Chapter 8
CHAPTER EIGHT
TRIPP
M y legs feel heavy from trudging through the fields. The grass is long, wildflowers bloom and my boots are covered in mud. Walking down the fence line and smiling when I see the small nightlights that are lined at every fence post.
I don't knock. Just climb the porch steps and let myself in.
“Blue? Buck?” I call out as I stand in the hallway.
“Tripp?” Blue's eyes widen and she looks so damn tired. I scoop her into my arms, holding her tightly.
Blue was like a second mom to me and my brothers. Always cooked for us, let us stay the night and kept our little secrets from our parents when we were up to no good.
“Is everything okay?” her glassy eyes bounce between mine and I give a heavy nod.
“How are you?” I ask, lifting my hat off and hanging it on the hat rack. I follow her through to the kitchen as she fills an iron kettle and places it on the stove, heating the water.
“I've been better, I am worried Tripp,” and I roll my lips.
“I know, but I meant what I said. I will do everything to keep Austin from jail.”
My stomach knots.
“I heard my name,” I turn on my stool when I see a rugged Austin walk through the doorway. I stand and we embrace.
“Tea?” Blue asks.
“Please.”
She doesn't give Austin an option, just makes him one anyway. Austin looks like shit.
Dirty blonde hair, messy. Stubble a little longer than normal, forming a short beard. Eyes hollow, deep set eye bags presenting themselves.
“Have you had an update from your lawyer?” I ask, thanking Blue as I take my tea from her.
“Yeah,” he scrubs his face, elbows on the breakfast bar, head hung low.
“And?” I press.
“He is telling me to take the plea.”
My blood runs cold.
“Why?”
I knew why.
“Because my chances are looking slim of being proven innocent, I don't see any other way out of it. They've done their investigation and post mortem...”
“And what was the cause of death?”
“Impact to the head, that’s what caused him to die,” he licks his lips.
I curl my fingers round the mug of my hot tea.
“There was no impact to the head, sure we all roughed him up but he didn't fall back did he? There was nothing for him to have hit his head on was there? He was a little dazed sure, but he ran away didn't he?”
My heart aches. I hate that he is looking to me for reassurance.
“He did,” I nod.
“I've told them all of this. I've told them over and over,” and I watch as his face falls, his eyes glassy and fuck, my stomach hurts.
“Don't say anything about taking the plea, leave it with me a bit longer yeah?” I clasp my hand over his shoulder, giving him a friendly squeeze.
He nods. And I hear Blue's heavy sigh.
“I don't know what else to suggest...” her eyes find mine, searching for something, anything that will get Austin off the blame train.
“I wish I had the answer Blue, I really do.” Lifting the mug to my lips, I take a mouthful.
I know what I could do, I could let my dad turn himself in. But I felt stuck between a rock and a hard place. I didn't know what to do for the best; and then you've got Dixie and Lainey... Clay was her dad. She is growing up without a father because someone killed him.
“Did anyone identify the body?” I ask on a whim, my thoughts cascading over me.
“His brother,” Austin turns to face me, “why?”
“Just wondering, just something feels off about the whole thing.”
I finish the remainder of my tea; the whole time Dixie's voice plays at the back of my mind.
It is my business if it was your dad that killed my daughter’s.
“I've got to shoot off, Austin,” I say as I slip off the bar stool, hand back on his shoulder. “Keep your head up, there’s enough people that want to see us fall, don't let them see you slip. This will get rectified, I promise.”
He mutters something incoherent under his breath and I give his shoulder one last squeeze. Blue stands and follows me to the front door. Reaching for my hat, I place it on my head before saying my goodbyes to Blue.
She closes the door behind me, and I inhale sharply.
My eyes narrow on my families ranch in the distance as my legs begin to carry me through the fields and back home.
I needed to speak to Dixie. I needed to speak to Riggs. And I needed to speak to Kelcie. Something is going on, I can feel it in my gut and we all know the gut always tells the truth.
Climbing the fence, my boots hit the ground just as Riggs storms out the door, eyes wide and I know he is fuming.
“What the fuck?” he whispers to me, eyes bouncing between mine.
I look over his shoulder and see my dad standing in the door, arms crossed against his chest. For fuck’s sake.
I told him to not say anything.
“Elaborate please, it's been a morning, and we have a bigger problem than the one you're what the fucking. ”
“Doubt that,” his nostrils flare as he turns.
“You're on about dad, right?”
I side eye him as we begin to walk towards the bunk house.
“What else would I be on about Tripp?”
“Well...” I pause as Riggs moves across to the bunkhouse and makes sure the coast is clear.
He nods towards the bunk then slams the door behind me as I walk in.
I turn my nose up at the mess.
“You wouldn't last an hour on the ranch anymore,” Riggs scoffs, kicking his boot into the floor.
“Funny you mention the ranch, I was thinking of coming back... as well as Pacey… if we can.”
Riggs laughs. Loudly. Head tipped back; thumbs hooped through his belt loops.
“Okay pretty boy, both come back on the ranch tomorrow and you can go out with the cowboys. I'll be here too.” He steps towards me, “Now, back onto what I called you in for.”
“Fine,” I nod, “I need to keep busy. I can't be worrying about Austin constantly; I can't just sit and feel helpless. I've lost my badge, Pacey is spiralling.”
I shake my head and my big brother closes the small gap between us.
“I've spoken to dad, and mom...” he pauses, and I can see in his green eyes they've made a decision without mine or Pacey's input.
“Don't,” I warn, standing toe to toe.
“It's him or Austin, you wouldn't want Austin to go down for something he didn't do, would you? Dad was the last to see him...”
“I've been to see Austin. He has been told to take the plea. He knows how Clay died.”
Riggs steps back slightly, a heavy sigh making his broad shoulders rise and fall. “He died of head trauma apparently .”
Riggs blinks a couple of times.
“He ran after dad roughed him up, he didn't fall to the floor and stay down did he? Same with Austin, he ran. What's to say he didn't have a heart attack then fell and hit his head? They need someone to blame, or more like they want someone to blame and by ‘ they’ , I mean Clay's family. They won't let this go, and because witnesses came forward to say they saw Austin putting him in the back of the truck, that's their proof. No one official told them that he ran off. We all have. Austin has. But they don't care. Because I can bet you now that Kelcie's pockets are lined.”
“Something's off.”
“Exactly,” I throw my hand in the air, “look, I don't want Austin going down, and I don't want our dad going down either, but I just need a bit of time. We have two weeks until his hearing to be sentenced right? Two weeks is a fucking long time.”
Riggs turns away from me, hands moved to his hips as he looks at the artwork on the panelled wall.
“We will not fucking rest until the right person is brought to justice,” and he is back looking at me,
“Live by the ranch, die by the ranch,” he grunts, and I nod, repeating the words before following him back outside. “Wait,” he says as he bolts the bunk house door back.
Fuck.
“What did you want to talk about?”
I squint as I look down towards the creek.
“Dixie,” I push my tongue into the inside of my cheek.
“What about her?” Riggs tilts his head to the side.
“She is back for the funeral.”
“Right?” his brows furrow.
“Clay was Lainey's dad.” I kind of rush out because my chest aches as soon as the words have spilled.
“What?!” he barks, and I look down at my dust and mud covered boots. “Is she a fucking mole? Is she feeding them assholes information?”
I hadn't even thought of that.
“No,” I find myself defending her, “they only met up a few times, she hadn't seen him in months then heard the news...”
I had no idea if that was true but for some reason, I was incredibly protective of her which pissed me off a little.
“You better keep your mouth shut going forward, you have no idea what she's up to. Convenient that she happened to…” and he bunny quotes, “crash right outside our ranch?”
I mean, he isn't wrong.
“And she was coming back for that vermin’s funeral. I'm sorry Tripp, but I think we have a little snake living with you, ma and dad.”
And I can't argue that what he is saying doesn't make sense.
Because it does.
Too much sense actually.
I lift my hat from my head and run my hands through my brown hair, tipping my head back and letting the sun brush over my face for just a moment. The slight warmth feels good on my tired skin.
“This is going to be an outright war with the Attaway’s.”
“It's going to kick off Friday,” I toe the floor.
“Hundred percent, but we will still go and show our respect. Is Austin going?”
I shake my head from side to side.
“Good, I think that's the right move.”
“Do you think? Him hiding is just proving to people that maybe he is guilty. Where if he shows up, sure, he will probably be kicked into the dirt, but it shows that he is innocent?”
“I don't know brother...” Riggs pauses for a moment.
“Think about it for a while.”
He nods.
“What you doing now?” he asks just as Ace bolts over to us from the house.
“I was going to find Dixie...”
“Come with me, grab yourself a horse and come out with me to find the boys, they're down the bottom field with the cows.”
“You sure?” A small smile tugs at my lips.
“Yeah, be good to get you back out with the cowboys, I want to see just how good you are,” he winks, and I laugh, slapping him on the back as we walk towards the stables.
The horses are tacked and ready and I place my foot in my stirrups, pulling myself up onto my dark bay horse and kick him on, leaving Riggs to eat my kicked-up dust.
But we both know he will be hot on my tail. Riggs never loses.
Ever.