Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
Mason
“ B een a hell of a day,” Lucas grumbled, tossing his torn pair of deerskin gloves into the trash. The pair hit the rim of the galvanized can with a thud , and one popped over the side, landing on the concrete floor.
I bent over and swooped it up from the barn’s concrete floor, trying to do my best friend a favor after a long day—albeit a very small one. But minuscule or not, it didn’t take much to set him off, so for all I know, it might’ve been saving me from witnessing another temper tantrum. I eyed the glove as Lucas kept muttering incoherent complaints to himself. It was worn slam out—more so than he usually would’ve let his gloves get. The stitching was coming out down the fingers, and the deerskin was torn straight across the palm.
Hardly a glove at all. No wonder he cut himself fixing the fence.
I opened my mouth to say something to him about it, but changed my mind. There was no point in picking it apart. That would guarantee him going off… On the other hand, I needed to figure out what the hell was going on with him. Beyond the investigation, he was my best friend…
And I was worried about him.
I glanced around the barn, tuning in to make sure there were no other ranch hands hanging around. I never had serious conversations in front of them—just wasn’t the right thing to do.
“Hey, Lucas,” I said once I was sure there was no one around. “Can we talk?” I’d been silent all evening, helping him with chores without saying more than a handful of words.
He let out a sharp sigh, his hand on the office door. “I need to get to doin’ the office work. I’m behind.”
“Why don’t you have Laura do it like usual?” I mentioned the accountant that used to come around every now and then. For a long time, I thought they might have more than just a working relationship, but I was never sure. Lucas didn’t spill about that part of his life unless it was a solid relationship.
“I ain’t got time to wait for Laura to do it,” he grunted, ripping the door open and disappearing inside. “Thanks for helping out this evening.” With that, the door slammed shut and he left me standing in the barn aisle alone.
What the hell is wrong with him?
Anger started to boil as I stood there for a few more agonizing seconds, wondering what in the world had happened to my happy-go-lucky best friend. He never treated me this way—he never treated anyone this way. Something was bothering him beyond just the day-to-day grime, and maybe even beyond the cattle that had gone missing. He was the glass half-full guy, and I barely recognized him right now .
My boots scraped across the floor as I went straight for the office door, trying for the handle. Surprise rattled me when the knob didn’t turn.
“Lucas,” I called, beating on the door. “Open the damn door.”
He didn’t say anything.
“ Lucas ,” I shouted, anger and concern kickstarting my heart. “Open this door, or I’ll kick it in!”
“Jeez, man,” Lucas grunted, the knob fumbling on the other side and the door swinging open. “What the hell is your problem?”
I shook my head. “Nah, the real question is, what the hell is your problem? You’ve been acting off since the cattle were stolen, and I know good and well that something ain’t right with you. You’re pissed off and moody all the time, and you don’t want nothin’ to do with no one. You even got your ranch hands worried. They’re coming up with conspiracies about you and the way all this shit is going down. I always give ya space, but now I’m just worried—and pissed.”
Lucas stared at me for a few long moments, and at first, I thought he might just slam the door right in my face. But instead, he stepped back, opening it wider. “Come in.”
I nodded, making my way into the office before he could change his mind. “We’ve been best friends for a long time, and I ain’t ever seen you like this—not even when your dad passed.”
He shut the door, turning the lock and let out a sigh. “I’m in a mess.”
I blinked a couple of times. “With the missing cattle? I figure insurance would’ve paid you by now.”
Lucas ran his calloused hands over his fatigued, worn face. “Insurance ain’t paid me a dime, Mason. They ain’t going to, either. ”
My stomach knotted up. “How come?”
“Well, in order for insurance to pay out, you gotta be paying in.”
My mouth dropped open, and his expression only grew wearier. “You mean to tell me that your cattle aren’t covered? You ain’t got any coverage at all on them?”
“I don’t have coverage,” he reiterated. “And there’s no use in giving me some speech about it, because it don’t help a thing about it. It’s got me in a bad spot. I’m trying to work out of it, but it’s an uphill battle. Those cattle were going to pay off some debt—and now I’m upside down.”
Wait, what? Debt?
“I thought you were anti-bank?” I narrowed my eyes at him, trying to remind myself to be understanding, regardless of how much he had been hiding from me.
“I am,” Lucas snapped, removing his cowboy hat. His blonde hair was matted with sweat and he ran his fingers through it, pulling at locks. “I did everything I could to avoid it, but when Dad died, he left some debt—well, not some, a lot. I had to put the land up in a lien to get the loan to pay it off, and now I can’t pay that.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I exasperated. “I could’ve helped you. We could’ve figured something out.”
“You know I don’t take help like that,” he grunted, plopping down in the desk chair. The longer I looked at him, taking in the dark circles under his eyes and the way his shoulders slumped, the more I realized just how broken down he was. “I got more cattle missing.”
I blinked a couple times, trying to process what he had just said. “What? More cattle?”
“Yeah, someone cut the south boundary. Took them right out of the weaning pasture. I don’t know how or why. It’s got me in a pinch. I ain’t reporting it because there ain’t nothing you can do.”
“We’re actively investigating,” I snapped at him. “You know we’re doing our damnedest to figure out who’s behind it.”
“Yeah, well, I’ll be selling off land before you get it figured out. I already got buyers lined up.” His words were sharp, but there was a hint of defeat behind it.
I shook my head. “I ain’t gonna let you sell anything.”
“I can guarantee that you can’t make the payment to ward off the bank,” Lucas snorted. “I gotta do what I gotta do or they’ll take the whole dang place.”
“I’m sure you can talk to them down there. I know they’ll understand.” I refused to think that they’d seriously take Lucas’s land away—it was the foundation of the town. “No one wants to see you hand over land, and I know them developers slinking around town would love to have a grab at it.” Lucas was silent, only shaking his head at me. “You can’t give up,” I added, feeling the desperation that must be drowning him.
“It’s not about giving up, Mason,” his voice was quiet, the wall coming down. “It’s just the facts of life. It ain’t easy—and if you wanna investigate the new fifty head of cattle missing, go for it. I’m not holding my breath. Feels like someone is trying to cripple me, but there was a string of rustling that happened in the nineties. It’s what led to the first round of debt because Dad never insured the cattle. Now, here we are again—only this time, the bank won’t loan a dime to cover the loss.”
I nodded, the weight of the situation making me nauseous. “I can’t believe it. I just don’t understand why you kept it from me.”
“You know I don’t air my dirty laundry, and these dang hands just talk their asses off every chance they get. I can’t stand it, but at the same time, I don’t know how much longer I can afford to pay them. It’s getting to be that bad.”
“We’ll figure this out,” I reassured him, though the leery look in his eye told me he didn’t believe a word I said.
“I don’t want your help.”
“Why?” I demanded, having misunderstood his reaction. “Why the hell wouldn’t you let me help you get this figured out? It could mean that we save you from having to sell.”
He opened his mouth to say something, but the sound of footsteps outside the door stopped us both. They weren’t heavy, the way a lot of the ranch hands stalked around. Instead, they were light, like a woman…
“Oh shit,” I muttered. “Emma.”
“What?” Lucas made a confused face.
I dismissed him. “I was gonna take her on a ride here, but I think we’ll just stay out of your hair tonight. I got another idea.”
“You don’t have to leave,” Lucas snapped. “I told you I ain’t some charity case.”
“Never said you were,” I shot back at him, my tone sharp. “I just have a better idea for this evening.” It wasn’t the entire truth, since I did want to keep her away from the mess here, but also, I was starving. The steaks in my fridge at home were sounding better and better—and Jess was with Dara, leaving the house empty.
He didn’t say anything else as I opened the door, taking in the sight of Emma. Her back was to me, clad in a nice white flowy blouse with a pair of light wash jeans as she peered into one of the horse stalls. Her dark hair was pinned half-up, and my heart stuttered as I cleared my throat .
She spun to face me, surprise and then relief flooding her face. “I looked all over the place, and for a second, I thought you might have stood me up.”
I shook my head, stepping out into the aisleway and closing the door, leaving Lucas inside. “Nah, I wouldn’t stand ya up.” I gave her a smile, and as I met her emerald eyes, the concerns of the day melted away. “But we are gonna have a change of plans.”
Her brows furrowed. “Oh? Is something wrong?”
“Only that I might just pass out from hunger,” I chuckled, shooting her a wink and waving for her to follow me. “I thought we might just skip the ride and head for the cabin. I’m making dinner tonight. If you want, you can either ride with me, and I’ll bring ya back, or you can follow me over to the cabin.”
She smiled. “I’ll just follow you.”
I nodded, and led the way toward our vehicles, parked next to each other. “I’ll see ya there.” I tipped my hat to her and climbed into my Bronco, taking a moment alone to process everything. It was best we didn’t hang around the ranch for more reasons than just Lucas being in a shitty mood. More cattle were missing—and that was something I’d have to dig into tomorrow… But even without more information, it left me feeling uneasy. It meant there were eyes on the ranch.
And rustlers weren’t good guys.
There were criminals that never escalated to violence toward people, but there were plenty that would resort to it when it came to avoiding being caught. The last thing I wanted was to get Emma out there and the two of us ride into something that someone didn’t want us to see. I could handle it, but I didn’t want her to be exposed to that…
I didn’t want to do anything to turn her off.