Fractured Sky (Tattered & Torn #5)(27)

As I reached the entryway, the door opened, and I stiffened. Shiloh poked her head in. “Do you need any help?”

“I’m good,” I gritted out. Even just having her hover at the door had my pulse quickening. This is Shiloh, I reminded myself. Someone whose gentleness seeped out of her pores. It wasn’t her that bothered me; it was the crossing of that invisible boundary and the loss of control.

She lowered her voice to a whisper. “Who are they, Ramsey?”

I glanced out the front window, taking in the boys as Aidan pointed to some horses. “Kenny Chambers’ kids. Aidan needed a job.”

Shiloh’s eyes widened, and then anger lit in them. “He’s not getting enough food.”

I held up the plate of sandwiches. “That’s not going to be a problem anymore.”

A shadow passed over Shiloh’s face as she took the plate from me. “You’re a good man, Ramsey.”

My chest burned. Each word hit like a physical blow. I hadn’t heard words like that in decades. Maybe longer. Good wasn’t a word someone equated with a man who’d done hard time as a teen, even if it had been expunged from my record. It was too late to make it disappear. It had already carved itself into my bones.

Shiloh didn’t wait for my response. She turned around and headed back out to the boys, setting the plate on a small table between their two chairs before unwrapping it.

I cleared my throat. “Wasn’t sure what you liked. There’s turkey and peanut butter and jelly.”

“Turkey!” Elliott cheered.

Shiloh grinned and handed him one while she picked up a PB&J.

“I’ll take whatever you don’t want,” Aidan said to me.

“There’s plenty of both. Choose whatever you like.”

His hand hovered over the sandwiches before choosing a turkey one. I made a mental note of that.

Elliott bit into his sandwich and then began peppering Shiloh with questions from her favorite color to what she did on the ranch.

Aidan was quiet as he ate but kept glancing my way. He ducked his head closer to me. “My dad’s real mad at you. I, uh, he doesn’t know I’m working here. But you need to watch your back.”

Alarm bells went off in my head, but I kept my expression relaxed—the same way I would with a skittish horse. “I’ll be fine.”

Aidan stared down at his sandwich, picking at the crust. “He can get real mean, and he holds a grudge.”

I stiffened. It was too soon to push, I knew it, but what other choice did I have? I had to try. I ducked my head to meet his gaze. “Are you safe at home?”

His jaw tightened. “I’m fine. He’s an asshole, that’s all. But I don’t want to see him cause trouble for you or your ranch. He’ll do it if he can.”

I studied the teen in front of me, trying to read between the lines. But Aidan’s face was a carefully blank mask. I knew from experience what hid behind masks like that. And it was nothing good.





11





SHILOH





I couldn’t stop thinking about Aidan and Elliott. They’d stayed for several hours yesterday. Aidan was a hard worker, doing more than his share of mucking stalls and cleaning tack. But worry gnawed at me.

Even as I made the drive towards Hayes and Everly’s house, the boys’ faces flashed in my mind. I hadn’t pushed Ramsey for more information because I could tell that he didn’t have it. For now, it would have to be enough to keep an eye on them. Maybe I could ask Hayes to stop by their house.

I turned off the gravel road and onto the private drive. My stomach tightened as a familiar landscape came into view. I kept waiting for the sensation to ease.

With each change to the property, I hoped. But that flash of panic was always the same. It never lessened. Not when the pens for the animals had been constructed. Not when Everly and Hayes had built a new house on the land. Not even when I’d taken down the godforsaken shed. My gut instinct when it came to this place was always to run.

That was why I made myself face it. I refused to let it have power over me. To let him have power over me.

The panic always eased after a minute or two. I’d focus on the animals that Everly was helping with her sanctuary. Or on her and my brother’s faces. How much they cared about me. This place that had once been the cause of so much pain and misery was now a place of light and healing.

That gave me hope. Things could change. Be transformed. And that meant maybe I could be, too.

I pulled up next to Everly’s SUV. Two other vehicles were parked in front of the barn. Employees Everly had hired to help her tend to the animals and take visitors on tours.

I began to second-guess the wisdom of just showing up in the middle of the day. I’d wanted to avoid another scene with Hayes, but I didn’t want to have this conversation with others around either. My hand tightened on my keys as I stared at the barn.

Everly stepped out into the sun, her golden-blond hair catching the light. She held up a hand in a wave as she headed towards me.

Too late. I shut off my engine and slid out of my truck.

She smiled as she approached, but I saw the shadows under her eyes. “Hey, Shy.”

“Hey.” I toyed with my keys, spinning the ring around my finger. I thought about the words I wanted to give Everly, but they stuck in my throat, unable to escape.