Holding On (Wildcreek Ranch Series Book 3)

Chapter Five

"You have ice cream on your lips, Rihanna, " he pointed out, but all he wanted was to lick it off her.

"Oh," said Rihanna, pulling out a tissue from her handbag and wiping her mouth. She gave two to Robbie, too.

"There's more," he said, his eyes still hooked onto her lips.

"Oh," said Rihanna, wiping the ice cream off her mouth. She had noticed his ardent gaze on her mouth and it made the butterflies flutter in her stomach. What was wrong with him suddenly?

"It's still there. Here, let me wipe it off." Rihanna's eyes widened at what that implied, but he had already leaned in towards her. Her eyes flew to his face, which was nearer than was necessary, and his eyes were locked with hers, holding her gaze. His hand reached out to her face, his thumb slowly wiping the left corner of her lips, his rough thumb feeling a little of her soft, plump lower lip in the process. He didn't look away even for a second. A shudder ran down her body as if an electric spark had just passed through. Why did she have to react to him this way? Rihanna's cheeks colored and she mumbled a thanks and looked away. She wasn't sure but did she just see a look of raw hunger in his eyes?

He settled in his seat and looked at Robbie at the back who was smiling shyly at both of them. Hunter's cheeks colored slightly. How much did his little nephew understand of his little scene with Rihanna? He had no idea. "Done Robbie?" he asked the little boy.

"Yes, Uncle Hunt."

"Let's go home then," said Hunter, starting to drive away. Rihanna fixed her eyes ahead of her but she did notice a faint smile on his face. He drove on while Robbie told her about his new monster truck set. Rihanna listened intently and talked to her in her own sweet way.

Hunter drove through the gates of his ranch. He noticed the look of admiration in Rihanna's eyes and felt quite proud of his home. "Welcome to Whispering Meadows Ranch, Rihanna, " he said turning to look at her.

"This is huge," she said, looking around in awe. It was bigger than Wildcreek Ranch actually. Hunter grinned at her. It was a happy grin that reached his eyes, lighting them up. Rihanna was mesmerized by the dimples on both his cheeks. She hadn't noticed them before since he hadn't grinned this way before. They made him look so boyish, younger than his age which seemed to be around the late twenties.

"You're staring, Rihanna, " he whispered in her ear opened the door of his truck and jumped out. He came around and helped Robbie who was bubbling with excitement. Rihanna tried to hide the blush that was creeping onto her cheeks. What was wrong with him? She came here to help him while he was just being a tease.

She followed them towards the sprawling main building which looked picture-perfect tucked away against the backdrop of the mountains and the lush green fields. It was quite a secluded place with the next ranch being miles away. "Miss Anna, will you be living with us, forever?" asked Robbie, looking at her with hope.

"No, Robbie, I have a family who'll miss me if I do," said Rihanna, without glancing at Hunter who too turned to look at her as if waiting for her answer.

"Aren't they big people Miss Anna? If you tell them, Robbie needs you, they'd understand, wouldn't they?" asked Robbie, holding onto her hand. "I'm scared to live with Samantha. " His last sentence made Rihanna's heart melt. Her heart went out to the little boy.

"You don't have to, Robbie, we'll throw Samantha out," said Hunter his mood suddenly deteriorating as his face started turning red with anger.

"Robbie promise me you won't tell Samantha anything. Don't tell her that you told us. Okay?" said Rihanna. Robbie nodded.

They walked inside the house and a woman around thirty years of age came rushing out. "Robbie, you've come home. Go freshen up," she said with a smile on her face. Then her eyes fell upon Rihanna and her smile vanished.

"Hunter, lunch is ready. Come over to the table, I'll serve you yours, " she said turning her sweet smile on him completely ignoring Rihanna.

"Samantha, this is Rihanna, she's my guest of honor. Please serve us our lunch. We'll eat with Robbie today," he announced. Samantha looked like she didn't like his idea.

"Robbie takes time, Hunter. You'll be late for your work. I'll feed him in his room. Now if you'll excuse me. Oh, the table is laid. Please help yourself, " she said rudely, glaring at Rihanna. Hunter opened his mouth to show her who was the master of the house when Rihanna grasped onto his hand and squeezed it. Surprised, Hunter looked at Rihanna and she shook her head. Hunter calmed down and left it at that. Rihanna released his hand but it seemed he had no plans of letting it go.

Samantha glared at their adjoined hands with disgust, whirled around, and went to the kitchen to get Robbie's food. Hunter led Rihanna toward the dining room. "You have to eat your lunch with me, " he said, as he helped her to a chair.

"Okay, thank you, " she said as he lowered himself opposite her into his seat. Samantha carried a plateful of food towards Robbie's room after giving them a hateful glare.

After she left, Hunter served food to Rihanna's plate. "Does Samantha always behave like this?" asked Rihanna curiously.

"No, never in front of me," said Hunter, starting to eat his food. "C'mon, start eating." 

"No, we'll eat later. We'll sneak into Robbie's room now and check what she's up to. I have a feeling that after ensuring that we're engrossed in each other here, she wouldn't be expecting us there, anytime soon. Do you have the keys to Robbie's room? She might have locked the door, " said Rihanna. In that brief interaction, she had already measured the woman. She was sure that the woman was faking it with Robbie. Her interaction with Hunter too looked abnormal as if she wanted Hunter, as if she wanted to charm him. Everything about Samantha Jones looked fishy.

"I have the main keys to every single door of my property. Let's go," Hunter said. On the way, he dashed into the huge master bedroom and came out with the keys to Robbie's room.

They quietly walked up to Robbie's room and just as Rihanna had guessed, they could hear a faint whimpering coming from inside. It seemed Robbie was sobbing, it was the soft muffled sound of a scared child. Hunter placed the key in the lock and twisted it and opened the door within a split second.

Rihanna and Hunter froze with horror as they saw a scared Robbie sitting naked on the floor while Samantha pointed the table knife at him, her eyes blazing fiercely as if possessed by a dark soul, by some beast. Rihanna left it to Hunter to handle Robbie as she quickly thought of collecting evidence against Samantha. She took pictures of what was going on and called the sheriff's office. Samantha looked up with shock and froze when she saw that they had caught her red-handed.

"What in the name of God is going in here?" growled a furious Hunter striding into the room towards Robbie. He picked him up in his arms and covered him up with a bed sheet. Rihanna ended her call and crossed the room and gave the woman a tight slap across her face.

"How dare you abuse a child this way for the last three years?" she gritted out. She picked up the table knife away from Samantha's grasp.

"I didn't do anything. He forced me to. I love Hunter and wanted to marry him but this boy hates me. He just won't accept me as his aunt. What choice did I have?" she started sobbing. The sheriff arrived and took an update on what was happening. He checked the evidence, took Robbie's statement, and arrested Samantha.

Hunter went to the police station with the sheriff to lodge a FIR. Rihanna helped Robbie wear his clothes, fed him gently, and laid him down in his bed. Lying down beside him she patted him gently to sleep.

"Miss Anna, please don't leave me. She'll come back, " he sobbed.

"I won't leave you, sweetie. I'm right here. Go to sleep, " she soothed him, gently stroking his hair. Her own eyes filled up with tears thinking of the trauma the little boy had been going through for the last three years. The woman was very shrewd, no wonder Hunter wasn't ever suspicious of her. In fact, he might be depressed too after that traumatic experience that they both had a few years back, so maybe, he hadn't noticed the subtle signs of abuse.

She kept stroking Robbie's hair gently and his eyes grew heavy and he dozed off to sleep. Rihanna's eyes too fell heavy and she closed them and fell asleep with the little boy.

The bed dipped behind her and she felt a warm and hard something against her back.