“Dad bought me my iPod, and I don’t have a music box or necklace,” Gareth finally mumbled, his gaze lowering.
“This is ridiculous—”
Lucy cut off Byron, saying, “I know you purchased the music box and necklace at a jewelry store in Austin.”
Gareth hunched his shoulders.
“Even if he did, it has nothing to do with the case.” Byron stepped closer to Gareth, and the sixteen-year-old stiffened.
Although she didn’t see Ben, Lucy was aware of his presence. “When the Derrings received special presents at Christmas, Maddy also did and continued to after that. At that time it appeared the gifts came from the Robin Hoods. That was the consensus and why the robbers were given the name of Robin Hood. I started trying to find where the gifts were coming from.”
“This still doesn’t explain why my boys would do something like that. Steal from the rich to give to the poor? No way.”
“But the piece of evidence that clearly identifies your sons as the thieves is Mark Ballard.”
“Mark Ballard? Who is he?” Byron’s voice lowered to a menacing hiss by the last question.
Winston dropped his head, twisting his hands in his lap.
“They sold cattle to him over months. He works out of Oklahoma and was brought in for selling stolen cows. He ID’d Gareth’s and Winston’s photos as someone he dealt with handling cattle and equipment they brought him.”
“You’re falsifying evidence. You’re mad at me because I’m going to make sure you aren’t the sheriff next year. In fact, when I’m through with you, you won’t be next month. Where’s the motive?”
“Your sons are upset at how Betsy and Mac McKay were treated last year. They needed help, and you wouldn’t give them any. Mac’s drinking led to his death, and Betsy left town months before she graduated from high school because of what happened. They were family, and you turned them away.” Lucy directed her gaze to Gareth, who stared at her. “Isn’t that right, Gareth? You and your brother were close to them.”
“Mac was the cause of his own problems. He—”
With tears streaming down his cheeks, Gareth surged to his feet and glared at his father. “You are the reason he died. He had someone steal his cattle and some equipment and you wouldn’t help him. He was more a father to me than you were. He always asked how we were doing. He listened to us when we had a problem. He’d try to help us.” Gareth’s face grew redder as he shouted. “Betsy is our cousin, and you let her leave town. You wouldn’t even help her when her father died. You’re a mean man, and I hate you.”
Gareth rushed from the room and slammed out the front door.
Ben turned, heading after the teen. “I’ll go get him.”
Byron looked at Ben leaving and moved his mouth up and down, but no words came out of him. Lucy had never seen Byron so stunned or speechless.
He sank onto the couch next to Winston, his son’s head still down. “Is that why you did it?” Byron finally asked the remaining twin.
Winston’s Adam’s apple bobbed up and down.
“Is it?” Byron said in a more demanding voice.
“Yes. There were a lot of people around here that needed help. You’ve got everything you need. They didn’t. Mac was family.”
Byron’s gaze fell on Lucy. “I’m calling my lawyer. Not another word.”
She nodded, then talked on her cell phone to one of the deputies waiting for her call. “We’re ready.”
When she disconnected, Winston looked at her with a pale face and huge eyes. “Ready for what?” His voice shook as he continued to twist his hands together.
“I have a warrant to search the ranch.”
“But the cattle are gone.”
“It still has to be done.”
“Winston, I said not another word,” Byron said as he reentered the living room.
“She’s got a warrant to search the ranch.”
Lucy withdrew the piece of paper and offered it to Byron.
He snatched it from her hand and scanned it. Rage mottled his face. “You’ll regret this.”
“Regret doing my job? I don’t think the other ranchers will feel that way.” She’d tried to make it as easy as possible for the twins’ sakes, but Byron was determined to go down fighting. When she got to the sheriff’s office, she would call Pastor Mathers. Maybe he would be able to give Byron the peace and guidance he needed.
* * *
Ben spied a dark figure disappear into the McKay’s barn and hurried his pace. He could remember having that kind of anger buried deep inside him at Gareth’s age. He should have been able to turn to Grady, but for some reason they’d pulled further apart. If he had had someone to talk to, maybe he wouldn’t have chosen the reckless path he had. Instead, he’d kept it bottled up inside him and rebelled any way he could. He understood where the twins were coming from and hoped he could reach Gareth before he did something else destructive.
When Ben entered the dimly lit barn, he paused to see if he could hear any movement. Other than the rustling of a horse in a stall to his left, it was quiet. “Gareth, running from your problem won’t change your situation. I’d like to talk to you. I’ve been where you are—angry with your father, wanting to lash out. Please let me help you.”
A door opened to the tack room to the right and Gareth stood in the entrance. “No one can help me.”
“I can listen to what you have to say. I’m discovering the more I talk about what’s going on inside me the more I’m beginning to understand myself and my motives.”
“You didn’t steal from others.”
“No, but I was wild. All I wanted for a while was just to have a good time, which meant drinking and being with women.” Ben slowly covered the distance between them. “You know, I really wasn’t having that much fun because so many times it was useless and meaningless. I just knew it would make my dad angry.”
“What changed? Your dad dying?”
Ben shook his head. “No, I still did it after he died because I was still angry at him. But slowly as I became involved in running my ranch I began to replace that destructive behavior with something that had purpose. Ultimately my accident last year is what was the final epiphany for me. I woke up to discover I was responsible for my own son. I want to be the best example of a dad I can be. I don’t want what happened between me and my father to happen between Cody and me.”
“All my dad wants is his way. He doesn’t care what Winston and me want or think. When we came home yesterday from helping to put up the sign, Dad yelled at us for half an hour, then ended with telling me I was not to see Maddy. She wasn’t the type of girlfriend for a McKay. Now she’s gonna hate me for what I did.”
“I can’t answer for what Maddy will do, but I know she cares about you.”
“We’re going to jail, aren’t we?”
“You’ll be arrested. What comes after that is up to the court. But running away won’t change the situation, only make it worse. Face what you did and learn from it. I’ll be here for you.”
Gareth inhaled a deep breath, then exhaled it slowly.
“Are you ready to go back to your house?”
Gareth trudged toward the exit. “You really mean what you said? You’ll be here for me?”
“Yes, and Winston. Y’all aren’t alone.” In that moment Ben realized he’d never been alone because the Lord was always with him. He also had Mamie, Cody and Grady...and now Lucy. But would she still be there now that the case was over?
Chapter Eleven
As she glimpsed Ben heading for her table at Maggie’s Coffee Shop Wednesday evening, Lucy smiled. The gesture seemed alien, since the past two days all she’d been dealing with was the Robin Hoods case and the fallout from arresting Winston and Gareth. She didn’t look forward to the meeting tonight of the
Lone Star Cowboy League. Carson wanted her there to let the members know what was going on with the case. A lot of rumors were flying around town and tempers were high.
Abigail stopped Ben and said something to him. When he resumed his trek toward her, a frown furrowed his forehead.
“What’s wrong?” she asked as he sat next to her.
“I asked Abigail to be Cody’s nanny. She just told me no. After thinking about it and praying, she decided no. She likes her job here and doesn’t see herself as a full-time nanny.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. She would be good. You’ll find someone. In the meantime, you’ll have Chloe and Maddy to help. That gives you some more time to find the perfect solution.”
After Abigail took their dinner orders, Lucy checked her watch. An hour, and then no telling what would happen.
“You’re thinking about the meeting tonight.”
“It’s that obvious?”
He touched her forehead with his fingers, running them back and forth as though that would erase the lines and stress of the past months. “Byron has been pretty silent in the past twenty-four hours.”
“Maybe Pastor Mathers’s visit helped him.”
“I’m not sure I see him changing anytime soon.”
But from what she had seen, Ben had—or was the transformation temporary? “Why do you say that?”
“I went to see Gareth and Winston this morning, and Byron refused to let me talk to them. When I left, I glanced up at the second floor and saw one of the twins standing at the window. I believe Gareth, but I’m not sure. He’s hurting, and he needs someone to talk to.”
“Pastor Mathers?” With tempers flared, Ben was a voice of reason, and she appreciated that with all she was dealing with.
“I hope Byron will let him talk to the boys. I went to see our pastor before coming here. He’s going to be at the meeting tonight, too.”
“A calm voice in the midst of the angry ones.”
“I pray people will listen.”
Abigail set their dinners in front of them along with their bill. “I understand some people who aren’t members are going to the meeting tonight.”
Lucy nodded. “Carson opened it up to the public, but members and myself are the only ones allowed to talk.” She slid a glance at Ben. “And perhaps Pastor Mathers.”
“I have to work or I’d be there. Not sure many people will be here tonight. But in the past couple of days that’s all anyone is talking about. They can’t believe Gareth and Winston stole the cattle and equipment, nor that they gave gifts to others.”
When the waitress left, Ben frowned. “I think the boys care more for the townspeople than they realize. They could have sold the items and kept the money for themselves. They didn’t. You said one of your deputies found a duffel bag with a lot of money in it, right? And a note addressed to Betsy said the money was rightly hers and that it came from Byron McKay’s ranch.”
“It still doesn’t make it right.”
“I didn’t say it was. I’m just trying to look at it from all angles.”
“This from the guy who used to think things were either black or white.”
Ben picked up a piece of fried chicken. “I’m discovering nothing in life is that clear.”
“But the law is.”
“Not really, because judges and juries are human and don’t always see it as clear-cut as the law is stated.” He pointed to her chef salad. “You can have some of my fried chicken if that doesn’t fill you up.”
She laughed. “At the rate you’re going you’re going to be back to your preaccident weight. Then you won’t get to flaunt all the high-calorie food in front of me.”
“Even before the accident, I could pretty much eat what I wanted.”
She harrumphed. “Your color has come back, too.”
“Working more outside at the ranch. Spring is my favorite time of year.”
“Mine, too.”
“Ah, I knew we would eventually have something in common.”
“We do besides that. We both care about Little Horn and the people.” That was one of Ben’s most endearing qualities. “Are you going to speak tonight?”
“Maybe. We’ll see how it goes. What are you going to recommend?”
“I’m still waffling, but what you’ve said makes sense. Ultimately it will be the judge and DA, though, who make the decision.”
“Not a jury?”
“I do want them to be tried as juveniles. I want to see them have counseling as part of their sentence.”
“Because you don’t think Byron would take them to a counselor?”
“I don’t know, but I do know they need to have guidance and ways to handle their anger.” Lucy stabbed her fork into her salad, her stomach churning at the thought of the evening before her.
“Carson started to cancel the Lone Star Cowboy meeting tonight. He wanted to give the town some time to process what happened. I talked him out of it.”
Lucy lifted her palm to his forehead to feel his skin. “Has the hot sun baked your brain?”
“Not talking it over in a place where there is some kind of order and decorum doesn’t mean feelings will go away. Like Gareth’s and Winston’s anger at their father, it will fester until someone explodes.”
She studied his handsome face. “How did you get to be so wise?”
“When I was lying in the hospital bed after I woke up, I had a lot of time to think about life. I started thinking about the kind of world I want my son to grow up in. I grew up with a lot of anger in me, but also there was anger in my father. I know I don’t want that for Cody.”
She prayed this Ben stayed around, but she’d seen many people profess to have changed and not, especially in her line of work.
* * *
Wall-to-wall people crammed into the meeting hall of the Lone Star Cowboy League’s Little Horn chapter. Ben stood in the rear with Lucy, so near he could feel the tension pouring off her as heated conversations filled the room. She constantly scanned the crowd while two of her deputies stationed in other strategic places did the same.
As Carson called the meeting to order and ran through a few items, restlessness took hold of many surrounding Ben. Carson repeatedly called for order before he finally brought up the topic all the people were waiting for.
Ben leaned close to Lucy and whispered, “If you need any help, just say the word. I feel any second a war will erupt.”
“Exactly. I should have had some of my off-duty deputies here, too.”
“Did you noticed the ranchers stolen from are sitting on one side of the room while the ones who received gifts on the other?”
“Yep. With a big red line down the middle.”
Ben clasped Lucy’s hand near him while Carson said, “For the past six months we’ve been dealing with thefts of animals and equipment. It has caused numerous problems in this community. I have invited Sheriff Benson here to explain about the apprehension of the thieves and what will be done with the suspects. She is the only one who will talk right now, so remember that.”
Lucy squeezed Ben’s hand, then released it and strode toward the front of the room. She walked with authority and assurance, as though she’d been the sheriff for a long time. The more he was with her the more he realized she was an incredible woman.
Lucy took the microphone that Carson handed her and paused while she took in the townspeople all staring at her. The silence in the hall hung for a long moment before she said, “On Monday night I arrested Gareth and Winston McKay for cattle rustling and robbery. Charges will be filed in juvenile court tomorrow morning, and they will go before Judge Nelson.”
Some in the crowd jumped to their feet. “Juvenile court! They’ll get a slap on the wrist and be back out in no time to terrorize us,” Paul Martelli, one of th
e prosperous ranchers stolen from, shouted from the left side of the room.
Ben observed Byron seated next to Carson give the man a withering look, but that didn’t stop another rancher who’d been hit to jump to his feet. “We need to make a statement that cattle rustlers are not tolerated here.”
Dan Culter rose. “Yeah, I was robbed. I have enough to worry about.”
Carson struck his gavel against the table several times but more joined in, some of the ranchers who benefited from the gifts trying to calm the irate ones.
Mr. Donner, one of the struggling ranchers, put his hand between his lips and blew a loud whistle. “I believe the sheriff has the floor, so sit down, act like the gentlemen you’re supposed to be and listen.”
A few grumbled, but the room grew quiet.
“One of the stipulations the DA is asking for is restitution for the ones robbed. The gifts I have confiscated will be sold, and the money will go into the fund. The method of raising the rest of the money needed will be decided by the court. We will need everyone affected to fill out a report of what was stolen and the value.” Lucy went on to go over what had led to the arrest. “We are a community who has cared for our own for years. Don’t let this cause a rift among you.” She passed the microphone back to Carson, then moved off to the side but stayed in front.
Pastor Mathers walked down the middle aisle and said to Carson, “May I speak?”
Carson nodded.
The pastor, without the benefit of the microphone, swung around and faced the audience. “I’m not going to give a sermon tonight, but I’m going to challenge each one of you to forgive the McKay twins. That is what our Lord wants. That doesn’t mean they won’t be held accountable for their actions, but that isn’t in your hands. The court will decide. But you can decide to show the teenagers grace. Only you.”
Then the pastor retraced his steps and stood by the door in the back as though he was in church and going to greet everyone as they left.
Mr. Wentworth called out, “Byron, why haven’t you spoken? You certainly had enough to say these past months about the case. Everyone has heard it.”
A Baby for the Rancher Page 14