Page 60 of Homicide in Water Creek

King nodded. “I’m afraid so. That, combined with her murder and this contract, will spell trouble for me. When the team investigating her murder learns about the will, they’ll be looking at me as the prime suspect.”

“But you didn’t know you were her beneficiary,” Jackson said logically.

“I didn’t, but I can’t prove it any more than they can prove I did. We’re now racing to find her killer before they accuse me and close the case.”

“What are we going to do?” Jackson asked, his voice wavering. “I don’t want to lose the ranch, and I sure as hell don’t want you to go to prison.”

Keene took the will from King, read it, then set it on the table. “What are you going to do with that much money, son?”

“I haven’t even thought about that yet,” King admitted. “First, we have to save these ranches and find a killer. If we don’t, we could be in much deeper trouble.”

“It’s Saturday, so we can’t call the law office until Monday,” Jacks explained. “One thing we noticed was that the land contracts were drawn up by a different law firm than the one that drew up her will. That makes sense, since it’s two different types of law, but when I googled the lawyers for the land contract, I couldn’t find anything about them.”

“And that makes me wonder about the contracts’ legitimacy,” King said, jumping in. “If she had a lawyer draw them up, the lawyer would have done a property search and learned that Jacks is a partner in The Double J. That paperwork was filed, correct?”

“Absolutely,” Jackson said. “We both have a copy. Why would she fake the papers, though?”

“No idea,” King admitted. “All we can do is work the case. We have about 18 hours before I have to notify the investigating team that I’m the sole beneficiary of her will.”

Jacks gasped. “King, no.”

He twined his fingers with hers and brushed a kiss across her knuckles. “I don’t have a choice, Jacks. If I don’t, I’ll look like I’m hiding something. I have nothing to hide, because she never told me she was leaving me her fortune. Hell, other than on television, the first time I’ve seen her in 30 years was when we pulled her corpse out of the trunk of that Porsche. I won’t hide this, but I also won’t let it distract me from saving these properties. No matter who Chinos is working for or what their plans are for this town, I won’t let them tear it apart.”

Jackson straightened to his full height and eyed him. “Sheriff, I have full confidence in your ability to keep our town and my daughter safe.”

King nodded once. “Without question,” he said, shaking the man’s hand. “Now, we know they gave Chinos until Monday to come up with the financials for this ranch. That means he’s going to be on the hunt to butter Jacks up.” It was all he could do not to throw air quotes around it, but he didn’t want anyone to think this was a laughing matter because it was dangerous. Deadly dangerous.

“As if that’s going to work,” Jacks said, rolling her eyes.

“Oh, it is,” King said, holding her gaze. “At least he’s going to think it is. You’d better channel your Vonita King because it’s time for Act II. But make no mistake, Chinos is dangerous, and the guy he works for is deadly. From here on, we keep our protection circle tight. Understood?”

Heads nodded around the room, but King knew one thing. If Palatino Parenti was after this land, their ragtag team of protectors wouldn’t hold for long.

Chapter Twenty-Five

The barn beckoned to Jacks as she left the house. She didn’t just want to stop in to see the horses. She needed to. She needed to feed and check on them, but she also needed the calm they offered. She raised and trained horses to be therapy animals, but they were her therapy, too. When the attack happened years ago, the only place she found joy and acceptance was with her horses. Today, she needed the simple tasks of caring for them to calm her mind and help her find her center again. To find the answers to what exactly Chinos wanted with their ranch, their livelihood, and the center of their being.

As Jacks slid the door open, she knew that if this ranch ever left her hands, she’d crumble. This land was all she knew, and without it, she had no purpose. As she slid the door closed again, she reframed that thought. King was part of her life now. They loved each other, and if she lost the ranch, he’d be there to support and love her through it. But if she lost the land and her horses, she might just turn to dust herself.

“Hey, Dakota,” she cooed to the horse, who stood staring at her with wide eyes. “I’m sorry for not being around. Granddaddy said he took care of you, though,” she added, smoothing her hand down the horse’s mane. “How is our little filly?” Jacks kept talking to the horse, noticing how skittish she was tonight. It was way too early for her to deliver, but concerned by the horse’s demeanor, she stepped carefully into the stall and put her hand on Dakota’s belly. It wasn’t tight, and she showed no overt signs of labor. “What’s the matter, girl? Are you bored? Should we take a trot around the arena?”

Dakota stomped her foot once and tossed her head, nearly knocking Jacks onto her butt.

“What’s gotten into you?” Jacks asked, grabbing a brush to run through her mane, a routine that always calmed the horse. “There’s nothing to worry about,” she promised, soothing the horse with soft words and gentle strokes.

There was plenty to worry about, though. King was a suspect in his mother’s murder, and a guy who faked his own death now worked on her property. What was going on? How was it all connected?

King wasn’t convinced it was connected, but she didn’t buy it. It felt like a frame job to her. Leave a famous television star in the hometown where her son was the sheriff. The perfect setup to make him look like a dirty cop, all while an actual dirty cop moved in on her land. On their land. What she hadn’t figured out yet was the reason. And why would Vonita have drawn that will so recently unless she suspected her life was at risk?

“None of it makes sense, Dakota,” she said, setting the brush down and refilling her feed trough. “We have to get to the bottom of it soon, or King could end up in a jail cell instead of beside me in bed.” Dakota tossed her head again, her lips flapping in displeasure.

Goosebumps crawled up her neck as she glanced around the barn, searching for anything out of place. Nothing looked amiss, but the horse wasn’t happy with the situation.

“I wish I could ride you, girl, but my leg won’t stand for it. How about a little trot around the arena?”

“You have really done an amazing job with her,” Chinos said from the back of the barn as he walked toward her.

She worked hard not to roll her eyes. The word "amazing" grated on her nerves. He used it for everything. Amazing food. Amazing ride. Amazing day. He was about to be amazed, all right. Jacks had expected him to find her in the arena, and she thought she had a plan to cozy up to him, but suddenly, face-to-face with him, she struggled to remember anything King wanted her to do.