Page 28 of A Cowboy's Bride
He pushed past Jake to the barn, fury rushing through him. He smashed his fist into a feed sack resting on a nearby haybale. The jolt of pain radiating up his arm barely disturbed the fire flaring inside.
Dixie whined softly, dancing away slightly but refusing to leave.
“That bad?” Jake asked quietly, slipping up behind him.
“She's a fucking baby,” Aiden snarled. “I walked across the room, and she looked at me as if—” He closed his eyes and tightened his throbbing fist, trying to breathe away the anger. “If I ever find the son of a bitch who put that look into her eyes, he’ll have breathed his last.”
Which probably wasn't a thing he should confess to his brother who spent fifteen years as part of the police force.
But when Jake spoke, it was without censure. “I hear you. And I mostly agree with you, but we need to let that shit go. She's out of a dangerous situation, and we need to help her step forward. We need to make this a place where she can bloom. If we have to put up with a few cringes and being stared at as if we’re the bogeyman until she learns she can trust us, I can deal. So can you.”
“Counselling the counsellor, are you?” Aiden growled in an attempt at normality.
“You usually give good advice,” Jake admitted. “She needs time to get over her past trauma, and like you suggested, some good old-fashioned chores and safe family space might be the best way to do it.”
Which was true, but one other thing needed to change. “I don't think me sleeping in the house is going to fly,” Aiden said. “Not even with the suggestion that I'm there for their safety.”
“Crash out here with us but put Dixie in the house with the girls,” Jake suggested. “Problem solved.”
Unexpectedly, a chuckle escaped. “Dixie?” He knelt and ruffled her ears, accepting the enthusiastic tongue bath she instantly offered to make him all better. Aiden nodded slowly at his brother. “That’ll work.”
The thought of the three females together in the house settled some of Aiden’s agitation. Especially since one of them was a well-trained guard dog with very sharp teeth.
Jake tilted his head toward the house. “Want me to help grab your stuff so you can move out? Maybe if we go now, Petra can make us look less scary.”
Maybe, but Aiden thought he knew an even better way. “Let’s have Jennifer come meet Dixie outside. The girls can explore the animal rescue then come to the fire pit. Animals are the best kind of distraction,” Aiden suggested.
“Good idea.” His brother shuffled toward the nearest pen, patting the nose of the horse that came forward and shoved his head over the rail. Jake sighed. “It’s not like making a checklist, is it? This is going to involve a whole lot of playing it by ear.”
“Yup.”
Jake sighed again. “I hate playing it by ear.”
Aiden stroked Dixie’s head again and breathed deep a few times, working hard to find a peaceful center. No, it wasn’t going to be one step forward after another without some hiccups in the path, but it would be worth it in the end. That was the truth he had to cling to.
Come hell or high water, they’d make it work.
8
Petra had just finished giving Jinx a brief peek into the other rooms, including her own, when a knock rang against the front door.
Jinx instantly hid herself behind Petra's body even though the sound was followed immediately by Danielle's cheerful call. “Hello again, ladies. I'm getting ready to leave but wanted to say goodbye first.”
“Did you need anything else from Danielle?” Petra asked the girl quietly.
Jennifer, or Jinx, as Petra needed to start thinking of her, shook her head.
“Declan needs to talk to you two, but I don't need to be part of that conversation.” Danielle paced across the room, closing the distance until she stood a few feet shy of Petra and Jinx. “You’re safe here. But I hope you'll also find a way to be happy.”
Jinx nodded then wiggled forward far enough to thrust out her hand. “Thank you for believing me. I know you took a big chance to help me, and I appreciate it. I won’t forget.”
Danielle gently shook Jinx’s extended fingers then gave Petra a smile. She mouthed the wordsthank youthen turned to leave.
Just outside the open door, Declan offered Danielle a handshake of his own, waiting until she was to her car before stepping inside. He took slow steps into the room, his stocking feet sliding over the floor with a softwhoosh, whoosh. He tried to make himself as small and unintimidating as possible, which was ludicrous considering the breadth of his shoulders and the sheer bulk of him.
Once more into the breach. Petra offered introductions. “Jinx, this is Declan, Aiden's big brother. Consider him your own Stay Puft Marshmallow Man.”
Declan snorted. “Thanks for that image.”
