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“In town,” Grant grunted. “What’s it to you?”
“In town? You’re supposed to be working.”
He shook his head. “Jennifer gave me permission to take the day off to be with my son.”
Bo glanced around him. “And where is he?”
Grant’s eyes narrowed with impatience. “It’s none of your business.”
“Actually, it is. We hired you for Charlotte’s sake. She was terrified you’d take your son and move him back to Nashville.” Bo crossed his arms.
“And it would be my right to do so.” Except now, Grant wasn’t so sure. With his guardianship being delayed in court, he wouldn’t have been surprised if he was locked into staying in Montana until that was settled.
Bo continued as if he hadn’t spoken. “You didn’t have any experience working on a ranch. I was the one who said we needed to put a pin in that.”
Grant shot a look toward the officer, who seemed to be inching closer as if she wanted to join in on the conversation. He hadn’t needed the job. No one here knew about his past. No one had a single clue that he was sitting on a fortune. That was what happened when small-town folk stay focused on the locals. Back in Tennessee, he was a big deal. His company was thriving. It was slated to be the next billion-dollar enterprise.
But at this point, he was thinking about selling it.
When he’d heard about Dee and Nick, he hadn’t hesitated. Daily operations were shifted to the VP of the company. Then he bought an RV and drove out here to be with his kid.
“Seriously? You’re not going to comment?” Bo demanded.
Grant turned his scowl on his superior. It had been nearly a decade since he’d had to report to anyone. There was a reason he’d loved running his business for so long, and this was it.
“I’m sorry,” he muttered through gritted teeth. “What were you saying?”
Bo poked him in the chest. “We know it’s you.”
A chuckle burst from Grant’s chest. “You know what is me?”
The cowboy threw up his hands and turned around, only then catching sight of the deputy. “Well, Deputy, I think this is an open-and-shut case. How about you?”
For a minute Grant thought he might actually lose whatever this weird standoff was. Officer Whitfield clearly didn’t like him much. And apparently, he’d done something to royally upset the second-in-command here at Sagebrush. His heart sank just a little as she finished her approach. She would agree with Bo on principle and there would be nothing he could do.
Not to mention he still didn’t have a clue what they were talking about.
“You have the wrong guy,” she said. “Shaw just got here, so he couldn’t have been responsible for the dogs.”
“The dogs?” Grant asked, earning a sharp look from Bo.
Jack and Daniel were drawn into the conversation next. At least those men were less combative. They seemed to be easygoing when it came to running this place.
The officer folded her arms and put all her weight on one foot. “I’m telling you, he only just got back.”
“That’s not true, though.” Jack turned to her. “I saw Nick go into the RV at least fifteen minutes ago, if not more. They were together.”
Bo smiled triumphantly. “See? There’s no way he wasn’t here somewhere.”
She shook her head and shot a withering look in Bo’s direction. “I brought Nick back. We met in town, and he wanted a ride in a real police car.”
Bo’s shoulders slumped, but only slightly.
If Grant were a lesser man, he might have shoved it in all their faces. However, the deep-seated satisfaction of not being the target of Officer Whitfield’s attitude was more than enough.
Biting back a smile, he dug into his pocket. “I had to stop by the car wash on my way back. I have receipts.” He made brief eye contact with the deputy, nearly telling the growing crowd that he’d done so to get on her good side. Grant held out the receipt, but she waved it off.
“That’s not necessary.” She turned to the group of people. “As most of you are now aware, I’ve been called out here to look into the vandalism taking place around here. Mr. Reese has asked me to find the person responsible and I assure you, I will. This matter isn’t over. The offending individual will be held accountable.”
