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“Well, it’s private property, but it’s huge and I suppose anyone could sneak in here under the cover of night. We don’t have fancy security systems because we’ve never really needed em.”
“Yeah, well that’s gonna change,” Jax mutters.
“But you have workers here, right?” my father goes on. “And regular visitors.”
“Yes. We have ranch hands. I’ve had the same six for the past three years, two of them for much longer than that. Four of them live in the bunk house and the other two live with their wives and babies in town. We have delivery trucks. A horse trainer. Shannon and Ed also come here a lot to check on the horses. She’s a veterinary nurse, that’s how she and Ed met. They were friends for a long time.”
“Well, we already have Shannon and Ed in our crosshairs. What about the ranch hands? They have free access to the whole property, right? Any of them a problem?”
“No,” Molly insists with a shake of her head. “They all came to work here straight from high school. They’re good boys.”
“We can’t rule anyone out, Molly,” Jax says to her and she sighs but she nods her head.
“I’ll go speak to them this morning while you’re at the hospital,” my father says.
Jax arches an eyebrow at him. “They’re just kids, amigo.”
“So? I can be diplomatic,” he insists.
“Kind of like using a jackhammer to crack a peanut though, Papi,” I chuckle.
My mom laughs softly too. “I have to agree with our daughter on this one.”
“I’ll take Molly with me. She’ll keep me in line, right?”
My mom puts her hand on his shoulder. “I still think there’s something not right about Ed. How about you and I look into him, and Hugo can go with Molly to speak to the ranch hands. If they did see anything that might help, then we don’t want to scare them off, do we? And, whilst you are the most incredible man I know,” she places her hand on his cheek, “you’re also kind of terrifying.”
He shrugs his shoulders, pleased with her assessment of him. “Fine. Hugo and Molly deal with the ranch hands.”
Molly’s cheeks flush slightly but she nods her agreement.
“You and I will look into Ed and Shannon while Jax and Lucia are at the hospital. Anything else you need me to do, amigo?” my father asks Jax, making me smile.
This is his way of making things right between them, of showing him that he would still do anything for him. I have to admit, the guilt I feel at coming between the two of them still weighs heavy on me. But as they sit across from each other now, working together, it’s clear they have nothing but love and respect for one another, and it makes my heart swell in my chest.
“If you get time, you could look into those photographs of Toni and me. If you can figure out the restaurant, then you could get their CCTV and cross reference the dates to prove they’re fake.”
“We know they’re fake. We don’t need proof, Jax,” I tell him and my father nods in agreement.
Jax sighs deeply, taking my hand and squeezing it in his before he turns back to my father. “See if you can dig up some CCTV from anywhere in town that might help then? Or better still talk to the bar owner,” he suggests. “Now, if there was ever a situation where a jackhammer was needed to crack a peanut, that would be it.”
“Why? Is he an asshole?” my father asks.
“Kind of. When I went to speak to him, the sheriff arrived not five minutes after, which was a hell of a coincidence if you ask me. And that guy is looking for an excuse to toss me into a cell, so I had to back off.”
“I’ll drop by and see what he has to say then.”
“Be careful,” my mom warns him. “That goes for all of you,” she adds as she looks at the rest of us. “We have no idea who we’re dealing with yet, but we do know they’re willing to go to extreme lengths to get what they want.”
“I always am, princess,” my father says before kissing her forehead and making her blush. I swear they are like a pair of lovestruck teenagers.
“We will be, Mom,” I assure her.
* * *
A little over an hour later,I’m walking down the hospital corridor with Jax’s hand in mine while he carries an overly excited Matthias in his arms.
“Does this kid ever stop talking,” he whispers in my ear while Matthias goes on talking about how cool it is to have his very own bedroom at the barn house and whether he thinks Harvey will allow Blue to sleep there sometimes.
