Chapter Thirty-Two #3
Rhett glances towards me and does a double take. He puts out a long arm. “You must be Dahlia.”
“That’s me,” I say, and shake his hand. “How’d you know?”
“You’re the spitting image of your mama.” Rhett tilts his head down and puts a heavy hand on my shoulder. “Kaylee told me about what happened at your ranch. I’m real sorry. When Cash texted to see if your horse had run to our place, Kaylee wanted to come out to help.”
“Oh. Cash texted you?”
Rhett’s gravelly voice rumbles, “Not me. Kaylee.”
“Oh. Well, thank you both for coming out here.”
“How are you holding up, Dahlia?” Kaylee asks, staying on her horse. When she looks towards me, the rhinestone on her hat catches the sunlight and shines the entirety of the sun into my face.
“Oh my gosh, I’m sorry,” she says, and takes off her hat. “This gaudy thing was my mom’s. It brings me luck.”
“We don’t need luck any more. Cash and I found him. He’s right through the junipers there.” I squint in Rhett’s direction. “What is this place anyhow?”
He unbuckles his saddle bag and pulls out a folded map. He opens it and lays it across his horse’s saddle, pointing to a rectanglar area.
“Best Kaylee and I can figure, we’re on part of our public land lease.
See here…” Cash and I lean in. “Your place is here – sorry, my wife’s handwriting was always hard to read – and this is our ranch.
” He points. “All this in between is the land lease. But it doesn’t make sense.
Looks like it could be ours, but it’s connected to your back corner.
Kaylee and I have never seen it before. Her mom handled the cattle business before she passed.
Maybe I would have known if I’d ever taken interest, but I was happy as the bookkeeper. ” He leans an elbow against his saddle.
“You didn’t know this was here?” I ask.
“Not at all,” Rhett says. “If we had, we would’ve been pushing cattle up here all along.”
Kaylee clears her throat. “Dad and I’ve always liked the horse side of things more than the cattle. We helped at branding and calving time, but Mom had the ranch hands move the cattle around.”
I study the map for a moment longer. Rhett’s right – it doesn’t make sense. If the ditch to my ranch comes through here, a place with plenty of water, then why don’t I have any?
When we find Blue, grazing merrily, I give him hugs and kisses. Cash strokes his face like he does with Luna.
“Blue, I thought I’d lost you,” I breathe. I scratch his neck and he leans into me. “Please don’t run off again. I can’t take losing anything else.”
Cash boosts me on to his back and finds a rock to get up himself. We ride him home bareback, almost falling asleep holding each other up.
As we’re feeding Blue, a white SUV pulls up to the house. The forensics investigator steps out holding a stack of papers. Mom greets her at the door and invites her in as we run past the barn. I take a deep breath and look at Cash before opening the mudroom door.
“Hi,” I say, suddenly unable to form the questions I’m so desperate to ask her.
“Hi, Dahlia. Cash.” She tips her head in hello. “I’ve got some information for you.”
My hand finds the edge of the chair across from her at the kitchen table.
My muscles ache as I lower myself into the seat, the lacquered wood slick against my sweaty palms. The fire has left me feeling bruised inside and out, as though I was thrown into a boxing match without gloves, run over by a gravel truck, trampled by a dozen horses.
“I know a cause for the fire doesn’t make what happened go away, but I hope it can help you move on to the next step,” she says.
Cash pinches his brow. “So you know?”
“I do. This morning, the forensics team combed your property. They determined a cigarette discarded in the mulch around a tree started it.”
I side-eye Cash, whose eyes have grown wide.
“We’re still unsure how it was enough to fuel such a large fire, especially with green trees, but fires often have a mind of their own.
We’ll question everyone again, but it wouldn’t hurt if you do a little digging yourself.
Please let me know if you get any information.
Whoever was responsible for this should be brought to justice.
” She leans forward, and stares into my eyes.
My heart pounds in my chest. Emery smokes sometimes, but there’s no way I’m telling the investigator that.
Emery’s alluded to the fact that she never felt like she belonged here the way I do.
If she found out she burned it down, she’d never forgive herself.
And, for that reason, I need to protect her this time.
“Do you know if the land or the orchard are insured?” the investigator asks.
Mom and I look to each other, and both shake our heads. “No.”
When the investigator leaves, Mom drums her fingers on the table and stares out into space.
A dull ache in my stomach creeps up into my throat, reminding me I haven’t eaten since the party.
I’m tempted to get Emery’s birthday cake from the freezer, but, despite everything, I won’t eat it without her.