11. Ledger
Ledger
The bright Wyoming sun shines in the cloudless blue sky.
It’s beautiful, and on the one day I have off, they need help on the ranch.
Maybe I do work too much. Then again, it might not be a bad thing because it gets my mind off her.
I’ve been on edge since I said I do. I’m afraid the station knows, and if they know, then my family will.
It’s been a week since I’ve seen them, so I guess I’ll find out. Instead of stopping at the house, I head straight for the barns. I’m running late and there’s no question they’re going to razz me for it.
Hayes Ranch is only about twenty minutes from town, and I’ve always loved the drive. It’s wide open, and you can see for miles until you get closer to the mountains. The land is relatively flat with hills here and there.
Parking my truck on the side of the barn, and grab my chaps out of the back seat.
“There’s our Sheriff! Have you come to arrest me?” Cooper says, wiggling his eyebrows.
I glare, and he chuckles, slapping me on the back.
“Haven’t seen you in a minute Ledge, what have you been up to?” he asks.
I shrug, avoiding his eyes. “Working.”
He sighs. “Yeah, what’s new.”
“Um, you have a wife now,” I tell him.
Cooper smiles widely and nods. “You’re right, man, I do.”
“How is that going?” I ask him, doing everything I can to make sure very few questions are asked about me and my wife.
I’m not ready to tell them Shiloh Sullivan is living with me and married me in the middle of the night because I’ll drown in their questions, and frankly, I don’t want to answer them right now. They’ll find out soon enough.
“It’s great, we’re working on another kid.”
I nod and pat him on the back. “That’s great, Coop. I don’t want details.”
He chuckles. “A gentleman never tells.”
“Yeah, well, that would mean you’d have to be one first.”
Cooper laughs and hops onto Goldfish. “We’re out at pasture H!” he yells and canters out in that direction.
I get my horse Spark saddled up and ride out behind him. I’m sure the other hands are prepping in the other barn for the herd, or they’re all out there trying to wrangle. Spark dips her head excitedly and takes off. We haven’t ridden in a while, and I’ve missed her.
Smiling to myself, I lean in and let Spark open up a bit. She’s always loved going fast, even if I don’t always want her to. It’s why I named her Spark when I was younger. I could see it, and it doesn’t take much to light her up.
There will come a day when the town doesn’t vote me in as Sheriff because someone better and younger will be ready to do the job, and when that time comes, I know where I’ll go. I’ve always known it, and days like these I find myself looking forward to it.
My phone rings, and I groan, pulling it out of my pocket as I come up to the pasture. It might be my day off, but I never get to clock out.
Fletcher waves to me, and I hold up my finger, telling him I need a minute.
Fletch and the boys are working the cattle now.
“This is Ledger.”
“Hey boss, it’s Will and Luke, you’re on speaker,” Will says.
“What’s up?”
“You know we’ve been talking to Kate. I’ve been working her and was able to get a few pieces of information. She mentioned large drops and some timing. But the problem is I don’t think we’re going to get the details,” Will says.
I groan silently at the sky. I knew this wasn’t going to work. Blood and loyalty can be a powerful thing, and Kate Kensington might be crazy, but she’s loyal. “So then why are you two buffoons still pursuing it?” I ask them.
“We think there’s another angle,” Luke says.
“At what cost?”
“Uh … go undercover.”
I huff. “No way. I won’t approve that.”
“But wait, you don’t know what our plan is,” Will says.
The guys gather the cattle, and wish I was doing that, instead of listening to this hair-brained scheme that will either get us sued, lose badges, or worse, get someone killed.
These guys are under my directive, and it’s part of the job knowing you will have to put yourself in harm’s way, but it’s another entirely, giving someone permission to do it, knowing exactly what the enemy is capable of.
“What’s the plan?” I sigh.
“Will already has an established connection with Kate. We think if he leans into it, meaning he complains about how he isn’t paid enough, he’s tired of doing so much work not getting the reward.
Crap like that. We’re thinking if he hints to her that he’d be interested in making some extra cash, she might be able to set up a sit-down.
Then, if we can get in front of Kensington Sr., he might see having a cop on his payroll as a bonus.
We’ll have access and be able to get something foolproof enough to get some movement on the case, like a reason for a wiretap. ”
Spark shifts under me, getting antsy.
It’s not a half-bad idea. But the forever reminder is that this is a small town.
Going undercover when you live and work in the same small town is a difficult thing to do.
Going undercover in a place where people will notice Will, an officer, talking with alleged, albeit known, criminals.
It’s hard to conduct an undercover operation when the people of the town don’t know how to shut up.
“Ledge! We need ya!” Fletcher yells.
I wave at him.
“If you can get something more than hearsay that we can use for the warrant, I will approve the undercover. But I have to admit it’s far-fetched to think that people aren’t going to notice Will cozying up to Kate. Other people work on that ranch that aren’t drug dealers.”
“We’ll figure it out. We’ll find you something concrete and bring it to you. But, boss?”
“Yeah?”
“Have you…” Luke trails off, and I can hear them talking, but can’t make out what they’re saying. Reception can be terrible out here.
“Yeah?” I repeat.
“Have you talked to Shiloh? I figure since that ass hurt her, she might be pretty willing to throw him under the bus,” Will says.
I press my lips together and look out over the land. I know what I should say. I know that I should have asked already.
“I have not,” I tell them sternly. Going after Grey through Shiloh is not a direction I want to go. There’s much more on the line since that night.
“It could help,” Will offers.
My temper flares, and I take a deep breath.
“Get me something I can use for an actual warrant, okay? And be careful, boys,” I tell them as a pit sinks lower in my stomach.
I don’t have a good feeling about this, and the only way I know how to help is by talking to Shiloh.
But I haven’t because I can’t bring myself to make her relive another second with that asshole.
And I’m starting to wonder if maybe that makes me the villain because I don’t want to put her through more pain for the sake of others. What does that say about me?
“Will do. Talk soon.”
I heel Spark to get over to the herd.
“Sorry, Fletch, had a work call I had to take.”
He nods. “Alright, count is done. We’re moving them to pasture A by the barn. I need you to flank right. Everyone else has their places.”
I nod and head over to the right side of the herd to help them stay in some semblance of a group so we can get them moved.
Fletcher leads the way with Albert, and we head down the hill and through a wide valley down to the pasture.
When we get the herd down, everyone heads to the barn to start vaccinations. June has everything ready, but she can’t do it on her own. The more hands, the lighter the work.
Sterling parks his truck next to mine and hops out with a grin on his face as he comes up to the corral next to the barn.
“Hey man, long time no see.”
I pull him into a hug and pat his back. “How you doin?” I ask him. He’s been out fighting a wildfire for a month. I can see the exhaustion on his face, but he’s home, and he’s in one piece.
He puffs out a breath. “It was a tough one this time around. We had a few pretty sticky situations, but everyone got home, and that’s what matters.”
I nod, glad my best friend is here. We’ve grown up together. He’s like a brother to me, not only because we always had each other’s backs, but we practically lived in the same house. He was with us half the week instead of at home. He would even help me scare boys away from June in high school.
“When do you have to be back at the station?”
“I have a little less than a week off for some R&R. Chief basically mandated it. They’re saying we’re going to have some issues here as things get drier.”
I nod. “I saw the report, risk is high right now.”
“Yeah, but hey you know me, I can’t sit still, so I figured I’d come and help y'all.”
“How did you know we were doing vaccinations?” I ask him.
He shrugs. “I think June Bug told me.”
I frown, wondering how he saw her before he saw me since he just got back, but I shrug it off. They might have run into each other in town.
“We need to get a beer sometime, you know?” Sterling says.
I bump my hat up to wipe the sweat from my brow. “That sounds good.”
Sterling nods and leads the way into the barn. He stops and says something to June, and she rolls her eyes before leaving him standing there. I think he’s always seen her as a sister, and he likes to mess with her.
“Alright boys, Mama probably has lunch ready by now. Let’s head up, then we’ll finish the last of them.”
“Hey Ledge, didn’t get to say hi,” Fletcher says, walking beside me.
I huff. “You’ve been standing next to me half the day.”
He grins and shakes his head. “Tatum told me about what happened at the clinic.”
I nod and hope he doesn’t ask me anymore.
“Did you get the bastard?” he asks.
I puff out a breath. “No, she didn’t press charges,” I mutter.
“Why the hell not? Put that asshole under the prison,” he says, his tone edged with anger.
“I know. But I can’t do much if I don’t have witnesses, and she doesn’t want to report him, so I’m stuck.” And reporting him at this point after what Shiloh did wouldn’t bode well for any of us. Doesn’t mean I don’t want him to pay though.
“I know what I’d do,” he mutters.
“I know what I want to do.”
“My uptight sheriff brother wants to break the rules?” Fletcher asks, grinning from ear to ear.
Already did.
They all make fun of me for being so … rigid. But I have my reasons, and they might not know it, but they are very much a part of them. I’d die right here, right now, for the sake of my family.
“Sometimes rules keep justice from happening,” I say under my breath.
“Damn straight, brother,” Fletcher says, and pats my back before I follow him into the mudroom.
While we eat at the farm table big enough for eighteen people, I brace myself for the inevitable questions my family is going to ask.
I’m sure someone saw or heard something at this point.
I’m sticking to my story of being friends and helping her out.
I’m not ready to tell them we’re married, even if it isn’t real, and if my family saw us together, there is no way they’d believe it.
But much to my amazement, all Mom asks is about work. Dad asked how things were looking, and then if I was going to redo the patio in my backyard and what the status was for the foundation for the house I’m building on Hayes land.
No one asked about the Jeep sitting outside my house. No one else asked about what Grey did, or about Shiloh wearing a wedding ring.
When we finish lunch and get ready to head back out, June grabs my arm, pulling me to the side.
She nibbles her lip and glances over my shoulder at something.
“What’s up, June Bug?”
“How long has Shiloh Sullivan been married to you?” she asks.
Well, I almost made it.
“What do you know?” I ask her.
“Honestly, not much, but I hear things and see things, like her walking out of your house to get into her car and wearing a wedding ring,” June says.
I sigh. “June, it’s really none of your business.”
“Are y’all a thing now? Is she married to someone else?” she asks.
“Uh … no.”
June’s eyes narrow. She knows. A wide grin spreads across her face. “Don’t worry, I won’t say a word. But Ledge, you know this information will make it to this house. It won’t be from me, but you know it’s coming.”
I groan to myself because she’s right.
“It’s complicated. I almost brought her here, but the last thing I wanted was for Mama to pummel her with questions when she’s been through so much. I know what happened, and she doesn’t need to keep reliving it.”
“That’s fair, but you could have called me to help.”
I huff. “I remember how well y’all got along in school. I know we’re all grown, but I was not about to bring her to your door and expect you to accept it.”
She shrugs. “We’re not kids anymore, and I heard what that asshole did to her. I would have helped you, and I still can if you need me to. Okay?”
I pat my sister on the shoulder. “You’re a good egg, June.”
She smiles and shimmies her shoulders. Then she drops into a serious face. “Let’s get back to work.”
I chuckle and follow her to the barn to finish our last round of vaccinations.
At least I had fair warning from June. Maybe I should tell my parents now.
But what’s there to say? I’m helping a friend out by marrying her to cover both our asses, and I may or may not be catching feelings for my wife?
I don’t know how I feel, rather I don’t want to feel any of it, but I do and the last thing I need is for my meddling family to give me their two cents.