Page 84 of Deputy Brand Gets Her Man
“I know she snooped. She’s a cop, it’s in her nature, and she’s in love with an ex-con who’s actin’ suspicious A F, to put it crudely. What’s she supposed to do?”
Jeremiah shrugged.
“You’ve got a real problem trustin’ folks, brother.”
“Yeah, doin’ time for another man’s crime’ll do that to ya.”
“On the order of your own father.”
“Our own father.”
“Not mine. I traded up.”
Jeremiah nodded. “That you did, Ethan. That you did.”
“So have you. You’re here now; you’re with us now. A part of this clan. You can relax your defenses, brother. When part our family has a problem, every Brand and Brand-adjacent human from here to Big Falls, Oklahoma closes ranks around ‘em. We take care of our own. And I don’t know how you don’t know it yet, but you’re one of our own.” Ethan clapped him on the shoulder.
Jeremiah’s phone chirped. He didn’t pick it up right away, because he was too choked up by Ethan’s declaration to speak. Then Ethan lowered his hand, nodded at the phone.
Jeremiah and he picked it up. “My lawyer,” he said. He’d ignored several calls from the guy. Now there was a voice message. He tapped play.
“The judge ruled earlier today. I’ve been trying to reach you. The plaintiff is your half-sister, Elena Montrose. She was granted half.”
Jeremiah lowered his head shaking it slowly.
“As you know, everything’s been liquidated at this point, and the judge ordered the money deposited to your respective accounts immediately. It’s probably already there. Call me if you have questions.”
He sighed heavily as he put the phone back into his pocket. “You know what’s ironic? If Elena had just come to me and asked, I’d’ve split it with her happily. She didn’t need a lawyer to get her share.”
But Ethan was shaking his head. “This doesn’t make a lot of sense, Jeremiah. Her mothers both said they’d’ve known if she was contesting de Lorean’s will. Juanita claims she only told her who her father was last night. And she told us herself she was surprised to find out about us.”
“She was medicated,” he said.
“Makes her more likely to tell the truth, not more apt to come up with elaborate deceptions. Besides, Willow says she didn’t know, and Willow wouldn’t lie.” Ethan poked him right in the center of his chest with a forefinger. “Not about somethin’ like this. Not to me, she wouldn’t. Not to you, either. And if you’d been payin’ attention, you’d know that.”
He looked up. “Somebody’s lyin’, brother.”
“Maybe. But it ain’t Willow.”
Willow hadn’t wanted to be there when Jeremiah got home. She’d taken Beans with her to the hospital, and then back to the cabin. She knew when Ethan and Jeremiah left the hospital, because she’d asked her cousin to text her an alert. That gave her a half hour, so she walked around picking up the boxes and bags they’d unloaded from the Jeep earlier. Anything left within the puppy’s reach might wind up becoming a chew toy.
In the bedroom she bent to gather up the blankets and sheets, but she could smell their lovemaking in the bedding. She brought the covers to her face and wet it with her tears. It seemed like a lifetime ago they’d been entangled in these blankets and each other.
Flinging the bedding to the floor, she left it there and settled for closing the bedroom door to keep the pup out of mischief. She made sure the bathroom door was closed too, triple checked the living room and kitchen for items Beans could reach and chew, gave him food and water, and kissed him goodbye. Then she drove home and cried herself to sleep.
At seven a.m. She had a text on her phone from dispatch, forwarded from one of the Texas Rangers.
Ranger Stevens: Montrose’s alibi checked out. Couldn’t hold him.
She pulled her head out of her heartache long enough for her cop-brain to kick in, rolled onto her back, and realized she needed to get back to that hospital to talk to Elena Montrose in an official capacity, and to hell with the Texas Rangers claiming jurisdiction.
She got up fast, hit the shower, and put on her uniform. She didn’t even turn on the kitchen light, just grabbed her keys on the way out her front door.
An hour later, she was leaning into a hospital room, smiling at Elena Montrose.
“Hello, Elena.”
“Deputy Brand. How nice to see you again.”
