Thank you so much for the reviews on the last chapter, it makes me so happy to know people read and enjoy something I'm writing. And a special thank you to Guest! It was the nicest thing you could do to leave your thoughts on every chapter as you read through this story. I was smiling all day as your reviews kept posting. It was so much fun in the midst of a hard day to see your reviews throughout the day. I really can't thank you enough for taking the time to binge read this story, and then leave so many comments as you did. I really wanted to get a new chapter out for you. :)

Chapter 31

Kaylee made it to the stalls and swung down from the saddle. Her horse spooked back with a quick side step. Through her tears she was holding back, she managed to get Alcott back under control. Her breath was coming in short gasps. She couldn't get a hold of a rational thought. Her mind was spinning, her lungs were burning, and her legs felt like they were going to give out.

She needed to get things under control. She needed money for Cletus. She needed to cut ties with Nebraska before it ruined everything she had found with Ezra.

Alcott shied again and Kaylee led her into her stall fully saddled before she scared the poor mare any worse. She carefully closed the door to the stall, her fingers tightening around the metal bars, gripping the door for control.

She held back the storm of terror that was building, biting her lips. The panic built until the pressure had her hands shaking and no amount of clenching the stall bars would stop it.

With a cry she whirled around, grabbing the bucket of brushes she kept outside the stall and flinging it down the aisle. It clattered in the quiet of the barn, a couple thuds coming from inside stalls as horses reacted to the sudden noise. Alcott's halter was hanging and Kaylee yanked it off the hook and hurled it after the bucket with all the strength she had.

Kaylee covered her face with her hands. She pressed the heels of her hands into her eyes, the pressure from her hands meeting the force of the tears that threatened.

Warm hands were on her elbows then, but it was Ezra's voice, stopping her from pulling away.

"What is going on?"

Kaylee shook her head, keeping her eyes covered. She couldn't look at Ezra. She couldn't face how everything was going to fall to pieces when she didn't have the money for Cletus. Cletus would go to the cops and tell them she had sold the bricks of heroin, the bottles of pills. Enough drugs that she would be in prison for years. Or her mom would be. And her mom would never survive prison.

She felt Ezra's fingers tighten slightly, could feel his concern in the movement. "This isn't about losing tonight," Ezra said.

"It's…" Kaylee's voice trailed off. If she told Ezra about Cletus, she would have to tell him about selling the drugs to a dealer to get money for food, to keep the roof over her and her mother's head. About running from Cletus. She would have to tell him her name wasn't really Kaylee Timms. Kaylee Standish.

She wanted nothing more than to be Kaylee Standish.

"Let me in," Ezra whispered to her.

Kaylee shook her head. She couldn't. There was no way she could tell Ezra. Her breath came fast enough it felt like it was choking her.

And then Ezra shifted, just enough that she could feel the space between them. She reached for him, wanting to make sure he didn't move any farther.

"I'm well aware of my reputation," Ezra said.

It was so unexpected that Kaylee couldn't make sense of his words at first.

"And it's not undeserved," Ezra continued.

Kaylee looked up at him, trying to figure out why his jaw was set and he was staring at some point over her shoulder.

"But I would like to think I'm trustworthy now," he said. "I want to deserve your trust."

"You do!" Kaylee blurted out. How had everything gotten so tangled up? "Ezra, I trust you! More than anyone! I just—things are—it's not—this isn't anything about you." She didn't know what to tell him.

"Then what is it about?" he demanded. "The nightmares, the phone calls, something has you running scared. What is it?"

She shook her head and Ezra took a step back, his jaw tightening.

"No! It's not—don't—" How could she begin to explain when she wasn't even sure what she was going to do? And she didn't want to even think about how Ezra would look at her if she told him everything.

She took a shaky breath. "Please," she said. "I need you, Ezra."

Ezra's eyes softened and then his hands moved to her hair, stroking at her loose braid, her hat having fallen off at some point during her frenzy. She could feel the tension in Ezra and knew she was the reason for it. It would be her fault if everything fell apart. She should have told him everything right away, before they were married.

She wished she could tell him everything, that she wasn't alone in this.

And then it dawned on her. She didn't have to be alone. Ezra hadn't said much about finances, but maybe he'd have enough to at least put together with what she had won this week and appease Cletus for awhile. She could ask Ezra for help.

Her thoughts were tumbling over one another, no plan in place, just ideas that made hope spring up.

But she couldn't tell Ezra until she knew it would work. She would figure out a way out of this and then ask him for his help.

Determination clawed past the panic. She would call Cletus and tell him she had the money. She wrapped her hands around Ezra's wrists, feeling the warmth against her chilled fingers, feeling the steady beat of his pulse under her thumbs. She took a long breath, relishing the feel of his presence. And then his posture softened and her body responded, melting against him, drawing comfort from his presence.

#

Vin swung his way on his crutches down the aisle between stalls until he found Ezra. Ezra was in the stall with Kaylee's mare, brushing her down, without any sign of Kaylee.

Vin stopped outside the stall.

Ezra spoke without turning. "How did Miss Wells ride?" he asked.

"She did good," Vin said. "She won't place, but pretty good runs for her first time in Vegas."

"Her and Kaylee both," Ezra said.

Vin saw the way the line of his shoulders tightened as he spoke. He wanted to ask where Kaylee was, how she was, but he settled in on his crutches and waited.

Ezra methodically finished grooming the horse. He paused when he was done, scratching her on her forehead and studying her like she might have some answers to Kaylee.

When the mare remained silent, Ezra let out a sigh and joined Vin in the aisle.

"She's terrified," Ezra said to Vin's unspoken question.

"Of what?" Vin asked. He wasn't blind. None of them were. They all saw what the phone calls she got did to her. But none of them had the first clue about who was calling or what Kaylee was so scared of.

"She would prefer to not tell me," Ezra said. He started heading back toward the arena and Vin matched his pace.

"I'm sorry, Ez," Vin said, not sure what more he could say. He couldn't imagine what it would feel like to have a wife not let him in on what was chasing her. He wasn't sure which would be worse, the knife of secrecy or the helplessness it would lend itself to.

"Have they started the bulls yet?" Ezra asked, changing the subject.

Vin didn't push. There had been a time when he thought Ezra might actually be heartless, that he wasn't affected by the things that went on around him. But that was before he got to know the man he considered a brother. And before that man had expanded his morals to something closer to what polite society accepted.

"Just finishing barrels," Vin said.

Ezra nodded in acknowledgment and they both headed back into the arena. Chris was riding and in good standing to take home the championship buckle. And Ezra had five bulls in the chutes.

Vin figured Kaylee could use a friend right now. But looking at the walled off expression on Ezra's face, and knowing what was probably hidden behind it, he knew Ezra shouldn't be left alone.

He exchanged a look with Buck, a shake of his head, when he and Ezra joined Buck and JD at the fence to wait for the bull riding. Josiah glanced their way from in the arena where he was on top of his horse, waiting for the first bull to come exploding out of the chute. Vin gave him a slight shrug and even from the distance, he could see Josiah's shoulders move in a sigh and him look towards Ezra.

Vin looked over at Ezra. He had a feeling Ezra wasn't seeing the bulls right in front of him.

#

"I don't have it all," Kaylee said into the phone.

"What do you mean?"

Cletus' voice send shivers up her spine. She hated the way she couldn't seem to keep her composure when she talked to him, no matter how hard she tried. But he held too much over her.

"I have some," she said. "Just not everything. Not yet," she amended quickly. "But I can get it."

"Yeah, I feel like I heard that one before," Cletus scoffed. "I ain't bein' played again."

"I'm not," Kaylee hurried to assure him. "I really can get the money this time. Or at least some of it."

"Ok. Let's hear it. How are you plannin' to get my money?"

Kaylee licked her lips. "I got married. My husband. He has some money. I don't know how much, but if I tell him what's going on, he'll help me out."

The line buzzed with silence.

Kaylee closed her eyes and willed Cletus to take her up on her offer.

She didn't expect the low chuckle.

"Your husband might have some money?" Cletus said, mocking bringing a lilt to his deep voice.

"Y—yeah," Kaylee said uncertainly.

"You think I don't know who your husband is?" Another dark chuckle. "I been watching the rodeo all week on satellite TV," he said. "Saw your new name."

Kaylee closed her eyes and pressed her lips together until she couldn't feel them.

"You think I didn't do my homework and find out who Ezra Standish is? What he's worth?" At Kaylee's silence he let out a sound of disbelief. "You really don't know how much he has, do you?"

"I—I can ask him," she said quickly. "I can ask him if he has enough to pay what I owe you."

"You're not asking him anything." Any humor was gone from Cletus' voice. "You're not bringing anyone else into our deal. You hear me? You bring your husband in and he'll call the cops, make this messy."

"But I—"

"What you're gonna do is send me some of his money every month. Four thousand. A thousand for every week. He won't even notice. And you do that until we're even."

"I can't—" Kaylee tried to object, the thought of taking money from Ezra making her queasy. But the thought of not telling him anything and keeping her secrets made her want to cry.

"You can," Cletus cut her off. "And you will. You don't do this and you won't have to worry about your mama in jail. You'll be watchin' your husband lose everything he has. You know how easy it is to poison a bull? It would take less than an hour to destroy everything he has."

"Don't!" Kaylee pleaded. "Don't bring Ezra into this, ok? I'll get you the money. I'll do it."

"Good." The humor returned to Cletus' voice. "Kaylee Standish is sure a long way from Kaitlin Rollins. Still just as dumb, though. How you married someone like Ezra Standish and had no idea about his money is a puzzle to me."

Kaylee wanted to tell him she didn't care about the money. She cared about Ezra.

"Get me something tomorrow," Cletus said. And the line went dead.

Kaylee let out a long breath, but it didn't bring relief. She wasn't going to be able to tell Ezra anything. But if she could do what Cletus asked, she would be done with all this in less than six months. With what she had won this week, plus what she could borrow from Ezra's accounts, it would only be a few more months and she would be free from her past.

And she would pay Ezra back every cent. She made the promise to herself in the hopes it would make her feel better.

It didn't.

#

Ezra watched his first bull come spinning out of the chute. It was a moment he had been working for over the last two seasons. He had invested heavily in the breeding program at his ranch, carefully selecting bloodlines, watching how the bulls came out of the chute, then betting everything on which bulls he sent out to the rodeos.

But the feeling of pride he had expected was flat. He wasn't even aware that his bull won the match, flinging the cowboy off his back well before the 8 second timer buzzed. All he could think of was Kaylee. How she had clung to him then walked away from him. How much trouble she must be in, but wouldn't let him in on any of it.

Josiah's horse loped easily after the bull, sending it out the gate to clear the arena for the next bull rider.

Ezra wondered if he should have let Kaylee walk away. If he should have gone after her. And then a smaller hand slipped into his, gave his hand a squeeze.

He looked down and saw Kaylee clinging to his hand with both of hers. She looked up and gave him a tentative smile.

He could see the lingering shadows in her expression, but the worst of the storm seemed to have blown itself out.

"You're ok?" he asked.

She leaned her head against his shoulder. "I will be," she said, her words quiet beneath the sounds of the rodeo around them. "I'm getting things worked out."

It wasn't exactly the reassurance—or the transparency—Ezra would have wanted. But it was better than nothing. And she sounded sincere.

He felt his hand tighten around hers. He looked down, waited until she met his eyes. The mix of uncertainty and guilt there twisted his gut. He tried to focus on the tentative hope, the silent plea for him to not question her any further.

The stray thought crossed his mind that being able to read an opponent—or your wife—did you no good if you had no idea what those emotions actually stemmed from.

"You'll tell me if you need anything?" Ezra didn't even know what to offer.

The flash of pain in her eyes reverberated in his own chest and then Kaylee tilted her head back and stood up on her toes to kiss him. Her fingers curled within his hand and the heat in her kiss would have been enough to unravel Ezra if they had been alone.

"I just need you," she said against his lips.

That was something he could give her without reservation.

Since they were decidedly not alone, Ezra let her pull away, but took credit for the warmth in her cheeks and the return of some life to her eyes.

"You want to watch your bulls now, Ezra?" Buck asked. The taller man's lips pulled in a amusement.

"I think Ezra finally found himself something he cares about more than those bulls," JD said, grinning.

Kaylee looked up at Ezra and a smile played around her lips. The knot that had been coiled in Ezra's gut most of the day started to unwind.

"Do you like me better than your bulls?" she teased.

Ezra gave her an impassive expression. "Most of them," he said.

Kaylee's laugh cleared the last of the storm away.

Ezra told himself it would be fine. Kaylee had said she was getting things worked out. With what she had told him about her mother, he could only imagine how complicated things were back in Nebraska. He knew full well what could happen when your mother wreaked havoc in your life. And he also understood not being able to talk about it.

He wrapped his arm around Kaylee's waist, leaning down to point out the next bull up. One of his biggest earners. One of his and Kaylee's biggest earner.

When he spoke those words, he hadn't expected to see the quick flash of shame on her face, but it passed quickly and she turned her attention back to the arena.

Whatever was going on, he would make sure she got through it. That Kaylee knew he was on her side no matter what.

#

Kaylee stood in line at the money transfer business. It wasn't in the best neighborhood of Vegas, but it wasn't the worst. She had Ezra's debit card in her pocket, he had given it to her shortly after they were married, telling her to use it freely. This was the first she had used it. She took a step forward as the line moved. It was early, but yesterday had been a Friday, payday for most people, and the small lobby was crowded.

Kaylee took a breath, trying not to imagine the five hundred dollars she had taken from Ezra's account was stolen from him. She thought about last night.

Last night had been breathless, filled with heat and passion, her body tangled with Ezra's as she tried to forget everything behind her and make it up to Ezra. Ezra had been more than willing to use their bed to forget their problems, his intensity matching hers until they had fallen into exhausted sleep, still entwined together.

But in the morning light, it wasn't so easy to forget.

It didn't matter how many times she tried to tell herself she didn't have any other choices, not if she wanted to protect Ezra and her mom. It didn't make the reality any easier.

Kaylee was more than ready to send the money to Nebraska and get back to Ezra by the time she reached the counter. She slid the envelope with the checks from her winnings to the clerk. She would lose a percentage since she couldn't cash them at a bank. Not without Ezra finding out the drivers license with the name he knew her by was a fake.

She waited for the cashier to process the weeks' worth of checks, some large, some minimal, from her performances in Vegas. The toe of her boot rhythmically scuffed against the floor. When the cashier had finished, Kaylee hesitated, then slid her the stack of cash from Ezra's account.

"I need it wired to this bank," she said.

The cashier looked at the name and bank account scribbled on the scrap of paper Kaylee handed her. She squinted at the writing.

"All of this?" the casher questioned.

Kaylee nodded. She just wanted this done.

The cashier read back Cletus' name and information to Kaylee, double checked that she was sending well over thirty thousand to him, then typed the information in.

She handed Kaylee a receipt with a monotone thank you and Kaylee took it, turning quickly and thankful to have that task over.

She turned so quickly, she crashed into the person in line behind her.

Her receipt and Ezra's bank card fell from her grip and Kaylee scrambled to get them, but the man she had bumped into leaned down from his crutches and got them first.

Vin.

He handed her the card and receipt without a word, but Kaylee could tell he had heard every word the cashier had said. She knew he had seen Ezra's name on the card.

"Don't…please don't say anything to Ezra," Kaylee said.

Vin was quiet, studying her and Kaylee wasn't sure what he was seeing. She should have found a check cashing business farther from the arena. She knew Vin wired all his money back to Colorado. She should have known there was a chance she would see him here.

"Please Vin," she pleaded in a whisper.

"Ain't my place to tell him anything," Vin finally answered, his tone making it clear who should be telling Ezra.

"I can't…" Kaylee took an unsteady breath. "I'm getting some things taken care of. Ezra can't know." Then she clamped her mouth shut, wishing she hadn't said even that much.

Vin's brow creased.

Kaylee closed her eyes and ran her hands over her face. When she opened them, nothing had changed.

"Wait for me, I'll give you a ride back," he finally said.

Kaylee nodded. She moved to the door to wait for Vin.

He didn't say anything when he joined her. They went to his truck, parked down the block in silence.

It wasn't until they were both in the cab that he spoke.

"What kind of trouble are you in?" he asked.

"It's nothing—" she started, but Vin cut her off.

"It's enough to have you keeping things from Ezra and he's worried about you. So am I. What's going on?"

Kaylee stared out the windshield, the Nevada sun already beating down.

"I owe some money to someone and I'm just trying to pay it off," she said. She kept her eyes fixed forward.

"This person threatening you? Are you in trouble?" Vin asked.

"No," Kaylee said, turning quickly to face him. The lie came out of her mouth quickly, pushed out by fear. "It's just something I want to take care of on my own, without Ezra knowing about mistakes I've made."

She held her breath, willing Vin to accept her answer, silently begging him not to push any harder.

Vin didn't respond. He finally looked away from her and she watched him weigh his decision.

"You should tell Ezra," Vin said.

"I will," she promised. "I just want to get it taken care of first so he doesn't worry."

"He's already worried," Vin said, looking at her again. "We all are."

"You shouldn't be," Kaylee said with a confidence she didn't really feel. "It's fine. It's more embarrassing than anything," she said, forcing a laugh, trying to brush it all off. "It's just a stupid mistake I made that I'm taking care of."

She didn't move, scared of how much she had already told Vin and what he had heard in the money transfer storefront. She knew how easily everything could unravel and she silently begged Vin to not pull at the loose thread.

Vin shook his head like he couldn't believe he was agreeing to any of this. "Let's go get breakfast," he said.

Kaylee let her pent up breath out.

"Thanks Vin," she said.

He slanted a look toward her that said everything he was doing was against his better judgment.

#