Page 41 of Grit
About what? If any of the cows had gotten loose in Cary’s groves, Stu would have told her. If there was an issue on their adjoining land, Cary would have talked to her.
The passenger door opened, and Joan hopped inside. “Sorry! Let’s head home, ladies. I don’t know about you, but I need a piece of that coffee cake before I hit the hay. What do you think, Abby?”
“I vote yes for cake!”
“Melissa?”
Melissa wasn’t thinking about cake. She wasn’t thinking about sleep. Or half-naked Cary. Or romance. Or shivers.
Why the fuck had Cary come to talk with her ranch foreman? And why had neither of them mentioned it for two days?
She put the truck in drive and headed back to the ranch.
She didn’t know.
But she would.
She knockedon the door to the Hagman’s trailer as soon as Abby was in bed, knowing that Stu might have already turned in. He rose before the sun to start work, so he and Leigh kept an early bedtime.
Too bad. She needed to know what was going on.
He answered the door in an undershirt and immediately caught that Melissa was not there to chat. “Hold on.” He closed the door and opened it a few minutes later with a flannel on over his shirt. The nights in Oakville were always cool even if the day was blazing.
“Sorry to bother you so late, Stu.”
“That’s fine.” He ambled out to the picnic table. “Been meaning to talk to you. Just got busy with the pump guy.”
The water pump in Christy Meadow had been malfunctioning, and thirsty cattle took priority over almost everything.
“That’s fine.” She sat down at the table. “So why did Cary come by?”
“Did he call you?”
“No. Neither of you did. My ten-year-old daughter mentioned he’d come by to see you.” She folded her hands and tried to remain calm. The idea of two men she respected going behind her back pissed her off, but she needed to know if they had a good reason. “We got an issue on the ranch I need to know about?”
“No, ma’am.” Stu cleared his throat. “Mr. Nakamura came by because he found out that I’d been in prison a few years ago in Oklahoma.”
Dammit. Melissa schooled her face. “You didn’t think you should mention that to me and my mom?”
“I know I should have, and I didn’t. I apologize for that.” Stu’s shoulders sagged. “I guess I’ll tell Leigh we should be moving on.”
“Don’t jump to conclusions, Stu.” She took a deep breath and contemplated her options. She’d never thought Stu had a lily-white past. You didn’t move states to “start over” if everything in your life had gone right.
But she hadn’t expected this.
“Did Carla know all this when she sent me that letter?”
He nodded.
“What were you in prison for?”
“Possession of a controlled substance and assault.” Stu’s face was stony. “I was using when I got into a bar fight. Hurt someone pretty bad, and he was… kind of important. Locally, I mean. They threw the book at me. I served five; got clean in prison. Been out on probation for a little over five.”
“What kind of drugs?”
“Oxy.” He cleared his throat. “Other stuff when I couldn’t find that. Started with a back injury at work. I’d been roughnecking. Got hurt, but the oil company denied my claim, so no rehab. Doctors put me on a bunch of pills.” Stu made a face. “Just… took on a life of its own. I can point to all the reasons why, but it don’t excuse it.”
“That’s powerful stuff, Stu. You’re not alone.” Oakville and Metlin didn’t have opioid problems as bad as other places in the country, but it was still plenty bad. “You clean?”
