Chapter 46
Chapter Forty-Six
Mason
“ Y ou really think that a bunch of people are gonna show up?” Lucas asked, looking over to me as we stood just outside of the barn.
“I think so,” I told him, adjusting my hat. “And we’ll see for sure in about, uh…” I checked my watch. “Ten minutes.”
“Yeah, I guess so,” Lucas glanced around at the setup, letting out a sigh. “Emma did a phenomenal job with it… But you really think the donation box is enough?”
I shrugged. “You might be surprised. She’s feeding everyone, putting on a dance, live music—all the good stuff. I think you should just have a little faith that it might all work out.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know.” Lucas’s eyes drifted to Cody, who was helping Jess set up one of the tables.
“How’s he doing?”
Lucas shook his head. “It’s been hard on him—and this is hard on him. He thinks his whole future is banking on me saving the ranch, and I don’t know what to tell him. There’s nothing that I can do to change the situation.”
“You’re doing the best you can, and I think that’s all you can do. Even if this all goes south—and I don’t think it will—I think you can help Cody find his place in the world. He doesn’t have anyone, but he sure seems to care about this ranch and you.”
“Yeah… I suppose so,” Lucas said with a nod as a couple of vehicles pulled up. “But I guess we’re gonna see how this fundraiser goes first. Then, I’ll figure it out.”
Lucas wandered off to greet the attendees as they got out of their vehicles, and one of them—a man about my age—was someone that I didn’t recognize. And I probably wouldn’t have thought anything at all about it, except for the fact that he was storming right toward me…
And he did not look happy.
“Can I help you?” I barely got the words out before he threw a fist. I ducked out and away, shocked by the advancement.
“You knocked up my girlfriend!”
“What the hell?” I exclaimed, blocking another fist before it connected with my jaw. “Who are you?!”
“Just ask her,” he seethed, gesturing behind me. I shoved the guy backward and turned to see an absolutely mortified Emma. She was nearly running toward us.
“Derek, stop!” Her voice cracked as she panted. “What’re you doing here?”
“You fucked around on me!”
“No, I didn’t,” she exasperated. “We’ve been broken up for almost a year. It’s not yours. Go away!”
About the time that she yelled the words, Jackson showed up, catching Derek off guard. He slammed him into the barn door, and Derek let out a pained groaned.
“Let me go,” he grunted at Jackson, who kept him pinned to the wall.
“You just assaulted an officer, bud,” Jackson growled. “I’m not letting you go anywhere. I think it’s time for you to go.” He whipped out a pair of handcuffs and placed them on his wrists. “Dumbass.”
I was still in shock as I turned to Emma. “What the hell was this about? Who is he? He said that you’re his girlfriend?”
Emma already had tears running down her face. “We’ve been broken up almost a year, like I said. He’s just never been able to let it go… I never thought that he would show up like this.”
“Has he ever hurt you?” I demanded, my concerns shifting as I thought of his aggressive behavior. “You need to tell me if he’s ever done anything to you.”
She shook her head. “No… He’s just a jerk.”
“And you’re a?—”
“Shut the hell up,” I barked at Derek, holding back the urge to plant my fist right in his face. “You keep talking and I’ll charge you for everything under the sun.”
“Corrupted piece of?—”
Jackson slammed him hard against the wall of the barn again, a thud echoing out through the parking lot. Lucas was eyeing us as he directed attendees around the scene that we were all making.
“Get him out of here,” I instructed, pointing to the cruiser. “Book him in on attempted assault on an officer.”
“Got it, boss,” Jackson said with a nod, dragging him toward the cruiser.
“I’m so sorry,” Emma said to me, wrapping her arms around herself. I brought her into my arms, giving her a hug.
“No, I’m sorry that some psycho ex-boyfriend had the nerve to show up the way he did. He won’t bother you again,” I added, meeting Derek’s gaze. “And if he tries something again, I’ll be sure to take care of him.”
“That a threat?” Derek spat out toward me as Jackson shoved him into the back of the cruiser.
I ignored him, turning back to Emma. “It’s a promise. I will always keep you safe from any harm. I know that I failed with that when it came to Graham, but it won’t happen again.”
Emma nodded. “Thank you.”
“Of course,” I placed my hand on the small of her back. “Now, let’s go enjoy this nice event that you took it upon yourself to put on for the ranch.”
“I can’t believe how this turned out,” Lucas said to me as we sat at one of the tables, watching the crowd two-step to a country song.
I nodded, taking in the scene. “There’s more people here than there are in the entire county.”
“I think you might be right,” Ron commented, pulling out a chair beside me. “And look there, even Annie Calvin is out and about.” He pointed to the old couple, moving a little slower than the rest of them, but still having a great time.
“Now if only we can get everyone else’s cattle back,” I remarked, a little bit of disappointment slipping into my chest. “I hate that we haven’t been able to give back to the rest of the community.”
“Well, but it’s one step at a time, you know? That’s just how it goes. We’re gonna solve it. It might take us longer than we want, but it’ll get done. We only have so many resources, and there for a while, we were more concerned about Graham Hudson.”
I nodded, grabbing my beer to take a sip. “I guess we just can’t give up.”
“Yeah, but at least the Calvin’s got their cattle back,” Jackson commented, his eyes still on the two older people. “I’d hate to see them lose everything they have.”
“Yeah, but Lucas is on the verge of that, too,” I said, shaking my head. “He stands to lose it all.”
Jackson nodded. “No one ever wants to lose cattle.”
“No, no they don’t,” Ron agreed. “But I’ll admit that it was nice to have the win of finding the Calvin’s cattle.”
“You ever think that they wanted us to find the cattle?” I asked, thinking back to the conversation with Emma. My gaze flickered to Cody and Jess, who were dancing together, both with smiles on their faces.
The dad in me wanted to jump up and break the two apart, but I stopped myself, knowing that Jess would kill me—and that they weren’t doing anything wrong…
But I still didn’t like it.
“I think that they might have wanted us to find them, considering we ain’t been able to put eyes on anyone else’s stock.”
“I don’t know…” Jackson’s voice trailed off as he downed the rest of his beer. “I think that’s kind of a toss-up. We might have just missed the others because they didn’t have as obvious markings on their face.”
“That’s true, too,” Ron commented, letting out a sharp breath. “And I just think that there still might be something to the old unsolved rustlings that happened back in the nineties. I think there could be a connection still.”
“Do we gotta talk about work right now?” Jackson huffed, shaking his head. “Can’t we just sit and enjoy the damn night?”
I chuckled, but then realized just how fatigued Jackson looked. He had been working his ass off on the case, and I understood his frustrations. The kid probably did need a break.
“Well, are you still seeing that one young lady?” Ron asked, changing the subject with an amused look on his face. “Or have you gotten bored?”
Jackson sighed. “No, I’m not bored with her, but I think she’s bored with me. She says all I ever do is just work.”
“And that’s why when we sit down, that’s all we ever talk about,” Ron burst into laughter. “Because that’s all we ever do.”
I agreed with a nod, my eyes scanning the place for Emma. She had spent the evening busy attending to everyone, and no matter how many times I tried to help her, she shooed me away, telling me to enjoy the evening. I appreciated her giving me the night off, but at the same time, I just wanted to hang out with her.
“Hey,” Emma’s voice came from behind me.
I spun around to look up at her, a smile on my face. “I was just thinking of you, honey.”
“Oh yeah?” She laughed. “Maybe that’s why my ears were burning to come and find you. I was hoping that maybe you had moment so that we could talk.”
I nodded, pushing back from the table and standing to my feet. “I always have time to talk to you.” I shot her a teasing wink, before grabbing her hand. “Lead the way.”
She nodded to Jackson and Ron, before leading me away from the table, her smile fading. “It’s time for us to count the money.”
I took a deep breath, my heart skipping a beat. “Okay.”