28. Jasper
JASPER
“Come here.” I moved toward Delilah, my only goal to protect her, to shield her from the sheer hell we’d found ourselves in.
“Stay away.” Her green eyes, usually a place of refuge where I could forget my worries and hide for a while, held a world of fear.
“I’m not going to hurt you. I want to keep you safe.” I held out an arm, desperate to guard her from the chaos.
“I think you’ve done enough.” Mitchell slung an arm around Delilah’s shoulders.
My heart cracked. Then, as Delilah turned her back on me, taking comfort in my brother’s arms, it shattered. What had I done?
“It’s not what you think.” How could I explain? As I tried to come up with the right words to defend myself, Bodie came through the door of the barn. The sheriff walked in behind him, followed by a few other men.
“What’s going on?” Bodie moved toward me, his hand ready to grip his service weapon. “Somebody needs to fill me in, fast.”
My brothers began to talk at the same time.
Bodie held up a hand. “Delilah, what did you see when you got here?”
She looked Bodie in the eye, her lip trembling. I would have given anything in that moment to wrap her in my arms and reassure her that what she saw wasn’t the truth of the situation.
“I saw Jasper, standing in the middle of all of those bales of hay. All of these men surrounded him. And the dogs.” Her voice cracked.
Bodie’s eyes closed for a long beat. “We need to sort this out, but my wife tells me you’re expected to shut down the Fall Festival. If you promise you’ll be available for questions later if I need you, I’ll have someone run you back downtown if you’re up for it.”
Delilah bit her lip and nodded. I tried to catch her attention before she turned her back and walked away. It was important for her to know that I wasn’t the bad guy in all of this. Before I could say a word, Bodie stepped in front of me, blocking my view.
“I actually can’t believe I’m about to say this to you.” He reached for my arm. “But you have the right to remain silent . . .”
I tuned him out. I let myself be cuffed and led outside, hoping Delilah didn’t see me being stuffed into the back of the car, my arms behind me.
Bodie and his team were able to round up several of the men who’d been at the barn.
I hoped Colin would be one of them, but it looked like my older brother might have gotten away.
I’d messed up. Bad. I never should have tried to handle Colin by myself tonight.
If I’d been the one to call Bodie, I’d probably be kissing Delilah on the swing Abby and I built right about now.
Instead I sat on a metal bench in the holding cell at the sheriff’s office, waiting for a chance to set things right.
“Come on, it’s your turn to talk.” One of the other deputies took me into a small office where Bodie waited.
“Want to fill me in on what the hell you were doing at a dog fight tonight? You ought to know better than that. Just being a spectator is a felony in all fifty states.” Bodie crossed his arms over his chest.
“I messed up.” I raked my fingers through my hair. “Colin came back in town recently. Said he’d gotten in over his head and wanted to get out. I was trying to help him. When I found those dogs in the barn today, I knew he had to be involved.”
“And you decided to take matters into your own hands?” Bodie’s lips twisted into a frown. “What did you think you’d accomplish by tracking him down to a dog fight? You know you could have gotten yourself killed?”
I scrubbed a hand over my chin. I hadn’t thought about the consequences for myself, I’d been so focused on trying to get to my brother and force a change of heart. “I’m sorry.”
“You sure as hell ought to be. Not only did you put my entire operation at risk, you also dragged your brothers and Delilah into this. Do you have any idea how pissed my wife is going to be? You really think Ido is going to be voted the most romantic small town in Texas when they find out Miss Lovin’ Texas followed you to an illegal dog fight? ”
I shook my head. “If anything had happened to her . . .”
Bodie didn’t respond, just let the reality of the moment hang in the air.
The weight of it pressed down on me to the point where I felt like I couldn’t take in a breath.
I thought I’d been doing the right thing by protecting my family from Colin’s misdeeds.
But what I’d really done was put everything I loved at risk.
I hung my head, letting my forearms rest on my thighs while I focused on a spot on the floor just in front of the toe of my boots. “I didn’t mean for it to turn out this way.”
Bodie reached across the table and clapped me on the shoulder.
“There’s no doubt in my mind you weren’t involved in the dog fighting.
One of my guys picked up your brother trying to hot-wire a truck and skip town.
He confessed to everything and we’ve got enough evidence to put him away for quite a while.
I don’t owe that piece of scum a fucking thing, but he wants to talk to you. ”
I lifted my head. “You believe me?”
“I never thought you were caught up in that. But if you stand in the way of me doing my job again, I’m not going to be able to look the other way.”
“I understand.” I glanced toward the door where Colin stood, his hands cuffed, his face a mixture of fear and regret.
“I’m going to give the two of you a few minutes before we book him.” Bodie nodded toward Colin as he slid his hat back on his head and closed the door behind him.
Colin perched on the edge of a chair, his wrists cuffed together in front of him.
I leaned against the back of my chair. “What happened?”
“I fucked up.” Colin wouldn’t meet my gaze.
“You fucked up because you really fucked up, or you fucked up because you got caught?” There was a world of difference in those two statements, and I needed to know which way Colin intended it.
“Does it matter?” The sneer on my brother’s face told me everything I needed to know.
Why had I let so many years go by trying to protect my brother and cover up his crimes? I’d wanted to shield my parents, keep my brothers out of harm’s way, and not spoil their image of my older brother. But for what?
Colin didn’t appear to regret his actions, just that he got caught.
“When you showed up on my doorstep saying you wanted out, did you mean it?” My heart had been shattered twice already tonight. Once at the look in Delilah’s eyes and again when I realized I’d probably ruined everything for everyone I loved.
“I got left behind. Needed somewhere to hide out for a few hours. And I was injured. Damn dog caught me right on the arm.”
I glanced at the scar on Colin’s arm, left behind by the stitches I’d given him. “You’re not even sorry about what happened, are you? Do you even care that Mom and Dad are going to be devastated when they find out what you’ve been up to?”
“Let me fix it.” Colin moved closer, his voice shaky. “You can take over for me. You get to the right people, and you can be pulling in thirty grand a month.”
“No.” I stood and moved toward the door. “I’m done. You’ve made your decision on how you want to live your life. I can’t protect them from it anymore.”
“You’re making a huge mistake. None of this would have happened if you hadn’t brought that chick around. I thought she would have left when she got freaked out by those damn crickets. But no . . . you had to save the day.”
I turned back to face my brother. “You’re responsible for the crickets in the trailer?”
“You know what happens if Ido wins that stupid title?”
My eyes narrowed, I clenched my fists and waited for Colin to continue.
Colin ground his molars together. “It’s already bad enough with that bitch mayor bringing in all kinds of wedding traffic.
If Ido managed to get themselves declared the most romantic small town in Texas, we’d have so many tourists crawling around this part of the county that the dog ring would be done. ”
“So you tried to make sure that wouldn’t happen.” I thought back to all the things that had taken place since Delilah had been in town. “The movie?”
“Come on, I can’t believe anyone still hangs out watching movies at the Hampton barn.
It was a piece of cake to make a few cuts in the film.
How was I to know they’d have another one ready to throw on though?
And a butterfly wedding without butterflies sure ain’t very romantic, is it?
” With his lips curled up in an ugly smirk, Colin glared at me.
“At least she won’t be giving you the title now.
Not after the crappy time you’ve shown her. ”
I saw red. Anger flared, my hands fisted at my sides, and I took a swing at my older brother, connecting with his chin.
Colin backed up, a wild shine to his eyes. “It didn’t have to go down like this.”
“You’re right about that. I should have turned you in years ago when I had the chance.” With that, I opened the door and stepped to the side while one of the deputies went in to finish dealing with Colin.
I’d fucked up. But unlike my brother, I was more upset about the choices I’d made that had brought me to this moment than I was about getting caught.
Hopefully my family would be able to forgive me.
I’d not only failed the people who counted on me, like Lacey, but I’d failed the people I loved the most. My parents, my siblings, and Delilah.
It was failing her that hurt the most.
“I’m headed down to wrap up at the festival. You need a ride?” Bodie asked.
I nodded. Hopefully I’d have a chance to get to her. Before it was too late.