Wild Card (North Ridge #1)

“What do you mean?”

“I was there for a minute, you know,” he says, giving me a steady look. “Saw you and Rachel dancing like it was old times.”

“We were just dancing,” I tell him, looking off toward the crop of alder and birch where our land meets the lake. Waylon Jennings plays in my head.

“Uh huh. That’s not what it looked like to me. You know, man, you and Fox are exactly the same.”

That brings a sharp look out of me. “What do you mean?”

Mav looks at me like I’m dumb. “You and Rachel, Fox and Delilah. Two sets of couples that should just shut the fuck up and admit that they love each other already.”

“Fox is in love with Del?”

“Don’t change the subject. I knew you never got over Rachel. I didn’t see how you could, to be honest. And I never believed for a second that you willingly broke up with her. The Shane I know would never do that to her. Especially in front of everyone like that. You were fucking vicious, man, and that’s not you.”

I stiffen, hating that I’ve had to keep reliving that moment so much lately.

“What happened?” he asks, his voice lower. “Look, I get it. Water under the bridge, maybe. But it’s something no one has ever understood, especially Rachel.”

“She understands now,” I tell him, looking him square in the eye. “Last night I told her.”

“Told her what?”

It’s not my place to say but since the truth has been coming out…

“Errol Waters use to abuse her. Sexually. Emotionally. Physically. He was abusive to Vernalee too.”

Mav’s jaw sets in a hard line. He’s almost as protective over Rachel as I am. “Why am I not fucking surprised,” he seethes quietly.

“Because he’s a fucking piece of shit, disgusting scum on this good green earth. And Rachel dealt with it for years before she finally told me. That night…I wasn’t thinking straight. I couldn’t. I just wanted to murder him and that’s all that I could see, all I could do. If I had just stepped back and took a moment and tried to control myself but…she’s Rachel, you know? I couldn’t let it slide. I had to take matters into my own hands. I was blind with rage. Just fucking blind.”

“What did you do, Shane?”

I take a deep breath and I let it all out. I don’t hold back on anything, just lay the truth bare.

“Holy fuck,” Mav whispers when I’m done. “Why didn’t he just throw you in jail?”

“Because he knew he was at fault. He wanted to keep what he did hidden. He knew that if he pressed charges against me, the town would talk. They’d wonder why I did what I did. Why did good ol’ boy Shane Nelson nearly beat this man to death? The truth would leak out that way, which wouldn’t be a bad thing. But it would be for him. If I told the truth, there might be a trial. A trial might bring out a testimony from Rachel, even Vernalee. There’s a witness too, Zimmer. Sure he kept his mouth shut but under oath? In court? Would he still keep quiet about what he heard? Errol knew that he couldn’t risk it. He wanted everything to be shoved under the rug so things would go on as they always did. He wanted to keep his position of power.”

My heart is still galloping in my chest, making me feel lightheaded under this sun. “And most of all, he knew that breaking Rachel’s heart would be far, far worse. He hated me. Hated her. He wanted the both of us to suffer. And he got what he wanted. His crimes never came to light and I broke up with her and I knew that if I wasn’t ruthless and vicious and cruel to her that she wouldn’t believe it. I couldn’t let her know why I was doing it. So I broke up with her in front of everyone. I humiliated her and I broke my own heart and ruined everything because I had no fucking choice.”

My fists ball, then uncurl. “There hasn’t been a day where I haven’t wished I finished the job, you know. That he got away with it all, then went on to kill that kid and who knows who the hell else in the so-called name of the law. In the end, he fucked himself over but he shouldn’t have even had the choice.”

A solid silence hangs over us, both of us digesting this poison from the past.

“Fuck me. That is some heavy, heavy shit, Shane.” Mav runs his hand down over his face, tugging at his features. “What did she say after you told her this last night?”

I exhale loudly, feeling the frustration roll through me. “She didn’t know what to say. How to handle it. She said she needed time to think. And then she went back into the bar. I got a cab, came back here and finished a bottle of Grandpa’s whisky.”

“Just like old times.”

“Pretty much.”

“I can’t believe you’ve kept that inside all this time. Why didn’t you tell me? Why didn’t you ever tell her?”

“I don’t know. I couldn’t reach Rachel and I guess I thought it didn’t matter. Why bring up the past? What good would it do? And to be honest, even though parts of me wish I killed him, I’m not proud of what I did. I should have gone about it another way, that way I would have never had to break up with Rachel. I just wasn’t thinking. I was young and brash and stupid.”

“With balls of fucking steel.” He slaps me hard on the shoulder. “If I’m ever screwed over by someone, I’m calling you for your own brand of vigilante justice.”

I smirk at him. Maverick is pretty much all muscle. He hangs off the side of cliffs every winter like Stallone in Cliffhanger, risking his life to rescue people. He has no problems dealing with anybody. That said, he often puts himself in situations where extra support may be needed. Confidence is a virtue, being a cocky fucker is another thing entirely.

“Is that Pa?” he suddenly says, squinting in the sun and I look over to see our father cantering over the ridge toward us.

“Shane!” he yells to me, riding over on Basil, his prized paint quarter horse.

“Something wrong?” I ask as I put on my hat, striding toward him. He doesn’t sound overly panicked but there’s still something wrong considering he’s rode all the way over to us. Normally there’s a radio in my truck that we use to communicate since cell phone service over here doesn’t reach but we took Mav’s truck instead.

“I need you to head west over Pastor’s Peak,” he says to me, coming to a stop along the edge of the field. “Neighbor’s plane spotted some of our cows too far onto Crown Land. It’ll be a bitch to get them back later if they don’t get turned around right now.” He gets off of Basil and hands me his reins. “Here, take him back and go. I’ll help Mav with the irrigation.”

I nod and swing up on Basil, adjusting myself on Basil’s broad back. “Do you know how far around the peak?”

“I think closer to Arrow Lake,” he says.

“I should bring an overnight bag then.”

“Shouldn’t take you that long but just in case. It’s only a handful so just take Fletcher with you.”

I tell him I will, thank Mav and then turn around galloping toward the ranch.