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Maybe that’s why I’d turned myself into a hermit. I yanked out my phone, thankful there’d been no calls in the night. As I was throwing on last night’s clothes, I gathered a good look at the man in the mirror. What an angry face. I had to get some air in order to think more clearly.
I remained as quiet as possible as I grabbed my boots, heading toward the front door, yanking my coat from the closet. When I walked outside, I took a few seconds to stare at the sky, even as an ominous feeling settled into the pit of my stomach. There were clouds on the horizon, and it had nothing to do with weather.
One of the Marines I’d served with had been particularly religious, insisting that God had a plan for everyone. I’d thrown barbs at him, challenging him every time he’d brought it up. The kid was never flustered, never lashed out at me even though I’d prodded him to the point I wanted a damn fight. The rage had only been tempered with structure and rules, but just like now, it remained furrowed in the deepest, darkest portions of my mind.
He’d finally managed to get through to me, but it had been too late.
“The real meaning of life is how you live every day, Phoenix. It’s not about money or possessions, only the love of people and animals. Once you realize that, there’s no reason to fear death because you know you’ve lived the greatest life of all.”
I hadn’t thought about what he’d told me for a hell of a long time. “Maybe you’re right, Ronny. Only I don’t deserve peace.” I muttered the words as I walked down the stairs, heading toward one of the two dozen barns I owned, the long structure housing several prized horses that I’d refused to give up. Even though I’d sold off almost half the livestock. There were already ranch hands at work, tending to the cattle. There were fences to be repaired, barns that needed new roofs. I hadn’t given a shit. At least I had a foreman I could count on, even though we didn’t see eye to eye on anything. Still, Jorge was a good guy and I paid him well to tolerate my lack of ambition.
The horses had been let out of their stalls to roam and run free. The thought of losing two of the precious beasts to some asshole continued to weigh heavily on my mind. Why would someone kill innocent creatures? To make a point? It pissed me off that my asshole of a father had tried to hide the fact he’d considered two separate offers for the property I owned.
I’d contacted my attorney and within an hour Adam had found out what lengths my father had gone to in order to try to finagle a deal. At least I knew what it was worth.
And I’d taken strides to shut him out completely.
As I leaned over the fence watching the magnificent beasts, I heard the tires of a vehicle rumbling up the gravel driveway. I turned my head, curious as to who the hell was coming to the main house this early.
As Snake pulled up with a horse trailer, I grinned. At least the injured horse was coming home. Sophia had been my horse for longer than I could remember, a precious mare that attached herself to me on the first day we’d met.
After cutting the engine, he jumped out, swaggering toward me. “You’re up early,” he said.
“So are you.”
“I was just going to bring Sophia back and slip her inside the barn.” He studied my expression, then glanced toward the enclosure. “Marshall pulled out the bullets. Soldier or assassin grade.”
“That’s what I figured.”
“I don’t like it.”
I took a deep breath. “There are plenty of soldiers who still have their weapons after returning home.” Pushing him into a conspiracy theory would only lengthen his healing process. He’d yet to address the fact another Marine was lying in a grave with his tombstone.
He shook his head, his jaw clenching. “There’s something going on, Phoenix. You and I both know it. You know the four people who died in that fire at Shadowland Ranch? I’m going to guess they were murdered.”
“They were.” There was no sense lying to him.
“I know I’m stretching the possibilities, but those people were good to us, never turning their backs after…”
He couldn’t even finish the statement. Very few people in town had dared talk to us or our families after what had happened on Sapphire Ridge. The owners of Shadowland Ranch had remained good friends with Gage’s parents, mine as well, refusing to turn their backs. “Don’t jump to conclusions, my friend.” I wasn’t prepared to suggest any possibilities at this point, although I was eager to find out what my attorney had discovered. I was still seething from learning how low my father had fallen to try to force me into working for him. It would never be a team effort. Hell, the man had admonished me when I’d told him about Justin. I’d learned he had no compassion early in my life. My father had certain rules that I would follow, or he’d cut me out completely. At this point, I wasn’t certain I cared.
“You know my instinct is never wrong.” Snake shook his head. “Never wrong.”
I could tell he had something else on his mind.
“You knew I would have come and gotten Sophia. Why are you really here?”
Laughing, he shifted his arms on the top of the fence. “You could always read right through me.”
“Yup. Don’t you forget it.”
He took a few seconds before answering. “There are some people asking questions.”
“Who?”
“I dunno. One of my workers mentioned there’d been someone sniffing around the ranch. He’s just a kid and if I had to guess an illegal, not that I care, but he was scared the guy was here for him. My foreman, Sawyer, saw the guy talking to one of the ranch hands. Nothing earthshattering, but I don’t like people asking questions about me or the past.”
“Yeah, I get it. What were the questions?” The hairs on the back of my neck were already standing up.
