Rivers end boxset volume.., p.28
River's End Boxset Volume 3, page 28
She glanced up to find her dad in the doorway. His gaze was crestfallen as he realized she was crying. She tried to wipe off the tears. He started to come closer. “I just need some air.”
Her dad stopped dead, fisting his hands again. Anger rippled off him in waves. “I get how and why you trashed this place,” Shane said in a low tone, his jaw clenching.
Mateo nodded. “Me too.”
She let Mateo take her outside. “I just need a moment. I’m going back to work. Let me sit over there.” She pointed towards one of the benches that overlooked the river.
It was a while before the noise captured her attention and she turned to see what was going on. Random ranch people were running the opposite way. Was a horse hurt? Did one get loose? Was it a fight? It must be. She jumped to her feet. They all headed towards Rydell Rides. Shit. Was it a fire?
She ran towards the shop.
Her dad… and Jack? Jack was pulling her dad back from the edge of the shop. She walked up just as Ian and Joey came up too. What?
She rushed with them but her dad whipped around. “Get them away from here.” He brushed his hand towards the workers around them.
Jack turned and muttered to AJ, the foreman, who started telling everyone to scatter. They left and Iris hurried toward her dad and Jack. “What’s wrong?”
Her dad turned. “Everything. But nothing. I have this under control.” His voice was deadpan serious and even, so lethal, it sent shivers down her spine.
“What’s going on?” She turned to Jack. “What’s he talking about?”
“He’s trying to burn the shop down. We’re trying to convince him not to, that he’s lost his damn mind.”
“No. I haven’t. I’m solving a problem,” Shane retorted, kicking the dust at their feet.
“You’ll set half the damn valley up again, if you do. It’s always over dry at this time and you know that. We’ll be sued for insurance fraud. Someone could get hurt fighting it or because of it… and besides, it’s just fucking stupid and crazy.”
“It is none of those things,” Shane argued, his tone still cool and his gaze unflinching. His muscles were tight.
“Dad, you can’t. You can’t burn it down. That’s insane.”
He turned to Iris and his gaze completely morphed. Tenderness softened his features. “You can’t work there. It has to go. It’s not insane. It’s a problem now and I’m solving it. Even if I can’t solve anything else.”
“Goddamn it, Shane. I can’t abide this conversation.” Jack nearly hissed at Shane. Jack pushed on his arm. “Give me the damn lighter.”
“No.”
“Shane.”
Whipping around, Shane suddenly grabbed Jack and pushed him into the building. “I haven’t had to do this in a long time, old man. But again, you aren’t my keeper. Iris was raped in there. My daughter. My Iris. You think I give a fuck about anything inside there or this building? My daughter gets physically ill every time she has to go in there. She used to work there once. She lived and breathed and loved the work she did inside there. It was her passion and joy and we shared it. What, Jack? Because she was violated, she doesn’t deserve to enjoy working now? The worm who did that to her takes that from her too? Fuck that. And fuck you. My wife and my daughters are the only people I care about in my life. You’re worried about some sheet metal and nails? And a building? I have enough money saved that I never need to work again. But I have only one Iris. And she got hurt in there. It’s tainted now. Gone. It will never be my place of business again.” Iris burned up with heat as her dad’s voice, so tight and barely restrained, explained his position to Jack.
Jack stared at Shane. His throat still worked. Then he glanced at Iris. He didn’t know, of course, until her dad announced it. Jack’s entire face contorted with sympathy.
Jack pushed Shane and said, “I had no idea, Shane. I didn’t know.” He moved away from Shane and glanced down at Iris. “I’m sorry, Iris. I’m…” His voice cracked. “I’m just so damn sorry.”
Her dad came over and put his arms around her. “No. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have told him like that. I shouldn’t have shouted it. And I know you care, Jack. But… now you see why I gotta burn the fucker.”
Jack’s jaw ticked. “I’m hella sorry. But Shane… you still can’t burn it. We—”
“Oh, hell no. Are you saying my daughter has to give up her job because of where it would be? She will not lose anything more than she already has. Not if I can help it.”
Iris released her dad and shook her head. “Dad, you can’t burn it. Jack’s right.”
Jack continued. “I said you can’t burn it, it’s too dangerous…” Turning, he glanced at it, then back at them.
“What if it were Erin? Or Melanie?”
Jack’s face went to stone and he clenched his jaw. “I’d have gasoline poured all over it and you’d be pulling me back with my lighter.”
Her dad almost cheered. “Yeah.”
“But I have a better way. We’ll take it down. You and me, Ian and Joey… we’ll take the building apart, recycle whatever materials we can.”
Shane stiffened and Iris stared in disbelief at Jack. “You guys can’t do that… just because of…”
“What? Just because you were raped in there? Violated? Tortured? Yeah, we fucking can and we should and anyone who doesn’t understand that or want to do that is dead to me. If people fucking cared more, perhaps it wouldn’t happen with the rampant, disgusting frequency that it does. I thought I could protect you girls and your mom… but I see now, that was all shit and we…”
“Can’t,” Iris supplied for him.
Her dad took her shoulders in his big, paw-like hands and stared into her eyes. “Can you imagine going inside there? Standing and working in the same bay? While the concrete is still there? It is forever stained by what happened to you. Stuck in your memory. If I can destroy that, and wipe that spot off the fucking earth, you’re goddamned right I will. I’m a damn millionaire thanks to my work and my family. I can spend it and waste it whenever I choose to. This? It’s a necessity, Iris, for me and for you.”
When his tone fell lower, Shane kissed her forehead and Iris collapsed against his chest. He wrapped her up as only her dad could. She put her arms around him. “I can’t believe the excess of this…”
He nodded. “Realize one thing, I wasn’t asking. Not you or Jack. I want to destroy my business and that’s that.”
“Have you told Mom? You’d better tell her before you do that again. She will skewer you if you don’t.”
His tone was soft and quiet when he replied, “Mom mentioned doing it herself.”
Iris jerked back and her eyes got huge. “Mom would mention it only as a hypothetical and out of anger and hurt for me, not to actually burn it down.” Iris knew she nailed it when her dad glanced at her and then quickly away. Her dad could plan some extreme things, but her mom? She always stopped him. She was always right too. But this time, she didn’t realize what Shane intended. He wanted to burn their business to the ground.
“Dad, it’s your business and future. What about all your employees? Mateo? Chan? Jeff? Their families need their salary. They shouldn’t all be punished for something they had nothing to do with.”
Her dad waved his hand around. “Oh, no worries, I’ll pay them. No gap. They can help me with the tear-down. Perhaps the fire solution is a bit extreme. Jack’s idea is probably better. Slower and all that, but safer and more effective. Yeah. And we’ll rebuild it, Iris, and it’s yours. Your business and your future. Crap, I’m about done except for tinkering. But you can have your shop and business however you like it.”
Iris had no words. Nothing could undo what happened to her. But hearing what they planned to do for her, and in her name, was humbling. And extreme. Yeah… it was also kind of her parents’ way.
“I will do anything for you and your sisters. You know that. And never forget it again. Always come to me.”
“And me.”
She whipped around and saw Quinn. He stood at a distance, tilting his head as he stepped towards her. He kept her gaze as he spoke to her dad. “I can help tear the fucker down too.”
“You don’t think it’s too extreme?” Iris tried to pry some reason out of all this.
“No.”
Quinn’s tone was as curt and final as her dad’s. He leaned over and kissed her head before turning towards her dad. “Now?”
“The sooner the better.” Shane let her go as he turned towards the storage sheds. Jack followed. Ian and Joey went along too.
“When did you get here?”
“I saw the commotion when I pulled in. I figured it was about you somehow…”
“He’s tearing it down.”
“I know. I’m helping him.”
“It’s insane.”
He leveled a gaze at her and tilted her chin up. “You deserve it. You. Okay? I would do it without his help. You deserve to work at the job you love. It’s you…”
“But it keeps me here. Away from you and me. Maybe it should stand and I should leave.”
“You’re not leaving.” His tone was hard and flat. “You need your mom and dad, your sisters and the familiarity of this place. You need it all to heal. You’re not leaving and neither am I.”
Her heart tripped. He couldn’t stay. There was nothing here for him but her. He had an empire to run.
“Quinn, you can’t live here.”
He leaned forward and set his lips on hers. Lowering his head to be eye level with her, he tugged on a strand of hair. “I can because you’re here.”
She shook her head. “Oh, Quinn, you can’t do that. Not because of this. The trauma will pass. You can’t make decisions like that now, not based on this. You just… can’t.”
“I can. I will. I have.”
He turned as her dad started walking up. Her dad threw him a hammer and a bucket. Did Quinn even know which end to use? But he followed her dad, dressed in his tailored suit, minus only the jacket. It probably cost a thousand dollars and he was ready to start demo-ing an entire building?
This was maybe going a little far. But when Iris pointed it out, no one stopped or paused or even listened. They just started pulling nails. It wasn’t long before the first sheet of metal was pulled free.
Jesus H. Christ, they were going to tear down an entire building… all for her.
She didn’t know what to say or do about that.
Other than, goddamn. Goddamn.
Guilt riddled her. She hated the fucking building. Every blessed square foot of it now and the material that held it up. A place her father built, promoted and expanded, which became successful and which she’d singlehandedly took away from him. She couldn’t work there now. Even though she wanted to.
What about Mateo and Chan and Jeff?
Men lifted the power tools and machinery out of the building. They intended to salvage some of it. Iris felt ill, but also redeemed. She was confused. The men in her life were ripping down a building, a perfectly good, decent building, all for her.
“They’re tearing it down,” Iris announced when she got to the porch.
Her mom nodded, and her mouth was strained with emotion. Putting her arms out, she said, “I know. Dad saw you have a—a moment over the spot where it happened. He believes that will never change. He couldn’t stand it. For the rest of your life always having to walk and work around that spot. It seemed like torture. And the alternative was you not being there. In which he’d lose much more. That building has no value to any of us now.”
“He was going to burn it.”
“Okay, that was a bit excessive, but Jack must have managed to talk some sense into him. That’s why I called him.”
All the while, Iris stared out at the river, calming down. “Quinn’s never done any kind of physical work before. What if he gets hurt?”
“Your dad will look out for him.”
She nodded. “What do I do now? I’ve ruined Dad’s business. Mateo, me, Jeff and Chan have nowhere to work. What about the financial costs in all of this?”
“You just heal. You have to work at it. I think Jack’s going to use one of the other outbuildings for a temporary quarters.”
“Dad’s crazy.”
“About you, yes. About me and your sisters, and Jack and the rest of the family and the ranch land? Yes, he’s protective to a fault about all that. But would you have him any other way? How many fathers would annihilate their entire business to vindicate their daughter? He won’t harm you anymore than you are already and being in that shop was detrimental to your recovery. Admire him. Be grateful for him. And this one time, just let him.”
Shocked, Iris didn’t expect her mom to go along with that. It seemed to be the first time her mom agreed with Dad’s extreme reactions.
People talked. Plenty of gossip came from the ranch workers and townspeople. The reason why the Rydells decided to demolish one of the major buildings was a hot topic. Iris hated their concerned looks, although she knew it was already out there. She stood tall and made her spine support her. Few knew of her shameful orgasm. She would have to move from River’s End if it ever became public fodder. Only Quinn, Rose, her parents and she knew.
Jack and Erin called a family meeting that took place in the arena. Iris didn’t attend but she was told they discussed the new security measures that were being instituted as well as their enforcement.
A locked gate now secured the main entrance of the ranch. AJ Reed lived across the street from the main gate, which he opened and closed every day and night. An emergency switch on the inside would alert the family to any intruders. A tall, razor-wire topped fence and automated gates now separated the Rydell River Resort from the private residences. The new building for Rydell Rides would also have its own fence, with razor-wire on top and a gate only a few people would have access to. They brought in several security experts to design the outdoor video security system. Not one inch or doorway of the ranch could escape the cameras; they were under full-time surveillance.
They also hired a twenty-four/seven security team to remain onsite. Their job was watching the cameras and monitoring the gates. The private houses now all had security systems, tied into the ranch’s main security.
Iris watched the workers come and go. Some were there to tear Rydell Rides apart, others were stringing cameras and electronic surveillance throughout the houses. It seemed endless. “Isn’t this a little excessive?” Iris asked when she ran into her Uncle Jack. He was measuring her apartment.
“No.” He glanced at her kindly. He was quiet but always caring toward her. As a kid she often shadowed him with the other cousins. He always had a nice word or two for her.
“Never. We’ll spend every last dime we have to prevent something like this from happening again.”
“Common sense would also help prevent it. Like not working alone after hours.”
“Well… those rules need to be enforced too.”
“Seriously, Uncle Jack, does the family have the money to pay for all this?”
“Actually, yes, but we didn’t have to.” He tilted his head and glanced away. She could tell he was surprised she didn’t know that.
It hit her that quickly. “Quinn? He paid for everything? All of it?”
“We put up our best arguments, but he made an even more compelling case. He didn’t tell you?”
“No.”
She let Jack finish as she noticed her bodyguard, also courtesy of Quinn. So duh, he was the one responsible for all the expensive changes at the ranch.
Iris doubted any of her uncles would have instituted them on their own. Even if they realized the security was too lax, it was such a small town, they tended to trust those in the area. It took Quinn, being from the city and his wealth of experience, to create this level of paranoia.
She didn’t know how she felt about that. Confused. Sad. Tired.
Quinn walked in later, looking exhausted. His hair was matted to his forehead from sweating in the June heat. For the first time she’d ever witnessed, he was wearing grungy jeans with rips and holes in them and a dark t-shirt. Sweat stains were everywhere. He was still helping with the demolition and Iris had to restrain herself from melting and getting all gooey inside each time he came home.
Quinn was so adorably exhausted by the manual labor. He’d never done it before. He never even cleaned his own room. He worked out in a gym to tone his muscles, but as far as doing physical labor? Oh, hell no. He came home absolutely worn out. His muscles were aching. Dirt and sweat were new to him and he showered immediately. He didn’t like being dirty, which actually made Iris smile.
It might have been the only smile she had since the demolition had started.
“Honey, Quinn’s a hard worker, but he’s totally clueless. Jesus. He doesn’t know a cross head screwdriver from a flat head. And hammering? I’m not sure he ever managed to actually hit the head of the nail. I finally told him to separate the material to either reuse or throw away. Grunt jobs. He ain’t gonna be a carpenter in this lifetime, that’s for sure. I don’t like carpentry and doing all of this either, but geez! At least, I can hold my own.”
Iris laughed the first night her dad came home and told her that. She stayed over often at her parents’ house. They stayed, actually. She and Quinn. They all ate dinner together and no one complained about Quinn sleeping in her bedroom. It just was.
The first few nights, Quinn showered, drank beers, iced his shoulders and back and fell asleep in the living room chair before eight o’clock. That pretty much sealed Iris’s heart for him.
She tried to pretend they weren’t tearing down a perfectly decent building. A place she should have learned how to work in again. But her dad seemed to get a smidgeon lighter and happier since it began. Iris asked him about it once, and he replied, “I couldn’t be in there, Iris. I pictured you getting hurt in there every time I went to work. What good is that?”
A month into it, Quinn approached her dad and mom and Iris. “I think a separate crew should start designing the new Rydell Rides. It takes time to draw up the plans and get the permits and all that. I volunteer for the position since I would be excellent as the lead.”
