Page 138 of Ly to Me
“Sure.”
“Why do I feel like that’s too clean to be old?”
“Maybe I cleaned it,” I lied.
“Liar. You’re tall enough to do it without, and that’s brand new.” She passed the lead rope back to me and accepted my hand as she climbed the steps.
“I know how much being independent means to you. If you want to learn to ride, I don’t want your…height…to hinder that. Put your boot in the stirrup”—she followed where I pointed—“just like that. Grab hold of the horn on the saddle and swing your other leg…yeah. You got it.”
I could tell she was holding back from some smart-ass reply about her being intelligent enough to figure it out on her own, or capable of doing so, all to which I’d agree with. She was smart. She was capable. She was so much more than she believed she was. But sometimes it was nice not to have to figure things out on your own.
I settled in behind the saddle, and as I reached for the split reins, goosebumps flooded Ly’s arms. She rubbed them away as I brought Ms. No Name to a walk. “I have somethin’ I need to tell you,” Lyra said.
“Is it the name of your horse?” I sure as fuck hoped it was, though my body went tense in preparation for it to not be.
“It’s about Jamie. I think he’s stealing from Oak Heart.”
“What?” The tone I used was perhaps too sudden. The horse snickered, and Lyra straightened in the saddle.
“He’s stealing. He gave a box of—” She used air-quotes as she said ‘meds,’ then continued, “to Nadine in town.”
“Who’s Nadine?”
“Aubrey’s aunt. Met her at the store I got these jeans from.”
Something else about what she was saying clicked. “Was Jamie there? You watched him bring the box?” She nodded slowly. I settled my hand over her stomach, pressing her back to my front. “Did he say something to you? Is that why you said it wouldn’t leave you alone?”
Another nod.
“He told me he had something for you in his truck, not that I believed him. I expected him to threaten me, but I didn’t…I didn’t expect what he called me to come out.”
“Hethreatenedyou?”
I could hear her throat working. “He…he slammed me up against his truck.”
“He did what?” My heart was racing erratically. I should have buried the fucker the first time it popped into my head. I should have—
“When I said I’d tell you he touched me, he backed away.”
Damn right he did.
“And what did he call you?” I gritted the words through my teeth, trying hard not to make her think I was angry with her,because as much as she might think it was, none of it was her fault.
And I needed her to believe that as much as I believed it.
“Nothin’ good.” Her fingers fumbled together, and I fought so fucking hard against prying the words from her. From asking her for the full story. Didn't matter anymore. Jamie was on a list he wouldn't ever have hope of leaving until his last breath.
“By meds, you mean cannabis?”
She nodded again.
“I’ll have Leo check the cameras. Ask if he’s seen Jamie come and go with something he shouldn’t have.”
“Nadine said it was your hybrid. One that’s been helping her husband for some time after a surgery. I don’t know if that helps.”
I settled my clenching jaw on her shoulder. “It does, sweetheart. Thank you for tellin’ me.”
“She believed you were sending Jamie with it. I don’t think she meant any harm in it.”
