Page 126 of Reckless Skye

Skye told them about the trust, and when she had walked them through the particulars, she added things that not even TJ had heard before. ‘The estate provides Caroline with fifty thousand dollars a month and lets them live in the Highland Park house rent-free. That’s worth a total of seventy-five thousand dollars every thirty days. And Holden has inflated his lifestyle to match. When I take over, I fully plan on zeroing out that number, effective immediately. And it’ll humiliate him. He’ll be forced to downsize. He can keep up with rent on the house if he cuts back in every other area of his life: the lake house, the country club, the new luxury car every year.’

Ryan nodded. ‘Yeah. That’ll do it.’

‘My only hesitation at this point is my mom. Because he will make her suffer for it.’

‘How do we get her out?’ TJ slammed one hand onto the table, his frustration clear. ‘That’s what we’ve got to figure out.’

‘There’s nothing you can do,’ Skye replied quietly. ‘I tried everything. That’s literally the reason I’m cutting them off; if I do, Holden will only stick around for so long. It’s the period between cutting him off and him actually leaving that I’m worried about.’

‘Yeah. I can see why.’ Ryan leaned back in his chair. He studied his own hands, something that TJ knew meant he was deep in thought.

‘What are you thinking, Dad?’

Ryan’s eyes crinkled when he smiled. ‘Shit, TJ. I’m a dairy farmer. I’m thinking we handle this the old-fashioned way. Some rope, a castrating knife, and maybe a branding iron.’

‘Amen,’ TJ said. Because, goddamn, he was desperate to sink his fists into Holden’s face.

‘No.’ On TJ’s lap, Skye went rigid. ‘Nobody else is getting involved in this.’

TJ opened his mouth to argue, but his mom beat him to it. ‘Sweet girl, that’s not how this family works. You go after one of us, you best be prepared to take us all on.’

A shudder of emotion ran through Skye’s back and into his chest, but when she spoke, her voice was firm. ‘I appreciate that – more than you will ever know. But no. Nobody else is getting hurt because of me.’

‘It won’t end, Skye.’ TJ was willing to be the one to point it out, if it kept her safe from Holden’s abuse. ‘Even if you change the trust, he’ll keep at you. He’ll keep hurting your mom. And eventually, you will give him what he wants to stop it.’ He covered the backs of her hands with his, linking their fingers. ‘You know that’s true.’

‘Just give me time,’ Skye said. ‘I need to speak with my mom. I need to think …’

Although it was hard for him to agree, TJ said, ‘How about we agree to try it your way first? If it doesn’t work, I get the second shot at him.’

‘We,’ his dad clarified. ‘We get the second shot at him.’

Chapter 38

When TJ came out of the bathroom after showering, dressed in jeans and an old, faded T-shirt, he was surprised to see his mom standing in his bedroom, staring out his window, a towel draped over her arm. ‘Mom?’

She jumped, raised one hand to her heart. ‘TJ. You scared me.’

‘Sorry.’ He tossed the dirty laundry he held into the hamper in the corner of the room. ‘You okay?’

Instead of replying, she waved him over to the window.

TJ walked to where she stood. He looked out, and saw Skye. She was riding Smokey bareback, with no reins, only a lead rope draped over the horse’s neck and threaded through the halter’s throat ring. She was completely at ease, her posture relaxed, her legs dangling with no tension. Although dusk was rapidly descending, her blonde hair gleamed in the fading light. Bandit was walking at the horse’s side, content to stay close.

‘You know, I used to sit at this window – after my accident – and wonder where she was and what she was doing.’

His mom roped one arm around his waist. ‘I remember.’

‘Being with her the first time was like standing still in time and knowing exactly where I wanted my life to go. And then after … It felt like I had nothing left to live for – especially once she was gone.’

‘There’s always something to live for,’ Janey argued.

TJ didn’t fight her on it. She was his mom, and it was her job to fight for him. But he did say, ‘I was ready. To go.’

His mom covered her mouth with her hand, but she didn’t speak, just nodded as her tears streamed.

Because he hated making her sad, he pulled her into a hug. But because he needed to close the circle, he added, ‘Except, every time I’d start to plan, I just felt this … need to see her one last time. I told myself it was to apologize and make sure she was safe, but I think it was also because I needed to prove to myself that I was done. Even after all that time, I knew that if anyone could spike through the pain and the despair, it would be her. And I wanted that for myself. I wanted one last chance to feel … alive. And then Mav reached out and asked me to watch over her, and it seemed like fate giving me that last chance.’

‘I understand that.’ His mom stepped out of his embrace, but only so that she could swipe her face. ‘You know, TJ, I don’t think you and Skye would have worked out the first time.’