Faith shook her head. Good, she won’t run into Adrian and spill the beans.
The appointment went well. Dr. Clinton was friendly and understanding. Faith got the impression that she truly cared about her health and welfare. She felt comfortable talking to the doctor about her concerns and worries. She listened and didn’t judge her about her concerns about being a mother or that the pregnancy was a surprise. There was a small pharmacy adjacent to Dr. Clinton’s office. She called in a prescription for prenatal vitamins for Faith.
Faith made another appointment in three weeks for an ultrasound and a check-up. Thirty minutes later, Faith was leaving the pharmacy with prenatal vitamins and a book about women who were expecting for the first time.
She headed to the sheriff’s office. Her cell phone rang during the drive. The caller I.D. said it was the home phone at the ranch. “Hello?”
“Faith,” Aunt Bea said. “Are you all right? You should have been home by now.”
Faith was too busy being in shock half the day that she forgot to call Aunt Bea to tell her she was going to be late coming home. “I’m sorry, Aunt Bea, I got caught up running errands. I’ll be home in an hour or so.”
“All right, honey, as long as you are all right,” Aunt Bea said.
“I didn’t mean to make you worry,” Faith said. She felt horrible. She knew Aunt Bea was worried sick about the DEA investigation and Joey’s legal problems.
“It’s all right, dear. I’ll see you when you get home. Bye bye.”
“Bye,” Faith said and clicked off.
She was almost at the station.
****
Faith walked into the station. A girl was sitting at the reception desk. She didn’t look older than seventeen. “Hi. Are you Ms. Roberts?” the teen asked.
“Yes,” Faith answered.
“The sheriff is expecting you. Just take those stairs.” The girl pointed to the right at a flight of stairs going down. “Then, turn to your right. He’s in the conference room.”
“Thanks,” Faith said and headed for the stairs.
Faith took the stairs and turned right. She saw a room with a transparent glass window. The sheriff was in it. The door was open. She walked in. “Hey, Sheriff.”
“Faith. Come in, close the door,” he said.
Faith closed the door. “I apologize. My appointment took a little longer than I thought.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Sheriff Langford said. “Look, there’s a reason why we are talking down here and not upstairs in my office. Normally, I would have approached one of the Matthews boys about this, but I can’t be seen doing anything directly that could be perceived as helping them.”
Faith’s eyebrows rose at his statement.
“I know those guys aren’t involved with drugs,” Sheriff Langford said. “And it was awfully convenient that the hacker that helped Joey get Adrian off the hook four years ago had come forward. I might be a small town cop, but I’m not stupid. They’ve been greenlit.”
Faith didn’t know whether to confide in Sheriff Langford or not. After all, it was his office that arrested Joey and turned him over to the county jail.
“I ran into Mike Scully in town,” the sheriff said. “He said something about Rosita Rodriguez setting the boys up out of revenge. My wife and I were arriving at the BBQ when Steve was escorting Rosita off the premises. She was madder than a rattlesnake that had been stepped on.”
Faith nodded.
Sheriff Langford gave a little smile. “I don’t blame you for being careful about talking to me. Some things I really shouldn’t know. But, there is something you should know. I found your hit-and-run driver.”
Faith’s eyes widened. She had given up hope that the sheriff would catch him.
“He was drunker than hell that night, but he remembers hitting you,” Sheriff Langford said. “He and some of his friends were drinking and partying outside of town in the desert. He got scared and kept driving. He’s a rich and privileged little punk. He got access to his trust fund this year and bought a condo in Dallas, a Corvette, and one burgundy Hummer.”
The Hummer that Adrian had described.
“Where is he now?” she asked.
“Richard Lewis, who happens to be Rosita’s step-son, hadn’t been seen since early this morning,” Sheriff Langford said.
Faith’s mouth dropped open. No. No way. It’s too much of a coincidence. “Are you sure it’s who you say it is?”
“Positive,” Sheriff Langford said and stood up. “I did the background check myself. Plus, the little creep kept saying that his daddy was a wealthy man in California who would pay any amount of money for me to drop the matter. I wasn’t interested.”
“I see,” Faith said. “So, he hasn’t been seen since early this morning?”
“Nope,” he confirmed. “A little birdy told me that he could be in an interrogation room in a police station somewhere. But, no one really knows for sure.”
Faith caught his meaning. The sheriff had brought Richard Lewis there, and no one knew about it.
“Word on the street is that he hadn’t been formally charged with anything and is under a twenty-four-hour hold,” he said. “Something about cutting a deal with him and using him as leverage to resolve another situation.”
“I see,” Faith said slowly.
“You know much about technology, Faith? We’re having trouble with the cameras in our interrogation room down the hall. You mind taking a look?” he asked.
Oh shit, she thought. Faith wasn’t naturally crafty. She needed help. She knew enough to know that she couldn’t call Adrian. He was too close to the situation. Something could go wrong. “I don’t mind at all, but I need to consult with my brother first,” Faith said. “He knows a lot more about cameras than me. Do you mind if I call him before I take a look?”
“Not at all,” the sheriff said as he headed for the door. “Take your time. Do whatever you have to do to fix it.” Sheriff Langford left her alone in the conference room.
Chapter 39
Four days later…
Cliff had advised Faith on how to handle Mr. Richard Lewis. She had gone to Mike Scully after speaking with Richard. She told Mike her plan. He liked the idea, but he didn’t like that they were going to execute it behind the Matthews boys’ backs.
Faith had told Mike that she told Adrian that she wouldn’t get involved and he would be upset that she was involved. Faith had also reminded the attorney that the DEA was watching the Matthews like hawks and Joey couldn’t be associated with a sting that could influence his case. Mike Scully had smiled and said she should have been an attorney. He agreed to keep quiet and helped Faith iron out any possible legal holes in her plan.
Sheriff Langford had slipped her the phone number of an officer who worked in vice on the Dallas PD. Detective Chambers was more than willing to help and gathered a team together.
It was a day before her plan went into motion. She wanted to be there. She had to see this through. Over the past few months, she had grown to love the Matthews family. She was doing this for them, for the man she loved, and their child.
Because of all the excitement and running around town Faith was doing putting the plan together, she hadn’t told Adrian she was pregnant. Once the dust had settled and Rosita got what she deserved, Faith would tell Adrian. With all the drama behind them, Adrian would be happy about the pregnancy.
Faith walked into the den. Joey was in there watching the evening news. Hagar and Chop were walking around the room. Joey was being a trooper. Everyone knew he was miserable because he couldn’t go out and work the land and take care of the cattle and horses. He was the outdoors type. However, Joey hadn’t complained once. The day after he came home from jail, he tried walking to the stables. The ankle monitor had gone off fifty yards from the stables.
“Hey,” she said. “Mind if I watch T.V. with you?” she asked.
“Nope,” he said and sipped his beer. “But, I thought you’d be in the stables with Adrian
.”
Adrian was finishing up some work in the stables’ office with a couple of the ranch hands.
“I’ll head down there soon. I just wanted to see how you were doing,” Faith said. “For living on the same property we haven’t seen each other in a few days.”
“Yeah, you’ve been running a lot of errands lately,” Joey said. He looked at her. “Is everything all right?”
“Yeah,” Faith said. “I just need to get some things squared away since I’ve decided to make Elliot my home.”
“How was your doctor’s appointment a few days ago?” Joey asked. He was looking at her like he was studying her.
“Fine,” Faith said. “It was just a check-up.”
“Hmm,” Joey said. “You were pretty exhausted yesterday when you got home. Aunt Bea and Adrian were concerned that you were wearing yourself out.”
By the time she got home yesterday evening, she was so fatigued. Faith wasn’t sure if it was the pregnancy or the stress of putting together a sting. She was so tired that she grabbed a sandwich and went to bed early. “After I finish my business in Dallas tomorrow, I’ll be back to my regular routine. Thanks for letting me drive your jeep.”
Joey kept looking at her like he was studying her. “Yeah, what kind of business do you have in Dallas again?”
“Well, I have to go to the DMV to get a Texas license. I wanted to do some shopping. My brother is going to wire me some money to a Western Union, so I have to pick that up,” Faith said. She hated lying, but she had to. She couldn’t let everyone know what was going on. Faith had to protect the Matthews family. She planned on coming clean after tomorrow.
“You know,” Joey began. “Aunt Bea said you looked like you were getting lightheaded at breakfast this morning.”
“It was nothing,” Faith said. “Just a little fatigued.”
“That’s what I told her,” Joey said and chuckled. “She thinks you’re pregnant.”
Faith chuckled nervously. “That’s…that’s something. Aunt Bea is something else.”
Joey smiled at her. “She is, but it’s rare that she is wrong when she gets a whiff of something.”
“I see,” Faith said.
Joey chuckled and shook his head. He gave Faith a Cheshire cat grin. Joey grabbed the remote. “You want to watch ‘Deal or No Deal?’”
Chapter 40
It was 3 p.m. Saturday afternoon. Adrian was working in the office in the stables. He had been rushing through paperwork and getting things in order just in case things got worse with the DEA. Mike had said if the DEA got any more evidence against them, they could put a freeze on their accounts. Adrian kept cash in a safe in the house and in a safety deposit box at the bank, but it would only keep them for so long.
He was still trying to figure out how drugs got planted on their property. Out of paranoia, Steve and Adrian checked the barns and stables every day. The last thing they needed was to get caught with drugs on the property.
“Hey, boss,” Isaiah said as he entered the office. Ray was with him.
“Hey, guys,” Adrian said. “Did you move that head of fifty out to the Southside?”
“Yep,” Ray said. “We came to tell you something.”
Adrian couldn’t take any more bad news. “How bad is it?”
Isaiah chuckled. “Well, it depends on how you look at it. Lily is pregnant.”
Adrian’s brows furrowed at the news. “What? How the hell did that happen? I thought her colt baring days were over.”
Isaiah smiled. “We did, too, but looks like the old girl got one more left in her.”
“How did it happen?” Adrian said. “We still keep the females in a separate part of the stables, don’t we?”
Ray chuckled. “Yeah, but a few weeks ago when I was locking up, Blaze was gone. He had kicked his stable door open. I went to the other side of the stables looking for him. He must have jumped the gate because it wasn’t tampered with. Anyway, I caught him humping Lily like she was the last piece of ass he would ever see.”
“Jesus, Ray, you didn’t stop him?” Adrian asked with annoyance.
Ray looked at Adrian like he had gone mad. “Hell no,” Ray enunciated. “Blaze was hornier than a teenage boy that night. I wasn’t going to get kicked in the face for interfering with something that is perfectly natural. You know how temperamental he can be. Besides, Lily didn’t seem to mind.”
Isaiah laughed.
“And like you, I thought her colt bearing days were over. So, I let them carry on. When Blaze was finished with her, I took him back to his side of the stables, fixed the door, and went home,” Ray said.
Adrian couldn’t help but smile. He stood up. “Have you called the vet?”
“No, not yet,” Isaiah said.
“Call him,” Adrian said. “Ask him to come and give Lily a look over. She’s healthy, but I’m concerned that she might be a little too old to carry a colt to full term.”
“You got it,” Ray said.
Isaiah and Ray left the office.
Adrian walked out of the office a few minutes after them. He passed two other horses before he got to Blaze’s stall.
The black stallion looked over at him.
Adrian knew he was expecting some sugar cubes or an apple. “No treat for you; you bad boy. I know what you did.”
Blaze blinked.
“What were you thinking busting your door and going to the girls’ stables?” Adrian asked and placed his hands on his hips.
The horse neighed.
“You’re old enough to control yourself and to know better, now,” Adrian chided.
The horse bowed his head down.
“You knew I was going to take you to that pretty filly two towns over in three months.”
Blaze shook his head wildly as he snorted.
Adrian chuckled. “Couldn’t wait that long, huh? Oh well, it’s done, now. You’re going to be a father.”
Blaze raised his head. He nuzzled Adrian’s jaw.
Adrian laughed and gave the horse two good pats on his long thick neck.
“Steve, come in, Steve, come on back,” Joey said over the walkie-talkie.
Adrian listened as he rubbed and patted Blaze.
“Yeah, Joey, what’s up?” Steve said.
“You and Adrian need to come to the house pronto, over,” Joey said seriously.
Adrian grabbed his walkie-talkie out of his pocket. “Joey, I’m down at the stables. What’s going on?”
“Not sure, but it has something to do with Faith and all the other crap that has been going on, over,” Joey said.
Adrian’s muscles tensed. If Rosita was messing with Faith, he’d kill her. “I’ll be at the house in five minutes, over,” Adrian said in a deep tone.
“I’m a ways out,” Steve said. “I’ll be there in ten.”
****
Adrian was approaching the house. A black SUV he didn’t recognize was in the driveway. He swore under his breath. What the hell did the DEA want now? They had ransacked the place last week. A few days later, they questioned them and every ranch hand on the ranch. What else could they possibly want? He entered the house.
Adrian stalked into the den. He came up short when he saw a light-skinned black man the same height as him standing next to the bar. He was chunky and his dark hair was in small twists on his head. He wore a pair of jeans that were too big in the legs for him. His shirt was blue and white striped with a collar. He didn’t look like a DEA agent.
“Oh Adrian,” Aunt Bea said as she went to him. “I’m so worried.” She wrapped her arms around Adrian’s waist.
Adrian took hold of her. “What’s going on?” He looked at Joey, who was sitting on the sofa. “Who’s this?” he asked as he nodded to the black guy.
“I’m Cliff Roberts, Faith’s older brother,” he said.
Adrian was speechless. Faith didn’t mention that her brother was coming.
Aunt Bea let Adrian go.
Adrian walked to Cliff. They shook hands. “Ni
ce to meet you. What brings you to Texas?”
“My sister,” Cliff said seriously. “I don’t like leaving Miami unless I really have to. I felt like I had to. I came here to make sure Faith didn’t get too involved with this thing, but when I got here your brother told me it was too late. She’s already in Dallas.”
“What?” Adrian asked with confusion. “She went to Dallas to run some errands. Go to the DMV and to do some shopping.”
Cliff shook his head. “That’s what she told you,” Cliff said. “She’s trying to protect you and your family. I didn’t think she had it in her, but looks like she has a little bit of Daddy in her just like me after all. It just took something serious to bring it out. You better sit down, man. This is one helluva story.”
“I’ll keep standing, thanks,” Adrian said.
“All right, but I warned you,” Cliff said and sipped his drink. It looked and smelled like a screwdriver. “A week ago, Faith called me and told me about baby boy’s arrest and your DEA problems. I said if you guys were sure it was that Rosita chick that greenlit you, maybe you can get her on tape admitting it. Faith liked the idea, but she didn’t know who to get that Rosita would talk to. A few days later, the sky opened and gave Faith her wish.”
“What does that mean?” Adrian asked.
“The sheriff in this town caught the asshole who hit Faith on the road that night you found her,” Cliff said. “Richard Lewis, who coincidently is the step-son of that Rosita chick.”
“Shit,” Joey said with wide eyes.
Aunt Bea sat down in an armchair in astonishment.
“The cop didn’t book him, though,” Cliff said. “He allowed Faith to talk to him first. She called me right in the police station. She asked me to advise her. Hell, I told her to take the phone in the room with her and put us on speaker. She didn’t want to, at first, because she was afraid I was going to cuss the guy out and threaten him. I promised to keep my cool and to help her use the situation to her and your advantage.”
The Rancher Page 18