27. Duke
DUKE
After a quick shower, I change into loose, distressed jeans and a plain white T-shirt. My balls ache.
I walk back out to where Cash is with the sheriff and Warner. Holden has now joined them, a scowl on his tanned face.
“Y’all wanna warn me next time you plan a family meeting here?” I say.
“We would have if we had known you’d be screwing the neighbor on the front lawn,” Cash fires back.
I laugh, reaching for the decanter of bourbon. Since I’m the only one who still lives here, it seems like I should be the one to offer it to our unexpected guests.
I grab five glasses and start pouring.
“Where’s Monroe?”
“She went to see Rosie and the girls,” Cash answers.
After pouring each of us two fingers of the liquor, I hand out the glasses. The sheriff takes it, his gray mustache twitching with a half smile.
“Hard to believe you’re old enough for this, boy. Time never stops.”
“Damn straight.”
If the sheriff is saying things like that, whatever shit we’re in can’t be that deep.
Then I see the look on my oldest brother’s face.
“Give it to us straight. How bad is it?” Holden says.
I feel a tightening in my gut when the sheriff turns to Holden and speaks.
“Well, it ain’t good. They found a half skeleton on your land while surveying for the county map updates.
You can’t really do shit about it, unless you pay off the survey company.
But the agent who found it … well, let’s just say, he knows this ranch is worth a pretty penny.
If you wanna get out of this one, you’ll have to pay up and pay big.
“Or you let my team take it on as an open investigation, and we start looking into it. And then I got some pull, but I can’t predict how far it’ll go.
Of course, I’m assuming you have no idea where the body came from.
It’s fully decomposed, which means it’s several years old.
Your family has owned the property for many years, but that doesn’t mean other people couldn’t sneak onto your land and use it to cover up their own crimes.
You’re not liable just because it was found here.
Unless, of course, it’s someone you’ve been tangled up with. ”
My mouth forms a hard line. Fuuuck.
A surveyor found a dead body on our land.
And there’s a damn good chance it’s someone we killed.
My eyes meet Cash’s. He flexes his jaw before rubbing his eyes.
“Well, obviously, we have no earthly idea who it is. Our ranch is extensive, and we’ve had a lot of ranch hands over the years with various criminal records and unlimited access to the property during the day and at night. It could’ve been put there by anyone,” Holden says.
Warner’s hardened face relaxes slightly. I realize then that he was just waiting for one of us to deny it because, of course, an innocent person would.
“Fuck, you think it’s safe here for Eden and Dallas? They could be in danger,” I say.
“Since the body is decomposed, it’s most likely been there awhile. I wouldn’t be concerned for immediate safety with living here. I’d say the most likely scenario is, someone used the land to bury the corpse, potentially not even knowing whose property it was,” Warner says.
The sheriff nods. “Absolutely, that seems most likely. This is a hairy situation, and it really just depends on if you want to enter the messy, legal side of an investigation. I’m here as a favor to your late father.
I know you’re good boys, and I don’t want to see another one of you get locked up because of a misunderstanding. But my sway only goes so far.”
Warner stands, clapping the sheriff on the shoulder. “And we appreciate it, greatly. The heads-up on this means a lot. We’ll discuss it, and I’ll be in contact. You know these hardworking ranchers just can’t catch a break these days.”
The sheriff nods, his wrinkled face frowning. “It’s a damn shame. Good family like yours doesn’t deserve this.”
“While you’re here, do you want some steaks from our last cow we butchered? We’ve got a freezer full.” Holden says.
The sheriff rubs his hands together, nodding. “I’d appreciate it.”
Holden grabs the steaks before he and Warner walk him out and return to the living room.
I collapse into my leather chair. “Fuck. Where was it?”
“Over in the south field, near the windmill,” Cash says, eyes on Holden.
“Jed,” I spit.
Holden grimaces, nodding to confirm.
Holden murdered Jed after he helped kidnap Rosie and held her captive on our land.
He was a former ranch hand, disgruntled by us firing him after we caught him torturing the animals.
He was always an annoying piece of shit, and I was glad when we finally got rid of him. I helped dig his grave; we all did.
We have an unspoken agreement that if someone loses their life at one of our hands, we all help take care of the body. All of our hands are equally dirty. Sam has been a part of it, too, on several occasions. It’s happened too many times over the years, and here I am, planning another murder.
Warner taps a finger on the rim of his empty glass. “I don’t like this. If they start digging, they might find more.”
Holden rubs the back of his neck. “We might need to pay them off.”
“Risky as fuck,” Warner says.
Cash starts pacing. “What other choice do we have? They find out it’s Jed, they’ll definitely find out we’re linked to him. He worked here, and we fired him. Who knows what kind of shit he spread about us that could be framed as a motive.”
“Where’s the closest body to his? If they bring dogs out here, how many more will they find?” I ask.
Warner rubs his eyes. “I hate that we have to do this, but we might need to do some of our own searching. You know where they all are, right?”
“Yeah, we know,” Holden says, grimacing. “But they’re spread out.”
“How far?” Warner asks.
“Twenty to thirty acres each,” Holden answers.
“The ones we don’t want them to find are the ones with blood relations, like Sam’s sperm donor,” I add.
Warner clears his throat. “Of course, I would assume this is common knowledge, but while we’re dealing with this, we can’t be adding any bodies to the pile.”
I grit my teeth, my eyes rising to meet Holden’s gaze. He shakes his head.
Well, damn. There goes my Friday night plans to kill my fuck buddy’s ex-husband.
The rest of the week drags on at a snail’s pace.
I text Dallas after she gets the boys back to ask her how they are doing, but all she says is, Good.
Jensen confirmed that her ex had actually stayed home all weekend. He had a few visitors come and go.
Now that Dallas has the twins, she hasn’t talked to me. It stings, but I’m trying to give her space. We’re supposed to have roping lessons tonight, and I’m hoping she shows up for it.
The sheriff doesn’t reach back out, but Warner has been in contact with us all week about the situation with the human remains that were found. I’ve been bracing myself for the fallout if a band of law enforcement vehicles shows up.
If worse comes to worst, I’ll turn myself in and say that I killed Jed in self-defense.
I haven’t told my brothers that, but as the only one without a family or a significant other, it’s the only thing that makes sense.
I could serve a few years in prison. I don’t want to because I’ve heard the food sucks and there’s no beer. But I’d survive.
I’d definitely have to kill Matt first though, just to ensure Dallas and the boys were safe while I was gone.
Stop fantasizing about killing him.
I wait in the arena for over an hour, but she doesn’t show. Her minivan is parked outside the bunkhouse, so she either forgot about the lessons or doesn’t want to see me.
While I’m waiting, I throw the lasso around the dummy, looping it repeatedly as my mind wanders.
Sometime over the course of the last few months, I’ve let Dallas Hayes consume my entire being. She’s all I can think about. When she’s not in my bed, I lie awake and think about her. I imagine the feel of her hand in mine and her scent of jasmine and vanilla on my pillow.
She’s infused so far into my brain that I don’t see a way out. I know we agreed to just be friends with benefits, but I’m already struggling with that actually being enough.
The unknown of what’s going on with her boys and the custody situation is another aspect that’s eating me alive. I want her to know she can talk to me, lean on me, confide in me. But for some reason, I can’t even get a text back.
Am I pathetic?
I rub a hand over my face, finally deciding that I need to be a man, get a grip, and just go talk to her. The sky is turning sunset orange when I start walking over to the bunkhouse.
I’m still holding the rope when I knock on the front door. I hear a commotion behind it, followed by little feet on the wood flooring.
“Dutton, don’t just open the door when—” I hear Dallas’s voice as the door swings open, a little boy wearing only a pair of underwear standing behind it.
He pops a Goldfish from his snack bag into his mouth and stares at my rope.
“Hey, bud. What are you up to?”
“Dawson, it’s Cowboy!” he calls back into the house. Then he faces me again. “Mommy sick.”
“Your mom is sick?”
Dallas appears in the doorway then, her nose red. She’s wearing an oversize hoodie despite the warm day and has no makeup on. She’s still beautiful, but she looks like she’s not feeling well.
“You probably don’t want to come in. I might be contagious.” Her eyes drop to the rope in my hand. “Oh shit, I totally forgot. I’m sorry. I should’ve texted you.”
I hand it over to Dutton, who’s still eyeing it curiously. He grabs it and grins, running back to where his brother is on the couch, playing with a toy truck.
“I wish you’d told me. I would’ve come over earlier. Where’s Eden?”
“She went to stay at her brother Adam’s place for a week or so. She didn’t say how long.”
I kick off my boots on the porch and take a step inside.
“Well, you know, as friends and neighbors, it’s my job to lend a hand.”
“Duke, it’s fine. I just need to sleep. I have a bad cold, possibly the flu. I don’t want to get you sick.”
“Who’s taking care of the boys while you’re like this?”
She looks over at the TV, where a cartoon is playing. “TV time to the rescue.”
The boys aren’t even paying attention to it. The place is a wreck. Two plates of half-eaten chicken nuggets are on the coffee table. The kitchen counter is littered with the remnants of the day’s meals that were never finished or cleaned up. A pile of tissues is on the end table.
Dallas gnaws on her lower lip. “Uh, yeah, I was going to clean up after they went to bed. It’s been a lazy day and—”
“Go sit down. Do you have any medicine? What have you eaten today?”
She doesn’t seem to have the emotional energy to fight me, so she collapses onto the corner of the sofa near the mountain of crumpled-up tissues.
“I ate a couple of bites of the boys’ leftover eggs and waffles this morning and a few chicken nuggets.” She points to the plates with smeared ketchup and half-eaten chicken.
“So, all you’ve had are your toddlers’ leftovers all day?”
She nods and lays her head back on the cushion. “Wasn’t that hungry.”
I walk over to where she is and place my hand on her forehead. “You’re burning up.”
My stomach clenches with worry. Her cheeks are flushed, but all she does is hum.
“I had a call with an online doctor. They prescribed me some meds. I figured I’d pick them up tomorrow.”
“Where was it sent?”
“Hmm … the local pharmacy, I think. Isn’t there only one?”
There are two, but I don’t bother telling her that because it’s already past closing time for both.
“I’ll go pick it up in the morning. You need to eat something substantial.”
She groans, burying her face in the pillow. “I’m not hungry.”
“You gotta eat something, Mamas. I’m gonna walk over to the main house to get some ingredients. Try to get some sleep.”
“It’s fine. I don’t need any help.”
“Too bad. I’m not asking.”