Chapter 21
—Being a sister is way better than being a princess.—
“What exactly did Skye and Colt say?” Hadley perched on the cushioned chair in Brooks’s office since he’d asked her to meet him in here alone.
AKA without Axel.
He was really going to have to get over his dislike of the man because Hadley was pretty much over the moon for Axel. And she didn’t think that was going to change anytime soon. Probably not ever. Which was sort of scary in and of itself but she’d worry about that later.
“They had a talk with the man who ordered your kidnapping and retrieved all of the information possible.”
“Retrieved or extracted?”
Her brother simply grinned as he adjusted his cowboy hat. “Same difference.”
“So you guys really just make your own rules, your own laws.” The knowledge was a lot to take in.
He lifted a shoulder, clearly not apologetic. “I’m sorry if any of this makes you uncomfortable. We’ve all seen how shitty the legal system is, and honestly, I sleep fine doing what we do. I take care of my people.”
She liked that last part a lot. “So…I’m okay to return to my life?”
“Fuller said he’d hired three men, all of whom match the descriptions of the men that Axel or we came in contact with. And Skye and Colt believe him.”
“Is it normal that I’m still kind of afraid?”
“Yeah, of course. I would actually like it if you’d stay at the ranch through the rest of your spring break. We still want to make sure the threat is truly neutralized. And that way you and I can spend some time together.”
She narrowed her eyes at his guileless expression. “That sounds really sweet, but what I’m hearing is that you want me to stay here and you’re planning to kick Axel out.”
He grinned again. “I didn’t say it out loud—even if I was thinking it.”
Hadley pushed up from her chair and placed her hands on Brooks’s shoulders. Since he was leaning against the desk he was closer to her height though still a bit taller. “Look, you’re my big brother and I get that there are rules or whatever that come with that. But I’m a grown woman and I like Axel. I know who he is and I’m okay with it. So I need you to be okay with him too. Because I really want to have an honest, grown-up relationship with my family. I dealt with enough manipulative garbage from my mom, and honestly I can’t see either you or dad doing that, but I still want us to be open about everything. And yes, I would really like it if you were okay with my boyfriend.”
Saying the word boyfriend felt kind of weird but she and Axel were exclusive so she guessed that was what they were. Right? She really needed to clarify that with him. Though the man had said he wanted to move to Redemption Harbor for her and give up his life as a hit man. So maybe she didn’t need to clarify.
“Why did you have to go and be all logical?” Brooks laughingly pulled her into a hug and kissed the top of her head. “Fine, I will make a serious effort to like him. I already invited him to go out practice shooting with me and the guys.”
When she and her girlfriends hung out, they liked to go shopping or watch movies and eat bad food together. “I don’t even know what to say to that.”
He slung an arm around her shoulders. “Come on, let’s go find Darcy and Axel. Olivia, Savage, Valencia, Martina and Mercer and Mary Grace should be here in a couple hours. Oh, and the baby. And Darcy was talking about cooking a big feast for everyone.”
“Darcy is cooking?” Hadley asked doubtfully.
Her brother barked out a laugh. “Exactly. That’s why I want to see what they got up to. Let’s see if we can convince her to get takeout instead.”
By the time they made it to the kitchen, Darcy, Axel and Hadley’s dad were standing around the island while her dad spoke in quiet tones to someone on the phone.
She knew something was wrong by the expression on his face. “What is it?” she asked the others.
He set his phone down before they could respond. “One of the horses got out and knocked down a fence. Impaled herself on it. I tried to get the vet out here but she’s on another emergency. Her whole practice is on emergencies.” Her dad raked a hand through his hair.
“I can help,” she said, feeling sick for the poor horse. “I’m obviously not a vet, but I’ve watched enough surgeries and I might know what to do. It’s at least worth a try. And I can reach out to my friend from school,” she said, already moving toward the back door, her cell phone in hand. Her friend didn’t answer so she shot off a quick text.
Her dad shoved his own phone into his pocket and nodded as he joined her. Axel was right behind him. When it was clear that Brooks was going to come too, she shook her head. “It’s okay, you guys get stuff ready for dinner tonight. We got this.”
She knew that if a horse had been injured, the less people involved the better. The animal wouldn’t need or want a bunch of people around, crowding it in. She also knew there was no way Axel was leaving her side, something she was pleased about.
“What kind of medical supplies do you guys have on hand in the barn?” Hadley asked as she rode shotgun in the ATV across one of the fields. The dirt road was a little bumpy but fairly smooth given that it wasn’t paved.
Her dad glanced behind him as they pulled up to the barn. “Axel, grab that bag back there.”
Axel picked it up as they parked and her dad took it from his hands before giving it to her. “I’d planned to give this to you later today as an early birthday gift. I know you won’t technically need it for a few years, but it’s yours.”
She took the custom-made, dark brown leather doctor’s bag filled with instruments and supplies and when she peered inside she realized this had cost a lot of money. “Thank you so much,” she said. She would thank her dad again later because this was incredible, but now they needed to get to that horse. “What’s the horse’s name?” she asked as they hurried toward the opening of the barn.
“Nelly. She’s young, new to our stable, and not quite trained yet. She got spooked by something. The fence was sturdy though so I know it’s not shoddy workmanship. She’s just a strong thing.”
Hadley heard the horse before they saw it and her dad’s foreman stepped out of one of the stalls, his expression dark. “Did y’all get ahold of the vet?”
Her dad shook his head. “No, but I got the next best thing.”
It warmed her heart that her dad had so much faith in her. She just hoped she could help. She’d watched so many surgeries over the years and she’d been lucky enough to shadow the vet she’d worked for before. But taking responsibility for an animal’s life by herself was something else entirely.
Her dad squeezed her shoulder once. “You got this.”
His confidence in her, even if it was based on nothing other than fatherly love, gave her the shot of self-assurance she needed as she headed toward the stall with her dad. It was time to get to work.