“Jack needs me in the barn. I’ll be back to start dinner. If you want to be helpful, it would be great if you chopped up some of the green beans in the fridge. We’re having steak tonight.”
I let the door slam behind me and rushed out to the barn. Jack probably didn’t need any help unloading the trailer, but being with him instead of with my pissed-off father sounded like a far better option.
Jack
I hated Richard Rynne. Now, more than ever.
I hated him with a passion that I didn’t think was possible when Maggie looked at me with tears in her eyes because the lazy asshole didn’t make an effort to congratulate me.
When he showed up at my game and shook my hand, I behaved with the respect and kindness that Maggie asked of me, nothing less. Richard acted…civil, but respectful was not the word to describe it. He spoke one sentence before moving his attention to anything else. The worst part, though? Hereekedof alcohol. He came to visit his daughter for the first time in months, and he was fucking tipsy. What an excuse for a father. I vowed never to disappoint my kid like that.
After texting Maggie, I shut off my phone and headed to the feed room to scoop the horses’ grain. A chorus of whinnies and nickers followed when the horses saw me preparing their dinner. Everyone knew exactly what time they ate and exactly where the food lived.
Emerging from the room with four scoops of grain in my arms, I caught a sad Maggie admiring the horses, eyes heavy and throat tight. She looked fucking miserable.
One of the things I loved about this woman was her unapologetic adoration for the amazing creatures. She constantly watched them with an awe in her eyes that only a horse-lover could understand. The way she caressed their faces and bodies as she made sure they were in perfect condition was mesmerizing. Her love and caringness towards them were unmatched. I never felt romantically toward women involved with my profession, but seeing Maggie with them undid me in a way that nothing else could. I watched as she rubbed the white stripe on Vegas’ head. The chestnut mare leaned into her touch and closed her eyes, completely forgetting about the meal she was previously ecstatic to receive. Maggie whispered something as she rested her forehead on the horse and continued her massage down Vegas’ cheeks and lower to rub her chin. My heartsped in my chest, and all the while, I couldn’t have felt more at peace.
This was why I loved horses. They brought serenity to even the most chaotic of situations, and they expected nothing in return. They grazed in their pastures, carefree about the world. They were happy to simply be.
A snort came from Estrella, one of my other mares, breaking Maggie out of her moment. Surprise crossed her face when she caught me staring. I tried to smirk, to play it off as if I weren’t just reciting all of the reasons I needed this woman to be mine for the rest of our lives, but I couldn’t. I just gave her a smile that told her how in love I truly was with her.
“You’re interrupting us.” The corner of her mouth tipped up while her head still leaned on Vegas.
“That was Estrella. I’ve been standing quietly.” I walked over to start dumping grain scoops into the horses’ buckets. They didn’t deserve the torture of seeing what they wanted right in front of them, just out of reach. I was the only one who should have been struggling with that in this barn. And shewasjust out of reach.
Maggie began to walk to the feed room, but I stopped her. “Nope.”
“What? I was going to help you feed.”
“Nope,” I repeated. “You’re going to sit on that mounting block and look cute for me while I do the work. I brought you out here for a break from your dad, not to help me.”
She raised her brows in question before lowering them and breaking into a sweet, gorgeous smile. She walked over to sit on the mounting block I pointed out and crossed one leg over the other. “This cute enough for you?”
I took a few steps forward and leaned down to kiss her forehead. My hands were still occupied with the grain scoops, soI couldn’t play with the strands of her hair like I wanted to. “You are breathtaking, Maggie Hennicke.”
It was true. Her light-wash jeans and gray polo sweater—which I was pretty sure was mine—trumped any other woman I had ever seen. Maggie was the only woman I would ever see for the rest of my life. I could only pray she felt the same about me.
“Thank you.” Her voice was a bare whisper as her eyes gazed at me through thick lashes.
I finished feeding the horses, then filled their water buckets while they ate. Maggie insisted on helping me turn out the horses to the paddock, claiming it was the least she could do after I won my game today and “did her job.”
We walked the short distance back to the house together, hand-in-hand, as we took in the sunset. I didn’t think I had been anywhere as gorgeous as Wyoming. Reds and oranges and purples filled the sky like an explosion where the sun met the horizon. The bursts of color reflected on the rest of the sky, with small clouds peppering the giant dome above us.
“It’s so beautiful,” my almost-wife breathed as she gazed upward.
Except, I could only look at her. The way her chocolate hair framed her face and tiny brown freckles dusted over her nose. The way her soft lips revealed her white teeth, parting at the view above us. The way she was so appreciative of the little things. I was utterly and irrevocably captivated by this woman.
If this moment could have lasted longer, I would have sold my soul for it, because what we walked into was the polar opposite of the peaceful serendipity outside. Loud music played in the kitchen as the sound of glass breaking drew my attention to the angry drunk beside the kitchen island. And what did you fucking know, he found the overpriced bottle of whiskey that was hidden in the dining cabinet. My blood was past boiling. I was fucking steaming.
“Dad, what the hell?!” Maggie shouted over the loud music. It looked like Richard was pouring whiskey into glasses, finishing them, then dropping them onto the floor. He seethed in an angry rage when he caught my eye. He stomped toward me, and instinctively, I stood in front of my girl.
I knew the punch was coming before I saw it. My left arm grabbed Richard’s wrist and held it above his head. He stabbed me with the pointer finger on his other hand. “You! You knocked up my daughter. You fucked up her life. I am her father, and I am going to make you pay for every damn wrong thing you’ve done in your life.” His words were slurred, but his message was extremely clear:
You’re not good enough for my daughter.
But really, who wasn’t good enough for whom here?
“Richard, I’m sorry for not telling you what happened sooner, and I’m sorry things didn’t turn out how you wanted them to, but this is what happened.” It was damn hard taking the high road, but I wasn’t about to let loose and let Maggie see how much I truly hated her father for doing this to her. “I’ve taken care of your daughter for the last-”
