Chapter 19
cade
“There is no truth…just facts,” Dodge says as we lean against the bar at The Barrel & Bridle.
I nurse my beer, not tasting it.
I’ve just told Dodge everything about Sarah. He knew some of it. Now he knows it all.
“In this day and age, people lean toward believing women.” His thumbs are hooked in his belt. “Should’ve been that way back then, too, but we were too damn blind.”
“You think I was stupid not to believe her?”
“Not was…still are stupid, boss.” Dodge lifts his pint and drains a swallow. “I gotta be honest. Looking at her now…she doesn’t strike me as a woman who’d make up something like that—or any lie at all.”
It’s what I’ve been thinking too. “Landon’s my brother, Dodge.”
He tosses up his shoulders. “My brother’s serving fifteen in Walls for armed robbery. Doesn’t make him a saint just ‘cause we share blood.”
“You’d testify against him?”
“I did.” His tone is flat. “He roped me into driving his getaway car without tellin’ me. The second I heard gunfire, I called 911 and handed him over to the cops myself. Kept me out of prison.”
I blink. “You’re serious?”
“Like a heart attack.”
I shake my head. “My brother isn’t a rapist.”
“You sure? If I hadn’t been in that car, I’d have said the same about mine. What—you need to be under the bed while he’s on top of a girl before you believe her?”
The words are crude, and they do what he intended. They knock the air right out of me.
He regards me thoughtfully. “Why’d you believe him over her? She was your girl. You loved her.”
“He’s my brother.” It sounds weak even to my ears.
“Or maybe it was just easier.” Dodge raps his knuckles on the bar, nodding at Jose. “One more.”
“Sí,” Jose says as he pulls another Pbr. He jerks his chin at me. “You?”
“Bourbon. Neat.”
The beer’s not cutting it. I need fire.
Glasses land heavy on the bar. Dodge sips slow. I throw my Buffalo Trace back in one gulp.
“It wasn’t easy, Dodge,” I mutter, bristling. “It wasn’t easy to believe him over her.”
“Wasn’t it?” Dodge asks—not accusing me but just saying it flatly. “You were twenty. She was nineteen. Kids.”
Yeah, we were. Innocent. Na?ve. No more.
“And my old man drilled it into us—Mercers stick together, family above all.” My stomach churns.
“So you listened to your brother, not your girl.”
I rub my neck. “I can’t square the man I know with what she says. Landon’s got flaws, but—”
“You ever even wonder?” Dodge presses.
The silence between us is heavier than stale whiskey.
“No,” I admit finally.
I refused to. Dad made sure the deputy sheriff buried it and made sure no record ever existed. Even Sarah’s father backed Landon, calling her a liar.
Maybe Sam chose the easier road, too, Cade.
Before I can think that through, Dean—loudmouth rancher east of town—slaps my shoulder. “You headin’ to the sale next week, Cade? They’re bringin’ Brangus bulls that’ll make your Thunder Ridge look like a bargain.”
I sip my bourbon, keeping my tone casual. “Maybe.”
Dean smirks, knowing full well that even though I may be there, I won’t be buying. I can’t afford it, not after Thunder.
The High Country Bull & Genetics Sale in Grand Junction draws the best stock in the Rockies—Angus, Brangus, Charolais, add semen rights to that, and it’s gonna cost you an arm, a leg, and everything else in between and then some.
Dean struts off with his little dig.
Hank from Two Rivers slides in next. “Heard a rumor you’re selling, Cade. That true?”
Fucking Jessup and Madison. “Not a chance in hell.”
Hank grins, lifts his bottle. “Didn’t think so. A Mercer without Blue Rock would be like a cowboy without a horse.”
The men drift back to their game. Dodge watches them go. “This place listens, Cade. You sneeze, half the Canyon’s got a story before sundown.”
He’s right. Gossip moves faster here than a brushfire, truth optional.
A familiar voice slides in smooth as oil. “Still sitting in this dump?”
I turn. Landon’s already pulling up a stool beside me. His tie is loosened, and he’s flashing a polished smile at Jose.
“What the hell are you doing here?” I’m more than a little rattled to see him now, considering what’s going on in my head. “Thought you’d be off schmoozing Aspen donors.”
He grins, clapping my back. “I had a campaign stop in Junction City and was thinking of coming by to Blue Rock, and I saw your truck here, so....”
Soon enough, cowboys crowd him, eager to shake hands.
Landon’s respected here, admired.
He asks Jose about his sister and beams when Jose says she’s off to college. The man remembers everything. Helps everyone.
And I let myself believe in him again.
That he’s a good man. That Sarah is wrong. That I don’t need to dig deeper.
Just like always, Cade.
I push the thought down. He’s my brother. Not a rapist.
But Dodge’s words, Kaz’s warning, Sarah’s broken voice—those splinters won’t work their way out.
Not with all the bourbon in the world.