The first thing I noticed when we got up to the barn, or rather what was left of it, was part of a sign that was all burnt up and layin’ right in front of where my office used to be. It was almost completely incinerated...all ya could read was “WA”. That sign had read “WALKER RANCH” and had been hangin in that spot since I was a kid. Hell, since my dad was a kid. I felt a tear rearin’ it’s ugly head. Like hell was I gonna cry in front of Larry. I had to cowboy up. “I’m goin’ in.” Larry nodded and I crunched through the burnt up rubble of what used to be my barn.
This past week Larry and the other farmhands had worked with a local vet to appropriately dispose of all of the animals. I couldn’t be a part of that. I was so thankful to Larry for takin’ care of that for me.
The fire had pretty much gutted the entire barn. There were remnants of things that looked kinda familiar. But this wasn’t the Walker barn anymore. This was a burnt up shell of what used to be here. How the hell did this happen? Why would someone want to hurt me and my family? I couldn’t understand what the hell I had done to deserve this. I didn’t think I ever would.
As I was walkin’ through the rubble, I looked up and saw her hunkered down at the end of the hall that used to lead to the birthin’ stalls. She had her head in her hands and I could see her chest heavin’. She was tore up over this. She had been a part of this ranch for more years than I could remember. We played here as kids and she had worked for my parents after we graduated from high school and for me ever since I took over.
“You alright, hon?” I knelt down by her and covered her hand that was restin’ on her knee.
“Cade, I hadn’t been able to come see it. I didn’t wanna believe how bad it was. How did this happen, Cade? How?”
“I don’t know, Suzy Q. Cord and me are tryin’ to figure it out. The police have been here all week and the only thing they’ve come up with is they can’t say it wasn’t arson. This damn small town’ll take forever to figure it out.”
I clasped her hand and pulled us up to standin’. I couldn’t stand to see her cryin’. I reached over and wiped a tear from her cheek. “Please don’t cry, hon. It’s all gonna be okay. I’ll fix this...I promise.” She was lookin’ up at me with those big ol’ whiskey-colored, puppy dog eyes, when I heard that bastard come into the barn.
“I can’t leave the two of you alone for five fuckin’ minutes without him puttin’ his hands on what’s mine,” Branch snarled at me as he grabbed Suzy Q and pulled her back until she fell into his chest.
Right then, I saw somethin’ in her eyes, somethin’ I hadn’t seen in years...fear. Was she scared of him? Or was she scared that I was gonna beat the shit out of him for his fuckin’ rude ass comment? Either way my girl, I mean Suzy Q, was scared.
“Momma!” Izzy B cried as she ran up and grabbed Suzy Q around the knees. The look of fear was gone and replaced with nothin’ but pure love. She loved that little girl more than life itself. Little Izzy B held a special place in my heart too. I’d never seen a more beautiful little girl. She’d just turned three years old and was the spittin’ image of her momma, except for her big blue eyes. Of course, she had to have Branch’s eyes. How could somethin’ that looked so evil on him, be so beautiful on her? I couldn’t understand it.
“Uncky Cade!” Izzy B yelled as she came over and jumped into my arms. I swung her around while I held her tight in a big bear hug. Branch looked like he was gonna hit me. He hated it that Suzy Q and Izzy B loved me. He couldn’t fuckin’ stand it. I of course loved that it bothered him. He fuckin’ deserved it. He never should’ve been lucky enough to have either one of them. What the hell had he ever done to deserve such beauty?
Every time I saw them together as a family, I thought back to their weddin’ day. I couldn’t think about that right now. It hurt too much. I would never understand how she could’ve married that bastard or stayed with him after she lost the baby.
“So, what’s my girl got goin’ on today?” I asked little Izzy B as I sat her down, tryin’ to keep her out of the mess that was surrounding us.
“Nuttin’,” she answered with a sad little smirk on her face. “I wanted to wide my pony, but Daddy said Sunshine was dead.” She started to cry and I swear to God, Branch smirked. I have never hated anyone as much as I hated that son-of-a-bitch. How the hell could he tell his little girl that her pony was dead? Just like that.
Suzy Q turned around and started walkin’ Branch backward out of the barn. I could tell she was pissed that he had said that to Izzy B.
I picked Izzy B up and walked her out of what was left of the barn. When we got out into the fresh air, I said, “Hon, your daddy was right. Sunshine did die, but Uncle Cade will make sure you get a new pony real soon, ‘kay?” She nodded and wiped her snotty nose on my shirt. God, I loved that kid.
~Chapter 13~
Cade ~
I really didn’t want to do this. I hated to ask people for things. I took care of myself. It was a Walker thing. We didn’t ask anybody for anything because we took care of ourselves. After my parents were killed, all of their money came to me. The ranch had been self-sustainin’ for years so I was able to keep it goin’ without any loans or anything. I always had a little in savings’ to keep me for the future, but with the economy bein’ in the crapper the last few years, that savings’ had shrunk. The insurance money for the barn would cover the rebuild, but it was gonna cost me a lot of money to get the ranch back up to where it had been. I was gonna have to do this as bad as I didn’t want to.
“Mr. Walker?” The short, stout blonde woman from behind the counter asked.
“Yes, ma’am. That’s me.” I stood up and walked toward her.
“Mr. Smith will see you now. Just come around here and I’ll take you back to his office.” She motioned for me to come behind the counter with her. I stepped through the swingin’ half door and followed behind her. I hadn’t been this damn nervous in a long time. I was sweatin’ so bad that I had to take my hat off and wipe my brow.
Shit!
This was ridiculous.
Mr. Smith was a tall, lanky gray-haired gentleman. I would say he was in his late sixties. I’d known him since I was a kid. At one time, he and my dad had been pretty good friends.
“Well, Cade Walker. How the hell are ya son?” he asked as he stood up and held his hand out to me.
“I’ve been better, Mr. Smith,” I replied as I shook his hand and then had a seat in the chair in front of his desk. He had to know I was nervous as shit. I was rubbin’ my hands on my legs and tappin’ my toe.
“Sorry to hear about that, son. I know how much the ranch means to you and your family. I sure do miss your daddy. He was a damn good man.” That made me feel a little bit better. Just mentionin’ my dad brought a smile to my face and made my nerves go down a notch.
“Mr. Smith, I need to apply for a loan. Ya know I’m good for it.”
He was lookin’ down and shufflin’ through some papers on his desk. “I’d love to help you out, Cade, but times are tough. We’ve not been doin’ near as many loans as we normally do. The economy’s went to hell in a hand basket.”
“Sir, I wouldn’t ask if I had another choice. I lost most of my herd in the fire. The insurance money ain’t gonna cover the replacement of the herd and the barn. I need this damn loan.” I was tryin’ real hard not to come off as hateful, but I was havin’ a hell of a time. This man was holdin’ my future in his hands.
“Like I said, son, I’d love to help ya, but I just don’t think we can right now. Unless…”
“Unless, what?” I asked.
“We might be able to help you out a little bit. But I’m not sure you’d be willin’ to do what I’d need you to do.”
“What exactly would ya need me to do?” I was confused as shit. What could he possibly ask of me?
“Well, I might be able to give you a short term loan. We could loan you the money you're askin’ for, with the provision that you would pay us back in full within a year, or we would take the rights to Walker Ranch. Our bank president is a bit of a gambler. I think this is a deal he’d be willin’ to take on.”
What the hell? I couldn’t lose the ranch. That was my family’s livelihood. Too many people depended on me to even dream of takin’ that offer.
“Are you kiddin’ me? There is no way I can agree to that deal. Thank ya for your time,” I grumbled as I stood up and started to head out of his office.
“Let me know if you change your mind, son. Never close the door on a deal. You never know when it might start lookin’ like the best damn option.”
What bullshit. There was no way in hell I would gamble on my family like that. I’d just have to figure out some other way to rebuild.
~~*~*~~
I smiled when I pulled into the parking lot of the diner and saw a familiar face sittin’ at a table inside. Suzy Q was alone and before I even got to her table I knew exactly what was on her plate: a huge cheeseburger with fries and ketchup mixed with mayo to dip them in. Sure enough, that was exactly what was on her plate.
She smiled briefly when she saw me, then her face fell when her eyes darted over to where the bathrooms were. I started to pull out a chair at her table and she shook her head no.
“I can’t sit with my friend and grab a bite to eat?” I asked as I scooted the chair back to the table.
“Sorry, Cade. I’m not alone. Branch is in the bathroom. He’ll be back soon.” Of course he was with her. He was her husband after all.
I pulled the chair out and plopped down. Grabbin’ a fry from her plate and slidin’ it through her ketchup/mayo dip, I smiled. “Surely, he won’t mind if I just have a fry with his wife.”
She looked like she was about to puke. I couldn’t understand the hold he had over her. It was like when they got married, he bought and paid for her. She wasn’t allowed to be my friend, unless we were at work, and he even tried to screw that up. He’d visit her every day or make her come to his office in town to eat lunch. I hated that bastard and the control he had over her.
“Well, look at that. I can’t even go to the fuckin’ bathroom without you swoopin’ in to attack my wife.” Branch pulled on the back of my chair. I jumped because the jerk tried to dump my ass out of the chair and onto the floor.
“What the hell is wrong with you? I was just sayin’ hello to a friend.” I flew up out of the chair and got up in his face.
“Wanna take this outside,
cowboy
?” He asked as he shoved me in the shoulder. I turned to go outside when Suzanna caught my arm.
“Please don’t do this. Please.” She was beggin’ and I could tell by the look in her eyes that she was scared of the outcome. I knew she wasn’t scared for me, because I would kick Branch’s ass, so she must be scared for
him
? She didn’t want me to hurt
him
? Really? I would never understand how in the hell she loved that man, but she did and that was that.
“You know what, Mr. Johnson? You ain’t worth breaking a sweat over. So why don’t you get back to lunch with my Suzy Q…oh, I mean your wife.” I laughed, “I’ll see ya at work, Suzy Q.”
I headed out to my truck. There was no need to look back, because Branch Johnson was nothin’ but talk. He was one of those guys that would threaten to kick your ass and then retreat with his tail between his legs when the fight started. There was nothin’ about him that scared me, but I was pretty sure I scared the hell outta him.
Suzanna~
“I didn’t ask him to sit down.” I was trying to calm Branch down. He was so angry with me after Cade left the diner.
“You didn’t ask him to leave though, did ya?” He sneered as he squeezed my arm and pulled me out to the truck. He pulled open the door and roughly pushed me inside. I knew what was coming. I always knew when he was about to flip out on me.
He climbed up into the truck and gunned the engine. “I need to get back to work, Branch. We can talk about this when I get home tonight, okay?”
“You really think I’m gonna take you back to the ranch? No way in hell. We’re goin’ home. I’m gonna spend the afternoon inside my wife.” The thought of that made me sick. We hadn’t had sex in months. We had only had sex a few times since Isabella was born.
“Branch you don’t have to do this. I know - I’m your wife. You don’t have to prove anything. Please just take me back to work.”
He grabbed a fistful of my hair and pulled my head down to his crotch. “Suck me. NOW!” he yelled as I started to unzip his pants. I was trying so hard to turn off the feelings like I did all the time. I could do this. If I did this, he would take me back to work and maybe he would forget about what happened at the diner.
I pulled his cock out of his pants and wrapped my hand around it. I stroked up and down and ran my tongue along his length. I couldn’t help it…I couldn’t quit crying. This wasn’t the first time he’d forced me to do this. I should’ve been used to it by now. I sucked and stroked as he kept pulling my hair and pushing my head up and down on his lap. He finally came deep in my throat.
He let go of my hair so that I could zip his pants and then I noticed we had pulled down a dirt road on the way to the ranch. I hadn’t even noticed we’d pulled over until I sat up.
“Do you still want him to fuck you? You do know that he’s fucked every pussy in this town and the outlying areas? You realize that, right?” Branch asked.
“I’m married to you, Branch. I’m all yours. I’ll always be yours. You don’t have to worry about Cade. I don’t want him,” I lied.
Branch grabbed me by the back of the head and pulled my lips to his. He kissed me so hard, it hurt. He slammed his tongue into my mouth until I gagged. He yanked my head back by my hair.
“You are such a fuckin’ liar,” he sneered.
I stared at him not knowing how to respond. I was lying. I did want Cade, but I wouldn’t do anything about it, because I was married to Branch. My life was set in stone. This was how it was supposed to be.
Branch drove me to the ranch and told me he’d be home late tonight. Thank goodness he was going out. He wouldn’t need anything else from me tonight. He’d go get what he needed from some skank at the bar.