Bella Chapter 16

I knew there was something on Boomer's mind. I waited for him to tell me or ask, but he didn't. I let him slide for hours after we made it back to the compound. I figured he wanted us to be comfortable, which we were. Instead of hanging out at the clubhouse, we decided to have a quiet night watching movies. We were watching the second one when I decided enough was enough. I picked up the remote, paused it, and then turned to him. He raised his brow at me.

"You tired of watching the movie, babe?"

"Not exactly. I'm tired of feeling the tension coming off of you and knowing there's something you need to tell me, but you're holding back. Spill. What terrible thing has happened now?"

"Bella, nothing terrible has happened. Although you're right, I do need to talk to you about a few things. I was trying to decide how to bring them up. I want you to want them as much as I do and to say yes, but I don't know if you will."

"Well, you'll never know if you don't ask," I said, giving him a duh look.

He chuckled. "I know. Okay, here goes. You know we had church today." I nodded yes. "We talked about a lot of things, but then I brought up something with the guys. I needed to get their input and approval on it before I talked to you about it."

"Okay, sounds ominous."

"No, just since it impacts the club, I can't ask you before it was voted on and approved. I want you to be with me every night, and I think you want the same." As he said it, he gave me a questioning look.

"I do want that."

"Well, I hate having to go back and forth between two places. To eliminate this, I want you to move to the compound and live with me."

I opened my mouth to tell him why I couldn't do it, even though I desperately wanted to. There was no way I could ask my landlord to watch the horses every night, and I felt guilty as it was. He jumped in before I could say it, though.

"I know you don't want to be far from the horses, but having your landlord watch them makes you feel like you're taking advantage of him. I get it. I don't blame you. I asked the club if it would be alright to move the horses, too, and have you run your business from here."

I knew my mouth was hanging open in shock. I hadn't expected this. Since I was now his old lady, I knew this meant we were in a committed relationship intended to last for the rest of our lives. The stable would become something we'd have to deal with. I had wondered if he'd consider moving to live with me but dismissed it. The rest of the club was here, and honestly, I loved the whole village slash family vibe this place gave off. The thing was, I didn't know if they'd want my horses here, and if they did, where? More importantly, I didn't see them wanting people in and out of the compound all the time. The fence was there for a reason.

He anxiously watched me, so I told him what I was thinking. "Bray, I'd love for us to be able to stay in one spot, but if the club even gave permission, where would I put them? Surely, you guys don't want people in and out all the time."

"I have a solution for that. Let me finish telling you what was said. I'm unsure if I told you that we added additional acreage not long ago to our original eighty acres. It's now one hundred and thirty. The new acres join the original but aren't enclosed like the main compound. There's plenty of room to build a stable there, and people could come and go without entering the actual compound. It's ideal. The guys think it's a great idea, too. That's why they voted and approved it."

I was stunned again. My heart pounded at the thought of doing it. While my present location was okay, I would love to be at this end of town. Excitement was bubbling up inside of me, but suddenly, it was dashed by cold, hard reality.

"Honey, I'd love to do that, but it would mean building a stable, and I just can't afford to do it right now. Maybe in a few years, I might."

"I know, but I can help you fund it, which I told the club."

"No, I'm not taking your money! It's my business. I'll support it."

"Babe, I know you're independent, and I love that you are, but we're a couple. What's mine is yours and vice versa. However, due to my other money expenditure idea, they had another suggestion, or I should say Talon did. He's our money man and treasurer for the club. He did research without telling anyone into the type of business you run, especially the whole equine therapy part. No one anywhere close to here is doing it. He thinks it would be a great idea to expand the stable size, bring in more instructors, and make the whole thing even bigger."

"But if I can't afford to build, how can I afford more horses and staff?" I protested, not understanding how it would work.

"You can if you go into a partnership. The financials tell it all, babe. You're a great business for us to invest in. You would be the majority owner, and we'd be silent partners. You make the decisions. All we'd do is provide some financial backing and get a percentage of the profits."

"Are you serious? He said that. What did the others say?" I asked in shock.

"They were all for it. I was told to ask you. Don't say no. It's a solution to so many things, and it will allow you to expand your dream. You told me how you wished you could reach more people in need as well as more leisure riders. Hell, this way, if you wanted to board more horses for others eventually, you could do it. There's so much you can do."

I had talked to him about it one night. It had been my dream for so long just to have the school and then to expand. Could I do it? Could I let them back me for a percentage?

"How would it work? How much would the club put toward building the stable and corrals? What time frame would this be in?" I tried not to let my excitement run away with me.

"These are all great questions, and if you want, we can take all your questions to the club and talk. But knowing them, they'd be willing to finance the whole build without using any of our money and then have it paid back. And the beauty of us being your partner and you being family is that they wouldn't charge you interest. There's no better deal."

"Oh my God, you'd all do this? Wouldn't there be hard feelings with the other women? I know some of them have their own businesses. Does the club back those?"

"Jackie's flower shop she had before she got with Omen, so no. We asked a long time ago if she wanted to expand, and she said no. The same goes for Adara's practice. Piper's transportation service, which, by the way, she's expanded to two vans with our help, pays us a small percentage. Soteria was originally Jackie's house before she moved here. The club helped finance it and renovated it to make it the refuge it is. It's owned by Omen, Jackie, and the club. We wouldn't have offered if you weren't a good financial risk."

I was ready to jump up and down and scream with joy, but I had to fight to remain calm. "I don't know what to say. Thank you. It sounds so inadequate. I'd love to move and possibly expand. I think I'd like to talk to the club and see what their thoughts are."

His smile was bright. "We can do that. I'll ask them tomorrow when we can meet."

I cheered, then I had to give him a kiss. It was long and intense. I didn't pull away until another thought popped into my head. He growled and tried to follow my mouth, but I shook my head, and he stopped. I saw he wasn't happy about it, though.

"You said your other money expenditure? May I ask what it is?" I asked, recalling what he said.

"Absolutely. It involves both of us."

"It does? What is it?"

"Well, you'll move here and live with me in the trailer, but only temporarily while we have our house built like the others have."

I gulped. Damn, he was serious and full steam ahead. My head was whirling. "Build a house?" I muttered, wanting to be sure I heard him right.

"Yes, a house. There are still plenty of spots for one. I want it all with you, Bella. Old lady, house, marriage, kids, you name it. I like this place ,but I want house of our own, one built to have the things we want, and to our taste,"

"Baby, I love the idea, but houses are expensive, like stables. How can I help with the stable and a house?"

"You wouldn't. I can take care of the house. All you need is to help me pick the design and site and the materials we want to use, such as flooring, counters, and so on. And before you say no, I have more than enough to do the house and the stable, but the club doesn't want me to use up that much of my savings and pull from my investments. I've been saving and investing for a long time. I make a good wage from the various businesses and an even bigger percentage at the range because I manage it. Plus, for all his faults, my dad took care of my mom and me financially and was generous. We never used all the money, and she saved and invested a lot of it over the years. I got control when I was twenty-five after she thought I was mature enough not to blow it all," he chuckled.

"I don't want you to pay for it all. It makes me sound and feel like a gold digger. I'm not with you for your money or because you're a biker. It's because I fell in love with you despite you making me want to smack you when we first met."

He pulled me onto his lap. "You think I don't know that? I do, and so does the club. As for others, who gives a fuck what they think, and they don't need to know how we paid for shit. Promise me to think about it and not to let the worry over who pays for what to decide."

I was silent for a minute before I nodded. "Okay, I can do that. It's a lot to take in. Boy, you sure surprised the hell out of me. It sounds like not only the club and you are amazing, but your mom is too. I'd love to meet her."

"And you will. I see her a few times a year. She still lives in Florida. And she comes to see me a couple times too."

"What about your dad?"

"When I'm visiting her, I stop in and see him. We're not as close. His club is still dealing in shit I don't agree with, though they have gotten cleaner since I was a kid. Dad has never come here. Mom and I talk at least monthly, though most of the time, it's more often than that. The next time I talk to her, I plan to tell her I found you. She'll be thrilled. She's been dying for me to settle down and give her grandkids since I turned twenty-five, but it got way worse when I hit thirty."

"Grandkids! Whoa, hold on. We're not going there yet. I think we have enough on our plates. I told him, feeling slightly panicked.

"Do you want kids? If you don't, it's okay. I've always thought I'd have a few, but only if you want them. I can live without kids, but not without you."

"I do want kids. I just think we should get settled in as a couple and sort out the rest of our life and work first."

"Then we will. Since we're talking about family, you never talk about yours. Why is that? Are they all gone?"

I tried not to stiffen, but I did. Boomer picked up on it immediately. I knew at some point we'd have to talk about them and why I was no longer in South Dakota. I dreaded it. No one here knew the whole story. Londyn knew a part of it, but I hadn't shared the worst part, and I didn't want to tell him. But if we were to be together, we had to have no secrets. Secrets could kill a relationship, and I never wanted that to happen.

"Bombshell, what is it?" he asked gruffly.

"I hate talking about mine. It's not pretty, but I know we have to be open and honest with each other." I paused to blow out a breath, and then I dove in. "I'm originally from South Dakota. I grew up out in the country and was always around horses. My dad taught me how to handle them and so many other things. I had no brothers or sisters, so he treated me like a son while my mom tried to balance it by making me into a girly girl. Dad's influence was stronger, much to her despair. Anyway, it was a good life, though they weren't well off, and they worked hard. When I was ten years old, Dad died when he was thrown from his horse. Mom and I were left without much. The ranch my parents leased. We couldn't keep it with just the two of us. She had to get another job, and we moved to a small apartment in town. I cried for months over selling our horses. It was a terrible time for both of us."

"Baby, I'm so sorry."

"Thank you, but we survived, and it made us stronger and closer. Three years later, Mom met and married a man who'd moved to town and bought a huge ranch. He had a ton of money but wasn't a snob like many wealthy people. I liked him, and he treated Mom like a queen and me like I was his daughter. I was thrilled when they got married. He would never take Dad's place, but he got a piece of my heart because he didn't try to replace him. He was much older than her and had two grown sons who were out of the house by then. We didn't meet them until after the wedding." The memory of them made me shudder.

"What happened when you met them?" His voice was even more gruff.

"They had been married a year before the sons showed up without notice. They were ten and twelve years older than me, so twenty-four and twenty-six. I disliked them on sight. Mom didn't much like them either, but she did love Michael, so she made an effort to get to know them. Honestly, I kept away from the two of them as much as possible for the week they were there. I mostly stayed with a friend or stayed busy with stuff. Every time I saw them, I wanted to punch them in the face. They were so condescending to her and me, but only when their dad wasn't around. In front of him, they acted as if they approved and liked us."

"Fuckers," he muttered.

"Yeah, fuckers is putting it mildly. The only bright spot was over the next several years. We'd only see them a couple of times a year, but it was more than enough. They were just as ugly as ever. Mom and Michael were happy, though, and I pretended Mason and Monroe didn't exist."

"Babe, I can tell by your tone and how tense you are it got worse. Just tell me."

I lay my head on his shoulder and ran my hand up and down his chest to distract myself. This next part was the killer. "When I was twenty-three, Mom died suddenly. She had cancer. We found out and didn't realize it until it was too late. She thought her fatigue and other symptoms were just aging. Michael and I were devastated. He was a wreck. I had to plan the funeral because he just wasn't able to do it. Mason and Monroe came to the funeral, although why, I don't know other than to pretend for their dad.

"After she was buried, they hung around. One night, we were having dinner together. Somehow, I can't recall how the conversation came around to what would happen when Michael died. I hated to even think of it happening. When it did, he informed all three of us we'd inherit everything split three ways. Although they hid it, I knew the two of them weren't happy to hear his plan or that his will already reflected it. I knew they wouldn't want to share their dad's money with me. I just didn't know how upset they were, or I should say how upset Monroe, the youngest, was."

"What did the motherfucker do?" Boomer snarled.

"Two nights later, I was in the stable checking on one of the horses that had developed a limp earlier in the day. I was alone, and Monroe came up to me. He started telling me how he wasn't sharing his inheritance with a whore's daughter. He told me he and Mason knew Mom was nothing but a gold digger, and I was the same. I argued with him. The next thing I knew, he grabbed me and shoved me into a stall. He pulled a knife and told me to strip. He was gonna have some fun before he ensured I disappeared for good."

"Fuck, baby, God no. He raped you," he whispered.

I shook my head no. "No, he didn't, but he got close, so close. I kept fighting him despite the knife, and I was cut a few times. Somehow, I got my legs between us eventually, and I shoved him away hard. He stumbled back and slipped on the slick hay. I got up and ran, but he came after me. I knew I couldn't get to the house. It was too far away, and no one could hear my screams, so I headed for the tack room."

"To lock yourself in? God tell me the fucker is in prison."

"There was no lock on the tack room door, and he's not in prison. I made it by some miracle, and I found what I needed. We kept a pistol there. It's common to find snakes and other things around the stable and when riding. It was always loaded. When he came through the door, I warned him I'd shoot if he didn't get away from me. He laughed and told me I didn't have the guts and I'd pay before he killed me. He kept coming toward me, so I shot him. He's not in prison because I killed him, Brayden." I whispered the last part. I was shaking, recalling the memory of that night and the rest.

"Jesus Christ, tell me you don't feel bad for killing the bastard? He was gonna rape and kill you. He got what he deserved."

"He did, though I had some guilt. I killed Michael's son. I was terrified of what he'd say, and I was scared to death thinking I was going to prison for murder."

"What did he say? I presume they ruled it self-defense."

"He was amazing. One of the hands heard the gunshot and came running. He took me to the house. I was beaten, cut, my clothes torn. I was bawling as I told Michael and Mason what happened. The police were called. It was horrible. In the end, the district attorney decided not to press charges. He said it was a clear case of self-defense. I know the reason he didn't was that Michael not only didn't hate me, but he also got me the best defense attorney in the state. He kept telling me I did the right thing and the only person responsible for Monroe's death was Monroe."

"That's wonderful. So, if he was okay with it, why did you leave South Dakota and move here? I don't understand. And why don't you have contact with your stepdad?"

"Because while Michael was wonderful, Mason wasn't. He blamed me, and he was so angry when I wasn't put in prison. Honestly, Michael and I were both scared of what he might do. Michael's solution was to smuggle me off the ranch and out of the state. He made me promise not to come back or contact him. He didn't want to risk Mason finding out where I was. It almost killed me to leave, but I did it. That was six years ago." I was sobbing into his chest at this point.

I had no idea how long I cried while he rocked me and whispered sweet words to me. He softly asked me another question when I finally stopped in utter exhaustion. I could tell he was hanging onto his cool by a thread.

"What is his name? I want to know the motherfucker's name, Bella? No one deserves what you went through. Your days of worrying he might find you are over. Hell, how he hasn't found you, I don't know, but we're not risking him doing it down the road."

"I changed my name. The records are sealed, courtesy of Michael and his fancy lawyers. He did all he could to help me. He wanted to give me money, and I took a little, but I refused to be what Monroe and Mason accused me and Mom of being. I hate Mason. He has kept me from seeing a man I consider a second father and from being able to visit my mom's grave."

"I know, and it stops now. I want his name and where Michael lives. With that, we can find and take care of Mason."

"Take care of him, how?"

He stared hard at me and raised his brow. "You know what happened to those who took Sadie," he stated. I nodded. "If we'd do that for her and those women, why the hell wouldn't we do it for my old lady? You're family, and this motherfucker will pay. The law can't do anything to him, but we can. I want his name."

"I don't want any of you to get hurt or go to prison! He's a cunning bastard."

"I don't care how cunning he is. It'll take much more than him to hurt or get us thrown in prison. Name!"

I knew he wasn't about to let it go. I softly said, "His name is Mason Judge, and Michael is or was in Fairfax, South Dakota. It's a town close to the border of Nebraska. My real name was Isobel Rogers. Please, don't do anything that'll come back on you or the club. He hasn't found me in six years."

"I won't risk him ever finding you. Plus, I want you to be able to visit Michael and your mom's grave. He's kept you from them long enough."

"Okay." I was too exhausted to argue.

"Let's go to bed, but first, you take a bath so you can relax. You've been through the wringer tonight. I'm glad you told me, but I hate that you had to relive it all."

"A bath and bed sounds wonderful."

He stood with me still in his arms and carried me to the bathroom. He insisted on bathing me and then tucking me into bed, where he surrounded me with his strong arms. I thought I wouldn't sleep, but I drifted off. My last thought before I did was a prayer. Please, don't let him or the others get hurt or killed and, especially, not caught. I can't live without him.