Page 54 of Rancher's Pride

“I am now.” I whispered.

“Andrew Greystone was killed last night.” Phil’s words were quiet and slow. A whoosh of an air blast through my ears, and my heart hammered, drowning everything out. “Fallon, are you there?” Phil’s voice was filled with concern, and I could have sworn I’d heard his footsteps thundering over the floor in my mom’s house.

A vehicle started, and Phil was still talking, but I wasn’t comprehending his words. The phone fell from my hand and I slumped on the couch. I didn’t feel a thing, other than shock. There was no sadness, there was no worrying about his family. The only person I could think of was Lottie. She’d be safe from the monster. There wouldn’t ever be an opportunity for him to try and take her away. She was safe.

As if a gun had been shot off inside the house, the front door opened with a bang and a breathless Phil loomed large in the opening. I looked at him and Iknew my eyes were bugging out of my head. “What the fuck, Fallon? I thought you were in trouble.” He closed the door, and I silently thanked the powers that be, that he hadn’t kicked it in.

“Sorry, I was just shocked.” I mumbled as he kicked off his boots and moved into the same room as me. Phil’s brows were pinched and his eyes were full of fatherly concern as he sat beside me.

“Are you okay?” His voice was quiet and his eyes bore into me.

“Am I supposed to feel something? I was married to the man.” I looked down at my hands and listened to the wind blow outside the windows. It made me cold, so I grabbed the blanket and wrapped it around me.

“You don’t have to feel anything, Fallon. The man made your life hell, and in case you forgot, kidnapped you. If you want to dance in the street, I’ll drive you into town right now and play the music.” He cracked a smile and ease washed over me. I scooted over next to him and he put his arm around my shoulders, reassuring me it was okay. “When I started seeing your mom, I knew she had this big, crazy family, and I wasn’t sure how I’d fit in. Not having a family of my own, I was sure I’d always be missing out on things, but you’ve all accepted me and pulled me into your lives.” His voice trailed off and for the first time in five long years, someone had stepped into that fatherly void.

“I’m not your dad, Fallon, and I know there’s no way I can even remotely live up to the man that he was,but I will do anything for this family and for you. I love your mom with my entire being, but I also love you, your sisters and even Kipp.” He tightened his hold on me and I threw my arms around him, hugging him tightly. Each person on this ranch was the glue that was putting this broken place back together, and I felt like Phil was the cornerstone we needed.

“Do I need to be worried about someone coming after me and the girls?” I asked quietly. From the information gathered, Andrew had gotten mixed up with some nasty business dealings, and now that he was gone, who would they go after?

“No.” Nash’s voice was flat from the door. “You and the girls will always be safe. Nobody can touch you now.” His brows were furrowed, and I wasn’t sure if he was angry or concerned. But the one thing that I noticed was that he wasn’t surprised.

“Nash, what do you know?” I stood and looked at the man who’d told me a long time ago there was no limit to his protection. Also, the fact that none of The Five had actually stopped the job they had outside the ranch.

“I think this is my cue to leave.” Phil stood and hugged me. “I’m here if you need anything.”

“Thank you.” I whispered before he let me go. He patted Nash on the shoulder and left the house. His truck roared to life, and I watched out the window as he turned and headed back to Mom’s house.

“What do you know?” I crossed my arms andwaited. His expression didn’t change, not that I’d thought it would, but I needed to know what happened. Did I really need to know? Was it better if I didn’t?

“He’s handled,” Nash said as he walked into the kitchen. Opening almost every cupboard, he closed them just as quickly and turned to lean on the counter. Something was bothering him and I had to figure it out.

“Yeah, I'm pretty sure I get it. The man’s dead, handled is an understatement.” I folded my arms across my chest and waited.

“Fallon, I'm not discussing this with you. There are things in my life that you don’t need to know and Toots, this is one of them.” Nash brushed past me without another word.

“He was Lottie’s father Nash. She’s going to ask questions.”

“I’m Lottie’s father, I’m the one that’s providing for her, not that sack of shit that beat you and would have ended up hitting our girls, so no Fallon we aren’t playing that game.” He ran his hands through his hair and anger welled in his eyes. I wasn’t afraid, though. No matter how angry Nash got, I knew I was safe. Walking over to him, I wrapped my arms around him, and he embraced me and sighed. “I know she’ll ask and I’m prepared for her to hate me, but I’d do it again.”

“Thank you for keeping us safe.” I whispered. It wasn’t a lie. I was thankful he was mine.

“Where are the girls?” Nash asked.

“They’re at Nora’s. Mom’s there and took them over. He nodded and then I had the sudden urge to tell him the real reason Phil was here. “I’d called Phil, because I’ve heard Desmond Tucker’s name before. Something’s not right there. A man like him doesn’t go after your mom because he’s in love.” I pushed out of his embrace and hopped up on the counter.

“I asked Phil to look into him, and that’s when he told me about Andrew. But Desmond Tucker is a big name in real estate in Kentucky. He’s bought up horse farms and pieced them off at an enormous profit. Why would he be poking around here?” I crossed my arms and leaned over, resting my arms on my legs.

“He sends the horses to kill pens and forcibly removes people from their homes if they try to fight the sales. He’s dangerous Nash.” My voice was quiet, almost a whisper. There was no way I would live my life in fear of anyone again. So I sat up and hopped off the counter.

“Phil’s on it, and I think you five need to be on high alert. You’re going to need to be The Five, working together again, but this time, the battleground is our home.”

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

FALLON

I’d forgotten the hectic pace of calving on this ranch and then adding a baby to the mix who needed to eat every few hours, was making it hard to get sleep. Everyone was working around the clock, taking shifts, checking and catching cat naps here and there.

Nash wasn’t sleeping. Sure, he’d come to bed and hold me until I fell asleep, but he’d be up a few short hours later.

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