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Kieran found it impossible to breathe as he stared at the caption below the headline. It showed Ritchie and his boyfriend being led away in handcuffs. “It’s over?” Kieran whispered. He sat up straighter and looked at Finley. “It’s really over?”
Finley’s eyes swam with tears, and damn, Kieran wanted to dive into the jade depths. “It’s over.”
“Not yet,” Cash said firmly, pulling everyone’s attention to him. “It won’t be over until Kieran’s conviction gets overturned.”
“We’ll need to obtain a confession from Ritchie that he orchestrated the theft or find a credible witness,” Rowland said. “That’s a big hill to climb, but if Ritchie possesses a single ounce of self-preservation, he’ll come clean and turn State’s witness. They won’t honor an agreement to place him in WITSEC if he doesn’t confess to everything, though. I think you stand a good chance of getting your name cleared, but don’t hold your breath. The wheels of justice don’t always turn fast.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Kieran said.
“The hell it doesn’t,” Cash replied.
“We’ll do our best to help you,” Scott said, “but you should really hire an attorney with experience in getting postrelease convictions overturned. It’s not as easy as Cash thinks.”
“Consider it done,” Cash said.
Kieran’s face heated with embarrassment because Cash had ignored the elephant in the room. “I don’t have the means to hire a lawyer right now. I’m not sure how long it will take to save that kind of money.”
Cash leaned forward and pinned him with his icy blue gaze. “You have me, and I have a fuckton of money. It will happen, Kieran. Not only that, but you have an excellent chance of winning a civil suit against the police department. By the time we’re through, you’ll have enough money to build whatever life you choose wherever you want to do it.”
“How much is a fuckton?” Rowland whispered to Scott.
“More than you or I could imagine,” Scott replied.
Kieran ignored them to focus on Cash. “But why? I’m nothing to you.”
“Can Kieran and I have a private moment?” Cash asked without breaking eye contact.
Finley leaned over and kissed Kieran’s cheek. “See you soon.”
He and the two agents got up and left Cash and Kieran alone.
“Did you know who I was all along?” Kieran asked.
“No,” Cash replied. “I didn’t make the connection until I’d already decided you’d be a good fit for the ranch. That’s when I did my due diligence and saw you’d been arrested for stealing a car. I don’t know what made me do it, but I asked Agent Scott to do a deeper dive on you than my typical PI would perform. I just had this weird feeling I couldn’t shake. He could’ve knocked me over with a feather when he reached back out after reading your file. I told Nick—Agent Scott—that you didn’t do it and hounded him until he promised to look deeper.” Cash smiled and said, “He kept his word, but couldn’t manufacture proof out of thin air. I wish I could’ve done something sooner and gotten you released from prison. It would be my honor to help you clear your name.”
Kieran tilted his head. “Because you feel guilty or because I remind you of someone?”
Cash chuckled. “Dug through my files, huh?” When Kieran just shrugged, Cash said, “You are familiar to me because I was you. I also had no family and nowhere to go after my release from jail. I applied for jobs all over the city, but no one wanted to hire me. The hardware store owner mentioned a rancher who was looking for help and pointed to an ad taped to a bulletin board near the front door. I hitched a ride out here, and Durrell and Lavonda took a chance on me. They changed my life forever by giving me a job, a family, and a purpose.”
“And you want to do the same for me?”
“Absolutely I do,” Cash replied. “I hear the skepticism in your voice, and I understand it better than you think, Kieran. All I ask is for a chance to help you tap into your real potential.”
“What’s in it for you?” Who would take care of the man who took care of everyone else?
Cash held his gaze for a long time. “I get a soul-deep satisfaction that money can’t buy when I help people. You don’t have to give me an answer right now. You must feel overwhelmed by everything you’ve just heard. Think it over, okay?”
Kieran nodded and rose to his feet.
“And Kieran,” Cash said before he took the first step. “Men like Finley Ashe are rare and precious. Many of us could live multiple lifetimes and never find one. Don’t waste your gift. If you decide you can’t stay here, don’t leave him behind. You’ll regret it for the rest of your life.”
“Thank you for everything, Cash,” Kieran said before exiting his office. There was so much more he could say, but Cash wasn’t the person who needed to hear it.
Kieran found Finley in the kitchen with his sister. Harry was trying to engage him in conversation, but Finley’s focus was on the laptop in front of him. He must’ve commandeered his sister’s computer to make sure his photos were there.
“Oh,” Harry said breathlessly. “That’s a gorgeous picture of Kieran and Loretta. I see you didn’t just inherit Grandpa’s skill with horses.”
Finley must’ve sensed his presence because he snapped his head up. He didn’t look like the same man who’d cuddled against him the previous evening or flirted with Kieran that morning. And he understood. Finley thought this was goodbye for them.
