Chapter 1 #2
Locating a good spot didn’t take long. He slipped in between trees and behind a large bush.
This was as close to the campsite as he could get without fear of being caught before he exited the driver’s seat.
He had no idea who or what he was about to encounter and had no plans to be on the receiving end of an ambush.
Beau glanced over at the butt of the gun sticking out of his backpack.
He hadn’t grown up on a ranch and wasn’t accustomed to carrying a weapon despite needing to use one recently.
The feel of the butt of the gun in his hand was awkward, at best. He’d used it before to defend Cassie, and he would use it again to protect his mother and himself.
Recently, he’d come into more contact with firearms than he’d had in the balance of his entire life.
Moving to a ranch, he was likely going to have to get used to carrying a weapon, since they were useful against coyotes and other wild animals that might be encountered on the land.
Case in point, the mountain lion that had been harassing folks near the ranch still hadn’t been caught.
It was wounded and had proven ready to attack people.
Beau palmed the firearm, keeping the safety on for the time being. If the situation called for it, the safety would be easy enough to slip off.
Walking into the situation blind, he had no idea what shape his mother might be in.
She’d been missing for several days now and out of contact for longer than that.
Past experience said this only happened when she was in serious trouble.
And trouble seemed to follow Emma. Or, maybe, her choices had a way of catching up to her.
Choices. The quality of your life was determined by the choices you made. Choices like who to spend your time with. Choices like how to spend your days. Choices like what kind of people you let into your life.
Beau should know. He could be honest enough to say that his choice to walk into the Sturgess family…
more like rage in like a bull in a china shop…
had set the course for his newfound siblings to gang up on him and not trust him.
He’d been all fire and emotion, raging against a family that had never claimed him.
He’d been so damned angry at the father who had known about Beau but had still sat on the sidelines, never making himself known until he was dead.
He’d never helped out on the many nights Beau and his mother had gone to sleep hungry, never contributing a dime toward living expenses or to ensure Beau had school supplies or decent clothes on his back.
He’d also never made sure Emma was home to take care of her son.
Had his anger been misplaced? That was a hard yes.
Maybe Beau should be asking his mother why she’d chosen to let Beaumont Sturgess, one of the wealthiest horse ranch owners in Texas, use her and then spit her out like she was nothing, taking Beau down with her.
Beau locked up the truck and then made his way through the trees as quietly as humanly possible, careful not to snag the toe of his boot in the scrub brush.
He used a zigzag pattern as he made his way to the campground.
What he would find there, he had no idea.
Anything was possible, from his mother lying in a drunken haze to dancing around a campfire reciting some incantation that was supposed to bring her good luck or the right man to take care of her.
Funny, because his inheritance would more than cover her expenses once he was fully able to access it.
He didn’t know how the others felt about bringing his mother to live on the ranch.
He had mixed feelings, and he was her son.
Since he was barely beginning to get his footing with his half-siblings, he hadn’t wanted to test the waters on the subject.
A voice in the back of his mind picked that moment to ask if he was making excuses because he didn’t want to bring her to the ranch. Shit.
Twenty feet from the tree line, he slowed his pace to a crawl.
Eyes and ears open, he approached with the caution of someone walking up to a ticking time bomb.
This particular area of the campground had clusters of teepees available for rent outside of the summer season.
He’d been brought here by his best friend’s family in the third grade.
When he’d returned home, he’d told his mother about it.
She’d said she’d never seen him happier.
So, every spring break that she’d been able to swing it, she brought him back.
They would walk around the lake and eat peanut butter sandwiches for dinner. He tucked the fond memory away.
Why would she come back now? Was she on the run? From whom?
Again, the idea of a setup slammed into him.
He was actually worth something now with the impending inheritance from Beaumont.
It was sizable enough to be split among seven of Beaumont’s children and still be a small fortune for each one, setting them up for life.
Most of it was still tied up in court, and they couldn’t access it yet.
That would just take a little more time.
Point being, Beau was worth something now.
Knowing his mother, she could have told half the county by now that her son was finally getting his due.
Then again, there was a version of her that was good at keeping secrets.
She might have named Beau after his father, but she’d never asked him for money as far as Beau knew.
She hadn’t taken his father to court for child support or gone public.
Instead, she’d raised Beau on her own with very few resources to work with.
Why?
They could have lived comfortably on a fraction of Beaumont’s income. They sure as hell wouldn’t have gone to bed hungry, especially not if his mother had managed the money right.
He almost laughed aloud. Emma couldn’t keep track of loose change.
How would she have managed a budget if she’d been given one?
His mother had paid rent late more times than he could count.
He’d come home to their apartment to find his key no longer worked, and then had to sit on the steps, waiting for her to come pick him up.
There had been other times the key had worked, but not the electricity.
Paying bills on time hadn’t been Emma’s strong suit.
What the hell was he about to walk into?