Page 71 of Rancher's Heart

“Woman, I haven’t had an appetite for a week, you’re lucky I’m not eating that entire platter full.” We all laughed, and I could feel the tension release from my body. Everything was going to be okay.

CHAPTER 38

GRIFF

“Hey man, you up for a meeting?” Kipp asked as he marched into my room, followed closely by Ryder, Nash, and Linc.

“Yeah, sure, at least it will break up the monotony of this book and staring out at my messed up yard that I can’t do anything about.” I threw the book over to the table on Elle’s side of the bed. “What’d you find out? Why were the cops swarming the place yesterday?”

“They found a body in the ashes,” Ryder said as he took a seat on the sofa.

“Who was it?’

“Quentin Hays.”

“He’s been gone from this place for years why the fuck did Quentin set fire to my barn? This better not have something to do with his brother’s obsession with Elle.” Anger bubbled through me, and it felt good to feel something other than pain and mild depression.

“We tracked down the guy who trespassed over east. He was one of Tucker’s men like you figured. And we got some information out of him.” Nash said as he leaned against thewall smirking. Silence hung in the air, the way it had after we’d completed a job in the past.

“Am I waiting for carrier pigeons to drop notes on my lap, or will one of you assholes tell me what you found out.” Shifting, I sat up. This wasn’t news I was going to hear lying down like an invalid.

“Part of the deal the three Hays brothers struck with Tucker was to get us out by whatever means necessary. That’s why the payment for the ranch was so excessive.”

“Tucker paid to have us taken out?” I asked as I swung my legs out of bed. I needed to move. Laying here was making me itchy, and I thought better on my feet.

“Apparently, and after Billy and Mitch, it spurred him on to finish what they’d started,” Kipp said quietly. “He knew you’d go in after the horses, so he started the barn on fire.”

“Then how’d he die?”

“Nobody ever accused any of the Hays boys of being smart, so he kept starting fires around the barn rather than just waiting for it to go up. When the loft collapsed, he was up there and fell. He was trapped under the floor and all the hay that we’d stored up there.”

“Who found him?”

“Kane Watson.”

“He okay?” Outside the five, Kane had been a steadfast friend since he’d arrived here a while back. He knew his stuff when it came to ranching and horses, and I respected the hell out of the guy.

“Yeah, he’s fine. You know Kane, not much gets to him,” Kipp said as he took a seat on the coffee table.

“So how do we find out what Tucker’s after.”

“Well, we know that now too. The guy said he went after the Hays place because he thought it gave him access to the ridge.”

“There’s nothing of value over there.”

“Only the most picturesque spot south of Lake Louise for a ski resort.”

“The lake,” I muttered. Deep in the shelter of the mountains on the back side of our ranch sat a secluded turquoise-colored lake. It was unmatched in its beauty and serenity in the entire state. We’d let cattle out in that part of the ranch every few years, and the wild horses had made it their home all summer, so we didn’t head out there very often. It wasn’t our place to disturb.

Over the years we’ve allowed a few people to access it for different ceremonies that honored the earth, but those who accessed it always kept strict NDAs in place. They knew how it could be destroyed if it fell into the wrong hands.

“How’d he know about it?” I croaked out.

“Drones, we think.” Ryder said as he’d spoken for the first time in what felt like hours.

“But we’re sure it’s ours, right?”

“Yeah, Fallon checked the titles today and then called Lexie to have her send over all the deeds they had. She’s got a call out to the county clerk and we’re just waiting for them to pull all the documents.” Nash’s voice was flat, and I wondered if there was more he wasn’t saying.

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