We were doing okay though—Mike and me. All we needed was each other.

“You know, Layton, with a little bit of hard work and both of us working like we are, we can buy a few racehorses and get some more cattle. We can make a name for ourselves and build the kind of ranch our old man dreamed of,” Mike said.

I nodded. “Yeah, I know, Mike.”

It was more Mike’s dream to have the ranch, especially with racehorses. He was just like our father when it came to that. He had a gift, too. He had a few older friends who placed bets for him, and we were doing pretty well with the amount of money we were saving.

He turned and smiled. “You should go hose off, Layton. Isn’t that party at the high school tonight?”

I smiled and nodded.

“You still like that girl?”

“Who? Olivia?”

Mike laughed. “Yeah, Olivia, the barrel racer. You’ve only had the hots for her since…what? Fifth grade?”

I grinned and kicked the ground. “Fourth.”

“Go get ready, Layton. I’ve got this. There’s some chili. Heat it up, and we’ll have some before heading into town.”

I turned and started to walk toward the house. I glanced back and looked at my brother. He was almost eighteen, and I was sixteen. I smiled and shook my head.

Yeah, we are going to make kick-ass cattle ranchers and raise some of the best f**king racehorses around. Then, when the old man comes back, we will rub it in his goddamn face. I’ll make Mike proud of me.

As I walked into the house, I thought about tonight.

Maybe tonight, I’ll finally get lucky with Olivia. Damn girl is stringing me along.

We’d almost had sex last night in her barn, but her damn brother had come in and caught us.

Fucker. My jaw was still killing me.

Tonight though, tonight my dreams would come true, and I would finally be with the girl I knew I was meant to spend the rest of my life with—my blonde-haired, blue-eyed beauty, Olivia.

That was all I needed in this life—Mike and Olivia.

I could keep working for Olivia’s daddy on his ranch and put the money away to have the biggest and best damn cattle ranch in Texas—with a little bit of Thoroughbred horses thrown into the mix.

Present Day

I sat in the bar and downed another Bud Light. I was well on my way to getting drunk—again. I felt someone slap my back.

“What the hell, Layton? Again?”

I turned and saw my best friend, Reed, sitting next to me. He ordered a beer and flirted a bit with Misty, the bartender, who worked nights during the week. Misty wanted nothing to do with Reed, and all Reed wanted was a chance to get into her pants. All Misty wanted was a chance for me to get into her pants. She had practically begged me yesterday, and I’d almost given in. I’d do anything to forget about Olivia.

If only sex would make me forget everything…and everyone…

“Fuck off, Reed,” I said.

Reed took a deep breath in and slowly let it out. “Dude, I know the last few months have been hell for you, but you have to snap out of it. Have you been to Lucky’s to check on the horses? He’s got…what? Three there that he’s training? Mike believed in those horses, Layton.”

Just the mention of my brother’s name caused me to feel sick. “I know what my f**king brother believed in. You don’t have to keep reminding me, Reed. I’m going to do him proud. I promised him.”

“I know you did, Layton. I know you did.” Reed took a sip of his beer.

“It’s just…I keep expecting him to walk through that door with a big ole smile on his face from winning a race. I keep waiting…but he never comes.”

I could tell Reed was staring at me, so I turned and looked at him. I smiled, winked, and finished off my beer. I looked up and saw Misty giving me that pathetic sympathy smile that everyone had been giving to me for months since Mike had died. I was sick of it.

“Misty, what are you doing after work?” I winked at her.

She slowly smiled and bit down on her lower lip. My dick instantly got hard as I thought about f**king her in the backseat of my truck.

“Going home with you?” she asked.

I casually gave her my dimple smile that I knew drove the girls crazy. “Fuck yeah, you are.”

Reed slammed his beer down on the counter and turned to face me. “You know, Layton, sometimes, you can be a real prick.” He grabbed his cowboy hat and headed out the door.

I watched him leave and then nonchalantly looked back at Misty. It was just us in the bar now.

“Can you close up early?” I asked.

She smiled and walked toward the front door. She pulled the cord, and the Open sign turned off. She locked the front door and shut off all the lights, except for the ones over the pool tables.

As she walked toward me, she started to take off her clothes. By the time she reached me, she was only in her bra and thong. She had a smokin’ hot body and looked hot as hell standing there in her red lace bra and G-string. I stood, picked her up, and made my way over to a pool table.

Maybe she can make me forget for a few minutes.

Chapter One: Whitley

I could hear Courtney talking to someone, and I strained to hear what she was saying.

“She won’t tell us what happened, Ms. Will, but we know she was assaulted by someone. I can’t help her if she won’t tell me who did this.”

“I can tell you who did it. It was that motherf**king, good-for-nothing boyfriend of hers. Can’t you just go arrest him? I mean, he put her in the damn hospital, for Christ’s sake.”

“Not unless she tells me who did it. I’ve called the police, and she refuses to talk to them. She said she fell. They questioned the boyfriend, and he said he was at his office late that night. He said that Whitley left the party without him, and he had to stay for an emergency. He has witnesses saying he was there. He told the police that when he got home, she was lying at the bottom of the stairs.”

Court let out a small laugh. “Of course. He has it all neatly wrapped up, like always. She must have done something to really piss him off. He’s pretty good about hiding it. I only just found out a few months ago that he has hit her before.”

I coughed to let them know I was awake, but the pain that shot through my head and jaw about had me yell out.

“Whit, don’t move, honey. You’re in the hospital.” Court leaned down and whispered in my ear, “I’m going to kill that a**hole for doing this to you.”

I slowly smiled. I looked over her shoulder at the tall, dark-haired woman standing there. I remembered her talking to me earlier.

“Can I only have certain people come into my room?” I asked.

She slightly grinned. “Yes, but your fiancé would like information on how you’re doing. He was in here earlier and left you those roses.” She gestured toward the window.

I turned and saw two-dozen pink roses. “Please throw them out,” I said as I felt tears building in my eyes.

“Gladly! F**ker couldn’t even get red.” Courtney walked over and picked up the roses. “I think I’ll leave them in the sweet lady’s room next door.”

I watched as she walked out of the room with the roses in hand. I glanced back at the woman standing there. “I know what you think of me.”

She shook her head. “No, Whitley, you don’t. You see, I’ve been exactly where you are right now—feeling so broken, like there is no way out. But there is. There are people who can help you if you would just let them.”

“I’m sorry. What’s your name again?” I asked.

“Monica.”

“Monica, I just want to leave New York City and forget I ever met him. Please just let me do this my way.”

She took a deep breath and looked me in the eyes. “Whitley, please, please press charges against him. Let him know he can’t do this to you or any other girl for that matter.”

Courtney walked back in, stopped, and glanced between Monica and me. “Should I leave?”

I smiled at Monica and shook my head. “I was just telling Monica about my plans to move and leave New York as soon as possible.”

Monica’s smile faded just a bit, but she nodded. “I hope you know what you’re doing, honey. Please do it. Please leave him as soon as possible.”

I smiled. “I promise, I will.”

Courtney watched Monica step out, and then she turned to face me. “Why, Squeak? Why won’t you put his ass in jail?”

“Court…please don’t ever call me Squeak again. Please.”

Since middle school, I’d been called Squeak because I had such a high-pitched voice. Court had started it, but Roger loved the nickname, and he’d called me that since we began dating.

I thought back to the night before when he had touched me and whispered it in my ear. I felt sick to my stomach.

Never again.

Court looked at me funny and made a face. “Whit, what did he do to you? How long has this been going on? I want the truth please.”

I closed my eyes and felt tears building. When I opened my eyes, the tears began rolling down my face. “About six months after we moved to New York, while we were getting ready to go to a dinner party, we got into a fight about what I was wearing. He told me I looked like a whore, and I called him an a**hole. He slapped me so hard that I had to put makeup on to cover the mark on my face. The whole way to the party, he begged me to forgive him, and he even cried.”

Courtney shut her eyes, and when she opened them, I saw her tears. I smiled weakly at her.

“The next time?”

“It was months later. Things were great until I talked to a neighbor outside our apartment building. He was a runner, like me, and he was telling me about a marathon. Roger saw us chatting when he walked up. The moment we stepped into our apartment, he grabbed my arm and started yelling at me. When I told him to stop, he pushed me, and I fell. I hit my head on the coffee table and started crying. He begged me to forgive him…and I did.

“I just accepted the fact that he was jealous, so I never talked to guys—any guys, even old friends from home. But it got worse. It continued with the clothes I wore or how I walked in front of other men. Once, I embarrassed him in front of his coworkers at a Christmas party, and when we got home, he yelled at me. We were at the top of the stairs, and when I tried to push past him, he grabbed me and shook me so hard that the room started spinning. I told him he was hurting me, and when he let me go, he pushed me, and I fell down the stairs. That was how I really broke my wrist.”

Courtney let out a gasp. “Oh my God, Whitley! You told everyone you tripped while you were running! Is that why you’ve pulled away from me so much? You didn’t want me to find out?”

I closed my eyes and nodded. “I’m sorry, Court. I really thought he would change. At first, I thought it was me, that I was doing something wrong. He always found ways to tell me how he’d given me everything, how I wouldn’t have anything if it weren’t for him.”

I opened my eyes and stared down at my hands. “I’d met a girl who wanted to open up a party-planning company with me, and I was so excited, but he told me I couldn’t do it. He said I didn’t even have a college degree. When I reminded him I didn’t have a degree because I’d followed him to New York, he just slapped me and called me ungrateful. It has been a never-ending cycle.”