Chapter 11 Zach
Zach
One thing nobody mentions about getting out of prison is how seemingly normal things feel like traps. Zach stretched his feet as far as they could go in the cab of the truck. The moving cage jostled as they ate up the road toward his new job, and Zach lowered the window to let the brisk air in.
He rapped his knuckles against the door of Travis’s truck. It wasn’t one of those high-end pickups with chrome and screens, and Zach’s new chauffeur wasn’t in a black suit and hat. He was being transported to his next sentencing—work.
Cowboys might be a dime a dozen in Blackwater, Wyoming, but Zach wasn’t one of them. How exactly had he landed a job as a ranch hand when he had less than zero knowledge of horses, cattle, or whatever they did at a ranch?
Lauren. That was how. She was too persistent for her own good, and her well-meaning gestures crept into his territory pretty often these days.
The ride to Silver Falls was uncomfortably quiet until Travis cleared his throat. “We need to talk about some things before we get started.”
“I’d rather not.”
“I don’t want this anymore than you do, but I care about Lauren, and she’s determined to convince everyone to give you the benefit of the doubt.”
There she was again. Always following him around. Always sticking her nose in his life. “I don’t need Lauren to do the talking for me.”
“Oh, yeah? There’s no way you’d have this job without her. It wouldn’t hurt you to thank her.”
“Thanks for the manners lesson, but I’ve got it covered.”
Okay, that was a stretch, but he could figure it out on his own without Mr. Goodie-Two-Shoes butting in.
“Fine. Let’s talk about work. Matt and Tammy Benson are good people. Do not screw them over. They don’t deserve that.”
“Aw, man. That was going to be my icebreaker.”
Travis went on as if he hadn’t heard the remark. “Don’t bring your friends here. The Bensons have been working on getting the ranch up and running for years, and it’s finally rolling. We don’t want any trouble.”
“Shoot, I think that means you need to take me back to Lauren’s.”
“Can you be serious for one second?” Travis snapped. “A handful of people have gone out of their way to help you, and you aren’t taking any of it seriously.”
Zach waved a hand in the air. “Excuse me. Continue with your list of rules.”
Travis stretched his neck from side to side. “You don’t know me, but let me tell you a little something. I don’t trust you, I don’t like you, and I don’t want to work with you.”
“Could’a fooled me,” Zach scoffed. “I’m not the pick of the litter, but I don’t wake up plotting how to steal and kill. Why don’t we call it a day and say we tried? Then you can sleep soundly tonight.”
Travis turned onto a gravel road that had seen better days. Potholes riddled both sides, bouncing the truck one way, then the other. Trees towered high on each side of the path, preventing most of the light from shining through the evergreen branches.
“This is the back side of the ranch,” Travis said. “I live out here with my wife and kid. I expect you to act as if my house doesn’t exist.”
“Invisible house doesn’t write the check. Noted.”
That was something he’d have to get used to. He’d never earned honest pay in his life, and he was about to be locked into the system which led to another opportunity—pay taxes or evade. The latter was new enough to entice his curiosity.
Travis went on as if Zach hadn’t spoken. “No stealing. No sneaking around. No alcohol or drugs.”
“But cow tipping is allowed. Yeehaw.”
Travis cut a look at Zach before turning his attention to the road ahead.
The trees gave way to wide-open fields and blue skies.
Thick wooden fence posts dotted the edge of the clearing, and a two-story barn towered over the valley that sloped to the right.
The early morning sun cast an orange glow over everything.
There were plenty of ranches in northern Wyoming, but Zach spent most of his time under the cover of darkness and forests. The vast open area offered a level of vulnerability that made his skin itch. Everything was too exposed.
Travis parked in front of the barn and got out without a word to Zach. Would anybody notice if he stayed in the truck? He’d never watched Little House on the Prairie, and getting up close and personal with a cow wasn’t on his bucket list.
“I’m not getting the door for you!” Travis shouted as he headed into the barn.
Zach let his head bang against the window before lifting it and banging it again. Maybe if he gave himself a head injury, he could skip this nightmare.
The image of Lauren griping at him if he didn’t get out of the truck was enough to open the door. The biting wind had just slipped under his collar when a man stepped out of the barn with his hands shoved into his jacket pockets. A worn cowboy hat shaded the eastern sun from his eyes.
“You must be Zach,” the man said, reaching out a rough hand.
Zach took the offered hand before he realized the binding nature of the gesture. “Zach Wilson.”
“Matt Benson. Welcome to Silver Falls Ranch.” He gestured behind him at everything from the browning grass to the peaceful sky. “She might not be much to look at, but she’s home.”
Zach shoved his hands into his pockets. “How big is it?”
“About a thousand acres.” Matt shifted his weight from one side to the other, but there was a casualness about it that said he was anything but nervous. “You see why I need some extra hands around here? I heard you’re in need of a job.”
“I guess I am,” Zach said. “I hope someone told you I have a record.”
Matt chuckled, and deep lines framed his mouth. “I heard that too. Let’s make a deal. I won’t hold the past over you, if you won’t let the past become the present. How’s that sound?”
Zach studied Matt for a few seconds. The lines on his face and the smattering of gray in the hair sticking out from beneath his hat said he was somewhere in his early fifties.
He didn’t have the look of a fighter, but he didn’t have the handshake of a pushover.
Their initial meeting reminded him so much of Lauren that it threw his walls up.
Lauren had wanted something from him. She probably still did, and she was a fool for thinking he’d change his mind. He didn’t know Matt Benson, but people with any kind of self-preservation instincts kept their heads on the swivel when Zach was around.
If the offer was true, it was a good one. One Zach couldn’t afford to pass up. “Deal.”
“Good. I’ll let my beautiful wife go over the paperwork with you later.” Matt clapped his hands as if signaling the end of the strategy huddle. “Now, let’s talk about transportation. Travis tells me you don’t have a ride.”
“Travis would be correct.”
Matt waved his hand in a follow me gesture as he turned back toward the barn. “Since Travis lives here on the ranch, it doesn’t make sense for him to go all the way to Blackwater to pick you up and take you home every day.”
Zach followed Matt through the wide opening of the barn.
The other end of the breezeway framed a pasture with two horses grazing.
Inside, stalls lined both sides, and Travis poured the contents of a bucket into a trough.
The musty smell of hay and horses filled Zach’s nose. Hopefully, he’d get used to that soon.
“This is the stables. We have a smaller one by the main entrance for horses that need medical attention or extra care. It’s right by the house, so it’s easier for Tammy. She’s the nurturing one.”
Matt led Zach out the other side where an old white truck was parked. The paint had chipped along the rusted bottom and over the wheels, and a crack in the windshield stretched diagonally in front of the driver’s side.
“Gage said he could get this one running by the end of the week. Travis and I will pick you up and take you back home until it’s ready.”
Zach crossed his arms over his chest. The guy had a way of delivering big punches with little fanfare. “You’re loaning me a truck, and Gage is helping you do it?”
Matt clicked his tongue behind his teeth. “Yep. Gage is a good one. He knows everything about vehicles.”
“You know he killed my brother?” Zach asked.
Rome hadn’t done Zach any favors growing up, but they had a bond whether he liked it or not. Family wasn’t always the best, but at least you were scraping the bottom of the barrel together.
Rome made all the mistakes. He never thought things through, and his stupidity had cost them time and money in the past. Then, it cost him his life.
When Zach got word that Rome was dead, it wasn’t surprising. Hearing that their old business partner, Gage Howard, had done the job was the only interesting part of the story. Now that Rome was gone, there was a slim chance Zach would ever find out what they’d argued about.
Whatever it was, he needed to steer clear. With Rome dead and Bobby in prison, Zach was the last Wilson standing, and he had to keep it that way.
Matt looked toward the ground and nodded. “I do. In fact, I was there when it happened.”
Zach’s shoulders raised. He’d heard bits and pieces of the tale, but he’d never known the whole truth. Still, there might be some new information from an eyewitness, however biased the story might be. “What happened?”
“Rome tried to hurt Gage’s girlfriend.”
“Ah. A woman.” Zach chuckled. “I should have known.”
“Rome was using Hadley to force Gage to work with him again. Gage had already made up his mind to leave the past behind.” Matt shrugged. “If it makes any difference, I know Gage didn’t want to hurt anybody.”
That was rich. Gage Howard was as twisted as the rest of them. He might be claiming he was on the straight and narrow, but leopards don’t change their spots.
Matt lifted his chin and leveled his stare on Zach. “Are you going to have a problem working with Gage? I don’t want any more blood spilled on this land.”
Zach shrugged. “I guess that’s up to him.”