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himself in the line of fire. If he cut us out of his derby, then he would have to answer to a lot of other ranches that considered us close friends. Ken might have viewed this all as something between himself and our family, but the truth was that when it all came out in the open, Ken was going to have to explain himself to several very important people.
One thing I knew for sure was that he didn’t want to talk about the real reason behind all this. I had no idea what he had told Sara we were up to, but it was bound to be something bad since she had driven up here herself to take care of it. I knew she didn’t have a clue about what went on between our father’s years ago and so she couldn’t possibly understand that her father’s motives were questionable. I knew she trusted her father, that much was very clear. Otherwise, she wouldn’t feel so compelled to do his bidding. And since I had a daughter that I loved dearly, I knew how strong that pull could be, to protect that person you loved most and make sure they stayed far from harm.
But I also knew that I could never lie to my daughter. The idea of sending Emma to do something so that I wouldn’t have to wade knee deep in shit was unheard of to me and what little respect I had left for Ken Waters was dwindling fast.
I wasn’t going to bring it up, but Sara was halfway through her second glass of wine. I think if she hadn’t had any she never would have brought up the subject of what had called for her appearance at the ranch today, but she was a little looser now and ready to discuss things.
“Do you want to talk about why I’m here?”
I shrugged and leaned back in my chair opposite the fire. Sara was sitting on the leather sofa perpendicular to me, and she turned to face me. The way the firelight caught in her dark brown hair, now dry after her post-rainstorm shower, had made the red highlights flicker mesmerizingly. I wanted to reach out and touch the soft curls, but I didn’t dare at this moment. She was so beautiful, and it was almost impossible for me to take my eyes off of her. With this thing hovering between us though, our two families could be about to go through something very messy.
“Whatever you feel like talking about, Sara. I’m up for it.” I had no idea if she was going to tell me the real reason behind her visit—the reason she thought was real, that is.
She cleared her throat and set her wine glass down on the coffee table. “My father shared some information with me about what’s going on here.”
“Go on then.”
“We don’t have to go into the details of it. Frankly, I want to stay as far away from this as I can. If there is anything illegal going on around here, then I would like to have as little to do with it as possible. I just want you to understand that this isn’t anything personal. We are looking out for the best interests of our family business, something I am pretty sure you can understand.”
I nodded my head, but I still didn’t have any clue what her father could possibly be accusing us of. “What kind of illegal activity do you think we’re up to around here, Sara? I can assure you that there’s nothing going on here that would make you think twice about letting us show up at your derby.”
She bristled visibly at this, and I could tell she was getting ready to defend her dad again, but I stopped her.
“Listen, I know you trust your dad, and it’s only natural to be on his side of things. He’s your family. I understand that. And I’ve got a daughter, so I know what the bond is like there, but I want you to think for just one minute that maybe your father has his own personal feelings he is wrestling with. How could it be fair for him to dump this on you and ask you to come here and do whatever it is you are doing? Dumping us from your derby.”
Sara looked at me without blinking. “You have got to understand that while I have my own feelings about this, I do trust my father. If he says that letting you guys go and keeping you from our derby this year is what we need to do, then I believe it.”
I guffawed at that. “Really? You’re just going to walk in here and tell us that we’re done with you guys, after all, that time together? You won’t even tell me what we’re supposed to have done. Let’s say whatever your father had to say about us was true. I hope you know that I’m an upstanding guy and if there was something illegal happening here then I would want to know about it so I could set things right.”
That seemed to catch her off guard, and she gave me a wary look. Sara was honest, and she believed in doing the right thing. That much was as plain as the nose on my face. But it was a difficult thing to make someone disagree with a parent, especially when that person had always been on their side and had never given them any reason not to trust them in the past.
“Think about it, Sara. If you had someone at your derby who was doing things that were illegal or could do harm to someone, wouldn’t you want to know who it was so you could rectify the situation?”
She nodded and pursed her lips.
“Okay then, you agree with me. We’re on the same page here. I’m telling you that I don’t have any clue about something illegal happening in our stable and if something is going on, I sure as hell want to know what it is and who is responsible so that I can put a stop to it.”
Sara took a deep breath. “I told you I don’t want to get involved in it.”
“Involved in it?” I shook my head. “Are you kidding me, Sara? You’re the whole damn reason the subject is even on the table. No one around here was talking about any kind of illegal activity until you came along. And I’m sure as hell not going to bring it up around any of my employees until I have an idea what it’s about.”
“Well, that’s your business. I’m here as the messenger, and you’ve got the message now. I’ll be leaving your check with the secretary in the morning when I leave,” she said as she stood to leave the room.
“Just hold on a minute. See, there’s a thing I’m not getting here. What kind of evidence does your dad have against us? I’ll tell you what I know—as far as I am aware, there’s nothing illegal going on here at Killarny Estate. And I know everything that goes on here now that I’m the one running the business side of the place. So if I know everything that goes on here and I don’t know of anything, then your dad must have some kind of evidence that convinces him there’s something happening here, right?”
Sara was silent.
“But if you won’t tell me…you know what that leads me to believe?”
She shook her head indignantly and looked like she was about to head for the door.
“I think it means that you think it’s me. You won’t tell me what your dad is accusing us of because you think I’m party to it. And if you’re too scared to mention it then it must be pretty damn dangerous.”
“I’m going to bed. Thank you for dinner,” she said as she moved toward the door, but I was out of my chair and had my hand on her arm before she could get the door open. She swung at me and barely missed my cheekbone with her fist. “Let me go!”
My grip was gentle but firm. I pressed her against the door and held her there.
“You think I’m a criminal, Sara? You think that I’m the one here who is up to no good?”
