Chapter Fifteen
MAGGIE
I whirlon my heel as Bennett disappears around the corner. My mind is a mess, fear and fury battling, but the one thing I know is that I can’t let him go. I can’t lose him like this.
Dad’s hand wraps around my bicep before I manage a single step, and he yanks me back around to face him.
“Let me go!” I scream, shoving uselessly at his grip.
Bennett didn’t even look at me before slinking off like a coward, and my heart beats in my throat, threatening to overwhelm me with tears.
“What was the rule?” Dad’s voice is thunderous, echoing off the barn walls as he shakes me by the grip on my arm. “What was my number one rule, Magnolia?”
“Don’t fucking call me that!”
I can’t bear to hear that name from anyone but Bennett.
“I let you walk all over me, gave you free rein, and you’re choking yourself with it!” he yells. “All I asked was that you leave my fucking employees alone!”
I put every ounce of strength I have into pulling free from his hold, biting back tears by sheer force of will. “You haven’t let medo a goddamnthingthat I cared about!” I steadfastly ignore the implication in my own words—I care about this. About Bennett. “You’re the one stifling me, Dad! You make a big deal out of nothing, just because it’s me! You’re doing it right now, you’ve done it my whole fucking life.”
“Because you never think about the consequences! What did you think was going to happen, huh? You and Ben? What, were you going to be a ranch hand’s wife, give up that life in LA you never shut up about?”
“Maybe! What, you think Kenzie marrying Bo was a waste of her potential? What about you and Mom, huh?” I fire back, pain lancing through my chest. “You have no clue what I want!”
“This is what I mean,” he snaps, scoffing at me. “Change your mind on the drop of a hat and just expect everything to go your way.”
“I’m an adult, asshole, and I can change my mind if I fucking want!”
Dad looks about a second away from apoplectic rage, his face red, nostrils flaring, shoulders shaking with the effort of restraining his anger. I want him to blow up. Meet me toe to toe, scream every last bit of our anger into the air.
“You’re not acting like an adult,” Bo says sharply. “You’re acting like a spoiled kid who got her favorite toy taken away.”
I see red at his words. Bennett’s not a fuckingtoy.
“Shut the fuckup!” I scream, whirling on Bo and drilling a finger into his chest. “Don’t act like you’re so fucking smart. You’re only a few years older than me, asshole, you’re just as much of a kid as I am! Dad gave you everything you have, you piece of shit. Why can’t I have the same?”
Dad reaches out to pull me away from Bo, but I turn on him with my teeth bared in a snarl. I feel feral, panic forcing hissed threats from between my teeth as I try to find something to cling to for safety.
“If you try to grab me, you’ll never fucking see me again.” My voice is flat with fury, dark enough that it surprises even me. “Actually, fuck that. You’ll never see me again anyway. I’m leaving. I’m going with Bennett, since he’s capable of treating me like a fucking adult, unlike you. Have fun with your stupid ranch and the kids you actually care about.”
Those last words tear my heart apart on their way out, and the first rush of tears make it past my lash line. I don’t know if they cut him as deep to hear as they cut me to say, but I don’t stick around to find out.
I turn tail and run, blindly rushing out toward the back of the barn where Bennett’s trailer is parked. Dad calls after me, shouting threats and demands for me to come back, but I don’t listen to him.
I can’t, not anymore.
I whip around the edge of the barn, relief slamming into me when Bennett comes into view. He slips his phone into his back pocket, and I wipe the tears from my face with trembling hands. I’ll cry later, but right now I need to have a clear head.
Bennett’s broad shoulders are tight with barely restrained frustration. The tension in his frame doubles when he hears my footsteps.
“I’m leaving,” he snaps, like he’s expecting me to hurry him along.
“Not without me,” I say.
He whirls, a look of surprise flickering across his face. Was he expecting Dad or Bo? Did he think I’d really just let him leave like this?
“Magnolia.” His face falls into a harsh frown, and I surge forward to snatch his wrists in my hands before he can turn away again. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
