Chapter 44
Chapter Forty-Four
Mason
“ S o… You really think that he could’ve been kidnapped by some of Graham’s guys?” Jackson asked me as we stood outside of the station. “I just think that’s a reach.”
“I don’t know,” I grunted, wiping the sweat from my forehead. We’d been out all night, and honestly, I was fucking exhausted. My chest and head were aching, and it was more than late enough for me to call it a night. Plus, I had hoped to have some time to celebrate with Emma…
But I knew she was fast asleep now.
We’d have to celebrate some other time. She also hadn’t told me how her talk with Jess had gone, and it made me wonder if she had talked to her at all. I knew it was a heavy conversation—well, at least the moving in part was—but I knew that Jess would be elated.
“So what now?” Jackson asked, his voice weary. “Do we just keep looking? Because I can’t stand the idea of leaving the kid somewhere if he needs help, but I also know that I’m so tired, I might not see him if I saw him.”
“I think it’s time for you to go home,” I chuckled, slapping his shoulder and giving it a squeeze. “We’ll have to wait and see if any tips come in or if he shows up. There’s a good chance that he really did just need a break from this town. I’m sure he feels like everyone is judging him right now.”
“Yeah, I can only imagine how shitty that is,” Jackson muttered, shaking his head as he headed to his cruiser. “But I’ll grab some sleep and be back in the morning.”
“Sounds good,” I said to him as he opened the door. “See ya then.”
I stood on the sidewalk for a little longer, breathing in the early morning air. Something in me didn’t want to stop looking for Cody, but I was almost positive it was guilt. I had written the kid off because of how he had acted, and because he was a love interest for Jess. And while I still didn’t like the idea of him and Jess…
I also hated the fact that he was going through what he was at his age.
My eyes shifted back to the station, working on a skeleton crew through the night. Well, we were always on a skeleton crew, really. There weren’t enough of us to patrol the area, but there wasn’t enough funding to have more, either. I drew in a deep breath and headed for the Bronco.
There’s nothing more to do for tonight.
But as I climbed inside and fired it up, I couldn’t shake that there was something more for tonight. It was one of those gut feelings, but this one didn’t leave me pointing in any direction. I didn’t know Cody well enough to know where he’d go if he was in a pinch or having a hard day—and Lucas had already checked the ranch .
What does he like to do?
I racked my brain as I backed out of the spot, recalling everything Jess had mentioned about him. He was into rodeo…right? I shrugged to myself and turned left instead of right, which was the direction back to the cabin. I was certain the rodeo grounds had been checked, but the roundup club had a backup arena out of sight from the road.
Still, it had probably been checked.
But just in case, I stomped the gas and headed in that direction. It honestly was a reach, but it was all I had. About three miles outside of town, I turned into the drive of the rodeo grounds, seeing the gate was shut and locked.
Damnit.
However, the lock caught my eye before I backed out to turn around. Ah-ha. It was just dummy locked. I slid out of the Bronco, and made my way to it, slipping it open and swinging the gate. It was impossible to tell if someone had driven down it, given that it was gravel.
I pulled the Bronco down the drive, searching the grounds for any signs of someone being there. The main arena and parking area were empty without a single sole in sight. However, my chest jumped with anticipation when I saw a black Chevy truck hooked up to a horse trailer parked at the back area.
The dim lights of the practice arena couldn’t be seen from the road, but they were shining down, illuminating the red dirt riding area. My gaze landed on a young cowboy, sitting in the dirt, his head in his hands and his horse right beside him.
Found him.
He looked up as I parked the Bronco right next to the white pipe railing, and for a moment, I thought he might just bolt right out of there, but he didn’t. He didn’t even stand on his feet as I climbed out. My footsteps sounded heavy in the quiet of the night air, and as I leaned on the railing, Cody let out a heavy sigh.
“You can arrest me if you want,” he muttered, removing his cowboy hat and setting it on the sand. “It’s fine.”
“Why would I arrest you?” I chuckled, shaking my head at him. “You aren’t doing anything wrong. This is public grounds. Anyone can come here and practice at any time—albeit your timing is a little strange.”
“Yeah…”
“You know the whole town has been looking for you, right?”
He looked up at me then, his brows pressed together in confusion. “Why?”
“Because you were reported missing. Your stepmom is back in town.”
“And she reported me missing?” He laughed, shaking his head. “She doesn’t care if I’m here or not. She just wanted the code to my dad’s safe, probably.”
“And why would she want that?”
“Because it’s got a lot of money in it,” Cody said in a tone like I should’ve known the answer to that already. “I don’t even know the code, and my guess is that he didn’t tell her, either. He was sneaky and shady—and he never gave a shit about me.”
My heart sank. “You know, I can’t speak for your dad. But… I can speak for Lucas, and he was real worried about you not showing up for work.”
Cody shook his head. “I’m just an employee to him, and with my stepmom coming back, I just didn’t want to be around to be found.”
Ah, so that’s why he disappeared.
“I didn’t expect the whole freaking town to come looking for me,” he continued, sounding more disdained than ever. “I just wanted to be left alone for a while, and I turned my phone off so she couldn’t get ahold of me.”
Poor kid.
“Jess was worried about you,” I said, feeling awkward as I admitted the words. “I don’t even know how much sleep she’s getting this evening.”
He was silent at that. “I don’t know why she’s worried. I can’t even…”
“Can’t even what?” I narrowed my eyes at him, fighting to keep my papa bear in check as I kept my sheriff hat in place.
“I can’t look at her and not just feel like shit about what happened to Emma Fisher—and well, you.”
“She doesn’t hold you accountable for what happened to us,” I said confidently. “She doesn’t associate you with your father, and I… I don’t either.”
“Really?” His eyes found mine, the hazel irises lighting up. “I knew my dad was a bad guy—I’ve always known that. I just didn’t know all the bad stuff he did. It makes sense why my mom just… disappeared.”
“Your mom disappeared?”
He nodded. “I think she ran off because my dad was into all the bad… I just never understood why she didn’t take me with her.”
“Well, I guess you and Jess have that in common. Her mom took off without letting anyone know anything. It was really hard on her—on all of us.”
“Yeah, but she has a dad who actually cares about her,” Cody reasoned, his voice thickening in a way that pulled at my heartstrings. “And now she’s got Emma, who I know she basically looks at like a mom. ”
The excitement he was giving my daughter was touching. Maybe he did care about her more than I realized.
“And I don’t wanna go back to that house, especially not if Brittany’s there. She’s mean and will just hound me for money. I don’t even have any money. I only have what I work for at the ranch with Lucas. Dad didn’t give me access to anything when he was arrested. It’s all going to pay for his high-powered lawyers.”
I nodded, knowing better than to dive off into that topic right now. “Is this your horse?”
Cody glanced to the black gelding. “Yeah, that’s Buzz. Dad bought him for me—but not because he wanted to be nice. I think he just wanted me to go find something to do.”
“Where do you keep him?”
“Now I keep him at the Lowe Ranch, and I don’t know what I’ll do if Lucas loses his place. I guess I’ll have to find somewhere else to work. Maybe quit school and just go cowboy or something.”
“Don’t do that,” I said carefully. “We’ll make sure that you’re taken care of, and Lucas hasn’t lost his ranch yet. Speaking of, why don’t you go stay there for the night? He’s got all that nice ranch hand housing, and I’m certain there’s a place for you.”
He took a deep breath. “And then maybe I can get emancipated from my dad and stepmom?”
I studied his face, seeing a glimmer of hope. “Yeah, maybe. But let’s just take this one step at a time.”