Chapter 30
Mitch
The dining room smelled of garlic and rosemary and the kind of home-cooked meal I hadn’t realized I’d been missing. I sat at the long wooden table with my siblings around me and Charlie at my side, and for the first time in ten years, it almost felt like home.
Bella stepped in from the kitchen carrying a platter that smelled so damn good my mouth watered.
I guessed she was in her late twenties. Bella had fiery red hair pulled back in a neat ponytail, and she moved with the quiet efficiency of someone who’d lived half her life in busy kitchens.
She set the platter down in the center of the table, offering a small smile.
“Roast lamb with garlic potatoes and herbed vegetables,” she said. “Gravy’s in the jug.”
“Yum,” Declan said, rubbing his hands together.
“This looks incredible, Bella,” Cassidy said.
“Thanks,” Bella murmured. “Hope you’re hungry.”
“Ladies first,” Cassidy announced, reaching for the tongs. She served herself, then passed them toward Charlie. “Better load up now before these savages clean it out.”
Charlie laughed as she took the tongs and served herself a modest portion. Despite the shower and clean clothes, she still looked uneasy, like she wasn't sure she belonged at this table. I didn't blame her. My siblings could be intimidating when they didn't know someone. Or trust them.
When Charlie handed me the tongs, I frowned at her plate. "Is that all you're having?"
"I had sandwiches and cake earlier."
I loaded my own plate, barely resisting the urge to pile it higher.
"Cake?" Declan said. "Nobody gave me cake."
Charlie's expression wavered between amusement and concern, like she couldn't tell if he was actually upset. She wrinkled her nose in apology. "Lemon cupcake, actually."
"Oh man. I love those."
"You love anything with sugar in it," Cassidy said, rolling her eyes.
"Nothing wrong with that," Declan said, taking the tongs from me.
The last time I'd sat at this table was ten years ago, and Hannah had been at my side. She’d pretended to fit in with my family, trading jokes with Declan and going toe-to-toe with Cassidy's sharp wit.
I glanced at Charlie. She was quiet, watching the banter as if she were studying a foreign language.
But I'd seen her fire. Charlie could hold her own.
She'd fit in here just fine. She didn’t need to pretend about anything.
Charlie was real, and amazing, and she deserved better than Doug's betrayal. Hell, she deserved better than a messed-up cowboy with a ton of regrets. But I would always treat her as a partner. An equal. Not someone to manipulate or control.
Not like our father. That bastard had used manipulation as a weapon.
Cassidy had given up the only man she'd ever loved because of him.
Frank had told her the ranch needed her, and if she cared about her brothers, she'd do the right thing.
She'd been twenty-three, already running half of Koolaroo's operations. Indispensable.
So, she’d sent the man packing. I bet Frank had made damn sure no one else ever got close enough to threaten his hold on her again. Manipulative bastard.
Bella slipped back into the room carrying a small plate with a single cupcake. She moved quietly as if trying not to interrupt the conversation.
Declan let out a groan when she set it in front of him. “Bella. Where have you been all my life?”
Bella gave a soft laugh. “Sicily,” she said, stepping back, like she didn’t want to be dragged into more chatter.
I caught the flicker of emotion in her eyes as she turned toward the kitchen. Nerves, maybe, or the look of someone who didn't want to be in the spotlight. Maybe even a little spooked. Made sense. My family could overwhelm a damn cyclone.
“We’re lucky Bella showed up when she did,” Cassidy said. “We’d been without a proper chef for weeks after the last guy took off without an explanation. Bella saved our asses.”
“He didn’t even leave a forwarding address,” Declan added around a mouthful of cupcake. “I’ve got no idea where to send his pay slip.”
Kayden snorted. “Good riddance. His cooking was shit anyway.”
The conversation flowed between them, familiar and strange at the same time. It had always been easier when Dad wasn’t at the table. Frank had a way of dragging everything down to some bullshit argument that sucked the air out of the room.
Cassidy kept glancing my way as if she was making sure I was real. Kayden’s jaw stayed tight, his eyes flicking between Charlie and me like he was trying to piece together a puzzle he couldn’t understand.
Bella came back into the room with another tray, this one holding neat little chocolate tarts topped with cream and placed it on the table without fuss.
Declan reached for one before she’d even stepped back. “Oh, my God. I’m in heaven.”
Bella smiled, soft and a little shy, the kind of smile someone gives when they’re not used to praise. When she turned to leave, the light caught her left ankle, and a tiny olive-branch tattoo flashed into view. Huh, didn’t expect that. Then she disappeared back into the kitchen.
Cassidy rolled her eyes and swapped her dinner plate for a dessert bowl. “All right, Mitch. Enough screwing around. Spill. What the hell happened out there, and how’d you two end up together?”
I glanced at Charlie, and she gave me a look that said she had no idea where to start.
"I found Charlie at the northern boundary when I was looking for Frank. She was digging up dinosaur bones."
The room fell silent, and all gazes turned to Charlie.
"What? No permit was issued for that," Declan said. "I'd have known."
Charlie's face went pale. "I know that now. I'm so sorry. Doug told me we had approval to excavate. I genuinely thought everything was legitimate."
"Who the hell's Doug?" Kayden snapped.
Charlie's hand tightened around her spoon. "He was my boss."
"So, where is he?" Kayden asked.
"He's dead," I said.
The table went quieter.
"Christ, Mitch." Cassidy paused with the spoon near her mouth. "What happened?"
"It's a long story." I huffed.
"So, start talking," Kayden said, reaching for the whiskey bottle. He poured a measure into his glass and held the bottle toward me.
"I'm good." I needed to keep my head straight. Charlie and I had so much ground to cover, I wasn't sure I could remember it all without scrambling the details.
I thought back to finding Charlie in that dinosaur pit, mud up to her knees, desperately trying to cover the bones with a silver tarp. God, that felt like it had happened weeks ago. Her discovery mattered. I needed to make sure it didn't get buried under all the other shit that had happened.
Under the table, I rested my hand on Charlie's thigh and gave her leg a squeeze. When she still didn’t open the conversation, I started with the flash flood, but as I talked, Charlie joined in, and between us, we traded details back and forth, filling in the gaps until we got to the cave.
I reached into my pocket, pulled out the pouch, and spilled the jewels onto the table. They glittered under the overhead lights.
Kayden snatched up the biggest diamond. "Holy shit. Are these real? This must be worth a fortune."
Cassidy picked up the necklace, turning the golden shield over in her fingers. "You found these in the cave?"
"In the hands of a skeleton," I said.
"What the hell?" Cassidy blinked at me. "Who was it?"
"Don't know. Guy didn't have any ID on him."
"He'd been there a couple of decades, though," Charlie said, "based on the condition of the skeleton."
"What are you, a bone expert now?" Kayden snarled at her.
"Yes, actually. I am." Charlie met his glare head-on. "A paleontologist, as a matter of fact."
That's my girl.
"Ha, she’s got you there, bro," Cassidy said with a grin.
"Shut up." Kayden reached for a ring with a large rectangular sapphire.
Cassidy winked at Charlie, and Charlie's shoulders finally relaxed. She was holding her own. Good. She'd need that strength if she was going to survive my family.
Declan stared at the jewels, his expression troubled. "The money from these could cover the next fuel order."
I frowned. "We’re not selling them. I need them to find out who the skeleton was. His family deserves closure."
"Fuck that," Kayden said. "You said the body's been there for decades, right?" He looked at Charlie.
"That's my assumption." She nodded.
"Then he’s probably long forgotten. These were found on our land.” Kayden grabbed the golden bracelet and closed it in his hand. “They're ours now."
"Unless they were stolen," I said.
"You don't know that." Kayden scowled at me.
"And you don't know they weren't."
Kayden's face went red. "You've been gone ten years, Mitch. You don't get to come back here and start making decisions about what we do with—"
"Both of you, stop it." Cassidy's voice cut through the tension like a blade. She looked at each of us in turn. "How about we do some research? If these were stolen, maybe we can figure that out. Until then, we keep this between us. Can you do that?" Her gaze landed on Charlie.
Charlie looked at me and conflict was written all over her face. "I need to talk to the police about Doug. And when I tell them what happened, I'll have to tell them about this jewelry."
She was right. We couldn't explain Doug's behavior without revealing what he'd been after. I hated it, but there was no way around it.
"Wait a minute." Declan jabbed the table with his finger. "You said Doug was dead. How did he die?"
Everyone kept eating their dessert while I explained what had happened. Charlie didn't touch her chocolate tart, though, she looked more like she wanted to throw up.
After I described how Doug had been washed away, I said, "We can keep these jewels our secret for a day or two while we research. After that, Charlie and I have to tell the cops about Doug's death."
"The cops?" Kayden said. "You mean Bob Ackerman. Dad's mate. And then he'll ask where Dad is." He slammed his hand on the table. "You can't keep a damn secret, can you?"