Chapter 18 #2
I did. When I finished, she was quiet for a long moment.
"Well," she finally said, her voice thick. "That bastard. Making me cry at midnight."
"Language."
"Oh, shut up. I'm allowed to call my dead grandfather a bastard if he makes me emotional." She sniffled. "He really believed in us, didn't he?"
"He did."
"So how's our ranch doing, little brother? I've been meaning to call, but work has been insane. Mom mentioned something about trouble with a neighbor?"
I leaned back in the chair, suddenly exhausted. "It's been... a lot."
"Tell me."
So I did. All of it—Cole, the sabotage, the generator, the cut fences. Tyler Vance. The poisoning that nearly killed Starlight. The security team. The PI. The evidence Mike had compiled. The sheriff meeting scheduled for tomorrow.
Lily listened without interrupting, which was unusual for her.
"Jesus Christ," she said when I finished. "And I thought Seattle real estate was cutthroat."
"It's getting better. We have a real case now. The sheriff's on our side."
"Good. Because if you need me to fly out there and kick this Cole guy in the balls, I absolutely will."
"I appreciate the offer."
"I'm serious. I've been taking kickboxing classes. I'm very dangerous now."
"I'll keep that in mind."
"Blaine, why didn't you call me sooner? This is my ranch too. I should be helping."
"You are helping. The money you wired for the security team?—"
"Money's easy. I should be there." She sighed. "I'm sorry I've been so absent. You've been dealing with all of this alone."
"I haven't been alone." I smiled despite myself. "Jake and Tre came out to help. Mike's been handling the legal side. And..."
"And?"
"I met someone."
Dead silence.
"Lily?"
"I'm sorry, I think I misheard you. Did you just say you met someone? You? Blaine Hartley? The man who once told me he didn't have time for relationships because 'emotional entanglements compromise productivity'?"
"I never said that."
"You absolutely said that. I have it in writing. I screenshot it specifically to mock you with later."
"That was... I was different then."
"Clearly." Her voice warmed. "Tell me about her."
"Her name is Caitlin. She's a large animal veterinarian.
She was there the night I arrived—emergency foaling.
Starlight was in trouble and Caitlin saved her.
Saved the foal too." I paused. "And when Starlight was poisoned, Caitlin saved her again.
She's brilliant and stubborn and she works harder than anyone I've ever met. "
"Is she pretty?"
"She's beautiful."
"And you like her."
"I love her."
Another pause. "Okay, who are you and what have you done with my emotionally constipated brother?"
"Lily—"
"I'm serious! You've known this woman for what, two months? And you're already throwing around the L-word?" She laughed. "She must be something special."
"She is."
"Then I need to meet her. Soon."
"Come visit. There's a cottage with your name on it. You can see the ranch, meet Caitlin, help me figure out what we're going to do with this place long-term."
"I'd like that." She yawned. "Okay, it's almost one in the morning and I have a board meeting at eight. But Blaine?"
"Yeah?"
"Thank you. For holding down the fort. For fighting for our ranch." Her voice softened. "Grandpa was right to believe in you. I believe in you too."
"Thanks, Lily. That means a lot."
"And tell Caitlin I said hi. And that if she hurts you, I'll fly out there and kick her in the balls too."
"She doesn't have?—"
"Metaphorical balls. Good night, little brother."
"Good night, Lily."
I hung up and sat there for a moment, phone in hand, feeling lighter than I had in weeks.
Caitlin found me an hour later, still sitting in the study.
"Hey." She padded across the room in one of my t-shirts, her hair mussed from sleep. "You okay?"
"Yeah." I held out my hand, and she came to me, settling into my lap. "Just thinking."
"About tomorrow?"
"About everything." I wrapped my arms around her. "About my grandfather. About what he built here. About what I almost lost."
"Almost," she said softly. "Not did. Almost."
"Because of you. Because of Jake and Tre and Mike. Because of everyone who showed up when I needed them." I pressed my forehead to hers. "I couldn't have done this alone."
"You're not alone." She kissed me gently. "You'll never be alone again."
We sat there in the darkness, wrapped around each other, until the first light of dawn crept through the windows.
Then we got up, got dressed, and went to war.
Sheriff Martinez's office was smaller than I expected.
Cramped, really—a converted storefront on Main Street with wood-paneled walls and fluorescent lighting that buzzed just loudly enough to be annoying. But Martinez himself was impressive: mid-forties, built like a linebacker, with intelligent eyes that missed nothing.
"Mr. Hartley." He shook my hand firmly. "I've heard a lot about you."
"Good things, I hope."
"Interesting things." He gestured to the chairs across from his desk. "Please, sit. You too, counselor."
Mike had insisted on coming, along with Jake and Sarah. Caitlin had wanted to join us, but I'd convinced her to stay at the ranch. Someone needed to keep an eye on things, and I trusted her more than anyone.
We sat. Martinez leaned back in his chair, studying us.
"So," he said. "You want to talk about Vernon Cole."
"We want to do more than talk." Mike opened his briefcase and pulled out the first of many folders. "We want to file a formal complaint. Multiple complaints, actually. Trespassing. Destruction of property. Animal cruelty. And that's just the beginning."
Martinez's eyebrows rose as Mike laid out the evidence. The security footage. The financial records. Tyler Vance's background. The pattern of harassment going back years—not just against Sierra Sol, but against other properties Cole had acquired.
"You've been busy," Martinez said when Mike finished.
"We've been thorough," I corrected.
"Same thing, in my experience." He picked up one of the folders, flipping through it. "This is good work. Better than good. But I have to be honest with you—Cole's got lawyers too. Good ones. This isn't going to be a quick fight."
"I'm not looking for quick," I said. "I'm looking for justice."
Martinez studied me for a long moment. Then he nodded slowly.
"Your grandfather was a good man. Honest. Hardworking.
Treated people fair." He set down the folder.
"Cole's been a thorn in this valley's side for thirty years.
My father worked for him once—got cheated out of his pension when Cole restructured one of his companies.
I've been waiting for someone to stand up to him. "
"So you'll help us?"
"I'll do more than help." Martinez leaned forward. "I'll open an official investigation. Subpoena Cole's financial records. Bring Vance in for questioning." A grim smile crossed his face. "Vernon Cole thinks he runs this valley. It's time someone reminded him he doesn't."
I felt something loosen in my chest. Relief. Hope. The first real belief that we might actually win this.
"Thank you, Sheriff."
"Don't thank me yet." He stood, extending his hand. "Thank me when Cole's in handcuffs."
I shook his hand. "I'll hold you to that."
We emerged from the sheriff's office into bright afternoon sunshine.
"That went well," Jake said, something like wonder in his voice.
"Better than well." Mike was practically grinning. "Martinez is going to be a bulldog. Cole won't know what hit him."
"It's not over yet," Sarah cautioned. "Cole's going to fight back. Hard."
"Let him." I looked back at the sheriff's office, then out at the mountains in the distance. Sierra Sol was out there, waiting. Caitlin was out there, waiting. Our future was out there, waiting.
"Let him fight," I said. "We'll be ready."