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All Chapters of Cattenach Ranch: Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

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Chapter 41

Stretching, Olivia rubbed her bare legs against the sheets and reached for Nate, but his side of the bed was cool. She blinked against the morning light filtering through the blinds as disappointment hit her. Figuring he was out running, she smiled and recalled last night while burying her face in the pillow. He'd finally let go. The emotion pouring through him in the way he'd made love to her had been amazing. Earth-shattering. Soul-crushing. After all the horrible things he'd seen and done, that were put upon him, he seemed to be shedding the past and looking toward a future.About time.Another stretch, and she slipped out of bed with the sheet around her middle. She padded into the living room, only to abruptly halt.Nate sat on the sofa, elbows on his knees and head in his hands. He was fully dressed in jeans, boots, and a tee, and the tension radiating off him stalled her heart. Muscles rippled and ink came alive as his fingers fisted."I need to tell you something." Slowly
last updateLast Updated : 2022-04-19
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Chapter 42

Agonizing seconds went by, then he strode to the door and paused with his hand on the knob. He pinched his eyes closed. But it was his low, tortured admission that clawed her from the inside out. "I wish it had been me."The door shut quietly behind him.Time collapsed and the room vacuumed of oxygen. The longer she stood in the middle of the room, alone and gutted, the more she bled out until she was a numb, vacant shell.Had she been too quick to forgive him? Was she letting her feelings for him pollute rational thought? She didn't think so. Aside from failing to tell her about his role in Justin's death, Nate had never lied to her. In fact, getting him to talk about his past, about anything, had been like pulling teeth from a rabid wolf. No one would make up stories like that. Besides, his behavior backed up everything. What was she supposed to do now? Could she fix it, make him understand? Did he just need space?Justin. Dear, sweet Justin. That's what she needed. To talk
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Chapter 43

Every instinct told him to run, to get as far away from the pain as fast as possible. But he'd given his word, had made a promise, and he'd keep it. Though it wouldn't be right under her nose on the ranch, Nate would protect Olivia just the same. Pain be damned.On his Hog, he tore down the road, heading for town with two goals to accomplish by day's endto find a way to stay in Meadowlark and to make sure he'd never be in a position to hurt Olivia again. He'd barely made it out of the Cattenach Ranch gate and his chest pinched from missing her. And he'd better get used to it. Not that he ever would. Christ, he never should've touched her, never should've let her try to...heal him. His own misery was something he'd grown familiar with eons ago, but this particular level went beyond that to an amplified version of hell.The look on her face, the hurt in her voice, the way she'd tried to justify...No. No, no, no.Pulling off the main road a few minutes later, he parked in front of
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Chapter 44

Shit. Closing his eyes, Nate skimmed his hand over his clenched gut."And I also know Olivia better than anyone." Nakos's determined gaze nailed Nate to the couch when he refocused on the foreman. "She's a pain in the ass, stubborn as hell, and has a heart bigger than a church full of saints, but she's not stupid. If the goal is to not hurt her, you're going about it back-asswards. You told her the truth. All your secrets are out. And what was the first thing she did?" He tipped his bottle at Nate. "She went after you."Well, Nate had wanted the foreman's insight. He'd gotten it. Hell, he didn't have a clue what he'd been expecting to hear, but shock blew him away nonetheless. This place, these people, were like being dropped in another dimension with no compass or instructions. Another world he never fathomed could exist.Nakos stood and glanced around. "Kind of downsizing your life, if you ask me. Smells like someone's great-grandmother's attic, too." Despite the chaos in his he
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Chapter 45

Olivia pulled her truck in the driveway and cut the engine, then pounded her fist on the steering wheel a trillion times. Not that it helped her frustration level, but it beat screaming through town like Wee Willie Winkie after a meltdown.All day yesterday, she'd torn Meadowlark apart trying to find Nate. After little sleep, she'd headed out to do the same thing this morning. Nothing. Nada. All Rip would tell her was Nate started work on Monday and that, last he'd heard, Nate was fine. The good ole boys club, protecting each other. Rip must've assumed Nate needed time.She wasn't fine. And she didn't believe for one second Nate was, either.Helpless tears of concern and fear threatened again, so she climbed out of the truck and stalked toward the barn. Perhaps Nakos had heard from Nate. Sunlight beat down and the grass was damp with dew. Spring clung to the tepid air and birds chirped. A breeze whirred the leaves budding on the trees. Flowers poked through the defrosted ground, r
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Chapter 46

"You!" The cemetery gate squeaked open and slammed shut.Nate spun at the feminine shriek and found one purely pissed off and furious Olivia Cattenach stomping toward him. Homicidal eyes red-rimmed, lips firm, auburn hair flying around her head, and a fierce wrinkle between her brows, she launched at him. He barely had time to set his feet and her fists were pounding his chest."You...jerk!" Punch. "How could you take off like that?" Punch. "I looked everywhere for you." Punch, punch. "All day, half the night, and this morning."Christ. He lifted his hands, not to fend her off because, well, she wasn't actually hurting him in the slightest, but he was worried she'd hurt herself. "Olivia" "No. You don't get to speak. You said enough yesterday. It's my turn." And...she was back to wailing on him. "I was worried sick." Punch. "I thought you were dead in a ditch..." Inhaling suddenly, she straightened, her pretty eyes bugging into something downright scary. "You're laughing at me?"
last updateLast Updated : 2022-04-19
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Chapter 47

VOLUME TWO: BENEDICTIONRibs screaming in agony, blood dripping from her nose and lip, and her right eye swollen almost shut, Amy Tarcher stumbled through the Cattenach Ranch iron gate onto her best friend's property. Her legs cramped, barely holding her up, and the vertigo was screwing with her balance. Loose gravel over the brick-laid driveway grated under her shuffling flip-flops, but they were all she'd been able to manage when she'd fled home.Amy's own postage stamp of a house was in an older subdivision on the other side of Olivia's sprawling ranch. Which meant, somehow, she'd walked three miles to get here. Her car hadn't been an option. Before her husband had gone mental and put her in this current black and blue state, he'd slashed her tires, smashed her cell phone, and had taken a hammer to her photography equipment. That hurt almost worse than the beating he'd inflicted.An end in sight, she forced her feet to keep moving and headed up the driveway at a drunken snail's p
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Chapter 48

Quick as lightning, Nate strode forward, shoved his revolver in his waistband, and planted Chris face-first in the dirt. With a knee between his shoulders and a firm hand on the back of his neck, Nate toed the gun farther from them.He whipped his attention to Olivia. "Did he hurt you?" He scanned her for wounds as if he might expire on the spot if she had any.She shook her head repeatedly, tears leaving tracks on her cheeks. Her gaze dropped to Amy. "She's pretty bad, though."Amy opened her mouth to reassure her friend, but Nakos set his rifle behind him and squatted next to her. Familiar midnight eyes traced her face with frenetic concern in their depths. The dark skin of his Native American heritage grew ashen the longer he stared. Eyebrows wrenched in a frown and jaw tight, he reached for her with a shaking hand, but swiftly drew back. "You've looked better, Ames." The tension cracking his voice nearly felled her.She tried to smile, but it reopened her lip and sent blood t
last updateLast Updated : 2022-04-19
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Chapter 49

Three months later...Today was going to suck. And not the good kind. Nope. The big, sweaty, hairy donkey balls variety. He thought he'd been prepared for this, but the shift in his gut said otherwise.Biting back a sigh, Nakos Hunt glanced from the two men standing beside him to the wide open expanse of Cattenach Ranch. Two-thousand acres of rolling grasslands and high plains. The Laramie Mountains just to the south were little more than a bluish mirage in the distance, but a slightly cool breeze wafted across the basin to provide some relief from the heat. A rare hot Wyoming sun beat down from a cloudless sky as prairie grass crackled in the wind. He shoved his index finger between his neck and the white collar of the button down shirt Olivia had forced him to wear, trying to get liberation from the upper eighties temperature. With his dark skin, courtesy of his native Arapaho tribe, he was roasting. At least she'd let him wear jeans and cowboy boots, but he felt naked without hi
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Chapter 50

Up went Nate's hands. "I didn't say a thing."Would this day never end? "Are you nervous?" Nakos side-glanced the groom, wishing the dude had at least a bead of perspiration from anxiety. But no. A pillar, this one."Hell no. I can't wait."Figured, not that Nakos could blame him.They assumed their positions based on the pithy rehearsal the day before and waited for the music to start. If anyone thought having the nuptials right outside the wrought iron gate of the Cattenach's private cemetery was odd, they didn't know the family very well. Olivia's parents, along with three generations of relatives before, were buried there. As was Justin, someone who had meant the world to both the bride and groom. It was only fitting they'd want to be closer to him on their day, if merely to have his spirit nearby.Situated off to the right, Meadowlark's high school band began to play, notes from guitar strings and flutes floating on the breeze. Moments later, Amy stepped into view at the base
last updateLast Updated : 2022-04-19
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