Chapter Nine
S adie gasped, instinctively gripping the steering wheel tighter and swerving to her right while slamming on the brakes.
Thank God there wasn’t a car behind her, or she would’ve been rear-ended.
Her heart was pounding hard in her throat as she watched the stupid SUV speed off.
“Sadie! Are you okay?” The urgency in Harper’s voice had her glancing at the phone.
She nodded stupidly as if her cousin could see. “I’m fine.” Everything was fine, she silently reassured herself, working on getting her pulse down to somewhere in the atmosphere. “It was just a jerk who doesn’t know how to drive. Didn’t hit anything, though.”
Not one scratch on Dale’s truck. That would’ve sucked.
“I hate drivers like that,” her cousin muttered. “You sure you’re okay?”
“Yeah,” she replied, her voice firmer now. “I’m good. Tell me about that antique piece you were working on last week. Is it almost ready?”
Harper sweetly complied, and they continued their conversation, the close call already beginning to fade from Sadie’s mind. Within minutes, she pulled into her driveway because the ESI guys were still working at Sam’s, and she didn’t want to block in their vehicles.
After parking behind her car, she slung her purse over her shoulder, then grabbed her phone as she got out of the truck. “Hey, Harp, you wanna meet some of Dale’s friends?” she asked, walking across her property to the fence separating her yard with Sam’s.
“Uh…no, not if you’re trying to set me up,” her cousin replied in a serious voice.
Not something she would ever do. Harper needed to take that step on her own.
“Think you know me better than that,” she said. “So relax. And besides, all these guys are married, and some even have children.”
Smiling, she waved to the gorgeous men in her neighbor’s yard, and while they waved back, she hit the speaker button. “Hey, everyone. Say ‘hi’ to my cousin, Harper.”
The men readily complied.
“That’s RJ, Cooper, Dean, and Mac,” she informed. “Part of the best security team in Harland County.”
“Nice to meet you, gentlemen,” Harper said. “I hope Sadie isn’t getting into any trouble.”
She immediately shook her head and gave the guys the universal “silence” sign by drawing her pointer finger across her throat in a slicing motion. The last thing she wanted was to spook her cousin by having to explain the strange events at the ranch.
“Trouble? Me? Never.” She snickered.
The guys, catching on quickly, played along.
Cooper winked. “We’ll keep her in line, don’t you worry.”
“Good to know.” Harper chuckled. “Anyway, Sadie, I better let you get back to it. I’ve got a client call coming in soon. But before I go, I want to hear more about Dale.”
As Sadie’s face heated, she willed her body to teleport into her house.
It didn’t, of course. She had a great view of all four men now grinning from ear to ear.
Cooper stepped closer. “We want to hear about Dale too, Sadie.”
“Yeah.” RJ set a hand on his chest. “He’s just so dreamy.”
Snickering, she pointed a finger at them. “Don’t you have work to do?”
RJ shook his head. “Nah. We’re at the clean-up stage. Besides, this is more interesting.”
“You’re right.” She grinned. “It is.”
With that, she turned around and walked across her yard to her garage while hitting the button to take her cousin off speaker.
“Good going,” Harper said. “And I’m so sorry. I forgot you said they were Dale’s friends”
Still grinning, she shrugged. “It’s okay. Don’t worry about it. We joke around like that all the time.”
“Dale served with them, didn’t he?” her cousin asked.
“Yeah, but like I said, it’s okay.” If they teased her some more, she’d deal with it the same way she always did…by teasing them back. “Listen, I wanted to show you something before you go. Can we FaceTime for a minute?”
“Sure,” Harper replied before hanging up.
She quickly called her cousin back, using the video call app. When Harper’s pretty face filled the screen, Sadie stepped into the garage, via the side door, and flicked on the lights.
“Remember this place?” she asked, panning the phone around, revealing the spacious interior, with a large workbench, several hand tools lined up on a shelf, and various tools neatly organized on her pegboard walls.
“Oh, wow. I love how you organized it.” Appreciation was evident in Harper’s tone. “I can definitely see you getting creative in there.”
She brought the phone back in front of her. “Yeah, I definitely do. Well, in here and in my craft room upstairs. Speaking of that, I was thinking, if you do come down here, you don’t have to stay in the house. You can use the apartment above the garage like I used to.”
Harper frowned. “But it’s your craft room.”
“I know, but I’ve been wanting to move it into the house, so I don’t have to get out of my PJs to work on the days I’m not filming, if I don’t feel like it.”
Most of that was true. She did hate that part, but until that moment, she hadn’t even thought about moving her stuff inside. Now that she’d put it out into the universe, her mind was already full of ideas on how to set everything up in one of her spare bedrooms.
“We used to have fun up there when we were kids,” Harper said, her gaze softening.
The fact her cousin mentioned it brought a huge smile to Sadie’s face. “I know, especially when we were old enough to sleep in there by ourselves.”
The summer between their junior and senior years was the last time they’d stayed up there together. It was also the last time Harper had been in Texas.
Not wanting her cousin’s mind to jump on that train of thought, Sadie said, “And don’t forget, this workspace down here is perfect for your furniture refurbishing and woodworking and has plenty of room for any equipment you add to it.”
Harper looked thoughtful, her brow furrowing as if she was finally actually considering the idea. “It’s tempting, Sadie. I’ve been feeling restless lately, like I need a change of scenery, and your place does hold a lot of memories. Happy ones.”
Outwardly, Sadie was calm, cool, collected. But inside, she was doing freaking cartwheel after cartwheel.
“It’s more than just memories,” she said. “It’s a fresh start. A new chapter. You’d be closer to family—mainly me—and I could really use your help with some of the projects I’ve been working on.”
That one was only partly true. But she intended to take on bigger things in order to pull her cousin out of her comfort zone and really dig into her talent. Hopefully, if the stars aligned and Harper was game, Sadie would get her to share it with the world.
But baby steps were in order. No way would she push her cousin into anything she didn’t feel Harper could handle.
Her cousin smiled and a flash of excitement lit her eyes. “I like the idea, Sadie. I really do. Let me think about it, okay? I’ll give you an answer soon.”
“That’s all I’m asking,” she replied, feeling hopeful about it for the first time ever.
Just then, a chime from Harper’s end indicated an incoming call. Her cousin glanced at the screen. “That’s my client. I’ve got to take this. But we’ll talk soon, okay?”
“Absolutely. Talk to you later, Harp,” she replied, waving at the screen.
After the call ended, Sadie stood alone in the garage for a moment, feeling the echoes of old memories and the possibilities of new ones. She glanced around the workspace, envisioning her cousin settling in, and them working together on their creative projects. It felt right. Now, all she had to do was wait and hope Harper would take the leap.
With a sigh, she shoved her phone in her purse, turned off the lights, locked the garage door, then headed toward her house.
“Not so fast, Sadie. We need to talk,” Mac said, from Sam’s yard.
In fact, all four men were lined up on the other side of the chain-link fence, arms folded, expressions serious.
“What happened at the ranch?” RJ asked.
Dean frowned. “Why did you come home in Dale’s truck?”
“Without Dale,” Cooper added.
The same look of concern tightened each of their faces.
“Carter called two minutes ago, telling me he’d found something on the feed Dale asked him to go through,” Mac stated, looking none too pleased.
“He did? What was it?” Her heart rocked as she rushed the rest of the way to the fence.
Mac scratched his temple, as if contemplating if he should answer. “A figure in a black hoodie,” he replied, apparently having deemed her worthy. “But he kept his head down, so there are no clear glimpses of his face.”
“Damn,” she muttered, disappointment rolling through her. “That’s too bad.”
Mac nodded. “I shared with you, so I’d appreciate it if you would at least have to sense to fill me in on what happened at the ranch today.”
“Oh.” She frowned. “I assumed Carter already did.”
Again, Mac nodded. “He did, but I’d like to hear it firsthand from someone who was there.”
“Roger that,” she said, using their slang before recounting the activity at the ranch, leaving out the part about the kiss, of course.
Cooper exhaled.
RJ shook his head, while Dean muttered an oath.
“I already reamed Carter a new one for not informing us sooner,” Mac said. “And I’ll be doing the same to Dale when he gets his sorry ass here. We would’ve been there immediately. We always have each other’s backs.”
Sadie knew their aggravation stemmed from concern, and it warmed her to know Dale would never have to face anything like that alone ever again.
“Guess that’s something he’s going to need to learn,” she stated. “As for me, I would’ve called if I hadn’t left my phone in my purse in the truck. And if I knew your number. But I do have your wife’s. Guess I could’ve gotten to you through six degrees of separation.”
His lips twitched as if wanting to smile but he didn’t. “Give me your phone, and I’ll rectify that immediately.”
“Sir, yes, sir,” she replied, digging her phone from her purse before handing it to him.
Again, his lips twitched, and she heard some of the men chuckle.
“There,” he said, giving her phone back, several seconds later. “Just to be clear, I’m not upset with you. It’s the fact that Dale put you and himself in danger instead of calling for back-up.”
She shoved her phone into her purse and cocked her head. “But he did. He called the sheriff then Carter,” she informed, feeling the need to defend Dale.
Mac’s brows shot up. “He did?”
“Yeah.” She nodded. “That’s who he’s with right now. Gabe and two of his deputies showed up, so Dale had me take his truck home. He refused to leave and insisted on investigating with the sheriff.”
Cooper grinned. “Sounds like Delta.”
“No way was he going to leave,” Dean stated. “Especially if someone’s messing with his family.”
RJ nodded. “ Hooyah. ”
“That’s good to know,” Mac told her, his shoulders and expression no longer stiff. “I thought he was trying to lone wolf it.”
“Nah.” Cooper shook his head. “His brother, Caspian, maybe, but not Dale. He’s a team player.”
This time Sadie nodded. She’d never had many conversations with Caspian, but he’d always given off that “I can do it myself” vibe.
“Sorry if we came across harsh, Sadie,” Mac said, his gaze once again warm and friendly.
She smiled and waved her hand in the air. “Don’t sweat it. I’ve got thick skin. Besides, I really admire how you guys stick together, and how you’re ready to help whenever needed.”
Cooper grinned. “It’s in our DNA.”
“Then you all come from good stock,” she said, turning to leave, before a thought occurred and she twisted back around. “Listen, um, this may not mean anything, but on my way here, I was nearly run off the road by a black SUV much bigger than yours and with tinted windows.”
She was probably being paranoid, but figured it didn’t hurt to mention the incident.
“Did you get hurt?”
“Are you okay?”
“Did you get the license?”
“Where did this happen?”
The men shot rapid-fire questions at her, their gazes back to stone-cold serious.
She inhaled then blew out the breath. “No. I’m fine. No, I didn’t get a license because now that I think about it, there wasn’t any.”
Dammit. Why hadn’t that registered sooner?
She didn’t have to be a former military operator or the sheriff to know that was not a good sign. And if she hadn’t known it before, then the muttered oaths from the men in front of her would’ve clued her in.
They muttered them a lot.
“Where did this happen?” Mac asked her again, so she quickly filled him in. He nodded, pulling out his phone. “I’m going to let Gabe know.”
“And I’ll have Carter search the…uh…area for the vehicle,” Cooper said, holding her gaze.
She smiled at his attempt to try to cover up the fact that Carter had access to all the traffic cams and video feed in the county. Everyone in their circle was aware of that fact.
Deciding it was best to let the ESI guys handle things, she nodded. “If you’ll excuse me, I need a drink.”
With a wave, she turned around to finally head inside her house.
Today had been a whirlwind of emotions, and she was ready for some coffee and contemplation.
Within ten minutes, she was settled in her favorite chair with Tesla quickly curling on her lap, and a cup of coffee mixed with a little bit of caramel apple creamer on a nearby end table. Her thoughts kept circling back to Dale, the kiss, and the strange events today. Something told her this was just the beginning of whatever was brewing in Harland County.
That thought had barely whispered through her mind when a loud knock sounded on the front door. Sadie instantly jumped out of her skin then back in again. The noise and movement sent Tesla scampering to the floor, then under the couch.
“It’s okay, Tesla,” she reassured on her way to the door with her hand over her thudding heart. Peeking through the side window, she spotted Dale and Gabe on her doorstep. “Hey,” she said after opening the door. “Come on in.”
Dale immediately stepped close, cupping her shoulders while he searched her face. “Jesus, Sadie. Are you okay?”