Chapter Fifteen
“I can’t believe how excited I am to help you pull off Nick’s surprise,” Finley told Cash. “He really doesn’t know?”
“Nope. I didn’t even acknowledge his comments when he mentioned goats twice in one week.”
They’d been spending the warm, late-summer evenings on the ranch, which included a lot of time with the horses.
Nick had told Cash his grandparents raised goats on their farm in Oklahoma.
A few days later, Cash overheard Nick telling Dolly the horse that she could use an ornery goat to keep her on her toes.
“There’s already a Dolly, Loretta, and Patsy on this ranch. We need goats named Reba and Martina—little but feisty,” Nick had told her.
Cash pretended not to hear as he visited with Kieran’s feisty girl, Nellie.
He’d put the plan into motion but figured he’d have to wait until Nick was at physical therapy to sneak the goats onto the ranch.
As luck would have it, Charles had a nearby campaign stop late Saturday morning and wanted to see his sons.
It had been quite the feat to revamp the empty horse stalls into goat condos on short notice, but Finley was an excellent co-conspirator.
He’d done a great job preparing a cozy space for the ranch’s newest additions.
Harry and Ivan were also in on the surprise, and the two of them started plotting new commercial ventures with the goats.
“Their milk is a lucrative business,” Ivan had said.
Harry had nodded vigorously. “From cheese to skin care products.”
Cash had left the room when they’d started guessing the names Hope would assign to a skincare line made from goat’s milk.
Maybe they’d expand to milking goats someday, but Cash had purchased four female Pygmy goats from a rescue organization for Nick to cuddle and love.
Cash and Finley took advantage of Rory and Nick’s absence to pick up the cuties and set up the surprise.
Their first stop was the feed store in Last Chance Creek.
Fin pulled the truck and trailer into the parking lot and drove to the rear of the building to a pickup bay.
Since he’d phoned in the order, it didn’t take them long to unload the goats’ food and bedding.
Fin drove back toward the front of the store and pulled over to the side.
“I want to spread out some of that bedding in the horse trailer so the goats will be comfortable and won’t slip around on the metal floor,” Fin said.
Cash exited the truck to help, but his attention got diverted when he heard raised voices near the store.
There were several men talking at once, so he couldn’t make out their individual words, but he heard the pleading, “Leave me alone” that followed.
Cash recognized the voice but didn’t immediately know from where until Fin swore.
“Keegan is in trouble,” Fin said.
Cash rounded the side of the truck and saw that three men had backed Finley’s ex-boyfriend against the front of the building.
Fin had brought the guy to the ranch a few times when they dated because Keegan wasn’t out to his family.
The young guy had been confused about his sexual orientation and turned to his mother’s spiritual adviser for guidance.
Unfortunately for Keegan, that had turned out to be Samuel Jeremiah.
Keegan had cut off things with Finley and joined Salvation Anew.
The young man wore the simple style of clothes their congregation chose, which made him stick out like a sore thumb and slapped a bullseye on his back.
Fin took a step toward the feed store, but Cash held up a hand to stop him. “I’ll handle this. You take care of the bedding.” Fin held his gaze for a moment before nodding.
With his back to the building, Keegan had nowhere to go as the other three crowded him. Cash didn’t know the source of the altercation, but it didn’t matter. Three on one wasn’t freaking cool.
“Hey,” Cash called out, “what’s the problem?”
Four heads swiveled his way, and Keegan’s relief was palpable.
The other three wore various expressions of annoyance—mild, medium, and spicy.
Cash leveled them with his most withering stare.
The mild guy’s eyes widened a little, and he took two steps back.
The medium guy held his ground but looked slightly less mutinous.
And the spicy guy looked, well, spicier.
He was the only one who turned to confront Cash.
“Stay out of it, old man,” Spicy said. “This doesn’t concern you.”
Old man? Ouch. “That’s where you’re wrong.” On both counts. Cash had never felt better in his life, and to the guys he said, “I don’t like bullies.”
“Let’s go, guys,” Mild said.
“Shut up, Joe,” Medium replied to his friend.
“We’re not the bullies.” Spicy pointed to Keegan. “He is, but I think you of all people already know that.”
So Spicy recognized him. “If you know who I am, then you also know I don’t condone violence. I promote redemption, not rejection. You’ll never reach anyone through intimidation.”
“You confronted us,” Spicy argued.
Cash stopped a few feet away and kept his posture loose.
It wouldn’t matter what he said if he struck a combative stance.
Spicy neither retreated nor advanced, but Mild and Medium eased backward.
“Come here, Keegan.” The kid kept a wary gaze on the combatants as he eased toward Cash.
“I don’t know what happened before I arrived on the scene, but it’s over now. Move along.”
Spicy narrowed his eyes at Cash before shifting his furious gaze toward Keegan. “Fine, but this isn’t over. I meant what I said. This town doesn’t want your kind.”
Keegan stood so close Cash could feel the kid tremble.
How many times had Keegan heard he didn’t belong or a variation of the expression?
Cash had certainly heard it more times than he could count, including recently from people in Keegan’s congregation.
But two wrongs never made a right, and everyone deserved to have a sense of belonging.
Cash held Spicy’s gaze and repositioned himself to keep his body in front of Keegan’s as the trio of trouble walked into the store.
Cash turned and assessed Keegan. “Are you okay?”
The younger guy kept his gaze averted but nodded slightly.
Keegan looked anything but okay. He’d lost a lot of weight since the last time he’d been at the ranch, and he didn’t have extra to spare then.
His clothes hung on his thin body. On closer inspection, Keegan’s white shirt was dingy and his pants were worn thin, almost threadbare in places.
Cash caught a whiff of body odor when the wind picked up, and he knew damn well that Keegan wasn’t okay.
He raised his arm, hoping to place a comforting hand on Keegan’s shoulder, but the kid flinched as if Cash were about to hit him.
“Hey, it’s okay.” Cash used the same gentle tone Finley used on skittish horses. “I just want to help.”
Keegan raised his head and met Cash’s gaze.
It took everything in his control not to reveal how alarmed he was by the young man’s appearance.
The weight loss was even more obvious in his face than anywhere else.
His gaunt cheeks made his hazel eyes appear larger, almost cartoonish.
Keegan’s despair threatened to unravel Cash’s control, but he held steady until the younger man spoke.
“Why?” The word came out on a choked whisper. Keegan swallowed hard and tried again. “Why would you help me?”
“I always want to help people who need it. I’ve always welcomed you to my ranch. That hasn’t changed.”
Keegan’s gaze darted to the right and held. Cash knew he was looking at Finley. “But…”
“No buts,” Cash said gently, pulling Keegan’s attention back to him. He had to tread lightly. Commenting on his condition could induce shame and make him retreat further. “This isn’t about Finley, and you know damn well he wouldn’t want you to be in a rough spot.”
Keegan nodded, slowly and lethargically, as if the motion really zapped his energy. “I do.”
“Are you safe?” Cash asked.
Keegan lowered his gaze to his feet again. “I’m fine.”
Cash’s mind raced with how to proceed. That wasn’t a yes, but what could he do?
Keegan was an adult he didn’t have any authority over.
He could hand him a business card and tell him to call if he wanted help.
But what if someone found it in his belongings?
The likelihood Keegan had any autonomy on that compound was slim to none.
In fact, Cash had never seen a Salvation Anew member out alone.
They were always in groups of two or more.
Cash scanned the surrounding area and through the store windows.
“Are you by yourself?”
Keegan shook his head. “Never. Brother Austin had to move the van because they’re shutting down Main Street for the music festival tonight.”
Last Chance Creek had something going on every weekend during the summer.
There was a large empty field at the edge of town that the event planners turned into a parking lot.
The walk into town was a short distance, and they provided shuttle service to those who needed help.
The festivities were a huge draw for tourists and locals alike.
Attendance had waned when Salvation Anew started protesting everything and everyone, but there’d been a resurgence since the group was off licking their wounds.
Running into Keegan was disturbing in more ways than one.
Cash not only worried about his safety; he wondered what the group planned to do next.
Keegan snapped his head up and did his own scan. “You should go. It wouldn’t be good if someone saw us talking.” It wouldn’t be good for Keegan. That’s what he’d meant.