Chapter 38
“Good morning, Marshall!”
Marshall groaned inwardly. How was his father so jovial already?
Clarence and Fletcher King sat at the kitchen island, their discussion interrupted by Marshall’s arrival.
“Hey, Dad. Hey, Grandpa. Did you guys have trouble sleeping?”
Fletcher smiled warmly. “Get yourself some breakfast, son, we’re here to help you with your morning work. You could probably use a few extra hands.”
Padding over to the coffee maker, Marshall poured coffee into a mug that was sitting next to the machine and added a drop of cream. He filled a plate with a Danish and a few small croissants and joined the men at the kitchen island. So much for his morning cuddle.
“Thanks, I appreciate it.” Marshall sighed as he bit into a pastry.
“Son, we were able to get the autopsy findings from Officer Dean. It’s not good. Jack died of blunt force trauma,” Fletcher explained in a low voice.
His appetite gone, Marshall dropped his pastry back on the plate.
“That’s what I’ve feared,” he said, giving voice to the concerns that were sitting heavy on his chest. “I just can’t imagine who… or why?”
Clearing his throat, Clarence patted Marshall on the back.
“I’m going to get the best people on it, but in the meantime, you need to be careful.
I’ve ordered new discreet cameras to be installed on the house and stables.
Alarm systems and all that. We have to take precautions to avoid this happening again. ”
Marshall’s mind raced with doubts. What had he missed? Had anyone done anything suspicious leading up to the murder? Well, yes, but damaged fence posts and missing files did not equate murder in his mind. Mischief, tampering, but nothing so extreme as murder.
“Nothing makes sense anymore,” he mumbled, swallowing another mouthful of coffee.
“Your uncle Jarrett is going to join us this morning, and of course, Lachlan is going to help with the extra load left behind now that Jack is gone. With the guest house full, some of the family stayed at the bed-and-breakfast in town after the funeral. We need to pull together as a family,” Clarence continued. He nodded and sipped his coffee.
Marshall dug his hands into his scalp. It was all so overwhelming.
“Maybe I should call Bobby again. I want to help the investigation any way that I can,” he said. Colette had convinced him that he needed to tell the officer about all the strange happenings at the ranch. Let him do what he will with the information.
His father and grandfather looked at each other and shrugged.
“There’s not much we can do unless you think of anything new that you didn’t already tell him. Just continue taking care of the ranch and keep your ears open,” Fletcher suggested. “Bobby told me they’ll be processing some of the crime scene evidence, but there wasn’t much.”
Marshall forced himself to eat, glad for the distraction when his uncle arrived for the morning chores. It would be fun, all of them getting their hands dirty and working shoulder to shoulder.
“Come here, you rascal,” his uncle Jarrett said with a chuckle as he wrapped his arms around Marshall. “You thought you would have to work all alone this morning? Ranch hands are great, but get all the King men together, we’ll have everything done in no time.”
A warm smile echoed the one on his uncle’s face. “Thanks, Uncle. I’m glad you guys are all here. It makes the loss a little easier.”
“Where’s that lazy son of mine?” Jarrett looked around. Not seeing Lachlan, he scoffed. “Let’s go wake him up.”
“He’ll be at the stables. He’s always up early and ready to work every morning,” Marshall reassured.
The relationship between Jarrett and Lachlan could be strained at times.
Lachlan had disappointed his parents when he turned out to be a less-than-perfect adult.
A troublemaker, no good at school, and quick to temper.
Marshall could relate in many ways, but where his family had given him the support to find his calling, Lachlan became more of a black sheep.
Though his uncle always seemed to see the worst in Lachlan, Marshall had come to rely on his cousin and would depend on him more, now that Jack was gone.
“Alright, I won’t give him a hard time,” Jarrett said, heading to the door when everyone was finished their breakfast. “I just want you to make sure he’s pulling his weight around here.”
The men followed Marshall down the front steps of the main house.
“He is,” Marshall said with confidence. “He’s been really helpful.”
“I always tell him: Fortune favors the bold. The King men need to be bold, work for what they want,” his uncle prattled on. “Sometimes, it seems like he wasn’t born with those genes.” Jarrett chuckled at his comment, though Marshall found it unnecessarily harsh.
Marshall was grateful it was still dark outside; otherwise, Jarrett would have seen him roll his eyes as he walked in front of them. Reconsidering, Marshall did acknowledge that fortune had favored him as soon as he made a move for Colette. Making bold moves had a great outcome for him.
Asking her out, regardless of how it would be perceived, had given him a gift greater than he could have ever imagined. All he wanted was to protect what was his now.
Troubled, he dug his hands in the pockets of his jacket, nodding at his cousin as they saw him in the stables. Lachlan had already started to feed the horses.
“Marshall, can we chat for a minute?” Lachlan said quietly after greeting the other King men. His bright blue eyes were full of concern as his brows drew together.
His cousin had the same dark wavy hair as him and Roger, though his frame was taller and slimmer than Marshall’s.
Nervousness settled in his chest. He was not ready for any more bombshells today.
While the older men continued where Lachlan had started, Marshall pulled his cousin into the office. His brown hair was tucked under his baseball cap. His cousin pulled his hat off and wrung it in his hands as they entered the office.
“What’s up?”
“I hope I’m not overstepping, but I know some of the details of Jack’s death from Grandpa, and I made an executive decision. It’s not my place, but I figured you would be okay with it.”
Pulling his head back in surprise, Marshall frowned at his cousin’s revelation.
“The Dawers took their horse to be boarded elsewhere since the murder, and I just thought, since we have an empty stall, I’ll put Vinny in there. I cleaned out his old stall, and we can leave it for now. So that you don’t have to go there all the time.” Lachlan looked down at his hands.
A flood of sadness rose in his chest. He closed his eyes, trying to keep up with the barrage of emotions flooding his system. Blinking away his tears, he grabbed Lachlan by the shoulders and pulled him into a hug.
“Thanks, Lachlan,” he said, his voice thick with emotion. “That means a lot. I hadn’t even thought to do that.”
“I got your back,” his cousin replied, squeezing him tight. “We King grandchildren have to stick together, right?”
Marshall laughed, squeezing Lachlan’s shoulder one more time before letting go.
“Yeah, except where the hell is Roger?”
Apparently, his brother had missed the family memo and was indulging in sleeping late.
They didn’t wait very long until his brother appeared, ready for a day of labor.
Marshall was grateful for the reminder that his family always had his back.
Surrounded by amazing people, it was hard to imagine anyone wanting to hurt Jack.
The truth lingered in his mind that someone had.
The happiness of having everyone together was a balm, but reality would settle in soon. Marshall would have to face some hard truths and make some difficult decisions. He was willing to do anything to keep everyone at Rosebud Ranch safe.
Even if it meant breaking his own heart in the process.