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“I’m going to. I like how you avoided the part of our conversation where Lane is going to have you pregnant in a matter of weeks. Imagine himcoming inside the house while you were holding his nephew. Shewww, we’d all be a witness to what he’d do to you, and I’ve only been in his presence a couple of times.” I watch as Rocky gets closer to the round pens where the cows are. A couple of the calves’ heads are poking through the makeshift fencing. They always think the grass is greener on the other side, and my dog sure likes to test his limits. What Rocky doesn’t expect is a cow’s tongue coming out to lick him when he’s not looking. His little body does a one-eighty, his teeth come out, and so does his bark. The cow jerks back. Rocky keeps getting closer with the yipping, his Rocky Balboa personality coming out when he’s not even named after the movie. “Your dog is special, Birdie, real special.” Tully and I burst out in laughter.
“I wish my phone was at the ready. Imagine having that pop up in your memories year after year.” Our antics draw the attention of the Johnson brothers. Except my eyes are only looking at one. Lane Johnson. Hot, sweaty, and dirty from working all day. This visual is my own personal foreplay, and I’m going to enjoy the show he’s giving me when he slowly heads my way. Everyone else disappears.
19
LANE
“This plan is really good,”Lawson states his thoughts. The others are still mulling it over. He’s always been the one who can see a number, multiply it, divide it, triple it, and figure out the ins and outs before any of us others could. I smile around a mouthful of the food Mom provides us for lunch when we’re working near the house. I was also lucky enough to see my woman, steal a quick kiss, and get inside before Mom started hollering to hurry up.
“I know.” I finish my bite, grab my drink, take a quick swallow, and say, “Birdie’s the shit. Don’t try and finagle the price either. She already gave us a discount. She thought she was being slick, but I got a peek at the paperwork, took a quick look at her website, and saw the starting price. There were other companies that were a lot steeper and didn’t have a call center for customerservice. Let’s just say the price compared to others is a fuck of a lot better.”
“Watch your damn mouth,” Dad says as I take another bite of food, nodding my head in response. Russell Johnson will listen to us say a lot, but you start dropping F-bombs and more lewd shit, he’ll put you in your place.
“I was already going to accept it either way. It was Birdie who was adamant we all take a look first. She didn’t want to be underhanded.” Mom rolls her eyes in exasperation.
“Speaking of, why does Case smell like Birdie?” Ryland has his son in the crook of his arm while woofing down his own lunch.
“Obviously, Birdie was here. Of course she’s going to spend time with Case. You should have seen the way she was with him. It was the cutest damn thing. Makes me want more grandbabies, Lane William Johnson.” Mom points at me since I’m the only one in the bunch with a woman. I don’t tell her that we’re not using anything to stand in the way of preventing a pregnancy.
My phone starts going off in my pocket. The amount of vibrating it’s doing means it’s a call. I pull it out and see Fletch’s name. “Excuse me, I gotta take this call.” I push myself out of the barstool and make my way to the door. My family knows enough about the situation. Lawson, more than the others since he and Fletch are close. There was no avoiding the conversation ofHey, I heard you talked to Fletcher. What’s up?I gaveLawson a quick rundown, and he told me he’d be there for whatever, no questions asked. Which is why Law gives me a look when I walk by him.
I’ve got my thumb on the accept button and hit it the minute I reach the back porch. “Hey, Fletch,” I answer.
“Hey, Lane, you got a minute?” Well fuck, this must be serious.
“Yep, sure do.” I walk toward the barn. We still have a lot of shit left to do in our day, or I’d get in my truck and drive home to Birdie.
“I got the information you were after, pulled some strings. My guy delivered, and you’re not going to like this. Fuck, I don’t like it either. Kind of wish I were still up there to go after him like I know you will.” I keep walking while my stomach sinks to my booted feet.
“Son of a bitch, alright. I’m away from any prying ears. Tell me what you got.” My quarter horse, Flash, whinnies when he sees me coming. He probably thinks I’ve got a treat for him. This morning, I rode him to check along the fence line, and because he thinks he’s always got to work along with the others we have here at the ranch, we stalled him for the time being. As soon as the cows are moved to the north pasture, we’ll let the horses out to graze.
“Well, Paul Sherman Junior has had several police reports filed against him. Not a single one of them has stuck. Either his victims pull out and go quiet, or they pull a fast one, offer a shit tonof money and sweep it under the rug. I’m willing to bet it’s the latter. These people have an in with the higher-ups in the food chain.” Flash nuzzles into my chest, begging for attention. My hand brushes his nose, and I scratch while trying to figure out what my next plan of action will be.
“Goddamn it, and with Birdie here in Wyoming, he’s thinking she’ll just be another victim swept under the rug.” I take off my hat, place it on the hook next to Flash’s stall, and run my fingers through my hair. I already know what I want to do. I’m ready to hop into my truck, drive to Colorado, and beat the fucking shit out of the little dirtbag cocksucker motherfucker.
“That’s about the size of it. I’m going to email you what I can. I know you know this without me saying it, but if something comes up and you’re arrested or taken in, my name stays out of it. That being said, I hope you give this piece of shit what he deserves,” Fletch tells me.
“You don’t have to worry about that. I’ll be sure nothing blows back on you. I appreciate it, brother.” Flash gets annoyed when I quit rubbing his nose and starts stomping his feet. I swear this boy is an attention whore today.
“Anytime. I’ll chat with you later. I gotta get back to work,” Fletch says.
“Sounds good.” We end the call. There’s a lot to unload from the last little bit of conversation, and knowing Fletch, he got me a shit ton of details. Details I’ll guard with my life, so Birdiedoesn’t see them. My woman feels deeply. She’ll be full of regret and sorrow if Fletch sends me what I think he will. And there’s no damn way I’ll let that happen. Birdie has been through enough as it is already. There’s no way I’m going to let her keep feeling any sort of pain. Not now and not fucking ever.
“Fletcher get you what you need?” Lawson asks, coming up beside me. The fucker is the tallest of the bunch, has more weight and muscle mass, yet he’s still light as a damn feather on his feet.
“Waiting for the email now, but yeah, he did. You wanna take a ride down to Colorado with me?” I already know his answer before he gives it.
“Fuck yeah. You know when you wanna go?”
“Probably the next few days or so. I don’t want Birdie to know why I’m heading south. I’m pretty sure there’s an auction along the way. Think we can stop on the way back? Birdie doesn’t have a horse, and I know she’ll be chomping at the bit to get in the saddle soon enough.” Two birds, one stone, plus an alibi, all wrapped in one package, neatly tied with a bow.
“Fuck yeah. I’ll look at the schedule and make sure it lines up with the auction. The others can handle being on their own for a few days. You clear it with Dad, and all will be well.” I pull my hand away from Flash, ignoring his annoyance with me and offering my brother ahand to shake.
“Thanks, man.” Law takes my hand. He also pulls me in for a one-armed hug.
“We’re family. No need to thank me. Glad you got your girl back, bud.” That’s that. There’s nothing else that needs to be said. Family is love, and love is family, as Grandpa Johnson would say.
20
