Chapter Thirty-One

Roarke…

I’ve barely hung up with Hannah when my father’s truck pulls up to the house where I’m staying, just north of a ranch owned by the Native American reservation that called me here to help. I haven’t seen the old man in six months, and I’m not sure what the hell to expect. The last time we were together was in Dallas, at one of Jason’s baseball games. He’d been more himself than he had been since the stroke, and unlike today, his woman, Becca, a pretty brunette in her forties and ten years his junior, had been on his arm.

Today, he looks fit and younger than his fifty-five years, and I hope like hell he stopped smoking those damn cigarettes they suspect caused his stroke. He doesn’t have one in his hand, and that’s a good sign. He walks toward the porch, and I step out of the shadows. His face lights up, and I hurry down the stairs to be embraced.

“Damn Horse Wrangler.” He eases back to look at me. “I can’t believe you’re a YouTube sensation.”

I scrub my jaw. “You and me both. You and me both.”

“Yeah, well, it suits you.” He imitates me and scrubs his jaw. “Not as pretty as me,” he adds, “but the camera does you wonders.”

I laugh. We do look alike. He’s tall and fit with thick dark hair sprinkled with the salt and pepper I, no doubt, will one day have myself.

“Why don’t you do this week’s edition with me? We’ll let the viewers tell us who’s prettier.”

“Oh hell no. I’m not letting my boy’s feelings get hurt.”

This is the father I grew up with. This is the man who I know battled to save animals and taught me to fight for them like family. “Now,” he says. “Let’s get serious. Talk to me about the poison and these horses that need to be saved.”

We head down to the stables, and he examines the animals as I share my suspicions as well as the lab work I’ve run. “I know a guy we need to call in.” He pulls his phone from his pocket, and a few minutes later, he announces, “He’s catching a chopper in Wyoming. He helped me with a case back when you were about ten, I think. Read a lot like this one.”

“That’s good news because I had another horse fall tonight.”

“You think someone’s targeting the reservation?”

“No one is ready to go down that rabbit hole right now, but we can’t close any doors.”

“Any animal need urgent care now?”

“They’re stable. I need to talk to you about something else. How about a good cup of strong coffee? It’s the only way this place makes it.”

“I need some more hair on my chest.” He pats my shoulder, and a few minutes later, we’re at an old wooden table with cups in our hands.

“I’m not coming back to Sweetwater if that’s what you want, but I’m feeling back to me. My savings is plenty enough to live on, but I’d like to see the world. I’m looking at doing some jobs that will help me make that happen and let me get back to helping animals.” He winks. “I’ll even work for the Horse Wrangler.”

I chuckle. “You working for me? That’ll be the day.”

“I miss my son.” He narrows his eyes. “This isn’t what you wanted to talk about now, is it?”

“It’s part of it, but there’s more.”

“I’m listening, son.”

“Hannah came back to help with the camp Jason and I are running.”

“Hannah,” he breathes out. “I see. Does she know?”

“No, she doesn’t know. I’m the only one who was home when this happened. Jason was playing ball, and I didn’t even know until Hannah was gone.”

“How important is she to you now, present day?”

“I love her. I have to find a way to make the past right.”

“Do her parents know she’s back?”

“I don’t know.”

“Well if they do, I can tell you right now, they will lash out. They will end you and Hannah again just like they did before.”

“And we both know who bankrupted her family. That was you. I just don’t know how I tell Hannah you drove them to bankruptcy.”

“I had no choice.” He leans forward, tapping the table. “You know this. They sold out the portion of their ranch for that damn highway the state wanted to run through Sweetwater and just about had Jason’s parents convinced to sell the entire ranch, or at least his father. I don’t believe his mother ever knew. His dad made rash decisions because of his gambling issues. That highway was going right in front of the sanctuary, and that meant we would be shut down. The animals would be homeless. I did what I had to do to stop that.”

“Right.” My lips thin. “You hired someone who found an endangered insect of some kind in the right territory to use the protection laws to shut down the highway.”

“It’s not my damn fault Hannah’s parents spent the down payment the government gave them before it ever hit their account. It’s not my damn fault the government kicked them out for not paying it back. That didn’t have to happen. I offered to help them with the payments. They declined my help and lashed out at you. You know what I believe. Her father told me that you would never marry his daughter.”

He believes Hannah’s father was behind that video that was sent to Hannah. “I know what you believe,” I say. “I need some air.” I stand up and leave the room, walking outside the porch and grabbing the railing. I should have told Hannah everything when it happened, but I was just so damn stunned by how easily she believed I’d betray her. And what defense did I have but to demonize her parents? Would I do it all over again the same? Maybe. Maybe not. I’m a different man now. She’s a different woman. All I know is that my father is right. It’s time to make this right.

A plan starts to take shape, and I walk in and talk to my father. “Are you willing to tell your story?”

He stands up. “Damn straight. You want me to talk to Hannah?”

“No. I’ll talk to Hannah, but I have a plan to fix this mess that’s going to take teamwork.”

“Tell me how to help.”

I pull my phone out and dial Jason. “Hey, man, how are the horses?”

“We’re working on a solution. We need to talk, and I’m going to ask a favor.”

“I’m listening. What’s up?”

“In person. This needs to be in person. Can you come here?”

“That sounds serious.”

“It is. I need you, man.”

“Then, I’m on my way. Tell me where I’m going.”