Cowboy Country (73 page)

Cradling his injured hand, Kip stumbled off of the steps. “This isn’t over, bitch. This is just the beginning.”

“See you in court, asshole.” Luke called cheerfully and shut the door. He turned to find Rebecca pale and shaking.

Alarmed, he moved towards her. “Rebecca, are you all right?”

She shook him off and move towards the kitchen, not saying a word as she pulled a beer from the refrigerator, popped the top and took a long drink. Suddenly she slammed the bottle down and beer exploded from the neck. “I’m fine! He’s such a jerk and I hate him so much! How could I have ever married him? And now he is going to try and get part of my ranch. It’s not fair!”

Luke moved towards her and pulled her into his arms. “No, he’s not. It’s going to be fine. You need to call 911 and file a complaint. He broke several bones in his hand and will have to go to the hospital. Because I was able to restrain myself from pounding him to a bloody pulp, he will be held as the instigator and the attacker. While we’re waiting for the police, I’ll call my attorney and tell them what is going on. By the time Kip gets a court date, we’ll have everything nice and tidy, which judges usually like. He won’t have a leg to stand on.”

She shook her head and started pacing. “I can’t involve you in this. It’s my mess that I need to clean up, not yours. Besides, you’re getting ready to start your tour overseas and need to focus on your career, not have to deal with this mess.”

He gently grabbed her shoulders and stopped her in front of him. “Rebecca, I’m crazy about you and we’ve been talking about a future together so I’m involved in a personal manner. He is also fighting about my song and the contract with you so it involves me professionally too.” He smiled and gave her a peck on the forehead. “You’re stuck with me, kiddo. And don’t worry about my career, that’s why I have amazing attorneys and for what I pay them, they will have this taken care of with little stress to us. What I need you to focus on is getting ready for your performance. It looks incredible and I’m so proud that you chose my song to showcase your passion. You’re truly amazing and I’m honored that I get to be involved.”

She smiled back at him, feeling strength in his words. “I feel so blessed to have you in my life. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Now let’s get these phone calls taken care of so we can enjoy our last night together for a while.”

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

It was after six-thirty by the time the sheriff’s deputy left. She took Rebecca and Luke’s statement and said she’d follow up with the hospital and be in touch. After she left, they both decided that they deserved to have a home-cooked meal but were too tired to prepare anything so after quickly feeding the animals, they drove into town and picked a little mom and pop burger joint. Clark’s burgers offered homemade burgers, fries and shakes. It was a favorite of Rebecca’s, as it was with most of the town. The look on Luke’s face, after he had taken his first bite, told Rebecca he felt the same way. Their burgers were huge, the juice running down the bun as you bit into it, the flavor exploding in your mouth. After they had polished off their burgers and the onion rings they’d shared, Luke sat back and patted his nonexistent belly.

“That was the most amazing burger I’ve ever had and believe me, I’ve had many from all over the world.”

“I’ve always thought they were good but I haven’t had the opportunity to eat at as many places as you.” She laughed. “They raise their own Angus cows and they have their own butcher. Nothing is processed or has hormones. They even grow their own onions with a special greenhouse. You have to have one up here because of the short growing season.”

“Short growing season?” he asked as he drank some of his chocolate shake.

She nodded as she swallowed a bite of onion ring. “We often still have snow in June so unless you have a greenhouse, you can’t depend on your crops. We usually get snow again in October so it’s very short.”

“How cold does it get up here?” he asked incredulously.

“In January, it’s not uncommon to see twenty below zero. If you don’t pick up your stuff from outside before the first snow, chances are you won’t see it again until around May.” she explained.

“How do you deal with that? Doesn’t it drive you nuts being inside all the time?”

She laughed. “I don’t. I have my indoor arena so I can still ride and then snowmobile season kicks in and I do a lot of riding with my mom and dad. Then there is hunting season, which I don’t do anymore, but my Dad still goes out. I’ll admit, come Christmas time, I’m ready to go to Hawaii, though I still haven’t been there.” she trailed off.

“Why haven’t you gone?” He asked.

She was quiet and he could see she was reluctant to answer.

“You can tell me, Rebecca.”

She sighed and shrugged her shoulders. “It just never worked out. I’d checked into packages but something always came up at Kip’s job, and Hawaii doesn’t seem like the place to go alone, so I never booked anything.”

“What about this year?”

“Yeah, maybe I’ll treat myself.” she smiled whimsically.

“What if we were to go, together?”

“Us?” she asked, surprised. “But you’ll be overseas with your concerts.”

“I’ll be done December thirteenth. I can meet you in L.A. by the sixteenth and we can fly together to Hawaii. Better yet, why don’t we take a cruise from Los Angeles to one of the islands? It will allow us to see the ocean, relax and take in some sun.” he grinned.

“Wow, really? That sounds incredible. But what about Kip?”

Luke waved his hand like he was swatting away an irritating gnat. “That should be wrapped up before your performance. My attorneys are already on it and know they need to have this settled before you and Othello do your thing. You’re show is October twenty-eighth, right? It will be done by then.”

She felt her heart skip a beat, pleased that he knew when her competition was scheduled. “Yes, I’ll be driving out to Kentucky on October twenty-second so that we are rested for our ride on the twenty-eighth.”

“See? The timing will be perfect. You can blow the competition away on the twenty-eighth, have time to get back and make arrangements for someone to watch over your ranch, spend Thanksgiving with your family and be in Los Angeles by December sixteenth. It’s perfect.”

Unable to see any flaws in his plan, she sat back and absently took a drink of her shake.

Feeling pleased that she wasn’t arguing, he cleaned up their wrappers and threw them away before coming back and holding out his hand.

“Shall we go? I still have plans for you before I have to leave. My car will be at your place by eleven p.m.”

Placing her hand in his, they walked out of the restaurant, neither one of them noticing the looks that the other patrons gave them.

***

She stood on the porch, watching the taillights disappear down her road. She felt excitement and disappointment all at the same time. Excitement for the plans they had made, sorrow with the knowledge that she wouldn’t see him for several months. They were both extremely busy with their hectic schedules and she knew the days would go fast but she dreaded the nights. The nights would cause problems for her. Nights were when she fought her insecurities and her loneliness.

Her whole life she’d been taught to control as many aspects in her life as she could and here she was, at the most vulnerable time, completely out of control. Luke’s attorneys were handling the pending lawsuit with Kip, which, as Luke had predicted, had been filed against her
and
Grayson. She had control of how well prepared they were for her freestyle dressage competition but she had no control over how well received she would be with the judges and spectators. She had no control over how soon she would see Luke again.

She leaned on Megan during this time, bribing her by making supper for her and the kids and Megan was sweet enough to agree. They talked about Rebecca and Luke’s upcoming cruise, what they had talked about and the future plans they had tentatively talked about. Megan was furious when she heard about Kip’s visit and suggested that Rebecca allow Luke to have him taken out next time. They both laughed at that and as the kids ran over and around the hay bales, Rebecca felt some semblance of control and peace.

She was able to talk with Luke every week, staying up late or waking early because of the time difference but she enjoyed every time they talked. He described the country he was in and told her of various restaurants or shops that they would have to visit when they had a chance to go there together. He was always asking about Othello and Chance and making sure the ranch was functioning well. He quizzed her on her day and she often worried that she would bore him with her routine but he always sounded interested and asked endless questions.

She had several regional shows that she went to and showed in, placing first in all but one of them. The show in Arizona they placed second when Othello felt frisky as a mare in heat caught his attention and he decided not to focus on his routine. Instead, he pranced and whinnied, acting like a two-year-old colt.

Luke laughed when she giggled, telling of Othello’s antics. Everyone, including horses, had their days of just being goofs and Othello was no different. He was a young stallion in his prime. Luke asked if they’d performed to his song and she told him no. She wanted to save it for the world championship, to keep it new and fresh, but also because of the litigation. Until Kip’s lawsuit was settled, she didn’t want to give him any more ammunition.

Luke was understanding and supportive and she wished that he was there. To be able to feel his strong arms around her would give her strength but she was content to hear his words of reassurance. All good things come to those who wait, she reminded herself.

It was mid-September as she drove back from another show and her thoughts were mixed between getting home and when she and Luke would talk again. He would be calling her tomorrow night and she was excited to tell him everything that had happened. Not only had she taken first place at another show, she had five bookings for breedings to Othello this coming spring, at the estimated stud fee of ten thousand dollars per mare, if they won the championships. Rumors had been flying around the show grounds that they were the public’s favorite to win and people were eager to book their mares to her now, before she closed the books on next year’s breading season.

Though she’d only had a few hours of sleep and a full day on the road, she felt exhilarated and excited as she turned onto her road. Those feelings crashed to the ground as her headlights swept across a familiar vehicle parked in front of her house. Kip was sitting on her porch.

She parked her truck and trailer, Othello calling out to his barn mates, excited to be home. She didn’t acknowledge Kip, quietly unloading her horse and releasing him into his paddock. Knowing the other horses had already been fed, she only fed Othello, sliding his stall door shut, turning and giving a yelp as she ran right into her ex-husband.

He stood there, his face blank and unshaven. His bloodshot eyes stared at her and then the smell of alcohol assaulted her nose. She put her hand up to her face and took a step back, running into Othello’s closed stall door.

“Kip. What are you doing here? You look horrible.”

“You know, I gave you everything. My program at cost, paid half of the mortgage every month while I was here, told you I was sorry when I messed up with Tiffany but
none
of it was good enough for you. I didn’t even fight for
rights
to this place, just handed it all over and you’re still spitting in my face.”

Rebecca felt her anger flare up and was unable to hold her tongue. “I
owned
this place long before I met you. You paid
rent
, your half of the utilities but you never helped me take care of the land, the horses, hell, you never even helped clean the house! You were always at the office, this was a place for you to freshen up. For all I know, there were other women and Tiffany was just another toy!”

He took a stumbling step towards her, anger filling his face. “They meant nothing to me, just an outlet. If you hadn’t been such a frigid witch I wouldn’t have strayed, so
you
did that, not me.”

She felt along the stall wall, searching for something to defend herself with, seeing the madness in his eyes. “Kip, you’re drunk and you’re not well.” she tried to sooth. “You need to go sleep it off. You’ll feel better in the morning.”

Kip’s bloodshot eyes got wider. “You did this to me. Grayson has more money than a king and all I ask is just a small portion, just the cost of a night on the town as far as Grayson is concerned, and you’re fighting it. I deserve it, I earned it and you’re going to get him to pay. I’ll
make
you see my way.”

He lunged for her, grabbing her arms and she felt her body being crushed against the stall wall. She brought her knee up instinctively and heard him grunt as she caught his inner thigh, inches away from her intended target.

“You selfish
witch
!” he screamed, lunging for her again.

She side-stepped, knowing that if he got a hold of her again, she wouldn’t live to see the morning. She stumbled and when she reached out to gain purchase on something, she felt the leather nub leaning against the wall. She grabbed it and swung the leather riding crop around, cracking it against the side of his neck. Even with the numbing effects of the alcohol, Kip cried out in pain, stumbling back.

They both stood there looking at each other in shock. Rebecca stood there shaking, never having hit another human being before, Kip surprised that she had. There was a long, red and angry welt where the whip had caught him and she felt a little stronger. She stood up straighter and holding the whip like she was a batter at a baseball game, ready to swing away.

“Before things get out of hand, you need to leave
now
and never come back. Do you understand, Kip? I can have you on trespassing and assault. You’re going to get off my land and you’re going to drop the lawsuit. This is
over.
”