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This time, he laughed outright. “Fine, fine, but this time, humor me. Let me leave a thousand instead of five, and I’ll take the other four back. You’ll be spending a lot of time with Sam, and you’ll need it one way or the other.”
I considered it and realized he was right; we had a way to go with Sam, so maybe it was best to take his offer. “Fine, we can do that but don’t go pulling something like this again, or I’ll be withdrawing the money, and you won’t like where I’ll be shoving it.”
John’s deep laughter eased the pulsing knot that had formed inside my chest while I went to make my tea. “That’ll work.”
I smiled. “Thank you, go back to work, cowboy. I’ll see you soon. Oh, by the way, you left the rope here.”
“Keep it,” his tone dipped. “We’ll more than likely use it again. You do have a smart, sassy mouth.”
“Aw, so you do whisper poetry into girl’s ears,” I replied while adding a spoonful of loose sugar. “Sweet talker.”
“I’ve got to go but look out for that withdrawal,” he said. “And by the way, sorry for not telling you before, but I won the contract I was worried about.”
“Youdid!” I exclaimed. “That’s wonderful. How was it?”
“I’ll give you the details the next time we have a moment alone,” he replied. “Just know, you told me what to do, and because of you, I won. My ranch will be set for another ten, fifteen, twenty who-knows-what years.”
I felt genuinely pleased. “I am so good.”
He snorted. “Oh please, don’t get so humble on me.”
Taking my tea to the couch, I curled up and smiled while dunking the tea bag a few times. “I’m happy for you. And I’ll look forward to that moment we have for ourselves.”
“So will I, sweetheart,” he replied. “So will I.”
ChapterNineteen
John
“You’re sure about that?” My gaze flitted from Ben to Dusty and then to Jack. “You’re double sure?”
“Yep,” Ben replied, plucking his hat off and finger-combing his hair. “The sheriff said not one of the usual suspects had any idea about the roof, and no silly kid is bragging about it on the internet, y’know the whatchamacallit, Facepage or Insta somethin’-or-other.”
“I wouldn’t have tagged them for it anyway,” Jack shrugged. “That operation was way too sophisticated to pull off for a bunch of snot-nosed kids looking for a good time. And real thieves would have headed for the machine sheds or the garage. This was not an amateur thing, boss.”
I sagged back into my office chair and rubbed a hand over my face, unsure of what to do. “But why? I don’t get it. Why break in and just trash my shed? Why would you pay someone to do that?”
“To get on your nerves?”
“To make you focus on something else so you’re unprepared for the other thing that’s coming?”
“It’s the tip of the iceberg,” Ben said. “It’s the beginning of a war.”
I looked at them. “You’re all right in some way. This is too petty to stand alone, and something more is coming, but what?”
“I’d be more concerned about the who, not the what,” Jack replied.
“Oh, I have my suspicion about the who,” I growled. “And we all know who it is, but until I get any proof, I cannot accuse West of this bullshit. And now that I won the contract, I am sure he will strike again. I just don’t know where.”
“Like what?” Ben asked. “Think he’s going to poison the water wells or raze the ground and salt the fields?”
“I wouldn’t put it past him,” I replied. “I think we need to revamp our security. I'll make the call with better sensors, motion lights, backup generators, cameras, etc., and Ben, I need you to oversee the jobs for me. We’ll catch this sucker if it is the last thing I do.”
“Alrighty.” Ben nodded.
“Thanks, guys.” I nodded as they filed out.
When they were gone, I reached into my drawer, pulled out a migraine pill bottle, uncapped the water bottle on my desk, and swallowed two. Now, I had to be on edge, looking out for West’s next act, and wouldn’t be at ease until it happened.
