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I let that man take my virginity. I let myself become charmed by him and trusted him with my body, all the while he knew that he practically destroyed all of my father’s hard work and had the audacity to try and buy this land. Him staking his “claim” and marching around like he owns my body and this town stops today. I’m going over to his ranch and giving him a piece of my mind. I won’t disgrace my father all because of some rugged cowboy with sapphire eyes.
I run through the house and grab the keys to the truck, slamming the door behind me as I run to the truck and start it up. The drive to Brooks Ranch is not far, since its expansion has brought it nearly a mile away from my dad’s fucking ranch, another piece in the fucked-up puzzle that I’m starting to solve. It only makes me angrier. With each push on the gas pedal, my body is becoming fueled with rage as I fly into the driveway of Ezra and Hunter Brooks, Hunter standing nearby, herding some of the cattle.
I don’t even kill the engine, I just hop out of the truck and slam the door before I march towards Hunter with my braid blowing behind me, steam blowing out of my ears at this point.
“You son of a bitch!” I scream, reaching him and jamming a finger into his hard chest as he hops the fence.
He’s got nearly an entire foot on me, both his strength and height are enough to intimidate anyone, but not me. No, today I have half a mind to punch this thieving asshole right in his perfectly sculpted jaw.
“Easy there, Red, you’ll scare the cows,” he snorts, pissing me off even more as I shove him, but he doesn’t so much as budge.
“You smug bastard! How dare you!” I holler, not letting up even as Ezra leaves the house, marching down the porch steps with the door swinging behind him.
“Woah there, what’s the trouble Ms. Bailey? Something we can help you with?” Ezra asks coolly, a toothpick hanging from his mouth as he tips his hat to me.
Old son of a bitch.
“Oh, fuck off you bag of bones! I’m here to tell you that if either one of you so much as look at my father’s land again, I’ll have this little business of yours sold out to a bank within minutes. I’m a city girl with lots of buyers in my back pockets and I have no issue putting you into debt and having them build factories on this sorry excuse of a ranch,” I hiss, seething as both men eye me carefully.
Hunter steps forward, his eyes dark as they roam over every inch of my body.
“I can assure you, Ali, nothing about this business is little, which I’m sure you know by now,” he drawls, his voice thick with lazy desire as he looks me up and down.
“Oh, go to hell! I mean it, if either of you come near me or my property, I’ll have Earl put a bullet in your head faster than you can blink. I have half a mind to do it myself right now,” I say as Ezra glares at me, stepping forward to clap a hand on Hunter’s shoulder.
“Awfully bold of you, trespassing on our property making threats like that. Would you mind if I call the sheriff over? I’m sure Dave would have a lot of fun with you,” Ezra says, and for a split second, I see Hunter’s eyes darken as they snap to his father’s before locking with mine once more.
I start walking back on my heels, glaring at them as I spit more of my fury at them.
“It’s a promise, not a threat, sir. Don’t make me fulfill it,” I say, eyeing Hunter once more before I turn on my heels and drive out of there like a bat out of Hell.
When I arrived back at the house, I couldn't help but think if there was a fleeting look of remorse in Hunter’s eyes before I turned away. Not that it would matter. From here on out, Hunter Brooks and his father are dead to me and I’m saving my father’s ranch from their greedy fingers and the hands of anyone else who tries to touch it.
It’s mine now.
22
I step inside,my head pounding from the new migraine that’s formed. When I throw my keys on the table in the entryway, I hear voices coming from the kitchen. Everyone must be back from breakfast and now is the perfect time to tell them about my plans for the ranch, since I’m fueled by betrayal and determination to completely ruin Hunter Brooks and his business.
I walk in the kitchen, and everyone stops their conversations when they see me, all eyes trained on me. My mom, Claire and Earl are here. The rest of the staff are already at work. Marley is on call now since the office is up and running. I have a fleeting moment of worry about needing to get more staff for both here and the office, but it passes when I lock eyes with my mother, who’s clearly still pissed at me.
I brew myself a fresh cup of tea, not looking at them as I busy myself.
“Did you sleep well?” Claire asks, breaking the uncomfortable silence.
It’s not uncomfortable for me. The only discomfort I have is in my stomach since I’m constantly plagued by the memory of Hunter taking my virginity against my truck.
I pour hot water into my mug, taking my tea to the counter as I lean over it, staring at them all when I speak.
“I paid Hunter and Ezra Brooks a visit today.” Claire and Earl’s eyes widen, but my mom says nothing, just continues to glare at me.
“Plan another date with the boy?” she asks, her voice laced with venom as I scoff at her.
“No, but I did tell them I’d have Earl shoot the both of them if they came near me or the ranch again,” I say, and all of their eyebrows raise.
“Ali-” Claire starts, but I cut her off.
“I’m not going to lie to you all, so my first bit of honesty is that I’ve been keeping more from you than just seeing Hunter Brooks,” I say, blowing on my tea carefully as they eye me.
