“Those are some strong accusations,” he said. “I’d like to review the evidence myself before making any calls.”
“Can you meet in the morning?”
“Sure can,” he said. “I’ll be in at eight. I’ll have my secretary pencil you in.”
“Thank you, sir,” I said.
As soon as he hung up, I grabbed the address and the thumb drive and ran out to my car. The state’s AG office was in Salem, the capital, so I ended up grabbing about five cups of coffee through the drive. It took me pretty much all night to get there, but every time I started to feel tired, I thought about how good it would feel to bust that son of a bitch. Not only would it solve my problem but Sara’s, too, and that alone was worth the drive.
I arrived in Salem about thirty minutes early, so I parked and walked down to the bakery, grabbing a donut and coffee before heading over. I hadn’t talked to the AG before. The senator had taken care of that for me, so I was a bit nervous, to say the least. When I arrived in his office, the secretary smiled, expecting me this time. I walked into the large office and looked around, impressed with his digs.
“Good morning,” he said, walking from his private bathroom. “Thank you for driving down here so quickly.”
“It was no problem at all,” I said. “Here’s the thumb drive. I cut out the hours of blank footage before it, and it will pick up just before the two men walk into the foreground. I also brought a picture of the sheriff and his deputy so you know who you’re looking at.”
“Thank you,” he said, taking the drive and the photos from me.
He sat down at his computer, and I sat across from him, watching his face as he reviewed the footage. He was an older man, and I could tell he’d been hardened over time by what he’d seen and heard from that position. He watched the video several times and after the last, he sighed, sitting back in his chair.
“Well,” he said. “It seems I need to put out a warrant for the sheriff’s and the deputy’s arrest. This a federal charge, several actually. Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I’ll have the ADA call you when things get going on it, but they’ll be taken into custody probably before you ever get back there.”
“Thank you, sir,” I said. “This is a good thing. Not the damage, but that sheriff holds a fear over the people of that town, and I think that they’ll be more at ease knowing they’re in good hands.”
When I left the office, I could feel a sense of relief I had been waiting for since I found out about Janson. It was a huge problem off my plate, something that had really put tension between me and Sara. Now, though, my path to her and our path toward the future was clear, and very soon, we’d be able to enjoy our relationship without worrying about Janson and his cronies. It was definitely a good day.
Chapter 60
Sara
It was Friday, and I’d finally heard from Ryan. I had started to get worried about him, not hearing from him and not seeing his SUV outside of the hotel. With Janson on the loose and everything else going on, I didn’t feel comfortable anywhere. I had agreed to meet Ryan for dinner that night, something I loved doing with him, I just wished it was under less stressful circumstances in our lives. I really hoped one day, we could live a normal life together. I was nervous, though, because I needed to talk to him about Janson and the way he’d been acting. Ryan wouldn’t be happy about it, and he’d probably want to go after him. I’d have to talk him out of it, especially with his ranch right there on the outskirts of town. I needed him to let it roll off his shoulders and get down to planning how to get Janson off my back. It wasn’t going to be an easy task. I knew it could possibly be an impossible task, but I had to do something, I couldn’t sit around and live in fear like this.
There were so many things about the situation that made me afraid. I was afraid for any unsuspecting animal Janson might decide needed to go on my front porch. I was afraid for my own safety. He got more brutal every time he saw me. But most of all, I was afraid for Ryan’s safety. Janson was getting angrier by the day, and between his need to control me and the threats he had already made, I felt like he might try to do something to hurt Ryan, whether it be professionally or personally. He was a brute, a man with no conscience, and that was a bad thing when he got angry, which was pretty much all the time these days.
Ryan had become this beacon in my life, this man who was strong and valiant, someone I could see myself spending a very long time with. I didn’t know what I would do if he got hurt because of me. I couldn’t stand that because I’d realized after the barn incident, I was in love with him. And it wasn’t puppy love or lust or desire. I was hopelessly and deeply in love with that man. I couldn’t imagine having anyone else in my life in a romantic way. He had finally caught me, and this time, it wouldn’t be so easy to turn and walk away from him. In fact, it would be nearly impossible to do so. The questions were still there, that hadn’t changed. I had no idea where our relationship might go. I didn’t even know if he was totally serious about staying in Bonanza. There were so many unanswered questions and so many what ifs, but the one thing I was dead positive on was the fact that I loved him.
I had thought I had been in love before, having dated several times and had more than one long-term relationship, but now that I was with him, with Ryan, nothing in the past had been anywhere near the feelings I had now. I figured it really hadn’t been love I’d had in the past but a strong infatuation of sorts. Or maybe this was that much stronger. It held me captive, unable to think about anything else, not even wanting to in the first place. As I drove along thinking about it, I could feel the pattering of butterflies in my chest. When I arrived at the Mexican restaurant where we’d had our first date, I pulled into the parking lot, pausing for a moment, thinking maybe I had the wrong place. There were only two restaurants in town, but the parking lot was completely empty. It was a Friday night, their busiest night. I parked next to the only other car there, which was his SUV and slowly got out, looking around suspiciously. The front door opened, and a woman smiled, waving me in. I walked over to her and grinned nervously.
“Am I in the right place?” I asked.
“You sure are,” she said. “Welcome. I can show you to your table.”
“All right,” I said, walking through the doors.
When I got inside, I stopped, my hands flying up to cover my mouth. The whole place was empty except for Ryan, standing in the middle of the floor holding one of many red roses. Apparently, he’d rented the entire restaurant out for us. He had placed candles everywhere, and there were vases upon vases of flowers. I wasn’t even sure where he’d gotten that many flowers. There was no way the town’s florist had them. It was surprising and romantic, and for a moment, I forgot all about the things that had been going on outside in our lives. I took a step forward and looked around the room. It was pretty dark except for the candlelight. The only people there were me, him, and a small staff who were standing in the back corner watching everything. Immediately, my cheeks started to warm, and I knew I was blushing something awful.
Ryan chuckled and walked over to me, putting my hand into his. The warmth of his touch immediately made me feel better, but still, my mind was completely blown. I couldn’t wrap my head around what was going on. One minute I was sitting in my car worried to death, and the next, I was standing in a sea of roses and candlelight. My life had gone beyond interesting, and no one could ever say different. He chuckled and leaned down, kissing me softly and greeting me the best way he could.
“Come, sit,” he said, turning to the table covered with a white tablecloth in the center of the room,.
I laughed, thinking about how there would be no tablecloth at all normally, and in place of the fancy cloth napkins folded perfectly on the brightly colored plates would be paper napkins rolled around a set of water-stained silverware. The only reason I recognized it was that he had taken me to so many fancy restaurants when I was in New York. I half expected to see our waiter in a bow tie. I had to admit, though,
it was the most romantic thing anyone had ever done for me.
“I hope you like cheap tequila.” He smiled as we sat.
“It’s my drink of choice,” I said in a fancy voice before giggling.
“I went ahead and ordered us some appetizers, and you can have anything you like on the menu,” he said.
“So, it’s not the sky’s the limit? It’s the burrito’s the limit?”
“Precisely.”
I laughed and then looked down at the menu, my smile fading quickly. I was scared to bring up Janson, afraid Ryan might think I wasn’t worth all the trouble. We had been through so much. He’d even run into a burning building for me. I didn’t know if adding a psychopathic stalker back into the mix might bring us to our knees.
“I wonder if they’ll dip your taco in gold.” He chuckled.
“Maybe,” I said, completely distracted.
“All right,” he sighed. “I can tell there’s something on your mind. You aren’t even laughing at my terrible jokes like you usually do. Come on, spit it out. I think by now, you can tell me anything. I’ve told you some shocking stuff in our days together, and I’d be surprised if you could top that.”
“I don’t know if this is necessarily shocking,” I said.
“Okay, now I’m getting worried. You’re talking in riddles,” he said. “Whatever it is, just put it out there.”
“All right,” I said. “Yesterday, when I was getting ready to close down the practice for the day, Janson came in. I let him have it because I was feeling bold. Well, he didn’t like that too much, so he threw me against the wall and pretty much told me if I didn’t conform to his standards, if I didn’t take him back, he was going to make sure you paid for it. Then, he squeezed my face and tried to physically bully me. I didn’t fall for it, though. I held my ground, and luckily, I was saved by a woman and her puppy who needed stitches in his paw. After that, he left without another word, but he made it very clear he wasn’t playing around.”
“Damn it,” he said, his face stiffening. “Why didn’t you call me?”
“I don’t know,” I sighed. “I guess I was afraid you’d just throw your hands up and think it wasn’t worth it.”
“Never,” he said. “What I should do, though, is go right over to the station and beat the ever-loving shit out of the guy. Then, the cops can arrest him like they’re planning, and I’ll win on both ends of things. Seriously, I’ve never met anyone else who deserved a complete and total beatdown like this guy does. He’s seriously a piece of shit. I’m surprised it hasn’t happened before now with these farmer guys out here.”
“Wait,” I said, scrunching my brow. “Did you just say before the police arrest him?”
“Yeah,” he said nonchalantly. “Look. Appetizers.”
“No, no, no,” I said. “What’s going on?”
“Well, someone came to the ranch the night before last and completely smashed two of my solar panels to smithereens. What they weren’t expecting was that I have security cameras hidden all over the property. When I replayed the footage, there was old Janson and his deputy just smashing away, clear as day. So, I called the state’s attorney general, ran the footage to Salem, and he put out an immediate arrest warrant for him and his stupid-ass deputy. The two of them are going to be charged with all kinds of fun stuff. It really was a good conversation.”
“Holy shit,” I said loudly, stopping and looking around. “Are you serious?”
“Absolutely serious,” he said. “They’ll probably be in jail by the time the sun comes up, or at least I hope so.”
“You don’t think he’ll get out of it somehow?”
“Not with the order coming down from that high up,” he said. “Seriously, the attorney general wouldn’t even think of hobnobbing with a man like him. He thinks of him as a nuisance, a rogue cop who needs to be put in his place. The last thing he wants is some crazy scandal because of some small-town psychopath sheriff who was put into place by his current colleagues.”
“That is, like, the best news I’ve gotten all year,” I said with a smile. “I’m more than relieved to know that in just days, I’ll be a free woman, no longer afraid of walking down the street and running into him or calling for help when I need it. I can finally do and be whatever I want. Thank you.”
“Thank him for being stupid.” He laughed.
“I’ll send him a card in jail.” I chuckled.
“You know—and I know you were thinking this, too—I think he had something to do with burning down the barn,” I said. “I thought that from the moment I saw the fire. I was looking for any sign of him or the deputy on the property, but I never saw anything. Unfortunately, Alison doesn’t have a security system.”
“I wouldn’t doubt it,” he said. “But for now, we need to forget about him and focus on the rest of our amazing evening.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” I said, taking his hands.
What an amazing surprise.
Chapter 61
Ryan
Dinner was wonderful, and I felt like both of us had a weight completely lifted off our shoulders. Especially Sara. She was vibrant, light, playful, and happy. I hadn’t really seen her this way, not even in New York. I realized the poor woman had been walking around for a long time feeling like she constantly had to look over her shoulder. It saddened me a bit, but as soon as I saw that smile, I knew she was going to be okay. Janson was going away, and she could let out that deep breath she had been holding in her lungs for months.
“So how’s the barn coming along?” she asked.
“I hear it’s doing great and that Alison is very particular, which is good.” I chuckled. “If we’re going to do this, I want it done right, and I want the horses and the organization to have what it needs.”
“That’s great.” She smiled. “I can’t tell you how glad I am these things are working out. We really started to think about some changes for the ranch now that the barn is going to be new, now that Jimmy’s gone, and we’ve seen where the weak spots are. The fencing needs to be better, more resistant to things like what happened. These horses need special care, and them getting out could have been devastating.”
“Well, I’ll help wherever I can,” I said. “Give me a hammer and nails.”
“I think you’ve done quite your share.” She chuckled. “Running into a fiery building got you out of manure duty for at least a month.”
“That’s it?” He laughed. “I’m just gonna start following the fire trucks around like a superhero.”
“Right,” she said. “Maybe you should take it easy and focus on the solar ranch and this barn.”
“I was thinking of relaxing, spending my open free time with this one girl I met.” I grinned.
“Oh yeah? Does she have any drama?”
“Oh, tons, but I like it that way. She keeps me on my toes. I just hope there aren’t any more accidents that involve flames and smoke. That was a bit over the top.”
“Yeah, you know me. When I do something, I go big.” She laughed.
“Maybe I should call the guys and tell them to build me a fireproof barn. That would solve all the problems.”
“Yeah, I don’t think that exists, and if it did, you know Alison would be already signed up for one.” She chuckled. “It would be like a giant plastic playhouse for kids. It would get all hot and sticky on the inside.”
“Nah, there’s got to be better technology than that,” he said. “Maybe that should be my next business venture.”
“Building plastic barns?”
“No, investing in the technology to come up with a kickass fireproof barn,” he said. “You know, stay on the science side of things so I don’t get too gimmicky.”
“I can see you now in a commercial, wearing a tacky suit and telling people to come on down to the Barn Outlet.” She laughed. “You’d give a demonstration on how the barn is fire-retardant.”
“But something would go wrong,” I said dramatically. “And I would be left with a
field of melted blobs of plastic.”
“And a closet full of bad ties,” she pointed out.
“Oh god, the nightmares,” I said, shivering.
“Man, with all the money it would take to go into a business like that, I would say join the organization and spend it on rescuing more horses.” She smiled. “They don’t care what kind of barn they’re in as long as they don’t get hauled off to the glue factory.”
“Poor guys,” I said, pouting.
“Look who has gotten an attachment to horses.”
“After running into that building and seeing that horse there without help and seeing how it knew I was there to help it, I kind of fell in love with it,” I admitted.
“Frank loves you too.” She smiled.
“His name is Frank?”
“What did you expect it to be? Wilbur, Mr. Ed?”
“I don’t know.” I chuckled. “I always see these horses with these crazy names on the horse racing, figured his name would be like Fancy Fingers or Speedy.”
“They are farming horses not racehorses,” she said with a grin. “And those poor things, that’s a whole other story for another time.”
“Yeah, I don’t want to know. That’ll be too sad,” I said. “Next thing you know, I’m buying up all the racehorses. I’ll be penniless with no way to feed them, but I’ll have five hundred of them in a field.”
“Oh lord.” She dropped her head into her hands.
The conversation was amazing, nothing stressful or deep, just playful, teasing conversation. It was the first time we’d really had that without a ton of the past creeping up on us. The past was out in the open now for both of us, and things were starting to look up. Janson would be in jail soon, there was nothing left from my past to talk about, and all the small issues were being taken care of. It felt freeing, open, and something I had never experienced before.
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