Stepbrother Cowboy: A Western Romance (13 page)

The plan almost worked. James had been riding through the ranch land, keeping an eye on the progress. At least one of the cuts in the fence had been from him, from what he admitted. If our ranch had gotten water further downstream, they were clear no matter how long we battled things out in the courts. To throw gas on the fire, Dade and James had been the ones messing with the cattle. It kept all eyes on the Bart ranch.

“Are you two almost done?” Sheila interrupted after our back and forth for a while. I was filling in as many holes for them as they were filling them in for me.

“Yeah, just a few more questions,” Kline said, holding up a hand.

“Sure,” I said, sipping water out of a Styrofoam cup and feeling a growing pressure on my bladder.

“Can you tell me about Karen’s family?” Black asked me, and out of left field a missing piece of the puzzle clicked into place.

“Yeah, big contractors. One of the largest builders in the state actually. You could probably get more from Tyler; I only dated her for a year in high school, forever ago.”

“The former sheriff isn’t cooperating at this point,” Kline said.

“Are they involved with this?” I asked, either of them.

“Yes, though not the way you may think. Karen and Dade…” Kline looked at Black, who just nodded. “Well, their names were tracked back to a corporation that hired Karen’s family to start building the casino.”

“How does that work? They have money like that?”

“No, no they didn’t. But they had a deal with the Council on the reservation… A percentage of ownership and the corporation would foot the bill for the initial investment, getting the construction and permits off the ground. Once the reservation saw some sort of progress and incentive to keep it going, they were going to finance the rest. It was the first part they could never get approval on, and Dade and Karen figured out a way to move the course of water and keep everyone’s eyes off of what they were doing.”

“Was the Council of Elders and the construction firm in on this?” Sheila asked, re-asserting herself into the situation.

“We’re looking into Karen’s family. So far, it looks like she took on the risks, and just signed her daddy onto what looked like a sweetheart deal. The only thing he’s out of is some time with a dozer. How they dammed the river is still something we’re investigating but we think she used her family’s contacts to order equipment and supplies.”

“So you don’t know much.”

“No, not at this point.”

“What about the Council of Elders?”

“They had no clue. They were delighted to have someone come and solve a troublesome issue they had no clue how to deal with. They should have looked into how Karen and Dade’s company planned on fixing the water issue, but they figured that Karen’s family connections and husband could…”

“Sweeten up the process? Pay off inspectors?” I asked them.

“We may never know. It does appear that Karen was the one behind the dealings. Dade is signed on as a Partner in the corporation they have together. Who knows? The rumor is they were lovers,” Kline told me.

“Yeah, I figured as much as well. So, what happens now?” I asked everyone present as I could see somebody pushing at the hospital room door, peeking in with small eyes.

“Nothing with you. You’ve cooperated with these agents. If they find Karen and Dade you’ll need to testify against them for the attempted murder.”

“So they are really gone?” I asked and both agents nodded.

“Dade was working for Carl to stir the fire between the ranches behind the scenes. Looks like Karen did what she was always accused of doing, being a nasty gold digger, but now we can add attempted murder to it, right boys?” Her raspy voice cut through the tension in the air.

“Yes, if we find them both.”

“Any chance that will happen?”

“Border Patrol has them pegged in Mexico now. They passed through before we knew what was going on. We’re working on extradition, but we’re pretty sure they’ve moved on from here.”

“Shit.”

“Yup,” Sheila agreed. “Ok boys, I’m going to give Cam a break, he’s been more than helpful and unless you have the others in custody, leave us alone for a while, ok?”

“Just don’t leave town. We might have a few questions later on down the road,” agent Black told me before standing and following Kline out the door.

“Like they could make me,” I muttered.

“Good, I’m glad that’s over,” Sheila said with a big breath.

“You thought it’d go worse?”

“I had no time to talk to you, and James has lawyer’d up. You’re the closest thing to a prosecutorial witness they have. Right now they have jack and shit, and jack left town.” She smiled at me, “Besides, they just needed to close the book on this. I am surprised they didn’t ask you about trespassing on reservation land with weapons of mass destruction?” The last more of a question than the statement it sounded like.

“I had a pistol and a rifle.”

“At first, they thought you were the one who shot James.”

“That’s just crazy.”

“Yes, it was. That’s why the sheriff’s department has your guns.”

“So you’ll help me get them back?”

“Something like that.”

Sheila had left, but the visitor who had been pushing at the door had also never come in. I was truly alone for the moment and sat up with shaky muscles. I pulled the blanket free with my right hand and was careful to not move my left arm. It had been put into a sling, and there was more gauze and bandages on it than I thought it may have been. A .22 in the shoulder? Either it was a minor flesh wound, or the pain medicine was working wonders. I made it to my feet without pulling out the IV lines and wheeled my IV to the bathroom. I took one look at myself in the mirror and considered the shower, but knew I couldn’t with everything hooked up to me.

I took care of business and used a washcloth, bar of soap and a disposable razor that had been left in a neat pile to clean myself up. Doing it one handed was challenging, but I was finding that the more I moved, the easier it got no matter how shaky and weak my muscles were. My stomach grumbled when I finished brushing my teeth. Maybe I could grab some lunch and get out of here soon. There was one thing I couldn’t do one handed, and that was to tie the back of my gown closed. I’d have Jackson or Ali help me, cursing my sling and wondering how hard it would hurt if I were…

I’d pushed open the door to the room, the gown flowing behind me as I almost got scared out of my skin.

“Surprise,” Mom, dad, Ali, Jackson, Sandy and Charlie shouted. I fell on my ass.

“Shit,” I said, after making sure I hadn’t pulled my IV out, Jackson and Bill helped me up, putting the IV machine back on its wheels and the girls gave me some privacy as my gown was retied.

I laughed, laughed hard, and soon everyone else was as well. The doctor and nurses were pissed, I could tell, but I didn’t have a problem with my heart and I didn’t hit my head so… Lighten up guys? Once I was sitting on the bed, my ass covered, I saw Mom kneel and pick something up. Her movements were covered by Alison who was smiling big enough to make the Cheshire cat jealous, and I knew some sort of mischief was coming.

“What’s the surprise about?” I asked them.

“Well, it is your birthday,” Mom reminded me.

“What?”

“Well, you know. It’s that one day a year I celebrate where you came from my stomach”

“I keep forgetting how long I was out,” it was the truth, I hadn’t celebrated my birthday since I’d left the ranch.  It was a part of my life I was running away from back then.

“We’d always planned to be home for your birthday Son,” Bill said.

“And Surprise!” Mom said putting a baby in my arms.

I stood there, looking at the pink bows in her sparse hair and got a smile from her. Her chubby hands were clenched and I would have done more, but I was one handed. I blew her hair out of her eyes and watched her blink. Mom smiled and pulled her back.

“One more surprise,” Alison said before walking up to the bed with a little boy holding her hand.

“Hello,” I told him, but he was half hiding behind Alison’s leg. It had been his eye peeking in while the FBI was questioning me.

“Hi,” He said softly, with a thick accent.

“I’m Cameron. Are you my little brother?” I asked him. He just nodded and tried to hide behind Ali further.

“He wants to be a cowboy when he grows up,” Mom said, coaxing him from Ali and setting him on the edge of the bed.

“That’s a good job, an important one.”

“I want to be sheriff cowboy,” He said, his accent thick but understandable.

“Good. What’s your name little man?”

He said something unintelligible to me, and I had to wonder how old he was. No older than three or four by his size if I had to guess. Mom just smiled, but Bill came to the bed, holding the baby.

“This is Lilly and that is Kyle,” I grinned like a fool.

“The doc says you can go home tomorrow, if you don’t overdo it today,” A nurse came in to give me a new cup of water and check my vitals.

“Good.”

“So rest. These folks can come back later.”

“Ok, ok.” I grumpily said my goodbyes. I tried to ask Alison to stay over a moment, but she just shook her head and left with my parents.

“So can you unhook me from this yet?”

“Yes, and let’s get the sling off a moment so the doc can check your bandages when he comes in.

I sat there in the dark, a headache keeping me awake. I’d texted Alison a couple of times when I found my wallet and phone were put on the bedside table. She hadn’t answered and my guts were twisting. She’d barely acknowledged me with our parents in the room. Mom and Dad knew, they hadn’t even commented on it when I saw them. Did Alison have second thoughts now? I chased my tail in the dark, not getting any sleep when the door opened and closed; only briefly letting in a sliver of light. I couldn’t see who it was, but when I smelled strawberries and vanilla I calmed. The side of my bed was lowered, and Alison scooted in on my good side, making me hold her tight with my good arm.

“You aren’t getting out of this easy Cowboy,” she whispered to me.

“I thought you changed your mind,” I told her, wanting to wipe my eyes, but my arm was stuck keeping her from falling off the edge of the hospital bed.

“No, I love you. I always have.”

“I love you too,” I admitted, and something broke open in my chest and all the pain and self doubt floated away with my worries.

“I just didn’t know what Mom and Dad had told the kids.”

“Is that why I was getting the cold shoulder?”

“I’m sorry if it felt that way, I just didn’t want to hog the attention from you. Everyone was there to see you and it’s all little Kyle could talk about… you waking up.”

“I was so scared that you’d changed your mind…”

“No, never. I just wanted to give Mom and Dad a day or so until I sprung the news on them.”

“News?”

“That we’re getting married, silly,” she laughed at me when my jaw dropped open in shock. “Kidding, really.”
Score: Ali – 1, Me-0

“What news?” I asked her, finally finding my voice.

“That you broke out of the hospital early and took me home to our cabin,” she whispered, her hand rubbing the smooth skin on the side of my jaw line.

“Why would I want to do that? The doctor said…”

“The doctor is also keeping about three dozen reporters away. You think the incident with Tim was big?”

“Yeah, folks from town knew about it right away.”

“Well, you got shot in the head and survived and busted up some kind of casino operation. You’re the biggest news to have ever happened in this town. The story got picked up by the Associated Press. With the corruption charges being leveled at the sheriff’s department, let’s just say this is really big news around here.”

“Corruption?” I asked, but I could feel her nodding.

“So if we leave in the dead of the night… We can avoid the circus that’ll be here in the morning.”

“Did you think of this all on your own?” I asked her, appreciating the heads up. I did not want to walk through that circus, or be wheeled out through it now that I thought about it.

“No, I had help from my get-away driver. Now, get dressed.”

“Get-away driver?”

“You’ll see.”

I got dressed as fast as I could, but Ali had to help me. I’d eaten, but was still weak from being laid up a week. Ali looked out into the hallway, and then motioned for me to follow. We were able to get to the elevators without anybody noticing and when we got to the bottom floor, Ali put her arm through mine and we strolled out the Emergency Room doors like a couple. I wasn’t surprised to see my jeep idling at the curb, the windows dark. Alison opened the passenger door and climbed in the back seat and pulled the seat back so I could get in.

“Hi Sandy.”

“Surprise,” she grinned.

It had been one of those weeks.

++++++++++++++++++++++++

I waited a few days just gathering my strength, dodging phone calls and reporters who would drive out to the ranch. Alison and I were inseparable, and it was time for me to make my official statement to the sheriff’s office and get my guns back. My shoulder wasn’t as bad off as I thought once I’d gotten the stiffness out of it, but I still had it in a sling for another week to make sure I didn’t tear things open.

The reporters were waiting at the sheriff’s office.

“Shit. You know about this?”

“I suspected,” Jackson had said, volunteering to drive me out there. “They’ve been hanging around town, waiting for you to come out.”

“Let’s get this over with,” I said and opened the door of the Jeep and stepped out.

The mass of bodies surrounded us, and with everyone yelling at once, I couldn’t make out any of the questions. Jackson worked his body like a wedge until we were almost at the Sheriff Department’s doors when one question I heard plainly caught my attention.

“Cameron, is it true that you plan on changing the way the department is running?”

“Excuse me?” I asked and the rest of the reporters quieted down to hear the interaction, recorders held up in the air.

“The Sheriff’s department. You’re running in the special election right? How are you planning to change the department?”

“What is this?” I asked Jackson, quietly. He just shrugged.

“I don’t know about the special election. I’ve been a little under the weather,” I pointed to the stitches over my left eye, and some of them chuckled.

“Somebody nominated you as a candidate, if you didn’t know, then what’s your reaction to that?” Another reported asked.

“Surprise? I don’t know. This is my first time off the ranch since the incident happened,” my cell phone was buzzing in my pocket. I didn’t pull it out, but hit a button to stop it. It immediately started up again.

“So you don’t want to be sheriff?” Another lady asked, pushing her recorder closer to me.

“I never said… Wait a minute…” My phone buzzed again.

“If you got the job, what would you do?” A female reporter from the front row asked me, her voice quieter than the others. I smiled, knowing she was the only one not attacking me like a shark to get a story, so I turned to her.

“If I were sheriff, I’d start following the letter of the law, the same way Tyler Bart should have been doing all along,” my phone buzzed again, but I turned from the reporters, going in the door before pulling my phone free and seeing a dozen text messages from Alison, Mom, Bill and one from Carl.

I stopped walking and got out of the doorway to read it, ignoring the yammering of the reporters behind me.  I opened Carl’s first.

“Tim just woke up. Said to tell Alison he was sorry, said to tell you sorry. Those were his first words.”

“Thank god,” I murmured and handed my phone to Jackson to read the message. Even his eyes suddenly had dust in them as we both rubbed at them.

The other text messages were about the same thing; Alison’s message hitting me the hardest…

“I can forgive Tim if you can.”

I wiped my eyes one more time and walked up to the counter, watching in awe as the deputies all snapped to attention.

“What is this?” I asked.

“Well sir,” Owen said, dropping formal posture, “You’re the only candidate, so we figure we’re looking at our new boss. After getting shot in the head, nobody wants to run against you,” the last was said with a grin and a laugh.

“So you guys are sucking up before I get the job?” I asked, smiling.

“Yes sir.”

“What if I don’t want the job?”

“It’s an elected position, you could turn it down. Work on the ranch. Besides, the election is in another month. Owen here is acting Sheriff in the mean time,” Jackson said.

“What if I take it?” I whispered to him.

“Then nothing changes, but where you work.”

“What if I…”

“Sir, don’t over think things. Want us to give the reporters an official statement for you?” Owen was smiling.

“I’m actually here to get my guns…”

“Of course. Give me a second,” Owen disappeared into a back room.

“Sheriff?” I whispered to Jackson.

“Don’t be mad, I always knew you liked the cowboy life. Now you can have both sides if you want it.”

“You did this?”

“I did.”

“Why would you do this to me?” I asked, not sure if I was thankful or mad at the old cowpoke.

He chuckled and looked at me thoughtfully for a moment before answering, “Because the timing was right, because when the dust settled, you’d need to have something to do to move on with things, and you’d have health insurance in case Alison and you ever decided to have a kid of your own.”

Oh shit.

“Yeah, yeah. I hear you. Do Mom and Dad know?”

“Not yet.”

“Here you are,” Owen came back, holding my rifle and pistol and holster. I clipped the pistol on my belt, and put the sling of the rifle over my shoulder. He handed me the satchel, and judging by the weight, it held the magazines. I found one for my pistol and loaded it, and left the ones for the rifle alone.

“Are you ready?”

“Yeah, I think so.” I told him.

“Good, don’t say anything to the reporters you don’t want to. We’ll head back home.”

“But don’t I have to give a statement to the authorities?”

“No, you’re all set.” Owen said.

“Well shit.”

“Let’s hurry,” Jackson said, opening the doors. “Unless you want to talk to them?”

“Fuck that,” I murmured and followed in his wake.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

We were all sitting down to a family dinner, Mom and Dad, Sandy and Jackson, Alison and I, and Kyle and baby Lilly. There was something that I’d wanted to bring up, and though Alison and I hadn’t talked about it directly to Mom and Dad, I knew avoiding the talk would only make me feel worse, guiltier. Alison had moved into the cabin with me… It was something we needed to talk about.             

“So Mom, Bill. Uh…”

Everyone stopped talking and Jackson had a forkful of green beans almost to his mouth when he dropped them. I almost laughed, but I was too nervous.

“We haven’t talked about one thing. Alison and I.”

“There isn’t much to talk about, is there?” My mom asked me sweetly, I could see her hands shaking slightly.

“I just want to make sure you and Dad know how much I love her. Coming home was one surprise after another. This one was right up there too.”

“You don’t get to pick who you love.” Bill said gruffly, but he was smiling at me. My heart broke, he accepted me? He was ok with this?

“I’m not planning on running out on you guys again.”

“I won’t let you,” Ali poked me in the side, making me spill my juice.

Shit! We got that cleaned up in record time, but Mom was smiling at me.

“Besides, it sounds like you don’t have long now until the board of elections is going to tell you if you won the race or not,” my Mom said, the pride in her eyes shining.

“I don’t think anybody else was going to run,” I admitted.

“Oh, I’m sure there were, despite what folks said. You’ve got quite the following in town you know.”

“If I get the job, what would people think about us?” I asked, pointing to Ali with my fork now that folks were talking and moving again.

“Does it matter?” Alison asked me, her eyes confused.

Not to me, but it might to you. Maybe not now, but someday down the road.”

“I don’t care what they think. I’ve got everything I’ve ever wanted right here,” she tried to poke me in the side again but I trapped her hand, pulling her close and kissing her hard.

She struggled for a second, her face immediately blushing a dark red to match her hair, but I didn’t let up until Jackson coughed. I pulled back to grin at Ali blushing furiously and looked to my mom and dad who were grinning.

“Mom, people here,” Kyle announced, being the one sitting closest to the end of the table.

Somehow, we’d missed the lights of somebody driving up to the big house, but Kyle hadn’t. Within a moment, we heard footsteps on the porch and then a few hard knocks.

“I get?” Kyle asked and when Bill nodded, he bounded out of his chair, a bundle of energy.

“Hi. Come,” Kyle opened the door and talked to the two men standing there.

He pulled them by the hands to the table. My heart was in my throat when I recognized one of them. Owen, in uniform. Maybe they found Dade and Karen, and then I noticed the other man. He was dressed in business suit, but his features and roughened hands gave him away as a rancher despite the garb he was wearing right now.

“Hey there Owen, Howdy judge,” Jackson said, standing as the rest of the table did. I slowly got to my feet. Judge?

“We’re just stopping in, to wish you luck,” Owen said, putting his hand out. I shook it, shell shocked.

“If you’re elected, I need about a week’s worth of your time son,” the judge said, resting his hand on my arm.

“Sure, what can I do to help?”

“Help me untangle the mess that Tyler left the county in. There are a lot of cases that just got slid under the table.”

“Sure Judge, no problem.”

“Bill, Jackson, sorry for bothering you guys, but me and the judge were out this way and…”