Wes waved her on as he reached for the newspaper on the end table near the couch. Leah made her way through the kitchen and out the back door, stopping on the porch. Ryder was stir crazy, as he kicked up dirt and galloped mindlessly around the pen.
“Liam, where are you?” she asked, before he had a chance to answer.
“I’m talking to the chief,” Liam said. “Why, what’s up? Everything ok?”
“More than ok. I need you to come home as soon as you can. I have something I want to show you.”
When she said the word home, it struck an emotion she had never felt before. “I’ll be there shortly.”
Anger twisted through him as he thought of someone tampering with his family’s business and setting it on fire. He was sure they’d find out who had done it. Someone had to have seen something—or rather someone—before the place had gone up in flames. Someone had to have a better description than what had been given.
“The Marshal faxed a copy of the report early this morning,” the chief stated. “They’ll figure out who did this. It’ll only be a matter of time before they do, Liam.”
The chief stepped close to him and held out his hand. Liam grasped his hand in a firm handshake. “Call me if you need anything.”
Liam nodded and put his hat on. “Thanks for your help. I appreciate it.”
Turning to walk out the door, he stopped when the chief said, “I’ve seen the flyers around town that young lady of yours is putting up. She’s quite the woman you’ve got there.”
Grinning, he nodded. “Yeah, she’s pretty great.”
“Take care of her, and don’t let her get away,” the chief said, pointing at Liam.
Liam nodded, tipped his hat and walked out the door. Climbing onto Whiskey’s saddle, he grabbed the reins. He tapped a spur into Whiskey’s side and held on tight as he galloped at a steady pace the whole way home.
Jumping off Whiskey at the gate, he unsaddled and unbridled him, then guided him into the round pen. Ryder galloped full speed toward the opened gate, and came to a dead stop inches from Liam, leaving him surrounded by a cloud of dust. With both horses following him, he double checked their water and gave them both a good pat on the side of the neck before climbing over the fence.
Glancing towards the house, he could see movement on the back porch as the swing rocked slowly. He hurried toward the back steps and that’s when he saw her. She sat with her nice tanned legs wrapped Indian-style on the swing, a wide smile on her face as she talked on her phone, rocking back and forth with the motion of the swing.
She caught him from the corner of her eye and quickly ended her conversation. “Hey, you!” She said, hopping up from the swing and jumping into his arms. He hadn’t been ready for it, but he caught her just the same. “How was your talk with the chief? What’d they find out?”
He carefully set her on the swing and sat down beside her. She watched as anger flashed across his face. She had prepared to hear the worst.
“He said it looked awfully suspicious from the get go, but now it’s been confirmed there was criminal activity involved,” he said. She reached for his hand, lacing her fingers with his. “The Marshal has sent the report to the deputies, and thinks they’ll figure out who did this in a few days. Someone had to have seen something more than just the guy’s hair and color of his truck,” he said, tossing his hat at the railing and running an angry hand through his hair. “I mean, damn, it was in broad daylight, for Pete’s sake.”
She slid both feet from his lap and planted them on the porch before she stood up. She tugged on his hand in an effort to get him to follow her. He was so distracted by his own thoughts, he hadn’t realized she was pulling on him. “Come with me, I have something to show you, Gramps, and Rosie.”
They walked through the back of the house, into the kitchen, to the living room. She motioned for him to sit next to Wes, who quickly released hands with Rosie. Laughing, she said, “I saw that. Don’t stop just because we’re here.”
She winked at Rosie as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. Without unfolding it, she held it up in front of them. “I went to the diner today to take a break from handing out and hanging up posters all around the city,” she said. “That’s when Mr. and Mrs. Williams came in. First, Mr. Williams sat down across from me and said he had heard about the bar. Then he opened his checkbook and gave me this.”
She opened the check and showed them the amount. Wes’ jaw dropped and tears filled his eyes as Liam gripped his shoulder, and took him into a bear hug. Tears of joy, mixed with relief, fell from their faces.
Rosie lit up with laughter and danced, taking hold of Wes on her way around the room. “Hallelujah, praise the Lord!”
“Is that really fifty-thousand dollars?” Liam asked, reaching for the check, as he wrapped an arm around Leah. He lifted her with one strong arm and held the check above them as he kissed her. “I can’t believe it!”
“They wanted me to tell you that they’re sorry for the loss of your business,” Leah said, smiling as tears streaked her cheeks. “They wanted me to tell you to let them know if you need anything else.”
Emotions ran high as they gathered in the center of the living room, hugging and celebrating their new-found relief. It was clear to her at that moment that no matter what happened, no matter how big a tragedy this family could ever face, they’d always get through it—no matter what.
24
Scott had lined up everything it’d take to rebuild Levy’s. Liam, Wes, and Rosie had given full approval of Leah’s plan. Liam had typed up her notes and had handed a copy to Scott a month before the contract had been signed.
Scott had assured them Levy’s would be ready for business by the time the grand opening rolled around. Although she was skeptical, and imagined it’d take a year no matter how many promises were made, she hoped it’d be completed sooner, rather than later.
Leah had done the math—subtracting the money they owed the bank, they were left with thirty grand, plus the check from the insurance company. She figured they had plenty of money to do what they planned. She jotted down what they had spent so far, and subtracted it from the remaining balance. Everything—from the new menus to the new booths and flooring—had been ordered and would arrive within a couple of weeks prior to the grand opening.
Liam kissed the top of her head as he walked around the kitchen table on his way to the fridge. “What are you working on?”
“The budget,” she said. “It looks good, so far.”
He poured a glass of tea and sat down next to her. He pointed to an amount of money she had circled in bright green. “What’s this?”
“That’s the expected amount to be left once things are all said and done.”
He smiled, and took a long drink of tea. “Nice.”
The ringing of his phone interrupted their conversation. When he answered it, Leah could tell it wasn’t good news. Furrowing his eyebrows, he stood up and walked out onto the back porch.
She trailed right behind him, letting the screen door slam behind them.
“Jake, huh?”
His name stopped her. She held onto the railing as she made her way down the back steps. Liam was far enough ahead of her that she could no longer hear the conversation. She sat at the bottom of the stairs, watching as he paced back and forth by his truck. He kicked at the dirt and rocks, and flailed his arm as he talked.
For what it was worth, she prayed it wasn’t the same Jake she was thinking of, even though there really wasn’t much doubt it was.
The screen door creaked against its frame behind her. Leah glanced over her shoulder. Rosie stood at the top of the stairs. Leah stood, brushing the dirt from the back of her shorts as she climbed to the top.
Rosie motioned to Liam and asked, “Who’s on the phone?”
Leah glanced out across the yard at Liam. “No idea, but he’s upset and mentioned the name Jake.”
Rosie said nothing as she watched Liam pace angri
ly around the yard. “I’m sure it’s the same news that Wes received a bit ago.”
Leah turned to face Rosie, raising an eyebrow. “What’s going on?”
Rosie motioned to the swing. “Let’s sit down and wait for Liam to tell us. I’m not so sure I even know enough to tell you.”
They waited for the conversation to end—which seemed to last quite a long time. Finally, Liam jammed his phone in his pocket and climbed the stairs. His face red and twisted with rage.
“What’s going on?” Rosie asked.
Shaking a fist in the air, he shouted, “I’m going to find that little punk, and when I do—”
Rosie interrupted him and told him to sit down. He shrugged off the invite to sit, grabbing the door instead, as he made his way into the house. Within a minute, he returned with his truck keys and a bulge in his waistband.
He pointed at Leah and said, “You stay here. I’ll be back after a while. I have some business to take care of.”
Rosie attempted to stop him but he slipped out of her grip. She hollered after him with a nervous shake of her finger, “Don’t be doing anything you’ll regret, you hear me!”
The rumble of the truck, followed by the shuffle of rocks under his tires, confirmed he was pissed. She had no doubt in her mind what he was going to do.
“That boy has the temper of his father,” Rosie said. “Never was anything to worry about, but I feel sorry for whoever he’s going after.”
Leah could only watch Liam’s truck speed off into the distance as she wondered if Jake would be ready for Liam’s arrival.
* * *
“Do you think we should go find him?” Leah asked, nervous with the whole situation. She hated that he had told her to stay back. If this was all because of her, she wanted to be included.
Rocking in the swing, she shook her head. “Nope, he’s a grown man. He’s going to do what he’s going to do regardless of who’s there to tell him otherwise.”
The feeling in her gut made her sick. She hated this. The sun had begun to set and it was getting dark in the distance. Storm clouds were rolling in, and it had been a couple of hours since Liam left.
She tried calling his phone, but it had gone straight to voicemail. She grabbed her purse from the table and went back out onto the porch. Rosie sat in the swing with her knitting supplies next to her; she was knitting an afghan for one of her best friends up north.
“Can I borrow your car, Rosie?”
When Rosie ignored the question, she gave damned near everything she had just to beg her. “Please, Rosie, I need to go look for him. I need to make sure he’s okay.”
Rosie folded the afghan and tossed it inside the house. She grabbed her car keys and said, “Let’s go.”
Wes was in the pasture mowing when they backed out of the driveway—oblivious to what had transpired in the last few hours.
“To tell you the truth, I’m awfully worried myself,” Rosie admitted. “I’m sure he wouldn’t do anything crazy, but Levy’s meant a lot to him.”
“When someone messes with something these men care about, all hell breaks loose.”
Leah called Rachel, to tell her what was going on. She needed Rachel to say something—anything—to calm her down and assure her that everything was okay.
“Leah,” Rachel said, her voice calm, but Leah knew she was just as nervous as she was. “You don’t think he’d do something that crazy, do you?”
“Never know,” she said. She had no idea. Never in a million years would she have thought Jake would do something so drastic—for what? What was he trying to do? “I just want to find Liam and make sure he’s okay.”
Rachel promised to keep an eye out for him, right before ending the conversation. Leah knew the chances of Rachel seeing Liam were slim to none.
The ringing of her phone interrupted her thoughts. She looked down at the screen. “Liam’s calling me.”
“Answer it,” Rosie said, waving a hand in a hurried motion at Leah’s phone.
“Liam, where are you? Are you okay? What’s going on?”
“Hey, settle down,” Liam said, his voice calm, not at all angry, like it had been when he had left the house.
“Where are you?” Leah asked. “Rosie and I are looking for you. Where are you?”
Her voice shook as tears welled in her eyes. She hadn’t had time to think about the what-ifs. She hadn’t had time to think of anything but finding him, and keeping him safe from harm. She didn’t want to lose him—whether in jail or worse. She couldn’t bear the thought of losing him.
“I’m ok, honest,” Liam said. “I just took a drive to clear my head. That’s all.”
“Where are you?”
“I’m at the police station in your big ol’ city,” he said. She thought she heard a chuckle or maybe a grunt, she wasn’t sure.
“Why are you there?”
Rosie stopped the car and turned her attention to Leah’s conversation. She mouthed where is he and Leah shrugged her shoulders.
“Liam, we’re coming to get you,” she said, her face growing hotter by the minute.
“You don’t need to do that,” Liam said. “I have my truck.”
“Then tell me what’s going on, right now,” she said, feeling like her head was going to explode.
“Hun, I’m fine,” Liam assured her once again, but she refused to believe it.
“Why are you at the police station?”
Rosie’s eyes grew wide and she slammed on the gas pedal causing Leah to jerk in her seat and the phone to fly out of her hands. Rosie apologized quickly and steered the car onto the highway leaving Cedar Valley. “You tell him Mama Bear’s on her way and I ain’t too happy.”
“What’d you do?” Leah asked Liam, who was sitting in the holding area in the lobby. He had a few scrapes and bruises alongside his face.
“No worries,” Liam said, grinning. “The other guy looks worse.”
If looks could kill, he’d be a dead man. “Liam.”
An officer walked into the hallway, stopping just in front of their divided circle. Leah could smell the alcohol on Liam’s breath. She bit her tongue. She was sure he had done something foolish.
“He’s free to go, if either of you ladies wants to drive him home,” the officer announced, patting Liam on the back.
Leah crossed her arms in front of her and tapped her foot; angry that he wouldn’t tell her what the hell had happened.
Liam held up his hands in defense against her angry stare. “Hun, you shouldn’t be so angry. I found him and I took care of him.”
She looked at the officer, who shrugged, and back to Liam. “What do you mean you took care of him?”
Standing up, he walked to the door. “Let’s go,” he said, motioning her to the door. “I’ll tell you all about on the way home.”
Leah climbed in the backseat and scooted to the middle. She wanted to have full view of his face as he explained to Rosie and her what the hell had happened after he left the house, more than four hours ago.
Before he could explain, Rosie said, “Please tell me you didn’t kill a man.”
Leah hadn’t found it quite as funny as they did. This wasn’t a laughing matter. Sure, she liked the bad boy type just as much as the next girl, but this was uncalled for—not telling her and then beating around the bush—it pissed her off.
“I left the house and headed to my friend’s place after the deputy told me they found out who did it.”
“Jake,” Leah mumbled.
“Yes, Jake.”
“So, what’d you do?”
“I went to find him.”
She crossed her arms, waiting for him to explain. She wasn’t mad that he left. She wasn’t mad that he was standing up for what was his. She was mad that he had told her to stay behind. She was mad because he hadn’t answered the phone when she called. She was mad because, for the first time in her life, she actually cared about a man who was foolish enough to go out and get in a fight with her ex—who in turn could’
ve killed him, for all she knew.
“Honestly, I was looking for him, but wasn’t expecting to actually find him.”
“But you did,” Leah said, keeping him on track of telling her everything that had happened.
“Yep, I sure did,” Liam said. “I just wanted to ask him a few questions.”
The smirk on his face said otherwise. She rolled her eyes. “So, when did you drink?”
He turned in the seat and looked back at her. “I drank a few with the guys for a bit after I left the house and couldn’t find him.”
“So, you drank and then drove,” Leah said, as she put the pieces together. “Then you found him. What happened next?”
“He thought he was going to take me,” Liam said. “But I didn’t let him.”
It could have come across as cocky, but it didn’t. Liam wasn’t that type—the overbearing, overconfident cocky asshole who thinks he can take on everyone. It wasn’t his personality or his demeanor. Tonight he had been defending what was his.
“I had him in a choke hold until he quit punching and he called it quits,” Liam admitted. “He confessed that he burned the bar down, and he said he’d do it again, if he had the chance.”
“Why?” Leah whispered. She couldn’t understand why Jake would do something like that. He was crazy, she knew that, but she didn’t think he’d push it this far.
“That doesn’t matter,” Liam stated. “All that matters is he that he’ll be doing some time and paying for it.”
“It was because of me, wasn’t it?”
Rosie drove the car down the driveway and parked near the porch. “I’m going inside. I’ll have supper done after bit.”
The car door slammed and Leah refocused on Liam. “Wasn’t it?”
Liam opened the car door and stepped out onto the gravel. Leah climbed out of the backseat and stood next to him. She could tell he didn’t want her to know, but it was too late, she had already figured it out long before now.
All She Ever Wanted (Cedar Valley Novel Book 1) Page 20