Chapter Thirteen
Lunch was always a crapshoot at the Sweet Ranch.
Some days the kitchen overflowed with siblings and now their spouses, other days the midday mealtime was quieter and less chaotic.
Today was somewhere in the middle. Kade leaned against the counter, watching as his mother bustled between the stove and the table, refusing help from anyone who offered.
He couldn’t help but smile at Cassie who, ignoring his mother, was setting the table.
Every time Alice Sweet told her to sit and relax, Cassie merely smiled and replied, “Yes, ma’am,” then continued in search of silverware and plates while Rachel brought pitchers of tea and lemonade from the extra fridge.
At the table, Preston and Sarah Sue sat side by side, their heads together in a familiar private conversation that made him want to smile even wider. He loved how this family was growing. And a growing part of him wished he could be here more often.
“All right. That’s it.” His mom set a platter of leftover pork chops in front of his brother. The table was pretty much overflowing with a potluck of the week’s family dinners—or what was left of them.
Chairs scraped against the floor. On either side of him, his sister and wife settled at the table. Wife. Not a word he was used to using. Oddly enough, it didn’t sound as startling as he would have thought. As a matter of fact, it seemed to feel… right.
“Earth to Kade.” From across the table, his mother waved her hand at him. “Are you planning on joining us today?”
“Oh,” he shook his head, “sorry. Thinking.”
“That’s fine, but pass the potatoes while you’re at it.” Her tone was slightly scolding, but her smile softened the blow. It always had.
Sarah Sue glanced at the kitchen clock then out the window. “I wonder what’s keeping Dad. I told him lunch would be a little late, after one, today, but…”
“I bet he lost track of time.” Alice offered a reassuring smile. “I’ll send him a quick reminder text.”
Just as his mom pushed back from the table to retrieve her phone, Sarah Sue’s handbag began to ring.
His mom laughed. “I bet he just noticed the time. I swear, for the best family doctor in this state, that man can be awfully absent-minded.”
Sarah Sue hurried across, answered, nodded, grunted, mumbled, “I’ll tell everyone,” then closed her phone.
“Something wrong?” Worry etched across his mother’s forehead.
“Dad can’t make it. He’s heading to the hospital. Emily Henderson is on her way to the ER.”
“Oh,” Alice tsked. “That poor family. Emily has had such a hard time of it the last few years. I’ll be praying that whatever is wrong isn’t serious.”
“We all will,” Rachel added.
Cassie leaned toward Kade. “Henderson… Is her brother the kid busing tables at the Whiskey Moon?”
“That would be him,” Preston said.
She didn’t say another word but Kade could almost read the thoughts in her mind as if they were printed on her forehead. He couldn’t blame her, he was thinking the same thing—that kid had it rough enough right now. A sister in the hospital was probably the last thing he and his family needed.
The conversation drifted to other, less serious subjects.
Kade ate, only half-listening, his mind sifting through his to-do list before leaving for temporary duty.
After lunch, with the clanking of dishes and glasses filling the room as the table was cleared, he caught Cassidy’s eye and gave a slight nod toward the back door.
Though he shouldn’t have been surprised that she immediately understood and excused herself to join him on the back porch, he wasn’t.
Everything about this business deal was beginning to feel more and more like anything but business.
“Since I’m not needed for any chores on the ranch, this afternoon would be a good time to run to the bank. Set up that account we discussed.”
Her gaze to the floor, she blew out a deep sigh. “Your family is providing me with room and board. It doesn’t feel right taking your money too.”
“I won’t be here much over the course of the coming year and life is unpredictable, you’ll need to have access to money, just in case.”
Her mouth clamped shut, her gaze steadied on a distant point, but she didn’t say a word.
“Or would you rather ask Mom to lend you money if you need it?”
That had her head whipping around. “Of course not.”
“Then we agree the account is practical?”
Another heavy sigh, and she nodded. “Okay. Maybe you have a point.”
“That’s my girl.”
As soon as everything was cleaned up from lunch, the two of them headed to town.
Kade pulled into an open space in front of the massive building that looked exactly like what it was—a bank.
Taking hold of her hand, supposedly for appearances, he knew it was simply because that was what felt normal now.
Inside, one of the associates directed them to an open cubicle with a bank officer. Filling out the standard paperwork, they were almost done presenting identification and signing the account cards when a raised voice from the back of the lobby caught his attention.
The older man dressed in Friday business casual was coming out of another cubicle, chased by a younger man. Jacob Henderson.
“I’ve explained it all to your father,” the older man spoke as he walked, his stride rapid, and aloof.
“I really don’t have time to discuss this with you, I’m late for an important meeting.
Call my office number and we’ll make an appointment for another day.
” The man didn’t even bother to look back at the kid.
“Appointment?” Jacob’s face flushed, not with embarrassment, or heat, but with pure unadulterated anger. “We’re talking about my sister!” he shouted.
“You’re upset. That’s understandable.” The man barely slowed his pace. “But I really need to go.”
“We want our money.” The words came out sharp, crisp, and laced with fury.
Riveted to the scene unfolding before him, Kade wondered who this guy was and why Jacob was so angry.
The man finally stopped and spun around to face the kid. “I’ve explained to your father—”
“I don’t want to hear your excuses. You’re nothing but a crook, and everyone needs to know it!”
Cassie’s fingers dug into Kade’s arm. “Uh-oh.”
“What?” Kade tore his gaze away from the unfolding drama and looked where Cassie’s eyes were glued to the young man and the one hand still in his pocket. Aw, crap. Just what they didn’t need, a distraught unstable teen with a gun.
“Gun.” Kade’s voice was a tight whisper. His jaw clenched and she could see his military mind calculating distances, opportunities. If he found the moment to reach for his own gun, that poor kid would not walk out of here.
Still shouting at the man, Jacob’s left hand gestured wildly, punctuating his words, but his right hand…
his right hand remained jammed deep in the front pocket of his sweatshirt.
It didn’t move. People who were this agitated, this angry, used both hands.
They pointed, they balled their fists. Jacob’s stillness on one side was a glaring anomaly, a detail that was fundamentally wrong.
Cassidy’s eyes narrowed, her focus absolute.
She saw the way the fabric of that one pocket sagged, pulled down by something heavy and dense.
It wasn’t a phone. It wasn’t a wallet. It didn’t sway when he shifted his weight; it hung with a leaden, solid feel.
He was angling his body, subconsciously shielding that side of himself, protecting it.
The world narrowed to the space between the bank officer’s desk and the front door.
Kade’s body remained rigid beside her; she knew he was waiting for the right moment to pounce. Save the day. Her knight in shining armor.
The scene unfolded in a series of sharp, terrifying snapshots.
Jacob Henderson, the tired, hard-working kid from the hardware store, was standing in the middle of the bank lobby, his face pale and tear-streaked, fury oozing from every pore.
Worse still, she saw desperation in his eyes.
She’d seen it a thousand times or more in the eyes of people who had gambled away everything they owned, and sometimes more. This was not looking good. Not at all.
“You’re upset.” The banker’s voice was deliberately calm, and clearly patronizing. “I understand, but making a scene isn’t going to help anyone.”
“Help anyone?” Jacob’s voice cracked. “My sister is in the hospital. They’re taking her to the ICU. The ICU!” he repeated. “None of this would have happened if she’d had the surgery. You promised my father.”
Cassie was struggling to put the pieces together. What did this man have to do with Emily going to the hospital?
The other customers in the bank had gone quiet, watching the emotional scene unfold like a made-for-TV movie. Eyes wide, a teller behind the counter whispered to another, the bank officer who’d been helping them slowly closed the folder containing their paperwork.
“Where’s security?” Cassie whispered, leaning against Kade.
“Small town,” he murmured back, his gaze fixed on Jacob. “No one thinks they need paid security. Not even a bank.”
The bank man was backing away, hands raised slightly. “Listen, young man, the market has risks. I told your father that. Nothing is guaranteed—”
“You said it was safe!” Jacob’s hand remained in his pocket. “You said you could double, maybe even triple our savings.” His eyes filled with unshed tears at the same time his jaw clenched, turning the pain to fury once again. “You promised.”
Cassie watched Jacob carefully. The dark circles under his eyes had deepened since she’d seen him at the Whiskey Moon. No sleep, a sick sister, and a loaded gun topped with a heavy dose of desperation were a very deadly cocktail.
“One of the lease holders defaulted. It happens. All the time. It’s no big deal.” The man’s voice was laced with impatience now. “It’s unfortunate timing, but if you just wait, the investment will likely recover—”
“Wait?” Jacob’s voice rose an octave. “Emily can’t wait. She needs that surgery now.”
The irritated man shook his head. “You should be having this argument with your insurance company, not me.”
Aw hell, Cassie thought. Pass the buck, just what this kid didn’t need to hear. And then it happened. Jacob’s hand slid out of his pocket, a semi-automatic handgun clenched tightly in his fingers.
“Put that thing away before someone gets hurt.” The man’s voice took on a dismissive tone. “This isn’t a video game, kid.”
Cassie rolled her eyes. Kade’s hands rolled into a fist. They both recognized this guy was clearly an idiot, beautifully skilled at making things worse.
Jacob lifted his arm, his gaze shifting to the front door. The crack of the gunshot was deafening—and terrifying.
A flower pot exploded in a shower of terracotta and dirt.
The woman who had been at the teller window screamed a high, thin sound of pure panic.
People instantly dropped to the floor, a few scrambling on all fours for cover.
Pulling Cassie out of her seat, Kade had her smothered in his grip, his body molded around hers, shielding her from any more flying bullets.
She could feel the frantic hammering of his heart against her back.
“I know this isn’t a game. Do you?” The torment in Jacob’s voice and gaze had shifted to something hard as steel and even more dangerous.
The bank man’s eyes widened and Cassie wouldn’t be at all surprised if he had just soiled his pants.
“Not such a big shot now, are you?” Jacob’s anger was definitely escalating. He was losing his grip on reality.
From her position on the floor, Cassie scanned her surroundings, taking note of every tiny detail, all the while praying Kade didn’t go into warrior mode.
Crouched behind her desk, the branch manager’s hand reached slowly toward something beneath—an alarm, no doubt.
Smart. But it also meant the police would be on their way, a complication that could make everything a hundred times worse.
Despite how dangerous all of this was, how badly it could turn out, her heart still ached for the frustrated, hurt and desperately misguided teen.
“You,” Jacob practically growled at the man, the gun trained on him. “You’re going to fix this.”
Shaking his head, the man raised his hands, as if that would save him from being torn apart by a bullet like the shattered pot. “Jacob, please, I can’t just—”
“I want our money back.”
“It doesn’t work that way. You know that. Your father knows that. It’s only a paper loss. As I said before, in time you’ll get your money back.”
“Time? Emily doesn’t have time!”
Cassie could feel Kade’s body coiled like a spring ready to launch.
She’d come to know him well enough to understand he wasn’t the kind of man to sit back and do nothing.
On top of that, with his military training, he most likely was waiting for an opening, ready to tackle the boy, even shoot him if necessary.
And deep in her gut, she knew he would risk his own life if it meant saving another.
She’d also worked with enough desperate gamblers to understand what was happening under the surface.
Jacob wasn’t a criminal; he was a terrified kid watching his sister suffer, believing this man was responsible.
He didn’t want to hurt anyone else—she had to believe that—he only wanted this man to do the right thing.
The problem, of course, as far as she could tell, there wasn’t a damn thing this guy could do, besides make things worse.
Especially if he kept opening his mouth.
Having calculated the risks, the potential outcomes, the response time for a small-town police force, taking a deep breath, she inched out of Kade’s grip, quickly shoving to her feet before he could stop her.
Kade could tackle him, but she had to try talking this kid off the ledge first, she had to.
On her feet, hands up, her gaze met Jacob’s. The only sound in the cavernous lobby was a still small voice. Kade’s whispering, “Oh, hell.”