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Everything about the encounter, even just a minute into it, seemedoff. I wanted to be done with it right away.
“Who’s he?” I asked.
“An associate of Thousand Acres Ranch,” she said. “Just someone I’m getting a pull quote from. No one you’d be meeting. Anyway, what do you think?”
“Maybe. Depends on how busy the next week is.”
“Totally understandable.” She reached into her purse and pulled out a business card, handing it over. “Give me a shout if you have some time. Might be good for the farm, you know? Get the word out that business is up and running? Think about it, OK?” she waved to the kids. “Hey, cuties!” With a little scrunch of her nose, she was off.
The man kept staring. Then, suddenly, he rose out of his seat and strode out of the place. Janet’s eyes flashed, and she waved at us one more time before hurrying after the man.
It was all so strange, and as we tried to go back to our business, I couldn’t shake the taste the encounter had left in my mouth.
Chapter 19
Adam
Iwas pissed; so goddamn mad that I couldn’t think straight.
“Seth,” I growled, practically spitting the name.
“Lotta nerve that prick has showing his face around here,” Mac added.
“You get an address for him?” Tyler asked. “Might want to pay him a visit before we leave. You know, just to talk.”
Marcus said nothing, the working of his jaw making it obvious how he’d felt about the matter.
It was evening, after dinner, the kids in bed and the five of us in the den with our whiskies, a glass of wine for Aubrey. She’d just filled us in on what had happened in town earlier that day.
“I knew something was off. Janet told me he was with your farm, but I’ve never seen him around. It just didn’t feel right to me,” Aubrey said.”
“I’m glad you picked up on it and told us,” Tyler said. “But we now know that he’s lurking around, and that’s what is most concerning.”
“I don’t understand,” Aubrey said. “Why is he nosing around?”
Mac shifted in his seat, just the mention of Seth getting him good and pissed off.
“He scampered off with his tail between his legs. But this isn’t the first time he’s come back. Not sure why he comes back around every so often. Maybe he gets a whiff of conscience about abandoning his kids, being so much of a screw-up that their own mother didn’t trust him to watch out for them.”
“You ask me,” Marcus said, “he’s more interested in the damn ranch. Bet he’s wondering if he can get money from us somehow.”
Mac nodded slowly, giving the possibility some credence. “Either way, he’s not coming anywhere near Thousand Acres and definitely nowhere near the kids. I’ll break his goddamn neck before that happens.” He clenched his fist as he spoke, as if part of him wished that Seth was there at that moment so he could take care of the problem once and for all.
“The kids didn’t seem to be aware of what was going on,” Aubrey said. “Seth was staring at them, but they were more weirded out than anything.”
“They don’t know who he is,” I stated. “Seth was in their lives for maybe two months total. For all they know, he’s a stranger.”
“Kids have a way of sensing things,” Tyler said. “In this case, they didn’t know who Seth was, but they knew he was no one good.”
We all nodded in agreement.
Mac ran his hand through his hair before regarding his whiskey. I could sense he wanted to drink a hell of a lot more of it but knew it wasn’t a good idea with the mission ahead of us.
Aubrey set down her wine. “The important thing is to figure out what to do from here, right?”
“Right,” Marcus agreed.
“What’s the security situation like on your farm, Aubrey?” Mac asked.
