“If I did that, he’d have ammo in court, and he’d miss jail time being in hospital. I don’t want him to have any comforts, and the hospital has an oath they stick to, so he’d have gotten some while he was in there.”
“Let his cellmates deal with him. He’s such a pissant they’ll work him over quickly.”
“Aw man, I missed the fun,” my brother, Webb, said from the entrance to the stables, pouting dramatically. “I thought you guys loved me.”
Accepting the hug and back thump from him that followed, I caught him up with everything we’d found out, and then listened as Jesse told us about the fun he’d had with the tools on the table before we’d gotten there. He’d also introduced himself as Dexter as he held the tools up one-by-one, so that explained Skull’s reluctance to take the blame for what’d happened.
Knowing what Gus said before all of this was right, I blew out a breath. “We know who hurt Hayes now, too. Did you ever think Marni was capable of that?”
Gus shook his head. “Nope, but I also didn’t think she was capable of a lot of the shit she’s pulled, including burning her damn cabin down.”
Fuck, that was something else that needed to be dealt with. I just couldn’t give it my attention right now. “How bad is it?”
“Gone. Foundations are still there, but her stove was a propane one, and she set the fire near it, so the tank went up.”
“Was there any damage to the large cabin y’all stay in or Santana’s place?”
“Not a bit. Santana also managed to bring the horses in herself because they were out in the field in front when it happened.”
That shocked me. “She did it herself?”
Our horses were large and loved to roam in open spaces. Their favorite spot was in front of the ranch hands’ cabin and Santana’s small one, more than likely because she gave them carrots and apples whenever they were there. But her bringing them all in by herself? That was impressive.
“Yup. She used her truck to do it.” He started chuckling, making my eyes narrow.
“What? Out of all the shit that’s happened today, what’s there to laugh about?”
Joining us, Devon knew what Gus was laughing about and filled me in when his friend let go of his hold on his laughter, and it began bellowing out of him.
“Santana panicked, so she tied wool to knitting needles, stabbed them through apples, wrapped some string around carrots, and then attached all of it to the back of her truck and put her foot on the gas. They all ran after her and away from the fire until she stopped.”
I couldn’t help it. For the first time in what felt like forever, loud laughter burst out of me. That was a genius idea that saved the horses from injury and stopped them from having long-term issues behaviorally. Like humans, they could suffer from PTSD and trauma associated problems easily.
Just then, the woman herself jogged into the stables and knew immediately when she saw me laughing what’d happened.
Putting her hands on her hips, she glared at me. “It’s not funny! I couldn’t think of a way to get them back here and away from it. I’d just bought all that stuff online, so it was right there.”
Swooping her up in a hug that made a squeak come out of her, Devon kissed her on the cheek and then dropped her back down.
“You’re a genius, Tana.”
Sighing, she rolled her eyes and looked around the room, searching for something. When she didn’t find it, she turned back to me.
“Mrs. Valtolina rang. She says Addy’s awake and asking for you.”
Like they were magic words, my humor fled, and I was running toward my truck.
I’d decided on my ride back here from the hospital that I was going to take Addy away for a week, just her and me on my bike. I loved my truck, but I loved my Harley more. I’d given it hours of my time fixing it up, and now she was like an extension of me—one I didn’t get to use that often.
I needed to change that, and I was certain Addy would love it.
Now that I’d lost her for the second time and gotten her back, I was making plans for lots of things. Mini vacations, long vacations, date nights, our living arrangements, and our lives together. I’d made plans before, but now I was amping them up to significant levels.
I loved her, and I’d loved her since the first time I’d seen her. That love had just grown over time, so that I recognized what it was now. I had zero doubts in my mind that she felt the same way, and if it hadn’t happened that first night for her like it had for me, I didn’t care. I had her love now, and that’s all that mattered.