Chapter 18
Declan wasn’t handling this one alone. He gathered his brothers and Petra, who was still in the house. With Jinx and Jeffrey off with Tansy at her mom’s for the morning, the kitchen was quiet as they gathered around the big, beat-up kitchen table.
Logan shook his head. “I’m sorry.”
“Stop apologizing, and let’s figure out how to fix this,” Jake ordered. “You said Dean didn’t know how to get a hold of you.”
“He didn’t. At least until a couple of days ago.” Logan opened his phone and pushed it across to Petra. “He messaged me. Used the wording we used to use when our dad had decided to go on a bender.”
Petra examined the phone. “Pick up milk?”
“If we saw that, we knew not to come home.” Logan said it flatly, no emotion at all. “I usually still showed up because if I didn’t, Dad would just beat the snot out of Dean. At least if there were two of us, sometimes the old man wouldn’t start, worried about the odds.”
Aiden cleared his throat softly. “The scarring on your legs. That’s from your dad?”
“Yeah.” Logan sighed. “The times that I sent the message to Dean and ended up alone.”
“You saw that message, and you answered it, didn’t you?” Declan asked quietly.
“He’s an ass, but he’s still my brother,” Logan said.
Petra scrolled for a second then put the phone down. “You guys didn’t exchange more than two or three sentences.”
“I gave him my email,” Logan pointed out. “I thought it would be better to have anything from him show up there. Then I could ignore it if I wanted to instead of having him interrupting me with a message. I don’t want him in my life, but I can’t just abandon him.”
Even though it seemed to be exactly what Dean had done to Logan in the past.
Petra opened her laptop and plugged in the small black USB stick that Logan had set down. Her face changed in an instant.
Declan lifted his chin. “What’s wrong?”
Petra cursed under her breath. “Some of these files are locked down hard—encrypted. But from the folder names and what little I can see, we’re dealing with financial data. Lots of it.”
Jake leaned in. “What kind of financial data?”
Petra didn’t look up. “I need more time to unpack it, but it’s not someone’s tax returns. There are hints of crypto wallet keys and what might be international transfers. If this is what I think it is, there’s enough here to hurt someone—or help the right people stop it.”
“The email says he needs to get the information to his past employers. He thinks if he gives them back most of what he stole, they might leave him alone.” Logan shook his head. “I don’t think he understands how gangs work.”
“And now he’s messed you up in it. And he knows where you live.” Jake stretched his hand out and laid it on Logan’s arm. “We’ll do what we can, but this will take more than the power of High Water.”
“I don’t want Dean to get killed, but he made his choices.
” Sadness slid across Logan’s face. “High Water Ranch is supposed to be a place where people can get a second chance and start a new life. That’s what I want, and I don’t want him dragging any of us into the kind of hell that could ruin it all. ”
Petra worked methodically, fingers flying over the keyboard of the laptop she’d grabbed. “This is a stand-alone computer system—no internet, no risk of being hacked. No way I’d run this on my main system.”
“You know how Dean tracked you down?” Declan asked Logan.
Logan sighed. “I’m using my mom’s last name. Dean knew it, of course. I should’ve used something else, but I didn’t want to give her up completely. She was a good mom.”
Declan got up and made a fresh pot of coffee. Petra was talking about stripping ID codes, and Jake was contacting a couple of friends on the RCMP force who dealt with gang activity.
It was all outside Declan’s wheelhouse, and his mind kept drifting to Sydney—wondering what she’d suggest if she were here.
He watched for a little while longer then ended up rising from the table. “I’m going to go do something useful. Shout if you need me.”
Jake rose to his feet and came to give him a pat on the shoulder as they spoke privately. “This might not be your skill set, but you’re the reason Logan didn’t try to keep this a secret and deal with it by himself. I’m glad you’re a part of High Water.”
“Me too.”
Declan took his time out in the barn, caring for the horses and the couple of rescue dogs.
There wasn’t as much happening in that section of the ranch since they’d taken it over.
And while it was the middle of summer, with Tansy’s accident, they’d kept the bookings in the artists’ studio to a minimum.
He wandered for a while, taking in the signs of the storm. Doing a little maintenance here and there, like securing loose boards and raking leaves from where the water had gathered in puddles.
By the time he spotted his brothers stepping onto the porch of the house, Declan had come to a place of peace in his head. It sucked that the people who mattered the most—everyone at High Water and Sydney—were facing problems he couldn’t fix with the strength of his two hands.
Still, he didn’t have to be good at everything. He just needed to be there for them.
He made his way to where his brothers stood and turned to give Logan a slap on the back.
“We’re okay?” Declan asked Logan.
Logan nodded. “It’s still a mess, but Jake has leads and Petra put something on my phone that will help if Dean tries to contact me again.”
“You came to us fast. That was the right call,” Declan said, gripping Logan’s shoulder firmly.
“Thanks for being trustworthy,” Logan offered back wryly.
Time to give the kid something else to focus on.
“There’s a bit of work you can do on the other side of the garden.
Tansy can give you more specific directions, but she and Petra wanted more raised beds for next year, so you can go ahead and build a few more.
” Declan checked with his brothers. “Anything else for Logan to do?”
“That should keep him busy enough for now,” Aiden said.
Logan nodded then took off at a quick clip, head held high.
They watched him for a minute before Jake spoke. “Not quite sure how that kid ended up so good-hearted considering the hell he went through growing up.”
“Optimistic hearts take a lot of punishment before they get broken. I’d say he got here right on time,” Aiden offered. “He’s still got a lot to learn, but he’ll get there.”
“It’s still paying it forward, isn’t it?” Declan said quietly. “Making a difference in one life at a time, this time by teaching.”
“Seems we need to make a difference in more than one at a time,” Jake said. “I’m trying my best to not blow a gasket over the shitty situation Sydney’s grandpa put her in.”
“We might be able to solve that easier than you think,” Aiden said softly. “Petra spoke with her brother. It’ll take a few weeks for him to get back to her. I can’t tell you more than that, but she crossed her fingers and had a good feeling about it.”
“I’ll take it,” Declan said. He looked around the yard, unsettled energy bouncing in his belly. “I need a ride. Either of you want to come?”
Jake shook his head. “Not this time. I’m waiting to hear from my contacts.”
“I’ll come,” Aiden offered.
In no time, the two of them were on horseback and headed out into the warm sunshine.
There was something medicinal about being out in nature. In doing nothing except stare at the horizon and sway easily in the saddle as Cobalt picked her way down the muddy trail.
Aiden too seemed thoughtful and far more quiet than usual.
“It’s been harder than I imagined.” Aiden finally said. “And yet so much more than I’d ever dreamed of. Being in the right place at the right time—it’s tough.”
“We always knew it would be.” Declan glanced at his brother. “Wouldn’t want to be doing this with anyone else though. You, Jake.”
“Petra. Tansy.” Aiden smiled. “Sydney.”
“Hopefully.” He met Aiden’s gaze straight on. “She’s got my number, and I meant it. If she needs to move, I’m going with her.”
“I know. It won’t come to that, though,” his brother assured him. He lifted his chin. “That was one of the things that Jeff taught us. Family sticks together. We’ll find a way to make things right for Sydney. We’ll deal with Logan’s bullshit. They’re family. We’re in this together.”
It was a bit of a benediction. Declan didn’t need to say amen—it was already true. He stared into the pale blue sky and entertained himself thinking up ways to get Sydney to say that she loved him.
He’d already figured out that she did, but chasing the words could be fun.
It was intoxicating to realize she’d become the target of a very large, very determined stalker. Or did it even count as stalking when Sydney secretly loved having Declan underfoot as often as possible?
She’d slept at his place, and he’d slept at hers. He’d made sure that she knew when he was headed to the Nagy farm to deal with the animals and help with the road, and he’d still made it home in time to bring her to High Water to enjoy supper and an evening by the fire.
He showed up at lunchtime at the clinic with enough food for the entire staff and a special carrot cake selection for Edison.
“I heard from someone that this is your favourite,” Declan offered in that soft, gruff manner that made Sydney’s heart ache. “Thank him for it, not me.”
Edison blew Declan an exaggerated kiss. “The delivery boy still gets a pat on the back. Thank you.”
“Welcome.” Declan raised a brow. “You’re invited to dinner at High Water anytime you’d like. You know that, right?”
“I know.” Edison cocked a hip and offered a flirty smile. “Just making sure Kevin doesn’t take me for granted. Sometimes a guy’s got to keep the mystery going in their relationship.”
Sydney walked Declan to the door, and he paused, glancing to make sure the waiting room was empty before pulling her into his arms. “I hope you coming over to dinner every night at High Water doesn’t mean we don’t have mystery in our relationship. Whatever that means.”