Chapter 17
17
C hin to chest, Chloe stalked toward the barn. Her stomach growled, reminding her that dinner time had come and gone. She’d been waiting for Trav. His reaction shouldn’t surprise her as much as it did. It shouldn’t hurt her as much, either. But it did.
Coming clean had been the right thing to do. Period.
Even so, his words echoed in her thoughts. Had she put herself in harm’s way unnecessarily?
At the time, she hadn’t believed so. Now? She was questioning her judgment. Craig would have closed the door in her face if he’d realized she’d brought the law to his doorstep. He was the guy who covered for the band, especially for Blake. He was as much a cleanup person as he was their manager. He booked gigs. He took care of the books. He handled the band’s image.
He wouldn’t want anyone to know Blake had fallen off the wagon. In fact, it was Craig’s job to ensure the band could book gigs. A drunk and drugged-out lead singer wasn’t a bookable act. That reputation would cost big bucks.
Craig looked like a mess. Was managing the band taking a toll on him? Had he started drinking heavily to cope?
Chloe entered the barn and paced. What right did Trav have to make her feel like she’d betrayed him?
She’d withheld information to protect her son. She would do it again if it meant protecting Grayson.
Another lap had her churning on the same few thoughts. How dare Trav make her feel worse for telling him the truth. She’d already beaten herself up with guilt.
What did you expect? an annoying voice in the back of her mind asked. For him to thank you for lying to him?
“It wasn’t a lie,” she said out loud.
Seriously? the voice shot back.
What? Now she was arguing with herself?
Chloe needed to get a grip. Trav was helping her, and that was the reason she felt so bad about not being one hundred percent truthful with him. His reaction, the hurt in his eyes, added insult to injury. Had she overreacted?
It was entirely possible.
She couldn’t afford to care what anyone else thought about her. Could she?
First, Trav had picked on Guy. Now, he was having a conniption fit over her talking to her ex’s manager. Maybe he was the one who needed to get a grip instead of her.
The logical side of her argued that Trav cared about his work, and that was the reason for his reaction. He’d been honest about his intentions of protecting everyone in his county. He took his job seriously.
So why did his anger feel so personal?
Circling the barn a few more times, it struck hard that her feelings for Trav went well beyond friendship. They’d gone into that dark territory known as the point of no return.
Great.
There was no use acting on those feelings. Trav was doing his job, which was the only reason he stuck around. The fact might strike like a knife to the chest, but that didn’t mean it was wrong.
She should go back and apologize for walking away from him like she’d just done. She’d learned a long time ago that it was easier to walk away than to say something that could never be taken back or unheard. Walking away was the best thing she could do when a choice had to be made. Words could hurt worse than a bruise.
Distracted, it took a second to realize she’d been plunged into darkness the second she’d turned off the inside barn light and stepped outside. She made a mental note to tell Kade the lightbulb outside needed replacing.
Her second thought scared her the most. Had someone tampered with the light? A chill raced down her spine.
It was a five-minute walk to either the main house or the large barn. The bunkhouse was attached to the large barn farther away from the house. Was Kade there or at the house?
If someone was following her, she refused to draw them toward Bree and the baby.
Was her imagination running wild? Or was she in danger?
Chloe instinctively reached for her cell then realized a few seconds too late that she’d left it on the kitchen table when she’d heard Trav pull up.
Picking up the pace to a jog, she listened for sounds that anyone else might be near.
Panic seized her chest, causing her heart to cramp as the lights from the house came closer. A shot of adrenaline caused her to pick up the pace even more until she was in a dead run.
Could she risk stopping to look around? It occurred to her that she might be drawing someone to the house.
No. She shook off the thought. No one would be bold enough to try the house.
She was so close she could see the back door clearly now.
And then, a male figure stepped out from behind a tree.
Chloe screamed before the person’s identity registered. She tried to stop before she slammed into him, but was too late. Momentum carried her.
Beau caught her a second before they made contact.
“Beau? What are you doing out here?” she managed to ask through a gasp.
“What’s wrong?” Beau’s gaze scanned the area behind her. “What’s chasing you?”
Did he mean who ?
It dawned on her that he thought an animal was responsible, and she didn’t want to tell him any different now that it was clear the entire episode was derived from her imagination. Nothing was behind her.
“The light at the barn was out,” she said through gasps, trying to fill her lungs with air but feeling more like a fish out of water. “I got spooked.”
“Is that all?” he asked, sounding surprised by the admission.
“Isn’t that enough?” Chloe bent over and grabbed the pinch in her side. “Sorry. That didn’t come out right.”
“No, I get it,” he said with a look of apology. The resemblance to their dad threw her off every time they interacted. Did he have their father’s mean spirit? Did he have their father’s heartlessness? The jury was still out on Beau. “With all that happened a few months ago, it makes sense.”
She stood up straight as Trav came barreling out the back door, followed by Kade.
Trav slowed the minute he sized up the situation, but Kade shot right past the acting sheriff. Her brother didn’t stop until Beau’s back was against the tree.
“What the hell?” Kade fired the question like a bullet.
“It’s okay, Kade,” Chloe interjected as Beau opened his mouth to speak. The last thing she wanted was for this situation to escalate.
Trav stood back a few steps and folded his arms across his chest.
Kade glared at Beau for a long moment before releasing their half-brother and then taking a step back. Kade turned to Chloe. The second his head turned, Beau threw a punch. It landed square on Kade’s jaw.
Beau drew his fist back as Trav forced himself in between the two.
Kade, calm as you please, moved his jaw from side to side a couple of times but otherwise had no reaction. Chloe had always known her brother was tough as nails, but damn.
Conrad came running out next. “What’s going on? I heard Chloe scream.”
“Our brother, here, decided I was to blame,” Beau said as Conrad jogged up to the four of them.
Conrad turned to Kade with a look of disappointment. “I thought you said you were going to give Beau a chance.”
“I am,” Kade said, “which doesn’t mean he gets a free pass.”
“I didn’t do anything wrong,” Beau said with fire shooting from his eyes. “Our sister came running from the barn and almost smacked into me.”
Kade turned to Chloe. “Is that true?”
“Yes,” she said. “The light was out, and I got a little freaked. Beau came out from behind the tree as I got closer to the house, and I nearly bowled him over.”
Kade didn’t look at Beau when he asked, “What’s the light doing out?” But the question had been directed at their half-brother.
“It looks like everyone is fine,” Trav said before tempers could flare again.
Based on Kade’s expression, he was near the tipping point as was Beau. Conrad just looked disappointed in everyone. He frowned.
“We’ll never agree with what to do with the ranch and the family business if we can’t talk to each other like civilized adults,” Conrad said. Since when had he become the voice of reason?
“As far as I can see, we only have one holdout,” Kade said, sneering at Beau.
“You sure about that?” Conrad asked.
“Did he get inside your head?” Kade fired the comment at Conrad.
“I appreciate everyone’s concern for me,” Chloe said in as calm a voice as possible, trying to redirect the conversation and diffuse the situation. “As you can see, I’m all right.”
Kade’s jaw clenched. “I’m needed at home anyway.” He gave Chloe a quick hug. “I’ll have the light fixed by sunrise.” And then he turned to Beau. “If you approve of destroying an underperforming horse again, it’ll be you heading to the glue factory. Am I clear?”
“I already told you that I didn’t sign anything,” Beau said, matching the hatred in Kade’s glare.
Chloe had been so wrapped up in her own world lately that she hadn’t realized how bad things had become at the ranch.
Conrad stepped in. “Let’s give each other the benefit of the doubt.” Her normally quiet brother had become quite the peacemaker. Then again, he’d probably had to. He was the only one who’d spent time with Beau outside of ranch business. Conrad was convinced Beau’s intentions were good. Kade wouldn’t hear it. One of her brothers was right.
“Can I talk to you for a minute, Beau?” Trav asked, surprising her with the question.
Beau nodded, and the two of them walked toward the parking area to the side of the house.
“I’ve asked you before, and I’ll ask you again,” Conrad began, “give him a chance to prove himself.”
“What the hell do you think I’ve been doing?” Kade shot back, still amped up based on the tension lines on his forehead. He turned his head and drew a deep breath before saying, “I know you trust him, Conrad. I don’t take that lightly. But someone signed papers to have a mare destroyed, and the name on the document is Beau’s.”
“It’s possible someone scribbled Beau’s name on the papers,” Conrad said. “We could submit the signatures to an expert. See if they match.”
“You do realize what you’re implying?” Kade said.
Conrad nodded, standing firm. Her brother had an air of quiet confidence she hadn’t noticed before. It didn’t mean he was right, but it did mean that he believed he was correct.
“Then, we’ll talk to Trav about finding a handwriting expert,” Kade conceded.
“And if the signatures aren’t a match, you’ll back off?” Conrad asked. He was pushing his luck.
Kade gave a reluctant nod. Her older brother had vowed never to return home or run the family business. Their father had been ruthless, getting rid of anything that didn’t perform. In the couple of months since Kade had been back, operations were shifting. They’d agreed via group text to change the name of the ranch from Sturgess Ranch to Rescue Ridge. Running a small sanctuary for racehorses that would have been cast aside in the past seemed a good way to make up for all the ones Beaumont had destroyed. Good changes were happening, and Kade, the oldest, was at the helm. Plus, the operation was worth tens of millions. The one thing Beaumont had excelled at in life had been making money from horseracing.
Kade cared more about a horse’s well-being than its financial worth. He, more than anyone, would take it personally that a horse had been mistreated. Chloe couldn’t agree more as well as the rest of her brothers. If Beau had signed the papers, they needed to find a way to get him out of the family business. If he was being set up, they needed to figure out who was responsible and why. Disagreements aside, when one Sturgess was targeted, the rest were, too.
“Why don’t you head home to Bree,” Conrad urged. “I’ll take care of talking to Travis about the signatures.”
“Fine,” Kade said as he studied the conversation happening between Trav and Beau that was just out of earshot.
Bree wished she was a fly on the tree next to them so she could listen to what they were saying. Did it have to do with Beau’s mother? She’d dived straight into coming clean with Trav after he’d pulled up next to the house. The conversation hadn’t gone well, and she’d walked away before she’d had a chance to get an update.
Based on Beau’s body language, arms folded across his chest, he was in a defensive mode. Then again, Kade confronting Beau would do that, too.
“Do you know what’s going on over there?” Kade asked her, hitching his thumb toward the pair of men standing next to her favorite oak.
“No,” she admitted, figuring this wasn’t the time to tell either of her brothers about Trav’s investigation into Beau’s mother. “Have either of you seen anyone new around the ranch?”
“No,” Kade stated.
“Me either,” Conrad agreed, then quickly frowned. “Actually. I’ve seen a couple of new faces among the day workers.”
“Now that you mention it, I have, too,” Kade agreed. “But I doubt any of them snuck into the barn office and signed papers.”
“True,” Conrad said. “We better keep a closer eye on the barn office.”
“Let’s agree to keep it locked at all times,” Kade said. “That should solve the paperwork problem.”
No one voiced it often, but everyone feared more illegitimate children would show up, claiming a stake in the ranch. Their father hadn’t been known for his fidelity, and his antics could complicate their inheritance.
“What about Janice?” Chloe asked. Their father’s last known girlfriend had stopped by on occasion.
“I haven’t seen her lately,” Kade said, turning to Conrad.
“She asked me to meet her for lunch,” Conrad said.
“And?” Chloe asked.
“I haven’t found the time between spending time with Beau and taking care of my part of the ranch helping ensure the horses were fed three to four times a day, overseeing vet visits for possible injuries, walking horses around the barn to ensure they’re properly cooled down after a training session. And everything else that comes along with a topnotch horseracing operation.”
“Did she say what she wanted to talk about?” Kade asked.
“What do you think?” Conrad responded.
“Beaumont.” Kade and Chloe said the name in unison.
In the distance, Beau threw his hands in the air, made a gesture, and then stalked toward the house. Conrad started to go after him, but Kade’s hand on their brother’s arm stopped him.
Trav didn’t immediately move.
What had just gone down?