Page 2 of Deserving Ryleigh
After all the precautions she’d taken. After all the sacrifices she’d made…one mistake was all it took for him to track her down. But she didn’t regret using Brick’s computer just that one time. She’d been as desperate as everyone else to find Stone, Owl, and Lara. Using the unsecured computer to do a few searches was all it took for dear ol’ dad to grab onto the thread she’d left in cyber space…but it had also helped them find their friends.
“What’swithyou today?” Tiny asked gruffly.
Ry swallowed hard. “I don’t know what you mean?” she fibbed.
Tiny snorted. “Right. I’m not sure why I expected you to do anything but lie again.”
Wincing, she turned to face him, suddenly exhausted. Overwhelmingly tired of lying to the people who’d come to mean the world to her. Tired of walking on eggshells around the man next to her. Just…tired.
“You want to know what’swithme?” she asked in a low tone.
“Yeah, Ryleigh. I do,” Tiny responded, looking her in the eye.
“I’m terrified. Every moment I’m here brings more danger to everyone and everything I’ve come to know and love. But I can’t leave, because if I do, there won’t be anyone here to protect all of you.
“I lied to everyone. I lied to get the job, but you know what? I’d do it all over again if I had the choice. Because Ilikeit here. I’m thrilled for Henley and Tonka. I love thestupid goats who try to eat my shirt every time I go into the barn. I love chatting with Jasna about her days at school. Working with Carly and Jess was the highlight of my mornings before I was forced to give up my job as a housekeeper. I can’t wait to see how this place flourishes with the addition of the helicopter.
“The Refuge is an amazing place. Serene and calm and healing, and it does so much good for the men and women who come here. And I know if I stay…it could all be destroyed. But if I go, it willdefinitelybe destroyed.
“I’m sorry I lied. To you, to the girls, to your friends. I’m sorry you’re stuck with me in your cabin when you hate me so much. And I’mdamnsorry being around me makes you so unhappy. But I’m going to fix this. Somehow, someway. Then I’ll leave and you’ll never have to see me again.
“Now, since you correctly pointed out that I’m being a downer, I’ll head back to the cabin. Tell everyone whatever you want as to why I’m gone. It doesn’t matter. Nothing matters anymore.”
With that, she spun on her heel and headed for the door. Tears swam in her eyes as she made her escape. She probably shouldn’t have blurted all that out, but she hadn’t lied. About any of it. She was terrified out of her mind, and so scared and sorry that her presence here was a threat to the only people in her life who’d treated her as if she wasn’t a freak.
She made it out the door and had taken only four steps toward the forest, and Tiny’s cabin, when her elbow was gripped and she was spun around.
Ry acted on pure instinct. With thoughts of her father front and center in her head—and what he’d do to herwhen he finally made his move to get back what she’d taken from him—she threw herself to the side, landing hard on her hip. She didn’t hesitate when she hit the ground, using her momentum to roll away from the threat.
“Jesus, Ryleigh! It’s me. Are you all right?”
Once again, she immediately recognized the voice. Tiny had followed her.
Of course he had. He liked to get the last word.
Feeling off-kilter, Ry scrambled to her feet and faced her nemesis.
“What the hell happened just now?” he asked.
“I didn’t know you’d followed me. You startled me, that’s all,” she said with a lift of her chin.
“You actually think I’d hurt you?” Tiny asked in a low, gruff tone.
Ry didn’t know how to answer that. Did she think he’d do something to bruise her skin?Physicallyhurt her? No. Not really. But hehadhurt her. Every time he glared daggers at her. Every time he refused to talk to her when they were alone in his cabin. Then every time he deigned to open his mouth, and his disdain for her poured out loud and clear, he hurt her.
“Fuck!” he exclaimed, pacing away, running a hand through his hair. When he faced her again, Ry could see the determination in his gaze. “We need to talk.”
“No,” she said without hesitation. “We don’t.”
“You can’t expect to lay everything you just laid on me back there and thennotexplain what the hell you meant.”
Ry sighed. She was so exhausted. And things were just going to get more difficult from here on out. She hadn’t held her tongue like normal. She’d blabbed way too much to Tiny.
“The time to talk to me was when I told you who I was. When I admitted that I got the job here under false pretenses. But you didn’t want to hear what I had to say then, and I’m not too inclined to explain myself now. Believe me, if I could leave, I would. You’d have your cabin back, wouldn’t have to see my face every day, and wouldn’t feel the need to hover over me, trying to make sure I’m not doing anything that will hurt The Refuge. News flash, Tiny—I’d never doanythingto intentionally put this place in jeopardy. Not when I’ve worked so damn hard to help it prosper. But there are people out there who’d like nothing more than to see this place burn to the ground. Simply because it means something tome.
“And that’s why I can’t leave. Because I screwed up. But I’m going to fix it. I don’t know how, but I am. You want to know all my secrets? Too bad. I might’ve told them to you before…but now? No. It’s too late for that. Just please know that I’m going to do whatever I can to make The Refuge stronger than it’s ever been before. For all the babies that will be born in the upcoming year, for you and your friends who served our country bravely and without hesitation, and for each and every guest who needs this place to heal.”
“Ryleigh,” Tiny began, but she was done.
