Chapter 15
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
S tewart wasn’t used to having a woman around, and it wasn’t the most comfortable feeling. He ran out of conversation rather quickly, and the silences, though not too awkward, were long. He struggled to come up with something to say. Small talk had never been his forte.
He’d set up his office in one room and there was another room across the hallway they’d set up for Aurora. She still wanted to do the fundraiser.
Nothing had been done about it since she’d left, so it would take some effort to catch up. McKenna wasn’t about to do it, so Stewart took the project over.
He didn’t really have a need for an office, though. He was up before the sun and out riding the range. It was a beautiful, freeing experience. Strange how he hadn’t missed it when he was in charge. Now he wasn’t sure he could go back to sitting in one room all day.
Aurora was finally wearing casual clothes. He’d offered to buy some, but she ordered her own online. What would she do if the size was wrong? He thought women liked to try on clothes, go figure.
Paul Stingster was found guilty of several counts of fraud and set for sentencing soon. Hopefully, no one knew where Aurora was living. Her phone was a burner where she added minutes on it online as needed. She deserved some peace after what she’d been through.
It was easy enough to blame the wrong person. Too easy. There was no proof. She was guilty by association. He’d jumped to the same conclusion. The shadows in her eyes were something he noticed too often when he looked at her. Would they ever disappear?
Her mother’s remarks to a reporter about her daughter were not kind. He tried to hide the newspaper, but Aurora read the news on the computer, so she was aware.
As he rode the ranch, he made mental notes of improvements that needed to be made. Improvements that took old fashioned hard work. No money would need to be spent. All the materials should be in one of the outbuildings.
Turning Echo, he rode toward the nearest outbuilding. A hand he didn’t recognize stood in front of it. How odd.
Steward nodded to the man. “You must be new. I haven’t seen you before.”
“I’ve been around for six months, give or take. I’m Wayne. You really shouldn’t be here. Mr. McKeegan has declared this building off limits.”
“You’re guarding for Stewart McKeegan?” He held his breath.
“No, for McKenna. Heard Stewart would have a heart attack if he found out.”
“Well, Wayne. Funny thing about you not being on the payroll. No matter, I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Stewart McKeegan.”
Wayne’s face paled. “I was told you never ride.”
Stewart glanced down at Echo beneath him and chuckled. “Another thing McKenna got wrong. Listen, I don’t want any trouble, but I’m going in there.”
“I don’t want no trouble either. I’ll just be moving along.”
Stewart watched Wayne until he was out of view. Opening that door was bound to unleash a whole mess of trouble. He sighed. He needed to know. He got down off Echo and went to the door.
A moment of hesitation lingered as he touched the doorknob. Finally, he turned it and opened the door.
What in the world? He walked closer and picked up a brick-like form wrapped in plastic. It couldn’t be. Why? The authorities could seize the whole ranch. His heart sank.
He had no choice. He called the sheriff. He also called Flora and told her to grab Aurora and find a place to lie low for a few hours off the ranch. The great thing about Flora was she never asked questions when he spoke very seriously.
There were a few bales of hay outside the storage building. He sank down onto one of them. Hopefully, it wouldn’t be a long wait. Who knew if Wayne would report everything to McKenna?
It didn’t take long for Sheriff Washington to roll up. He got out of the car, and they shook hands.
“Tell me again what this is about?” the wide-shouldered man asked.
“It’s better you see it. Do you have back up?”
Sheriff Washington stared at him for a moment before calling in for backup.
The sheriff followed him into the building and whistled. “Is this what I think it is?”
“How would I know? I just know it’s got to be drugs. I want it gone.”
The sheriff pulled out his phone and made a call. “The FBI is on their way.”
“I’d have thought the ATF would be the one to call,” Stewart commented.
“I know the FBI. They can call whatever three letter agency they want. Now, when did you suspect drugs were being smuggled through the ranch?”
“McKenna and I had a difference of opinion.”
“The whole town knows that. Go on.”
“I was riding the ranch, and I realized a few fences needed repairs. I thought I’d come here and see what we had for fencing. A man named Wayne said he was McKenna’s guard. He said he’d been working on the ranch for six months. I knew he wasn’t on the payroll, because until McKenna took over as CEO, I did the payroll.” Stewart shrugged. “He left. I never suspected anything.”
“McKenna, huh?”
Sirens could be heard in the distance. Suddenly McKenna’s truck came barreling toward them. Stewart threw himself on top of the sheriff and knocked him to the ground behind the hay. McKenna must have heard the sirens. He quickly backed up and drove across the grassy plains.
“Flora, are you certain this has nothing to do with me?” Aurora inquired.
“I’m positive. Stewart didn’t say much, just that we needed to get away from the house. Now let’s concentrate. We need a flower combination that will knock people’s shoes off. McKenna has a landscaper who takes care of the property, but I said I wanted to pick the flowers.”
They spent the next hour or so setting flower plants next to one another to see what they would look like.
Flora was very exact in the way she placed the flowers. She didn’t ask Aurora’s opinion for anything other than the kind of mulch that would look best, and in the end, she didn’t go with what Aurora suggested.
Flora’s phone rang, and when she finished talking, she told the patient clerk to total up everything. She would send a hand in the morning with a check to pick everything up. They waited for the receipt then off they went.
Aurora’s mind raced as they headed back to the ranch. Despite Flora’s denial, it had to be something about her or her parents.
They were driving up to the house when she’d come to the scenario that perhaps her father escaped from prison. Her heart pounded, and dread filled her.
“Whose car it that?” Flora asked.
She didn’t want to know. She had fallen for Stewart, and now she would be taken away from him.
The front door opened. “Get inside,” Stewart told them.