Dakota Love Me: Tiller Brothers Book 2 (17 page)

“Here, Here!” everyone shouted. 

Dakota knew Cody wanted to give him and Georgia their special time, but he had already asked him if he could also make a special announcement.

“Well,” Cody announced, “I’d like to add to the joy of this day; Tammy and I are having a baby in eight month.”  Cody hugged Tammy and just beamed with happiness.

That news made this one of the best Christmases he could ever remember.  Of course, he wished his father and Georgia’s mother were here for the celebration, but he was convinced they were indeed there in spirit.

Everyone had decided they wanted to see Dakota compete in Denver.  So they were all sitting together in the bleachers.   Georgia had been quite stressed out since the beginning rounds as several of the cowboys had received bad injuries enough to have them carried off the stadium dirt floor.  One with a busted arm, another had a gore to the leg, and a third one with a bad sprained ankle.  The last one tried to walk it off, but he couldn’t put any weight on his foot.  Then one of the bulls had been so angry that it has lunged it’s back hide quarters sending one of its wild legs high over the fence connecting with another bull rider who was trying to help keep the bull under control.  He had flown back into the ground.  From where she was sitting, she couldn’t see if he had been badly hurt.

Georgia had barely made it through Dakota’s ride.  He had managed to hold on for the eight seconds before he flew and smashed his hurt shoulder into the ground, and he had received a seventy-eight score.  He jumped up and just briefly held his elbow.  Damn why were bull-riders so macho and so afraid to show their pain.  He pushed Dr. Witting away and walked off on his own accord.

Dakota had made the finals, and Georgia wanted to cry.  She wished he’d not made the finals, worried that the shoulder that held his hand in the air would make him off balance.  He was too stubborn not to ride though.  He’d rub a little dirt into it, as he had told her a million times.  Bull-riders knew how to handle pain.  The pain was part of the price for all the glory. 
Glory be damned
, she had yelled at him in her mind.

He always told her he would know when he couldn’t ride anymore.  Oh stupid man. 

She was near a panic attack, and decided she needed to take her mind off the final round which was coming up.  Turning to Jenny, she asked her something that had been bothering her since the engagement.  “Jenny, I know Tammy got your mother’s heirloom pearls she had worn at her wedding, and I had gotten her engagement ring but I’m feeling guilty that it should have gone to you.”

Jenny laughed and took Georgia’s hand, “Jared is too proud not to buy me a ring on his own.  He has fought too hard in life to be his own man and not be like his father.  Buying my ring, which I love, was like the first step to his independence.  Kind of hard to explain, but I knew why he wanted to give me a ring of his choosing.  I got to wear my mother’s wedding dress and we got the crystal glasses she used for her wedding and that they used every year to celebrate their wedding anniversary.  I am so happy for you and Dakota.  The ring is perfect for you, and what Dakota didn’t tell you was that it was also his grandmother’s ring.  Very special.”

“Sometimes I don’t feel like I deserve it.  I’ve tried so hard to accept his bull-riding, but I’m close to losing it tonight.  If he gets hurt I will just die.”

She shook her head. “I know the inherent risks that come with bull-riding.  I was so glad that Jared gave up being a bull-rider to become a full time rancher with me.  I wish I could tell you that Dakota was at that stage, I just don’t know.  You saw the joy he had in the picture you took of him.  Believe me, you are more important to him than the bulls, but bull-riding is in his blood.  I wish he’d quit before he gets hurt and the injuries cause him to stop before he’s ready.  But he has to do it on his own time or he might resent you for making him give it up.  Am I making any sense?”

“Unfortunately, yes.  I’m scared to death, Jenny.  I don’t know if I can take this.  Maybe I should just let him do his thing and when it’s out of his system, he can come back to me.”

“Now Georgia, don’t think that way.”

“Jenny you just don’t understand the depth of my fear.”

Just then the final round began.  Jenny held her hand, offering her comfort and support.

The first rider didn’t make it two seconds out of the chute and was thrown to the ground only to land on his butt before he scurried off.  Dakota was next.  Georgia had a terrible foreboding feeling that things were going to go bad.  It seemed to be taking longer than normal for Dakota to get the grip he wanted and the bull kept banging against his leg.  It took three other bull-riders to push the bull off Dakota’s leg.

She didn’t think she could breathe and thought she might pass out.  Why was he doing this to himself?  It wasn’t worth the risk.  He could barely put his hand above his head telling her how much pain he was already in.  They’d probably had to put it back into place at the Sport’s Center.  God she was glad she was no longer working there.

Finally, they pulled the ropes and the gate flew open.  As the bull exited it reared back and Dakota slammed into the bull’s hump.  His head whipped back.  Even with the safety vests, she could see him trying to take a breath, barely able to keep his arm in the air.  Then the bull spun around in a tight circle several times too close to the gate, and Dakota was thrown head first into fence.  Somehow the bull fighters had gotten the bull away, but not before he had gored Dakota near his neck.  Georgia’s eyes had gone blank.  All she could see was how Dakota’s body had slumped down to the ground like a rag doll and blood pouring out of his body.  She passed out.

When she came to, she was in a little room in the hospital.  Her dad and Dakota’s mom were both holding her hand.  Cameron was pacing the room.

She sat up, “Where’s Dakota?”  She started crying as she tried to get out of bed. 

Justin grabbed her shoulders and laid her gently back down.  “He’s in surgery.  We’re all waiting for the doctors to come tell us how he’s doing.”

She felt almost comatose.  She knew her voice sounded flat.  Dead.

“Is he going to be alright?”  She blinked back tears.

“We’re praying little girl, we’re praying.  We know he’s in a coma.  Swelling in his brain.”

She cried out.  She couldn’t take it anymore and she started sobbing.  Gut-wrenching screams came out of her mouth, but it didn’t feel like it was her.  It was like she was watching someone else have a break down.
God, not like mom
.  No more. She was done.  Checked out.  He could take his bull-riding and if he recovered she was running as fast as she could away from this pain.

After a long period, the tears had finally dried up and she wanted to get out of the room they had her resting in.  She walked with her dad and Cameron on each side of her as they walked into the waiting room.  Everyone came over and hugged her.  All their eyes were as red as hers were.  Jenny was so upset she couldn’t talk.

Cody was holding Tammy.  Cameron sat by Georgia and held her hand.  “He’s tough, you know.  He’ll be alright,” she believed him and it only cemented in her mind what she was going to have to do.

After three hours of surgery, he was finally wheeled into ICU.  Only a few people at a time could see him.   He was still unconscious.  Georgia told everyone else to go see him.  She didn’t want to watch him die like her mother had died.  They remained in the waiting room for twenty-four hours, each taking little breaks except Georgia.  She had sat gripping the arms of the chair stress seeping out of her in waves.

Dear Lord let him live and I promise I’ll give him the freedom to do what he loves doing
.  She knew he’d be back on a bull again, only next time she wouldn’t be with him.  She knew she was a coward but as soon as he was conscious she was running away.  She just had to get out of there.

The next day, they had told them the swelling in his brain was sufficiently and safely down enough that they were going to take him off the medicine that had kept him in a coma.  The area by his right clavicle had been sewed with twenty-two stitches and didn’t look to be infected.  Tests and scat scans had revealed he hadn’t broken his back.  Small miracle, they had told her.  He had needed a blood transfusion and all his brothers with the same type of blood type had donated their blood.  She could only sit and shake.  She hadn’t eaten and didn’t want to talk to anyone.

Finally he had woken and was asking for Georgia.  For the first time, she went into the room and held his hand.  She leaned down and kissed his forehead.  His eyes opened enough to see it was Georgia and he studied her for a long time before his eyes closed.

The doctors assured her and the others that he was going to have a full recovery.  After hearing that, which was all she had been waiting for she asked Cameron to go out with her into the hall.  He looked worried.

“Darling, he’s going to be okay,” he whispered to her.

“I know and that’s what I have been waiting for.  She removed her engagement ring and took his hand and put the ring into it.  “Please give this to him and tell him I’ll always love him and I’m sorry.  I just can’t go through this again.  Not again!” She said her voice sounded dull, emotionless.

Cameron held her, “Wait and talk to him again, he’s going to be okay.  Don’t run from him.  You’ll break his heart.”

“I’m so sorry, I can’t.  I just can’t.”  Her limit for pain had come and she couldn’t hide from the pain anymore.  She stepped back and ran down the hall.

“Georgia,” he yelled at her and started after her, but she had slipped into the elevator.

All she knew was that she was going to get as far away from the pain as possible even if it meant checking into a mental hospital.

Staggering into the parking lot, she was running and not paying attention to anyone.  Suddenly a vehicle screeched to a stop beside her, a door was flung open and she was yanked into the truck.

***

“Finally, at last.  It’s been a long wait.  Revenge is going to be so sweet.”  Sharon cackled.

When Dakota woke and saw all his family gathered in the room looking gloomy, he knew.

“She’s gone, isn’t she?”

Cameron grabbed his arm.  “I think she was in too much mental pain.  She said she loved you and she’d never forget you.  She said something about not being able to go through the pain again. I told her you were going to be alright but she was out of it.  She was white as a sheet and her eyes were void of emotion.  She gave the ring back.  I have it.  You can give it back to her later.”

“I knew it.  When I woke earlier, I saw it in her eyes,” he looked and found Justin slumped next to the bed.   “She’s reliving her mom dying isn’t she?”

“I’m afraid so.  Plus Jenny said she was almost out of it because of the bulls.  I’m sure she was remembering her near misses with death.  We’re trying to find her now.  We’ve got the police looking for her, although honestly they aren’t taking it very seriously because she’s only been gone for six hours.”

Just then Cody entered the room, “They’re taking it seriously now, I had the hospital security recheck the film to see which way she went.”

Dakota closed his eyes.  He knew it wasn’t good news before Cody told him.  “Sharon got her didn’t she?”

“Damn, I think it was her.  They could see two people in the truck, one male and one female before they hauled her in and sped off.”

Justin stumbled backwards and Matt and Cameron caught him.  “Oh my baby.”

Dakota sat up gingerly in bed and tore out his IV needles, shaking, and sweating from the effort he staggered to get out of bed.

Everyone tried to get him to stay down.

“Do. Not. Touch. Me! I’m going after the woman I love,” his voice was loud and determined.  He didn’t care he’d just had surgery to repair his shoulder and his head was splitting. The pain actually helped propel him out of the bed, albeit quaking like a man with a concession and one who had just had a blood transfusion the day before, but he got up.  He reached for Cody’s arm and gripped it tightly.  “Let’s go.  I want to see the film first.”

Dakota knew that Cody would understand the desire to push his limits of pain to go after his woman.  He had done the same for Tammy.  Cody grabbed him under his arms and helped him get dressed. 

Dakota turned to Matt, “Can you take Mom and Justin to the hotel?  After we meet with the police, we’ll ask them to call in the FBI and we’ll meet at the hotel.  Sharon will be calling or texting like she has done the last few months.  I know it, and when she calls, I want us all to be prepared to take action.  Justin if you need to call your bank to give them a head’s up on the money we’re going to need, call them, and I’ll call my bank.  Together we should be able to come up with any amount of money she demands.”

After seeing the video and speaking with both the police and FBI telling them everything they could about Sharon, they finally made their way to the hotel room.  Dakota was even angrier, if that was possible, after he had seen how they had manhandled Georgia to get her in the truck.  It had been easy because she looked like the walking dead.  He was sure she had been in the throes of a break down.  He was kicking himself for doing that rodeo. He knew how she hated bulls and he had already planned to give it up for her.  If he hadn’t been so greedy for one more night of fame with the possibility of winning another one, he’d have withdrawn.  How damn hard would it have been for him to withdraw before she witnessed him being in a coma like her mother had been?  Not hard at all.  He had made a huge mistake that could cost him his life which was Georgia. She was cowgirl tough but she was also scarred in her heart and that made her fragile.  He had shattered her into a million pieces.

On the way to the hotel Dakota said to Cody and Cameron, “Jenny told me that she felt guilty because she had told Georgia she didn’t think I was ready to give up bull-riding and if Georgia forced me, I might resent her later on.  But I told her it wasn’t her fault.” 

Cody nodded his head, “She told me the same thing.  I’m glad you realize it wasn’t her fault.” 

“There was a time, I felt that way.  I had planned to ride until I was too old and decrepit to walk, but in December I had decided that all I needed was Georgia.  If only I had told her, if only I hadn’t had to do one last rodeo. Damn! Damn! Damn!” he hit his good hand on the dashboard.  Cameron, who was sitting in the back seat, put his hand on Dakota’s shoulder.

“Why the fuck does our family have to have two kidnappings?  What are the odds of that?  Hell, we could win the lottery with those kind-of-odds.” Dakota said as he stared out the window. 

As they drove he worried and feared that if Georgia had actually experienced a mental breakdown she wouldn’t have the capacity to fight and survive her captures.  All he could hope for was that Sharon was as greedy as he knew her to be and that whoever was helping her didn’t use Georgia’s body.  That might be the final straw to send his woman into mental oblivion.

***

She was beside herself and so happy.  Not sense her parents had died had she ever felt this gleeful and her laughter kept erupting in the small truck interior.  Luckily, Georgia had passed out and they hadn’t had to drug her.  She looked over at Brad and he had a big smile on his face.  Hopefully he was thinking about the money and not getting his hands on the sweet little Georgia.  She was getting used to having hot sex with him and she wasn’t ready to share.

“We can’t damage the goods just yet.  You’ll have to be satisfied with me.  We need her to wake up and be coherent so she can talk to them when we demand the money.  Right now, she just looks out of it.  I’ll make it good for you when we get back to your ranch.  I have a special sexual treat I have been saving for you.”

He looked at her with interest, and he cocked his eyebrow.  She knew.  He was as big of a pervert as some of the men she had had to deal with in the past and as long as she kept him sexually satisfied she wouldn’t need to stand by and watch little miss shithead get a taste of his cock. 

Already she could imagine the money they were going to get.  She and her son could fly to Mexico or the some island.  If Brad wanted to come, it was fine, but she didn’t need him.  She didn’t need any man.  Hell she hated all men especially Justin Cooper, maybe not as much as she hated her father, but Justin was a close second.  But he was going to pay big to get his precious little daughter back.  She might even keep her alive and send her back scarred and not so pretty any more.  That might be worse than the death she had been planning.  Yes, worth the consideration.  She knew before it was all over, she’d have to let Brad have his way with her.  He had been a good sport and made most of this possible, but she planned to share her body at the same time he took the little princess.  Sex with both of them would be fun and she knew she’d loved to hear Georgia screaming.  She might even let Roy have a go at her.  She’d already initiated him in sex. They’d found a young girl on a street in Chicago who was willing to be paid so she could eat and he’d had his first fuck.  Of course, she had beaten the girl up and taken back the money she had paid for her services and kicked her out of the car.  After all, who was she going to tell?  The cops? 
I’ve been a bad girl selling my body for food and they fucked me and dropped me back on the street
.  This cracked Sharon up again.

“Hurry up Brad.  We need to get to your place in Fort Collins before anyone follows this truck.  Glad you were smart enough to change the plates after we got away from the hospital.  Still couldn’t change the color of the truck so they could still be looking for us.  I’m thinking it’s going to be a while before they discover her gone, but let’s don’t take any chances.”

***

Georgia woke up slowly.  Her mind and body felt numb.  She didn’t have anything to live for and she didn’t even want to open her eyes, to see who had grabbed her. Sharon, probably.  She didn’t care.

Sharon must have been watching her for movement.  Georgia could smell her sickening perfume as she came closer.  Her arm was gripped tightly and Sharon’s fingers pinched her arm painfully.  “Wake up you slut!”

Without opening her eyes, she whispered, “Go to hell Sharon.  You can just go ahead and kill me.  I don’t have any reason to live and I’m not going to cooperate with you, so get your gun and shoot my head off, or strangle me or whatever, I don’t care.” Her voice was so unemotional.

“You bitch.  If you don’t talk to your father on the phone he won’t talk to me.  I already tried.  I grabbed your tits and made you cry out when you were unconscious, but he didn’t believe it was you and he hung up.  I’ve been waiting two damn days for you to wake up.”

Georgia didn’t move.  Didn’t open her eyes.  She didn’t even raise her voice.  “Fuck you Sharon.”

She felt the air before she felt Sharon slap her across the face.  She wouldn’t give in or cry out.  She was done. Done.  If she had any saliva in her mouth, Georgia would have spit at her but she didn’t have the energy or the desire.

“Maybe if I let the frog kiss you and fuck you, you’d work with me.  What do you say Brad?”

Georgia’s eyes flew open.  However, the sunlight hurt her eyes, and she quickly closed them.  Slowly she opened them enough to allow her eyes to get used to the light again and she was looking at the snake.  Brad Smith was grinning like the cat that was about to pounce on a helpless bird.

“Why Brad?  You can’t take one hit from little ole’ me or a cowboy who is the same size as you are?  Haven’t you ever fought anyone and lost before?  I thought you were a piece of crap, but I never pegged you for a coward.”  That wiped the smirking grin off his face.

His hands wrapped around her neck and he squeezed.  She closed her eyes and welcomed the end.  She couldn’t stand the pain in her chest anymore.  She had not only broken her own heart, but she had run like a coward again and she knew deep down she’d broken Dakota’s heart in the process.  But she couldn’t stand by and watch someone else she loved die. She couldn’t.  With no breaths going into her lungs they were shriveling like her soul.  End it! She screamed in her mind.

Suddenly the hands were removed off her neck and her traitorous body sucked in air deep into her lungs.  It wasn’t what she wanted.  She wanted death.  Tears rolled down her eyes; the hurt from her broken heart hurt throughout her whole body.  She hadn’t even felt the pain of his hands.

She heard Brad being slapped.  “Fuck you, Sharon, don’t slap me again.  She deserved it.”

“I said fuck her, not kill her.  We need her to talk to Justin, you idiot.”

“I’m not in the mood right now.  Let’s you and me play that rope game again.”

“So you liked it, did you, pretty boy?” she chuckled.  “Later.  Roy, come over here.”

“Mom I’m not going to fuck her either…she tried to be nice to me when we lived there, even treated me with respect like I was her brother.”  Roy got a slap, too.

“Between the two of you, I think you’re both a couple of pussies.  If I had a cock it would already be jammed up her ass.”

Georgia took that moment to hurl what little food she had left in her stomach on herself.  She’d rolled to her side and was gagging and dry-heaving the acid from her stomach.  More pain.  Was there no end to this pain?  She opened her eyes, as Roy took a rag and was wiping her mouth.  His eyes were filled with pain and sorrow.  “Just talk to your dad so we can let you go.  All she wants is more money.  She’s been poor and broken for most of her life.  Even as her kid, I can see how much she is hurting.  I see the same hurt in your eyes right now, but it’s better to live a fuckin’ no worth life than being dead.  Listen to her, please, Georgia.”

She tried to smile at the kid.  It wasn’t his fault that he had such a messed up mother.   She just didn’t want Sharon to take any more money from her father.  She knew he’d be broken when he found out that they had killed her after they had made the money swap, but Georgia knew there would be no swap.  She would be dead.

“I got an idea.  Brad, come here.”  Georgia looked at them as they talked in quiet voices by the door.  He walked out the door and she heard the truck start up.  Georgia was too tired to care what they were up to and she fell back into the safe spot in her mind where no one could hurt her.

She woke up with Sharon forcing her to drink water.  Brad was holding her mouth open.  After what she thought was a pint of water, they left her alone for a while.

Her body was betraying her again.  She needed to pee.  Couldn’t she just slip away?  She tried not to squirm but Sharon and Brad noticed.  They ran over to her and sat her on the toilet with both of them holding her.  She couldn’t hold it anymore and started peeing.  Sharon pushed something between her pee-stream and after a few seconds pulled it out gleefully.

Georgia was in too big of a stupor…she didn’t care what they did to her and her head fell lethargically to her chest. 

“Damn, if I wasn’t right.  She’s G-Damn pregnant.  You hear me little miss Georgia you are pregnant with Dakota’s baby.  Do you really want to kill his baby?”

Georgia’s head lifted slowly and her eyes looked at the pregnancy test that was positive.  She bit her lip and cried.  “I’ll talk to him.  Don’t hurt me.  Don’t hurt my baby.”

She couldn’t lose this baby, too.