Chapter 50
Chapter Fifty
Mason
“ T hat was weird,” I glanced down at my phone as Emma had hung up suddenly.
“What’s weird?” Jackson chuckled, shaking his head. “You just not used to someone checking in on you still?”
“Ha ha,” I rolled my eyes at him. “No, it was just weird that she was asking where I was, and then told me that she’d be here soon. She almost sounded worried or something.”
“I’m sure she’s just being a typical pregnant woman,” he said with shrug, picking up his water. “How are things going with all that? We’ve been so caught up with this investigation that I haven’t had a chance to ask you about your home life.”
“It’s going,” I said, shifting. “I’m thinking about proposing. I’m just not sure if it would overwhelm her, you know? I don’t want to force her to marry me or make her feel too much pressure.”
“Well, I don’t think you can force someone to marry you. That’s a little bit of a reach, boss. But yeah, I get what you’re saying.”
I nodded, just as the doorbell chimed of the café. I glanced up, surprised to see Cody Hudson headed right for us. “What the…”
“I’m tired of being your cover up,” he shouted at us, his face reddened with anger.
“What the hell are you talking about, son?” I stood to my feet, gesturing for him to calm down. “Just tell me what’s wrong, and we can talk.”
“He’s batshit crazy is what he is,” Jackson laughed, shaking his head. “You were lucky that you got bailed out,” he turned to Cody. “And you need to just get on out of here. No one gives a shit about what you have to say.”
Whoa… What the hell?
“Yeah, you just don’t want me outing the fact that you started the fire,” Cody growled, his eyes darkening as he glared at Jackson. “You tried to fucking make it out like I had no other way—like your word was better than mine—and guess what? It’s not.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, and I turned to Jackson, completely bewildered. “What is he talking about, Jackson? There’s no way in hell that you started that fire…”
“Yes, he did,” Cody cut in as the door chimed again, and in ran Jess and Emma. “Lucas just pulled the footage from his cameras. He has proof that you went in with the gas cans. He’s taking it to the Rangers right now.”
“When did he find the footage?” I demanded, watching Jackson carefully.
“When he found one of the security cameras in the ashes. It had fallen off in the grass and hadn’t been destroyed. It’s one of those that have the chip in the back, and he was able to pull it. ”
“Fucker,” Jackson muttered, shaking his head. “You can’t seriously believe him. He’s just some dumb high school kid that’s trying to get out of trouble.”
“I don’t know who to believe,” I said, my eyes bouncing between everyone.
“He did it,” Emma’s voice came from behind Jackson. “I talked to Lucas. Cody is telling the truth. It was Jackson—and he did the cattle rustling, too.”
Jackson shook his head, holding up his hands. “No… No, I didn’t. Why the hell would I do something like that? Come on, you know me.”
I had never felt more torn before, and the fact that Emma was standing there, telling me that Jackson had been behind it, made it known that was the truth. She wouldn’t tell me a lie, and she wouldn’t fall into the theories or rumors.
“Jackson,” I kept my voice even and calm. “You’re going to have to come with me down to the station. Let me have your service weapon.”
He shook his head. “Don’t do this, Mason. Don’t do it.”
“Come on,” I forced the words out, holding out my hand. “You don’t want to fight me. Just let me have your weapon and we’ll go down and sort this out. If you didn’t do it, then you’ll have no problem with this.”
“Mason…” Jackson put his hand on his weapon, and my heart sank. “I don’t wanna do this…”
“Then don’t,” I said, watching him carefully. “You don’t want to do something that will get you into more trouble.”
He shook his head, pulling his gun out and pointing it at me. “Nah, I don’t, but you know, it had to be done. I was the one to do it.”
Jess let out a cry, and Emma pulled her toward the door, not even requiring me to give her the instructions. She knew what I wanted her to do—and that was to be safe. The other patrons hurried out with her, and the door slammed shut.
“Why’re you doing this?” I asked, my hand on my gun but not drawn. I didn’t want to escalate the situation, and Cody hovering a few feet away was already making me nervous enough.
“I ain’t got a choice, Mason,” Jackson grimaced. “I didn’t want to be the bad guy—I really didn’t. But everyone in this fucking town thinks that the Lowes are just some grand bunches of cowboys.” His face contorted with hate, and for the first time, I was seeing an entirely new side of my deputy.
“And what’d they do to you? You related to the Fredericksons?” I threw it out there, knowing it was a long shot, but he burst into laughter.
“Did Lucas finally tell you about how horrible his family is?”
I shook my head. “He didn’t, actually. He doesn’t know anything about a feud.”
“Yeah, well, then I guess they don’t educate their generations very well, because my damn granddaddy never let me forget what they took from us. They took our land, buying it from the bank, and it was gonna feel really good to watch the Lowes lose their ranch.”
“You took his cattle?” I choked it out, the thought of him being behind it leaving me physically pained. “Why would you do that?”
“Because when my family needed money, that’s what we did, and I knew that would bring Lucas to his knees. I thought maybe it would remind him that we’re still out here, and we still think he owes us.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing—and the fact that he was confessing to it all. “Man…” My voice trailed off at the pure shock.
“Never saw it coming, did you?”
I shook my head. “Nah, you got me, Jackson.” I didn’t hide the pain from betrayal in my tone. “I honestly just can’t believe that you did it. I always thought you were gonna be the one who took my place, but you played me.”
“Yeah, and now I think it’s best that you just don’t remember. A deputy is more believable than some dumbass high school kid.”
My life flashed before my eyes as the gunshot exploded in the café. However, where I expected to feel pain, I felt nothing, and as the reality hit, I saw Cody lying on top of Jackson.
“You sorry son of a bitch,” Jackson roared, trying to fight off the teenager. I kicked his weapon off the side, and joined Cody, cuffing Jackson’s hands behind his back. The door burst open and in ran the Rangers, guns drawn.
“Put your hands up,” I muttered to Cody, nodding to him as we both backed away from a cuffed and cussing Jackson, still lying in the booth.
“You got him?” Nick Matthews met my gaze.
“Got him,” I nodded to Jackson, a mixture of emotions overwhelming me as they lifted him from the booth.
“USDA called Ron and they were able to track the false name back to him,” Nick nodded to Jackson. “It’s always bad when it’s one of your own.”
“And right under my nose the whole time,” I grimaced, my head falling in disappointment. “Gonna have a hell of an internal investigation now.”
“You’ll survive it,” Nick chuckled, giving me a nod as he led him out of the café. “We’ll be back to visit. ”
Jackson laughed as Nick guided him out, and I turned to Cody, who was staring down at his hands.
“You saved my life,” I said to him, clapping him on the shoulder. “And I won’t ever be able to thank you enough for that.”
Cody nodded, looking up at me. “So, do you think it’d be alright if I dated your daughter then?”
I laughed, the glint of amusement in his eyes refreshing. “Yeah, I’d say that we can probably figure something out.”
“Cool,” Cody said with a nod as the door opened. Emma and Jess rushed in, both of their faces full of relief as their gazes raked over us.
“Oh my god, I was so worried that something had happened,” Emma wrapped her arms around me. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”
“Yeah, I’m okay,” I choked out. “Thanks to the kid. He was able to get a good hold on Jackson.”
“I can’t believe he did it…” Jess’s voice trailed off as she hugged Cody. “And thanks for saving my dad.”
“Anytime, wanna be my girlfriend now?”
Jess chuckled. “I guess you finally got the nerve to ask then?”
“Yeah, he did,” I shot her a smile. “And I guess saving my life is almost good enough to earn a date with you.”
“You’re a good dad,” Emma said to me, pressing her lips to my cheek.
“And a damn lucky man to have you.”