.

“You cunt!” She screams and comes at me, hands flying, and with my injured knee still so weak it doesn’t take much to make me fall down, and she’s on top of me. With the adrenaline flowing through me, I barely feel the slaps and punches. Her nails digging into my scalp as she slams my head against the floor.

Immediately my head is swimming, and I feel sick. “Get. Off. Me.” I grit out as my hands become free and I’m finally able to push her off me. Scrambling backward using my hands, I sit in the corner as she laughs from her splayed position by the table.

“You stupid girl, you think you’re so smart, but I know. I know you were kicked out of school because you were failing. You fail at everything. Life, being a daughter, a woman. No one wants some washed up little mouse like you. You’ll always amount to nothing. An inconsequential little whore that you are.”

Damn, does that sting. They’re just words, Ady. But it’s so much more than that. Each word is like a blow to every insecurity I’ve ever had. I hate that she knows exactly what buttons to push and the right thing to say.

Staying still, I wait for her to get up and leave first. The very last thing I need is for her to know I was hurt at work today. I would never hear the end of it. I’d be lectured for hours about what a baby I was being and how useless I was for not being able to do my job right. I’d like to see her try and lift fifty-pound bags up a ladder.

Once she’s grabbed her vice and headed to her room upstairs, at the back of the house, I hear Luke’s light steps come rushing into the kitchen. “Shit, Ady.”

“Language.” I scowl at him. Since when did he start swearing?

“You’re a mess.” He counters.

“Gee thanks, just what a girl wants to hear.” My joke falls flat as he levels me with a hard stare. “I’m fine Luke, can you help me up then put dinner on the table.”

Hooking his arm under mine, Luke pulls me to my feet, and I hobble my way to my room after insisting I could do it. I have to bite my lip to keep from groaning out loud. Closing the door behind me, I lean against it, closing my eyes as the agony swamps my body in slow rivulets. Pinpointing each new trauma like street lights being turned on.

“Oh God.” I groan trying to keep my balance. I don’t know what to do anymore. She’s never been so violent before. A slap here and there, but never this full-on assault. I can’t leave because of Luke. I’d never forgive myself if something happened to him because I was so selfish.

Almost everyone in town knows she’s a mean drunk, they’ve witnessed her verbal abuse on me, but no one has ever stepped in. Maybe because they’ve never seen her physical abuse. My damn inner voice reasons.

Would anyone even believe me?

Standing in front of the mirror, seeing the bruises on my face, the scratches on my neck, I have to pray they will.

* * *

My big sister is kind of my hero. She’s selfless, caring, giving. Far more than my mother. I hadn’t known how bad it was for her until a few months ago when Mom spewed a bunch of nasty shit at me. Telling me, I was a mistake, that Ady was a mistake.

For the first time in twelve years, I saw the woman the way Ady must.

Hard. Angry. Hateful.

I didn’t like it then, and I don’t like it even more now as she pushed Ady around like a punching bag. Treating her like garbage under her shoe. If I could have one thing in the world, it’d be to get her the hell out of here.

* * *

“Come on you stubborn fool, let us look at you.” This damn horse is being a complete dick, yet again. Only this time I can’t just walk away shaking my head cursing up a blue streak. He tangled with a barbed wire fence after knocking Blaine, my best friend and one of my hands on his ass.

The vet–Drew Collins–along with two of my hands, Jake, and Mason, are standing by ready to help where needed. First, I need to get him untangled without causing further damage.

“Can’t you just tranq him or something?” Mason asks, a tinge of worry in his voice.

Drew shoots him a glare. “Are you wanting to carry him into the barn?”

The barn is only a quarter mile away from where we’re at by the road now, but I sure as shit ain’t carrying this big bastard back there. “Christ sake, Thunder, if you don’t calm your giant ass down I’ll shoot you myself.”

His head shoots to the side like he understands my threat. From the intelligence in his dark gaze, the twitching in ears, and the relaxing of his muscles, I’m almost certain that maybe he does understand it. At the least the tone of my voice.

“Here we go boys,” I say calmly. “Mase, Jake, cut this fucking fence. Drew grab the other side of his harness.” Slowly but surely, we’re able to get Thunder free from the barb. His grunting and posturing isn’t missed by anyone. He stomps his front hooves to the ground impatiently as Drew patches him up until we can get him to the barn and properly clean him.

“Be better if my intern student was here. Girl could tame a damn rattler if we needed her to.” Drew grumbles.

“Oh yeah? Be a real asset to your team. Someone like that.” An image of Adilynn pops into my mind, and I have to shake her free before I get distracted.

“Would be. But she was kicked out of school.” He complains as we reach the barn. Thunder has lost his calm and heads right for his stall at the end, promptly dismissing the both of us. “Stubborn fucking horse.”

“He’d bring in a pretty fucking penny if he’d just cooperate.” I bitch. Spying Brock coming in from the paddock, I instruct him, “Take Mase and Jake the supplies to fix the fence now. Might as well get it done.”

“You got it, boss.” He doesn’t need to be told twice. It’s something I like about him. After the incident at the feed store, it was discovered the girl, Jessica, had distracted him while he was counting bags. I don’t know if she stole them, or neither were paying attention, but I told him in the future he only deals with Henderson. The girl is bad news.

“All done Brantley, I’ll bill you as usual.” Drew doesn’t mess around too long when he’s on the clock. He likes to get shit done and be on his way to the next patient.

I watch Thunder as he stomps around his stall, making his displeasure known and I have to wonder if it’s time I gave up on him. I’ve kept him for so long because he’s the last piece of my father I have left.

Walking out of the barn for the night, I know it’s something I’m going to have to give serious consideration to. I hate to do it, but if he’s not going to do what he was bought to do, he’s a money killer. And I’ve wasted two years on him already.

“How’d you get that big ol’ fool to do what you wanted?” Pops laughs from his spot on the porch of the house. Made of brick and mortar, this thing has been standing for a couple hundred years. Once the foals have been birthed in the spring, I plan on doing some restoration to the old beast. Expose more brick and refurbish the hardwood floors is my main goal. The kitchen had been renovated by a professional chef last summer, so it made cooking for the seven of us easier.

Even though the boys all sleep in a bunkhouse about a hundred yards away to the east; close to the barn, we all eat together. Wayne is the only one with his own cabin about the same distance away, only to the north.

“Told him I’d shoot his ass.” I shrug as the old man laughs. He gets a kick out of watching me struggle with Thunder.

“If you’d only let go of your anger, he might be more cooperative.” His words stall my forward momentum up the steps right off the front mudroom. “He’d be a good horse, Brantley.”

“I know, Pops.” I can’t forgive him though. As sappy as it may be, he’s the reason my dad is gone. How am I supposed to just let that go?