Broken Trouble (Broken Storm Book 1) Read online

  I sighed and ran a hand through my hair, brushing it away from my eyes. No one knew Storm better than I did, so I would just have to see how things go. I wouldn't force something on Storm that he didn't want to do. That was probably one of the things that had made Storm the way he is. I know it's one of the things that dragged me further into the darkness.

  Forced into foster homes, doing things for the families that I was sure birth daughters never had to do, being put into juvie, then thrown back to the first foster home willing to take me for a little cash. At a certain point I had stopped caring. People would force me to do things I didn't want to. Only on the rare occasion did I put up a fight. If I would have fought more, then maybe I wouldn't have gone through what I had, but it felt like it was the only path life had given me. It was a dark and painful path, but it was the one that had led me to this place and to Storm.

  Maybe it was all a coincidence that Storm made such a ruckus that night, causing me to come to this place. Or maybe he could sense that we were two souls in need of each other. After all, Storm rarely made a sound with me here at the ranch, so it would make perfect sense. Either way, it had led me here, to the calm of the countryside with people I was almost ready to call my friends. I may be holding back from admitting it, but they already held that title. Who knew where my path would lead me? It could take me back to the disaster that was my life, or it could take me into a life I would enjoy living.

  I got one of the brushes, getting the feel of it in my hand. When I turned, Storm was staring at me with a Sugar Straw sticking out of his mouth like a cigarette, awaiting my next move.

  I moved towards Storm and he stood completely still, his playfulness gone, replaced with avid interest.

  He shifted his weight slightly, but all four hooves stayed planted into the ground as I gathered up the Sugar Straws that was scattered around him. I opened the packets and fed him the contents, watching him as he watched me. Storm eyed me like he knew I was about to do something different, which wasn't surprising because the brush in my hand was a dead giveaway.

  I took a deep breath, trailing my fingers across Storm’s coat, watching as his skin jumped under my fingers, his ears twitching. He wasn't moving away from me, so I continued petting him, working my way across his body in what felt like a game of minesweeper. I judged his reaction for where I would touch next.

  Once I had covered his body, I went back over his coat, petting the spots where he seemed the most comfortable. As time passed, I could see his muscles slowly relaxing. His breathing was slower and deeper. I seemed to have the same reaction he had, because I felt relaxed and calm.

  I could see the sky was slowly turned from black to a navy blue and I knew the sun would be making its climb over the horizon soon.

  I left Storm’s corral to get him food and strode over to the feed shed. As I put a scoop of feed into the bucket, I heard a noise on the roof.

  What was that? The trees weren't close enough to the shed to brush up against it.

  I stepped outside and set the bucket down, circling the feed shed as I searched for the source of the noise. Instead of branches, or a rodent of some kind, I saw a pair of boots hanging slightly off the edge, the heel of a boot tapping the edge of the roof.

  Why would someone be lying on top of the feed shed this early in the morning? Were they fixing the roof before it got hot out?

  Curiosity ate at me. I took note that Gavin was still over at the truck, which meant it wasn't him. I circled around the feed shed until I found the spot that looked like the best place to climb. Grasping the highest board I could reach, I hopped up, my shoes skidding on the boards as I tried to find grip.

  I wasn't aware of a hand coming over the edge until it had me in its grasp and pulled me up and onto the roof. My hands smacked against the cool metal, the sound of it ringing loudly in the peaceful morning air. I crouched on my hands and knees on the roof and looked up to see Wyatt smirking at me from beneath his cowboy hat.

  "I was hoping you'd find me here," he murmured, sitting back.

  "What are you doing up here?" I asked, sitting up so I was kneeling.

  His eyes found mine and he examined my face thoughtfully, then nodded to the spot beside him. "Wait and see."

  I frowned, but moved to sit beside him. Wait and see what? All I could see was the darkness of the ranch as the sun struggled to rise. I waited a couple minutes to see if anything would appear, but nothing did. I glanced at Wyatt out of the corner of my eye.

  He was leaning back on the roof, an arm bent behind his head to cushion him from the hard metal. His eyes stayed on the horizon, his body completely relaxed as his breathing came out in slow, even breaths of air.

  Had he meant that whatever I was waiting for would be revealed now, or later? Wyatt seemed to leave his meaning up to me. Maybe this was the way to be close to him, to pass his mental tests to see the real him.

  How cowboy of him.

  I sat and wrapped my arms around my legs, waiting it out. Waiting him out.

  The longer I sat there, the more I glanced at Wyatt, trying to figure out what he was staring at. When the first wisps of pink and orange color started streaking its way across the sky, Wyatt visibly perked up, his eyes staying focused on the sunrise.

  After a moment, he looked at me and I knew he was silently asking if I was seeing the same thing he was. Why was he acting like a sunrise was the best thing in the world? Sure, it was pretty, but it happened every day. So what?

  "What do you see?" Wyatt asked, his eyes intense on mine until he turned them back on the sunrise. The colors reflected from his blue eyes, making them look like fire.

  Fire. My mind answered for me, but I knew Wyatt wasn't asking about his eyes, just the sunrise.

  "A sunrise?" I was uncertain, knowing he was searching for more in my response than that, but I didn't know how to give it to him.

  Wyatt nodded, but stayed silent for a moment, causing me to turn and watch the sunrise with him.

  "I come out here every morning to watch the sunrise. No matter how dark it is at night, the sun still rises. It still casts its colors out across the sky, even if it's a cloudy day," Wyatt paused, his eyes intensifying. "The cloudier it is, the harder it is for the sun to cast its light, and the more beautiful the colors become."

  I could tell Wyatt wasn't just talking about the sky, he was also talking about himself, or me, or anyone for that matter. He was trying to show me what gave him hope every day. He was sharing something special with me, letting me in a bit more to see his vulnerability, in an attempt to help me. When Wyatt was focused on helping someone, he really gave it his all. No wonder he was so good with horses.

  Wyatt looked down into my eyes from under his hat. "No matter what, it never gives up."

  I could hear the inner meaning ringing clear in his voice. He was telling me to never give up.

  This cowboy was chocked full of knowledge.

  I stared back into Wyatt's eyes, which were still reflecting the orange from the sunrise, and smiled. I didn't know what to say to thank him, or to convey that I understood what he was saying. I didn't need to though, because after he watched me for a moment, he seemed to relax. He understood what I was thinking.

  Wyatt leaned back and we watched the rest of the sunrise together in comfortable silence. The colors in the sky were beautiful and what it meant to Wyatt was amazing, but that wasn't my favorite part.

  My favorite part was how the orange reflected in Wyatt's crystal blue eyes, showing the spark that was lit inside of him. Looking into his eyes was the spark that lit a fire inside my soul that had never burned before.

  ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

  By the time breakfast was over, I was ready for the day ahead. No wonder Wyatt always watched the sunrise if it gave him this much motivation.

  No one was working on the barn today. With the rodeo just a couple days away, everyone had preparations to make. It left me with nothing to do, but sit around and watch them. I stood on the fencing of a co
rral, watching Dylan and Landon as they galloped their horses after some small cows, practicing their roping.

  Dylan rode Lance while Landon rode his horse, which was a strongly muscled black and white paint, its black mane and tail floating out behind it as it galloped along.

  I understood absolutely none of what they were doing or trying to do, but it was still fun to watch.

  They did one round where Dylan roped the cow's horns and Landon roped the cows back legs, before jumping off his horse and dragging it to the ground, wrapping the rope around its legs.

  Their whoops of happiness were the only sign that what they’d done was what they were supposed to do.

  I clapped and cheered, causing them to turn their heads and wave. As they did, the cow struggled out of the ropes and stood up, free of its bounds. I could see the guys shoulders droop from where I stood.

  "If you thought that was impressive, then you should see what I can do with you and some rope," Jayden's voice spoke from directly behind me.

  I turned my head to look at him, only to find his eyes roaming over my backside. Granted, it was kind of stuck out with the way I was standing and leaning over the fence, but that didn't mean he could practically eat me with his heated eyes.

  "I think I'll pass on that experience," I said, rolling my eyes and changing position so I was standing in front of the fence, facing Dylan and Landon. At least now my butt wasn't in the air. I heard only silence in return, so I continued to watch them practice roping.

  A rope fell around my shoulders and at first I thought it was Dylan and Landon playing around, but they were on the other side of the corral, too far away for their ropes to reach.

  The rope tightened around my arms and I heard a dark chuckle from behind me.

  I should have known that silence from Jayden meant trouble.

  "Jayden," I warned, even if my lips were pulling up in a smirk.

  He pressed up against me, sandwiching me against the fence as he made quick work with the rope. I struggled against his weight and the ropes, but it was no use. The ropes were tight and knotted, making it impossible for me to move my arms.

  Jayden's warm breath wafted across my skin as he nuzzled my ear. "See, the point is tie the calf up so it can't get loose. It's completely at your mercy.”

  I shivered slightly, but resisted my feelings. This was just Jayden being Jayden and I mentally kicked myself for letting my guard down again. He was infuriating, always managing to get whatever he wanted when it came to me. I had to be a lot stronger than this.

  "Jayden."

  He groaned in response, his hands staying firm at my arms to keep me from darting off to the side while he trailed his lips across the back of my neck. "I love hearing you say my name," he murmured.

  "Let me go," I demanded, putting as much strength and anger in my voice.

  A white muzzle appeared in front of my face as Landon and Dylan came to my rescue.

  "Jayden, let her go," Dylan ordered, though I couldn't see his face around Landon's horse.

  "I will in a minute, I was just showing her the proper way to tie a knot."

  "Well, she doesn't like it, so let her go," Landon ordered. I could hear boots hit the dirt as they both dismounted their horses, hopping over the fence to confront Jayden.

  "Ah, she likes it. Don’t you, Sweetheart?" I could practically hear the smirk on his lips.

  "Not especially," I grumbled, struggling to get loose. It amazed me that I wasn't having a panic attack from the ropes confining me like this.

  "Are you sure about that?" Jayden murmured in my ear before he was jerked back away from me.

  "What the hell? I'm just screwing with her," Jayden cursed as I turned around to try and see what was happening.

  "Yeah, I'm sure that's what you'd like to do, isn't it?" Landon shoved Jayden back again.

  "What if I do?" Jayden asked, his eyes hardening in a cold stare, "Who's going to stop me?"

  "I will," Dylan spoke, and for the first time since I've known him, he actually looked angry. It was surprising and it showed just how serious this was getting. They were fighting for me. Over me. Jayden needed to back off, sure, but that didn't mean I wanted them to fight.

  "We all will," Landon spoke and I finally noticed that the other guys were watching too. Gavin was watching us from the truck with his arms crossed over his chest, while Wyatt was making his way through a fence towards us.

  I managed to move my hand to my pocket, where I pulled out my pocket knife and started cutting at the ropes to get loose. If this situation turned bad, I would need my arms. "Guys,” I spoke, trying to get their attention. I was ignored.

  "You all can't stop me."

  "She can," Landon said, pointing to me before poking Jayden in the chest, "You better respect her."

  "What are you going to do? Poke a hole in my chest?" Jayden smirked.

  "If I have to. Would you prefer a knife or a pitchfork?" Landon growled.

  "Guys, stop it!" I yelled, wishing my knife was sharper. These ropes were really thick.

  "Ooh, you're so bad ass right now," Jayden taunted. Landon threw a punch at his face before tackling him to the ground.

  I felt the knife finish sawing through the rope and was untangling myself from them when a feminine, authoritative voice cut through the air. Polly stood with her hands planted firmly on her hips, looking ready to dish out punishment. "What in the heavens is going on here?"

  Chapter 16

  "Well?" Polly demanded the truth, raising her eyebrow. I was glad that her eyes were zoned in on the guys, because I really didn't want to suffer her wrath. Polly looked mad and the guys were probably lucky she wasn't holding a frying pan in her hand.

  "Jayden was being disrespectful of Nova," Landon explained. Just because the guys had a brotherly bond, didn't mean he wouldn't shove Jayden in front of the Polly-bus when he felt like he deserved it.

  Polly looked at me. "Are you okay, Honey?" Her voice was surprisingly soft compared to the one she was using for the boys at the moment.

  "Yeah." Jayden may have been doing something I didn't like, but he hadn't hurt me.

  Polly nodded, then snapped her fingers and pointed to the ranch house, her eyes locking back on Jayden. "In the house, now," she ordered, her voice full of warning.

  Jayden kept unusually quiet, showing how worried he was. They headed off towards the house, the only sign of Jayden's discomfort was his silence and the way his back muscles bunched beneath his shirt.

  Polly hadn't even asked for the full story, though I figured she already knew as much as she needed.

  Polly was mad and I wondered what she would do. I was both disappointed and relieved that she wasn't punishing him in front of everyone.

  Landon dusted himself off and Dylan stepped towards me, his eyes softening. The anger that had flashed across his face moments before disappeared without a trace. "Are you sure you're okay?"

  I smiled. "I'm fine Dylan, he was just being annoying."

  "An annoying jerk. He needs to back off," Landon grumbled.

  "I can handle him," I assured him, not really knowing if that was the truth. The guy was good at turning my mind to mush whenever he wanted to.

  "Well, luckily you don't have to. Polly has it covered now," Wyatt assured, leaning against the fence beside me.

  Would Polly really be able to keep Jayden under control? Did I even want Jayden under control? Sure he was frustrating and somehow kept forcing me into doing things I didn't really want to do, but that didn't mean I wanted him to stop completely. I just wanted him to show me some respect. What had I really done here that would warrant any kind of respect from him? I’d burnt down the barn, which sank me down really low on the respect meter. Then again, Jayden didn't seem to care about the barn, so maybe it had nothing to do with that and everything to do with me not standing up to him. Maybe it was time to start.

  What did I need to do to earn the respect I wanted?

  A loud motor cranking and rattling to a start b
roke through my thoughts. I turned and watched as Gavin started the truck, black smoke bellowing out of the exhaust pipe. The truck coughed and sputtered before it evened out into a loud, rattly purr.

  The guys let out whoops of celebration and Gavin got out of the truck, raising both his fists in the air in victory. It was the first time I had seen Gavin celebrate anything other than hurting me.

  The puppy barked and jumped around, its little butt wiggling as he treated the truck like a giant beast he’d defeated.

  "Do you know what this means?" Landon asked, his mood lightening. I guess he was trusting Polly to take care of Jayden, so there was no need for him to worry about it anymore. "We're going out tonight!" he yelled, throwing his arms in the air.

  Dylan smiled, while Wyatt nudged my arm and said, "You're coming with us."

  I glanced around at the other guys, who were smiling and happy. No one seemed like they didn't want me to go, even Gavin didn't seem bothered by it. It would be nice to go somewhere and get off of the ranch for a while.

  "Where are we going?"

  The guys exchanged glances and Gavin shook his head, going to turn off the truck.

  "You'll see," Landon said as they all went back to work.

  Didn't guys know that girls needed to know how to dress? Going out could mean anything from watching movies to going clubbing, but that was what city people did. I had no idea what country people did when they went out. I needed help and I knew exactly who to call.

  Starre.

  ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

  Calling Starre was kind of weird, it had been forever since I’d called anyone, let alone a friend.

  Starre was ecstatic though and at the ranch house to pick me up before I could even hang up the phone. I had a bag full of my clothes to choose from, hoping there was something in there that would work.

  There wasn't anything I needed to be doing at the ranch today, so we decided to go back to Starre's house to get ready.