Chapter 29
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Owen
“Glad you could make it today. Everything at home okay?” Coach Hansen says as we drop off the practice cones and pads in the team shed.
I didn’t plan on being at practice at all this week, but Daisy invited the girls over for their big chat.
As much as I hated to leave, I wanted to give her the space she was too sweet to ask for.
And with our new security detail posted on the front porch, I didn’t have a decent excuse to stick around, other than that the idea of leaving her side made me feel a little sick.
We’re both co-dependent right now, but my hovering at the house while she confesses our history to her three closest friends wouldn’t make it any easier on her.
Where I want to shout my feelings for her from the mountaintops, something is holding Daisy back.
And it’s not just worry over what her family, especially Cal, will think.
There has to be more to her concerns about not being the kind of woman men settle down with.
Maybe I should have pushed her for more.
“Things are day by day right now, but thanks for asking.” I know I sound cryptic, but it’s not my place to share the details. If Daisy wants people in town to know, she’ll tell them. Also, the fewer people who know right now, the better. At least until we figure out who cut the fence line.
“Well, whatever you need, just holler.”
“Will do.”
“You sure you don’t want to grab a beer with the rest of us at The House while we go over strategies for Friday’s game?”
And stay away from Daisy any longer than I already have? I think not.
“Not tonight. I’ve got to get back.”
“No worries.”
“Sorry I have to miss Friday’s game. But call or text if you need anything from me.”
He lifts his hand to wave goodbye and joins the other coaches, who are discussing a scouting trip they’ll be taking at the season’s end. I head toward the parking lot, and just like a few weeks back, find Jake waiting by my truck.
“Good job today. I can tell you’ve been working on your footwork. You’re getting off the line much quicker.”
“Thanks, Coach. I think it finally clicked in here.” He points to his backward baseball cap covered head.
“It takes time, but you’re getting there. How’s the job at the ranch going? You aren’t overdoing it, are you?”
“It’s great. The other ranch hands are cool, and Mrs. McKinnon is always bringing us lemonade and homemade cookies.”
“Well, it will be a lot more work this winter when the snow arrives. Enjoy working in this weather while you can.”
He nods but seems to be lost in thought.
“Did you need me to sign something for your teachers?” I say, gesturing toward the envelope in his hand.
“This is actually for you.” He hands me a blank envelope. “Some dude in a black Rover asked me to give this to you.”
“Who?”
“I have no idea. Never seen him before.”
“Did he give you his name?”
“Nope. But he gave me twenty bucks.” He pulls a twenty out of his front pocket, wagging his brows like he’s the luckiest kid in town.
Interesting.
“What did he look like?”
“Uh, big white guy, I guess your age. Short brown hair, white T-shirt, and tattoos on his hands.”
“Did you notice anything special about his tattoos?”
“Nope, sorry. The twenty in his hand distracted me.”
“Okay, thanks.”
“No problem, Coach. See ya later.”
“Later, Jake.”
Tucking the envelope into my pocket, I stifle a reaction. If whoever paid Jake is still around, I don’t want to give them the satisfaction of watching me open the envelope and getting a rise out of me. But my gut tells me I won’t feel quite so chill once I see what’s inside.
No one from town would pay a kid to make a delivery to me. Besides, we all know each other in Goose Hollow. Strangers in Rovers is not an everyday occurrence.
Once I’m in my truck, hidden behind my tinted windows, I open the sealed envelope. Inside is a picture with a large sticky note covering the image.
We have friends in Boston, too.
Give our regards to Miss McKinnon.
My hands are so shaky I nearly drop the paper. Cracking my neck on one side and then the other, I peel back the paper covering the image to find my academy classmate Benson at a crime scene.
My blood boils. Violent rage sticks in my throat, but I can't scream here in the high school parking lot. These fuckers are threatening not only Benson, but Daisy too. As if they haven’t done enough to her. They’re telling me that they know she’s alive but far from safe.
What these assholes don’t get is that I’m a lucky bastard and the list of people I love is long, and they keep messing with the ones at the top of that list. They’ve just fucked with the wrong motherfucker.
If it didn’t mean leaving Daisy, I’d fly East and deal with these pricks in person, but as much as I want to rip their hearts out, I refuse to leave her.
Hell, going to practice was hard enough.
The note in my hand, proof they knew where I was, which means they know where she is.
I start the car, take a picture of the envelope's contents and send it to Benson. Once my Bluetooth connects, I call him and put the truck in gear.
“Swift. Got an update for me?”
“Hey, man. I just sent you a text.”
The line goes quiet for a few seconds.
“Well, shit.”
“Sorry, man. I never wanted to get you mixed up in this shit.”
“Comes with the territory. When did it arrive?”
“A few minutes ago. One of my players said someone they’d never seen before pulled up in a black Rover and paid him twenty bucks to deliver it to me.”
“Roger that. Thanks for letting me know.”
“These assholes are pushing my buttons, and it’s working.”
“Keep your head, Swift. Stay in control. No going off half-cocked. They don’t mess around, and if you’ve got new faces in your town, it means they may be handling things themselves. Which means shit is getting even more serious.”
“I thought the same thing. The shit stains are here. This takes things to a whole new level.”
“The more I look at this picture, I can’t help but think someone on my team is working for them. Nobody else would have been able to take this shot. I know it’s a warning, but it could be valuable. Now to figure out who in my department I trust the most with this information. This is truly fucked.”
“Listen, if you come up against any trouble and there’s anything I can do, let me know.”
“Just stay safe.”
“You too, brother.”
“Okay, text with updates, and I’ll do the same.”
“Will do. Thanks again.”
“Yep.”
The line goes dead just as I’m pulling up to the station.
For the next thirty minutes, I fill in the chief, and the detectives working Daisy’s case update me on where they are, which isn’t as far as I’d like.
They’re doing the best they can, but since Brian O’Leary a.k.a Wesley from Colorado, hit the ground in Boston, he’s been a ghost. Jake’s description of the out of towner fits the look of most men in the area aside from the tattooed hands. Those are not so common.
We sent a message through the MDT system for all departments in the area to be on the lookout for an out of state or unplated black Range Rover along with a description of our person of interest. We’ll make sure the entire county is looking for the asshole.
Once I’ve done all I can on a case I’m not allowed to work on because of my personal connection, I head home to Daisy.
My priorities are split down the middle.
On one hand, I need to be at work, busting my ass until these bastards are dealt with.
But on the other hand, I can’t be away from Daisy for more than an hour without going crazy.
Yes, she has a bodyguard, but nobody will protect her like I will.
All I want is to be home with her.
On my way to the house, I call Cal. I update him and ask him to share the information with Knox and Angus.
Before going inside, I chat with Smith on the front porch, the security detail assigned to me and Daisy.
I text him the photos I sent Benson and fill him in on what little I learned at the office.
Now that all of the McKinnon’s homes, their store, and the ranch have a security detail he’ll share the details with his teammates so everyone’s up to date.
When I push open the door, the sound of laughter chips away at my anxiety. But when I round the corner into the family room and see Daisy beaming ear to ear, holding her sides in hysterics, all is right in this fucked-up world.
She’s safe.
She’s happy.
She’s here.
When Maui notices me, she leaps off Mia’s lap and runs to me. I squat down to give her some love. When I stand, four sets of eyes are scrutinizing me. Daisy blushes, and Mia, Ryan, and Charlie all flash me devious little smiles.
“Afternoon, ladies.”
“Well, if it isn’t our dashing hero,” Charlie says. She’s kicked back in my chair, breastfeeding the baby with a blanket over her shoulder.
“Dashing I’ll give you,” I kid, lifting an eyebrow and posing for the girls. “But I’m no hero.”
“Don’t call him things like that. It goes to his head,” Daisy groans.
“Well, we appreciate how well you’ve taken care of our girl the last few days.”
Ryan coughs into her hand. “And the last twelve years…”
My head whips to meet Daisy’s eyes. She gives me a slight nod, biting her lower lip to keep from smiling.
I take a deep breath, my chest lifting with pride and my heart soaring with possibilities, knowing I’m no longer her dirty little secret.
All I want to do is pick her up and kiss her senseless. Instead, I listen to the voice in my head that says I don’t know what she told them. They may know we’ve hooked up, but did she tell them how she feels or what she wants?
Saving that conversation for later, I pause behind the couch where the patient is lounging with her leg up. She looks up at me and waves her fingers in a hello. I take her raised hand in mine without thinking. “How are you feeling? It’s time for your pain meds if you’re ready for them.”
She blushes but she doesn’t let go of my hand. “I’m fine, thanks. My head hurts a little, but I think it’s from all the laughing.”
Releasing her hand, I walk away, not making eye contact with our friends, who I know are watching our every move. “I’ll be right back with your ibuprofen and some water.”
I smile to myself as I leave the room to the sound of giddy whispers. I’ve known these women my entire life, so it’s nice to know I can still surprise them.
Maui follows me up the stairs to the bedroom where I grab what I need.
“So, what did Mama tell the girls? Has she finally come to her senses?”
The chocolate fur ball tilts her head in confusion.
“She swore you to secrecy, didn't she? I should have known you would stick together. I’m outnumbered, and I love it. But don’t tell her I said that.”
I scratch her behind the ears so she knows I understand she can’t break her mama’s confidence.
The smiles that fill the family room when I reappear are enough to make my damn heart stutter as I pass through the room on my way to the kitchen just behind them. “What has gotten into the four of you? You look like you’ve been sitting around gossiping like a bunch of teenagers in heat.”
Yes, I’m fishing. Hoping one of them will spill.
“Sorry, Owen. No boys allowed in this conversation,” Mia states as I grab a fresh glass and fill it with water.
It’s a struggle not to smile like an idiot on my way to the couch to deliver the water and pain relief to Daisy.
“Thank you.” She swallows her medicine and hands me back the glass.
Then she looks up at me with those big, beautiful eyes of hers, and I can tell something is on her mind. “Do you mind if the girls stay for dinner?”
This is good, I tell myself. She isn’t shying away from me with our friends around.
“Mi casa es su casa,” I reply, with open arms.
“Okay, good. The guys are coming over too.”
I guess we’re entertaining.