“What do you mean?”
Maybe Tracy wasn’t part of the deal after all. Maybe he said all that shit just so I would be forced to take it over. He could have thought I wouldn’t actually agree to take her, let alone fall in love with her.
When she told me those words this morning, it was the first time in my life I’d ever felt worthy of anything. Not when I won Nationals, or when I got into the Rodeo Hall of Fame. When Tracy told me she loved me, that was my proudest moment. That’s when I wanted to be the best version of myself, so that I deserved her love. I was just about to tell her all of that and say it back before we got interrupted.
Tracy is selfless and caring to a fault. She will sacrifice her own happiness even to the one man that deserves it the least. I’d be willing to bet every last cent that Mr. Walker loved having that kind of power over her and isn’t willing to give that up so easily.
“I need to go,” I say, as the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
“What’s going on?” the sheriff asks, but I’m already in motion.
If he’s stupid enough to come to my house and try to take Tracy away from me, then he better be ready for a fight. There’s nothing that will separate Tracy from me, especially her deadbeat dad.
“You might wanna send a patrol by my house,” I call out to the sheriff as I get in my truck. “Maybe an ambulance too.”
Chapter Seventeen
Tracy
“Open the damn door!” my father bangs on it harder while I stand there in shock.
My mind does not want to believe what’s happening and that this is why Bronco left in a hurry. He didn’t even say goodbye or anything. I chew on my tender bottom lip, still feeling where Bronco kissed me. His marks are all over me, and meanwhile he’s leaving me to my father?
There are all kinds of things the sheriff might have told Bronco. I’ve realized over time that most of what my father did wasn’t by the book. What if Bronco thinks I was a part of all that? He could think I pulled some wool over his eyes and was a part of some setup with my father in all this.
For Bronco to think that for even a second breaks my heart. We might still be new, but I thought what we felt was soul deep. To me, it was the kind of love I always heard people talk about but never believed it was possible. Not until Bronco.
“Bronco might want me gone but I’m not going with you!” I shout right back through the door. I’m over men using me.
My father sighs so loud I can hear it through the thick wood door. We both know I’ve got nowhere to go.
“Tracy, I want you to listen to what I’m saying. You’re coming with me or you’re going to jail.” His tone is so serious that my heart sinks. What is he talking about?
“Jail? For what? Trespassing? I said I’d leave just not with you.”
“You might not be the brightest, but you’re not dumb either. Your fingerprints are all over the things that have been going down at the Circle C over the last two years. It was only a matter of time before the sheriff caught on. Not to mention the IRS.”
“Oh gosh.” I stumble back a few steps from the door. He’s right.
My fingerprints are all over the place. Sometimes he would make me sign things and I wouldn’t read them. I was stupid to do it, but I was scared. He was all I had at the time, and now I’m starting to see that maybe all a person should ever have is trust in themselves.
With how quick Bronco left out of here, what am I supposed to believe? He must think I’m a part of my father’s mess, but I shouldn’t be shocked. My own mother took off without so much as a goodbye just like Bronco. For some reason, this feels worse.
“Now come one.” He bangs even harder on the door this time, making the whole thing shake. I jump back another few feet and try and think of what to do. “I’ve created a distraction and we need to get the hell out of here. I got the money, now come on!”
I stare at the door, but there’s one thing I’m really not understanding. Why did he come back for me? I honestly didn’t think my father loved me. Not in the normal sense a father cherishes his daughter. Part of me has to know so I can’t help but ask.
“Why are you here? What did you come to get me for?” I step closer to the door because I think it might haunt me if I don’t know the reason.