34. Josie
josie
. . .
Lincoln and I stood beneath the carport, his arm wrapped protectively around my waist as we watched the car slowly approach. I shifted on my feet, keenly aware of Lincoln’s release still leaking out of me.
It really shouldn’t have been as hot as it was, but holy crap… Even the thought of what we did sent stupid shivers up my spine. If it wasn’t for Charles’ surprise arrival, I’d have dragged him off somewhere else for round two.
“You think it’s really him?” Lincoln asked, narrowing his eyes at the Mercedes coming to a stop. “If it’s Ellis…”
“It’s not,” I said, peeking up at Lincoln. I still had on his hat and did not intend to give it up. “Ellis talks a big game, but he knows better than to show up to the ranch after what happened last night.”
Lincoln grunted but said nothing else as Charles stepped out of his car. He waved our way before stepping to the back and pulling his briefcase from the trunk. “Josie! Lincoln!”
Behind us, the front door opened, and my father stormed out. Cleo followed on his heels, mumbling something about keeping a level head. His face was dark and thunderous, matching in time with each stomp of his feet.
“You have some fucking nerve showing up here, Charles,” he growled, stopping at the nose of his car. “After what your son did, I should have Josie press charges.”
Charles’ shoulders slumped as he dropped his head on a sigh. “After the information I found last night, you might be right. Mind if we go inside and talk?”
Dad’s brows furrowed as he gestured toward the house. Charles thanked him, striding into the house with Cleo.
“You okay with this?” Dad asked, turning toward me. “I can tell him to leave.”
I shook my head. “No, I’m fine. I want to know what this is about.”
“Alright, sugar. Let’s find out.”
Lincoln and I followed my dad inside. We settled at the large dining room table, waiting not-so-patiently as Charles set his briefcase down. He began pulling out files, stacking them along the table, as Cleo brought everyone a glass of tea.
“Alright, Charles, you’ve got our attention. Tell us what’s going on,” my dad said, sipping from his glass.
Charles looked down at the files, running a hand through his tousled hair. He looked like he’d hardly slept a wink. Dark circles were prominent beneath his beady eyes. “I don’t know where to start, but I feel like this is my own damn fault,” he huffed, sitting down in the chair at the head of the table. “After all, Ellis is my son. I taught him all he knows about this job in the hopes he’d one day run my firm, but that ship has long since sailed.”
Charles glanced my way. “I know it isn’t right, but I want to apologize for his behavior last night. He dropped by the house yesterday afternoon—hell, it wasn’t even four—mad as hell and spitting nonsense about your infidelity.” Lincoln tensed beside me but relaxed as I placed my hand on his knee. “Please know that I didn’t believe a word of it. Ellis is… well, I don’t know anymore. I barely recognize the kid these days. If I would’ve known he was headed to you when he left my house, I would’ve stopped him.”
“It’s fine, Charles. It isn’t your fault. I don’t blame you,” I said, looking down at my lap.
Lincoln stretched, laying his arm over the back of my chair. “I might, though. Seeing as you knew he was intoxicated and let him leave your house.”
Charles raised his hands. “You’ll get no argument from me. There are many things I’m realizing I failed at when it comes to my son.”
“What is all this, Charles?” my dad said, gesturing toward the files. “I imagine this isn’t about what happened last night.”
He shook his head. “Ever since Josie left my office after our meeting, I’ve been doing some searching on my own. It’s been incredibly slow. Whenever I thought I was getting somewhere, it ended up being a dead end. Until last night.” He paused, grabbing his glasses from his briefcase and slipping them on. “I was doing some research when Ellis came to visit. You remember me telling you about those shell corporations?” I nodded. “Well, I found the owner.”
Charles reached over and set a stack of documents in front of me. I briefly glanced over them, not understanding most of the legal terms I saw. It was only after a few pages that I saw a name that made my blood run cold. I glanced up, seeing Charles staring at me with sympathy.
“It was Ellis,” I whispered, glancing back down at where my ex’s name was written in bold, black letters. “Ellis stole the money. These are his companies.”
“What?” Dad asked, sitting up straighter. I handed over the documents, watching his face grow redder by the second. “How could this happen? ”
Charles pursed his lips before setting down the next file. “Because he did a goddamn good job of forging your signature.”
He set two more documents on the table before us, and we leaned over to examine them. Both had my dad’s signature, but minor differences set them apart. Ellis’ attempt was too neat. It was like he took my dad’s choppy scrawl and turned it into symmetrical loops and curves, a perfect copy across every document.
“Christ, how did we not catch this?” I said, rifling through the stack. “There must be at least twenty-five transfer agreements here.”
“I didn’t think I’d have to go over his work with a fine-tooth comb when he started. You know how Ellis is—stubborn, cocksure. Always thinking he’s got something to prove. I showed him the ropes, and he was damn good at what he does. He learned things from his years at school that I didn’t even know. That was why I sent him there in the first place. I didn’t want my legacy to be dead before it ever had a chance to grow. Maybe that’s what drove him to do what he did.” Charles shook his head, voice breaking. “Maybe I did this.”
“Naw, that ain’t it,” my dad said, scrunching his nose. “Whatever mess your boy made, he did it himself.”
“Be that as it may, it slipped under my radar and has caused quite a mess.”
“On that, we can agree,” Dad said. “What’re the next steps then?”
Charles took off his glasses, tossing them on the table. “I’ve sent my findings to the auditor this morning. They’ll review the documents, authenticate them, and ensure I haven’t missed anything. Now that they know what they’re looking for, it might be easy to find patterns. These amounts, though… They match with what we’d found earlier. I don’t think there’s any more.”
“What’s the legal recourse?” My dad turned to stare at me as the question left my lips. I settled back in my chair, crossing my arms. “What? That asshole—no offense, Charles—stole over a quarter of a million dollars from you, Daddy. He’s not getting away with a slap on the wrist and a measly fine.”
“She’s right, Doug,” Charles said. “He doesn’t get to walk away without consequences. I don’t trust him anymore, and there’s damn sure no other firm that’d take him. He’ll do it again if he gets away with this now.”
My dad drummed his fingers against the table. “Charles, you understand what kind of position I’m in…”
“I already told the auditor if the findings are correct,” he nodded at the briefcase, “I’d recommend prosecuting, but my word isn’t the one they need, Doug. It’s your decision. That’ll be key in getting your funds back.”
I leaned back into Lincoln’s chest, soaking up his warmth. Having him next to me was the only thing preventing me from panicking. Somehow, knowing he was there kept me steady.
Dad looked at me, scrunching his nose. “And this is what you want, too?”
I nodded. “It is.”
How could I not when he’d not only stolen from my family for his own benefit but put his hands on me as well? No, I was done letting men like him walk over me and my family.
The relationship between Ellis and I made sense now. Whenever he saw me slipping away, he’d throw on a fake smile and turn on the charm to lure me back in. Like an idiot, I fell for it every time. When he met Lincoln, he saw that the control he’d worked so hard to secure had begun to slip away. Somehow, that bastard knew he wouldn’t stand a chance against the man at my side.
Lincoln kissed my forehead, running his fingertips along the hem of my shirt sleeve. “You sure, darlin’?”
I nodded, leaning into his side. “Yeah. It isn’t just about me. This is about what happened with Dad. ”
“I don’t give a shit about myself, Josie. Money is money. We could lose everything tomorrow, and I know we’d be okay.” I looked over, seeing him clasp Cleo’s hand and press a kiss to it. “My family is all I care about.”
“I know, Daddy,” I said, giving him a genuine smile. “I love you.”
Charles piled the documents in a neat stack, packing the rest of his stuff. He stood from the table. “I’m requesting an investigation on all the accounts Ellis represented. By the morning, the office will be crawling with auditors and Ellis… Well, I don’t know what will happen with him.”
Dad pushed to his feet. “I’m sorry about that, Charles. I really am.”
Charles sighed. “So am I.” He looked at me. “I thought I raised a good man, but I was wrong. A good man wouldn’t have done this.”
“I don’t think it’s your fault, Charles,” I said, wiping my eyes. Seeing what this was doing to him was eating me alive. Charles was one of the kindest men I knew outside of my dad.
Charles nodded. “I hope you’re right.” He tapped the table, grabbing his briefcase. “I’m gonna get out of your hair. I just wanted to make sure the news came from me first. The auditors will likely be calling first thing.”
The timing wasn’t ideal. Tomorrow was the first day of our second round of clinics. Our time would be spent sorting out the new arrivals and their horses. As if reading my mind, Dad looked at me and said, “Don’t worry, sugar. We’ll figure it out. If we need to step away to handle it, we’ll do that.”
“Just tell me what you need from me, sir,” Lincoln said, sitting up straighter. “Bishop and I can whip the hands into shape.”
“I appreciate that, son, and I’ll be taking you up on that.” We stood up, taking turns shaking Charles’s hand before Cleo walked him out. As I sat back down, I turned and stared out the big bay windows, looking over the drive, waiting until Charles’ car was a blip down the road.
Dad sighed, running his hand through his hair. “This is a fucking mess.”
“It is. I’m sorry, Daddy,” I said, wrapping my arms around my middle.
“Why’re you apologizing, sugar? I should be thanking you. If you hadn’t found this shit, who knows how much more we could’ve lost. I hate that this has fallen on your shoulders.”
I leaned over and placed my hand on his. “I’d do anything for you. You know that.”
“I do, and I’m damn thankful for that.” His gaze swept between Lincoln and me, smiling. “I guess congratulations are in order, then?”
I coughed. “We aren’t getting married…”
“ Yet ,” Lincoln added. “I’ll wear her down eventually, though.”
“Oh my god,” I said, turning to slap his arm. “You can’t just say that shit.”
“Why not?” he asked. “It’s the truth. I can’t wait to be Mr. Hayes.”
My cheeks flushed. This was absolutely not the time to have this conversation. “Mr. Hayes?”
Lincoln shrugged. “I have no connection to Carter, but you do with Hayes. Figured you might want to keep it.”
I didn’t know why the thought of Lincoln taking my surname got me all emotional, but it did. I’d always assumed I’d hyphenate, seeing as most guys I knew expected their wife to take their last name.
But Lincoln wasn’t just any guy. I shouldn’t have even been surprised he’d do something so thoughtful. That was just who he was.
“Well, I’ll be damned,” my dad chuckled, covering his mouth with his hand. “That old bastard was right. ”
Lincoln and I both turned, staring at my dad in confusion. “Who?”
Dad’s face sobered for a moment before clearing his throat. “Frank. He’d said something that didn’t make much sense then, but I see it now.” He stood from his seat, pulling a key from his pocket and setting it on the table before us. “We’ll handle the details of your full-time employment later, but I wanted to go ahead and give that to you. The cabin’s been vacant for quite a while, so it’ll need a good cleaning before it’s livable, but I think you’ll like it.”
“Wait, Frank said something about us?” Lincoln asked, his voice wavering. He looked down at me in question, but I was just as confused as he was.
I reached over and took his hand as Dad nodded. “Now, I didn’t know the extent of y’all’s relationship when I called you up and offered you the temp job, but Frank had mentioned the two of you met when Josie went up there. He thought it’d be damn good for the both of you if I gave you a job and brought your ass to Texas. I didn’t get it then, but I sure as hell do now.” He paused, and looked up at me. Tears lined my eyes, mimicking the ones in his own. “You know, I used to think there wasn’t a soul alive who was good enough for my daughters, but I’ll say this, son…” His gaze shifted to Lincoln. “I’ve never been so happy to be wrong before.”
“Sir, I don’t know what to say…” Lincoln began, but my dad held his hand up.
“Nothing to say, son. Just take care of my girl, and love her well.”
“Dammit, Daddy. Way to make me cry,” I said, wiping my eyes. My dad was the best man I knew, and though I didn’t need it… Knowing Lincoln had his approval meant the world to me.
“Aw, sugar… As long as those are happy tears, cry all you want. ”
“C’mon, Dad,” Cleo said, smiling at us as Dad wrapped his arm around her waist. “Let’s leave the lovebirds be.” They walked into the kitchen, heads bent together in conversation, leaving us to gawk at Dad’s news.
As I turned toward Lincoln, his eyes were brimming with unshed tears. “You okay, baby?”
He cleared his throat, blinking rapidly to clear them away. “I think so. It’s just a lot,” he whispered, giving me a shaky smile. “I’m glad I have you, though, darlin’.”
I laid my head on his shoulder. “I’m glad I have you, cowboy.”