31. Chapter 31
Chapter 31
Sutton
I t’s been a while since I’ve gotten away for a solo whiskey at my favorite restaurant and bar. Maci has plans to meet with her mother today, and I’m getting the ranch hands started on some final projects before I head out to enjoy my whiskey.
“I’m going to run into town in a bit and handle some things, and while I’m there I’m going to pick up materials for a pig enclosure.” The four of us stand out front of the stables.
“Say what?” Jason looks at me skeptically.
I grin. “I made a threat, and I might need to make good on it.”
“You threatened pigs?” Cody is equally confused.
My chuckle turns into a full belly laugh, and the three ranch hands stare at me with wide eyes and gaping mouths. “I did not threaten pigs. Though, if I’m being honest, their days will be numbered here.”
“I’m still not following,” Jason says.
I readjust my hat, still smiling. “No need to worry about it. Just know you’ll be building the enclosure this afternoon when I get back.”
“Whatever you say, boss.” They exchange glances again as I head to my truck.
It’s an odd feeling to enjoy some peace and also wish it wasn’t so peaceful. Maci and I have independent lives, and I think that’s important. But it doesn’t mean I wouldn’t want her with me while I enjoy this whiskey right now.
I’m heading back out to the truck when a familiar voice calls out to me. “Mr. Strickland, how are you?”
I perk up and look left. Detective Porter is almost to the bar and grill entrance. My eyes narrow, and I don’t greet him.
“Grabbing a drink?” He smiles, but it doesn’t put me at ease.
“Business.”
“Good, good. Glad business is good.” He shoves his hands into his pockets.
Once again, I fail to respond. I’m not in the mood for small talk with him.
“Got a couple questions. Have a minute?”
“I have an appointment, but I can give you a minute.” I widen my stance and cross my arms.
“Wonderful,” he says with another useless smile. “How long have you and Ms. McCullough been seeing each other?”
“Long enough.”
He doesn’t balk. “Did you know Colt Young?”
“Not personally. I witnessed him make Maci uncomfortable at The Spur one night, and saw him hold her against her will on Halloween.”
“Shew! That’d make me pretty mad if another man touched my girlfriend.”
I blink slowly. “Sorry, what’s the question?”
“You ever threaten Colt Young?” His eyes gleam like he’s found a thread, but he’s so far from the fucking truth.
“Never talked to him. Thirty seconds.”
“Whose idea was it?”
“What’s that?” He’s really bad at this.
“Whose idea was it to lure Colt to the house on Bluebonnet Cove?”
I’ve never understood smiling angrily until now. It keeps me from grabbing this dumbass by the throat and shaking him. “Let me be really clear, because you seem to be having a hard time with this. Colt attacked Maci at that house, and I didn’t make it in time. I wish I had. I would’ve gladly shot that motherfucker right between the eyes, instead of her having to defend herself.” I point a finger at him. “And if you can’t say the same about the woman you love, then that says far more about you as a man than Maci as a person.”
I drop my hand, and he stares at me so stiffly I’m unsure he’s breathing.
“Time’s up. Have a good day, Detective.”
I’ve hardly been home ten minutes, delivering a few things to Mama inside, when the house phone rings. I shove the orange juice into the refrigerator as Mama picks up.
“Hello?…Oh. Hi, James.” She eyes me.
“She’s out.” I throw my thumb toward the hall as if she doesn’t already know. “He’s welcome, but she’s having lunch with Stephanie.”
Mama repeats the information to James and nods as he responds. “Ok, then. I’ll open the gate.” She presses the star key and hangs up. “He said he’d talk to you.” Her voice is matter-of-fact and she starts moving around the kitchen again, not giving me another thought.
“Wonderful.”
That catches her attention. She perks up at the sink. “You don’t get along with him?”
I sigh. “It’s not that. We haven’t had a chance to talk much. It’s just tense.”
She attempts to hide a smirk. “Seems to me now is as good a time to talk as any.” She dares me to argue with a look. “And it’s important.”
I hang my head and kick my boots against each other. “Yep.” I kiss her head and turn to go.
“Sutton,” she calls softly, drawing my attention back. “Her building a relationship with him doesn’t diminish her feelings for you.”
“I know, Mama. It’s not that. I just don’t know if he’s good for her.”
“Maybe he’s wondering the same thing. You can both be good for her. In your own ways.”
I don’t respond, just study her sweet face. My lips press together. She always gets right to the root of things. “Thanks, Mama.”
The thud of my boots down the hallway grounds me as I head outside to wait for the man who might be my father-in-law soon. If I have my way.
The rumble of his motorcycle cuts through the ranch. Some of the horses nearby pause their grazing. He parks near the front steps, and I make my way down to him.
Maybe he’s wondering the same thing.
I offer my hand. “Afternoon.”
He shakes it and gives me a nod. “Gracie’s out, then.”
“Yeah, lunch with her mother.” I gesture toward the road that’s out of sight. I don’t miss that he has his own nickname for her. I can’t decide if I like it or not.
His ability to maintain eye contact is a little intense. It strikes me as a habit of someone who often uses a lot of non-verbal communication. “What’s your take there?”
I angle my head. “My take on lunch?”
“Aye.”
I keep my face slack as I consider his question. Does his history with Stephanie play into this line of questioning? “I’m not sure it’s my place—”
“Do you love my daughter?”
My jaw snaps shut at the interruption, and I furrow my brows. “Do I—Yes. I love Maci.”
“Do you think you’re a worthy partner?”
This conversation has taken a very direct turn. I’m fine with direct. I’m also good with tactful. He doesn’t seem concerned with the latter at the moment.
We stare at each other. “Maci deserves the world. I can’t give her that. But I can give her a beautiful life here. And I make it my mission every day to try to be worthy of her love.”
He dips his chin once. “Then it’s your place.”
I scrub my neck with a hand. “Okay, then. I think Stephanie’s toxic.”
His green eyes hold my gaze the same way Maci’s do, and I’m starting to soften to their similarities.
“Maci’s really good at setting boundaries. She calls Stephanie out on her bullshit and only deals with her when it’s a necessity, but it doesn’t matter. Even phone conversations drain her. Now, Stephanie’s living in the house on Bluebonnet Cove.” My hand flies into the air, gesturing into the distance. “Probate’s going to be done soon and Maci has plans for the house. Plans that her aunt has agreed to based on what’s in the will, but I don’t think either of them will push Stephanie out, and she’s content to do as she damn well pleases.”
James is quiet for a long moment. He looks out at the horses. “Why is Gracie meeting with her today?” His use of meeting isn’t lost on me. We both know nothing is casual with Stephanie.
“Maci wants to talk to her about Alan and his secret life. See if there’s something there. She doesn’t get along with her mom, but she doesn’t want her to get hurt.”
“He hurt them.” James looks calm on the surface, but his energy is infectious. A similar thing happened at the funeral. Like water churning beneath a still surface. Maci sometimes talks about the soothing nature of water, but she forgets the destruction flood waters can leave in their wake.
“He’s a pretentious asshole.” My own anger spikes. “He’s put his hands on Maci, and at the very least Stephanie knows. I’m sure he’s put his hands on her, too, but she doesn’t seem the battered wife.”
“Neh.” He scoffs. “That’s not her way.”
I shuffle my boots and kick the gravel. “Do you want to come in?”
An unusual flicker of indecision crosses James’ face.
“My dad won’t bring a rifle out this time.”
We grin at each other.
“Maci and I stay on the backside of the house.”
“Aye.” He motions for me to lead the way, and I lead him by a half-step around the house.
In my office, I give him a water from the mini fridge, and we sit on opposite sides of a small table on the far side of the room.
“She still beating herself up?”
I kick my ankle up onto my knee. “I think she’s coming through. It’ll never go away completely, but meeting Melissa was actually helpful to her, in my opinion.”
“Don’t downplay your part.”
My eyes dart to his. “Sir?”
He chuckles. “Don’t ‘sir’ me. Maci relies on you. She’s damn strong and I’m wicked proud of her, but that doesn’t mean she can do it all on her own. She needs you. You two are like magnets.”
It does feel like that sometimes.
“I’m glad she made the call she did.” My eyes drop to the floor. “I wish she would’ve made it sooner. But even more, I wish she didn’t have to. I’d have pulled the trigger without hesitation.”
James seesaws his head side to side. “You can’t know unless you’re faced with the decision. She’s got a hard exterior, but she wants to do right by people.”
I readjust my hat. “Sounds more like you than Stephanie.”
James smiles softly. “Gracie’s a lot like me. But I suspect she’s more like Stephanie than most realize. The struggles with their families, the fierce independence, their take-no-shite attitude. You might not see it that way from Stephanie, but it’s there. I guarantee it. Every slight they take is a choice.”
I’m starting to see why Maci feels comfortable around James. He’s far more intuitive than one would initially think.
“I feel like you need to know something.” I don’t know if what I’m about to offer up is common decency or some sort of olive branch, but it definitely feels important.
James clasps his hands in his lap.
“Alan tried to follow Maci and me home after the funeral.”
His cheek ticks just below his eye.
“I confronted him and told him I’d kill him if he stepped foot out here. But I don’t know what his game is.”
James nods. “I’m glad you told me.”
“I think we share an end goal. I’ll continue to keep you in the loop, but I need you to do the same.”
There’s a hint of a lift at the corner of his mouth. He scratches his upper lip with his thumb nail. “I think you and I will do just fine. I’ll tell you everything you need to know, when it comes to Gracie.”
A shared understanding weaves its way between us.
I wasn’t sure before now, because I’d never heard anything bad about the club, but I know without a doubt that James is involved in some kind of criminal activity.