“What's your position here at The Winding Waters?”
“I'm the foreman.”
“And do you normally eat at the main house with Mr. Granger and his niece?”
“Just about always.”
“So Monday you were here at the main house with them for supper. You ate around 6:30 or so. How long does supper normally last, or how long did it last on Monday?”
“It's usually about 45 minutes, maybe an hour. We discuss the ranch while we're eating, going over what got done that day and deciding what needs to be done the next, and who will do what.”
“So you were in the house here Monday from about 6:30 until 7:15, 7:30?”
“We were eating during that time. I didn't go home Monday night until after 10:00.”
“And why was that?”
“May I ask what this is all about?”
“I need you to answer my questions first. Afterward I'll explain everything.”
Bo sighed. “Okay. I stayed here that long because Alicia and I have been seeing each other. We spend some time together most evenings. I don't know what this is about, but I don't want her name being dragged through the mud or anything like that. That's why I asked what this is all about.”
“So you were spending time with her?”
“Yes.”
“Is she the only one who could verify you were here?”
“No. We were watching a movie, and Wyatt was in the living room with us. At one point, as I recall, Maria came in and talked to Wyatt a moment or two. She would have seen me on the couch with Alicia.”
“Maria?”
“Wyatt's housekeeper and cook.”
“So you were in the living room, not in Alicia's bedroom?”
Bo fought to keep his patience. “Sheriff, I told you we were in the living room with Wyatt. Alicia and I have been seeing each other a couple months. No, we were not, nor have we ever spent time in her bedroom. I don't know what this is all about, but that's the sort of thing I don't want Alicia subjected to. She's done nothing to deserve that, and frankly, neither have I.”
Sheriff Culler studied Bo several seconds, as well as his reaction to his questions. “Okay, Mr. Hamilton, I believe you. I apologize for upsetting you.”
“You believe me? Sheriff, I know you don't know me, but if I tell you something, you can put money on it. I do not believe in lying. I will not lie, nor do I allow others to lie to me. Now, again, can I ask what this is all about?”
“I will tell you, but first I need to talk to the three you said would be able to verify your whereabouts Monday evening. If they verify your story, I'll explain it to you.”
“They're all three right out there where we were. Feel free to go ask them.”
“I need to talk to them each separately.”
“Couldn't you give them each a piece of paper and have them write down their answer? I want to know what's going on.”
“Sorry, Mr. Hamilton, but I need to speak to each of them. If they—”
“I know, I know. Is there anything else you want to ask me, or whom should I send in first? I want to know what's going on.”
“Sorry, but I can't let you talk to them before I do.”
“Oh, for heaven's sake. So what do you want me to do; stay in here while you talk to each of them?”
“Yes. I'll speak with each of them separately, then come back to talk to you again.” Without another word, the sheriff left, leaving Bo pacing the room, taking deep breaths, trying to calm himself down. He didn't have a clue what this was all about, which made the wait seem like forever.
The sheriff returned to the office after what seemed like several hours, but was probably closer to twenty minutes. Bo was still pacing, but he looked up as the sheriff walked in. “Well?”
“All three verified your story, and I spoke with them separately. I am satisfied, so I'll tell you what this is about. Monday evening there was a house burglary in Lindale. The homeowner came home and walked in on them. He saw them briefly, but he was able to give us a description of the two men. One of them told his buddy, and I quote, 'Hurry up, Bo, let's get out of here.' That's why—”
“So all this is just because one of the men's name apparently is Bo?”
“Well, you have to admit it's not one of the more popular names. But there's more than that. The description the home owner gave us of this man supposedly named Bo fits you real well.”
Bo's eyebrows rose. “It does?”
“It does. He described him as tall, probably over six feet, muscular, wearing jeans, a solid color tee shirt with no writing on it, cowboy boots and a cowboy hat. Have you looked in a mirror lately?”
“I agree that fits my description, as well, but I can assure you I was here all night. I would never break into someone's home, either, Sheriff. I know you don't know me, but I take offense at that accusation.”
“I wasn't accusing you necessarily, but I think you can see why I had to talk to you.”
Bo reluctantly agreed. “I do. Can I ask how I came to your attention? I mean, I've only been in this area for three or four months and I don't go to Lindale often. How did you even know to come talk to me?”
“I didn't have much to go on, so I concentrated on the cowboy boots and hat. I went to the places cowboys would be most apt to go. That included the feed stores, equine shops, bars and nightclubs the cowboys tend to frequent on the weekends. I asked everyone if they knew of anyone named Bo, and if they did I asked for a description. That led me here.”
Bo nodded. “So what now?”
“I'm satisfied. All three of them assured me you were here, and quite frankly, they were all upset that you would be even considered for such a thing. You may not have been here long, but you seem to have made some good friends.”
“Those are all good people out there. So is this over now?”
“As far as I'm concerned, unless I come across more evidence that leads me back here. I can't imagine what that could be, though.”
“And I can tell them what this was all about?”
“I would,” the sheriff said with a smile. “I don't think they're very happy with me right now.”
“Have you got a minute, that you can stick around while I tell them? They're bound to have a question or two.”
“I can do that much for you. After all, I did pretty much ruin your dinner.”
Bo laughed. “Maria will heat that up, I'm sure. Interrupting my supper was the least of my concerns tonight.”
The two of them went back to the dining room, where Wyatt, Alicia and Maria were waiting anxiously. Wyatt stood when the men appeared in the door. “Can you tell us what this was all about now?”
Sheriff Culler proceeded to explain what he'd told Bo. They were all a little taken aback by the accusation, but even more so when the first person to complain to the sheriff was Maria. “Sheriff Culler, I'm assuming you didn't do your homework on Bo before you came here. If you had, you would have found Bo is not the kind of man that would do anything like that. Shame on you for accusing him of that.”
The sheriff's eyes opened wide. “I'm sorry, ma'am. I was just doing my job.”
“Well, it seems to me if you'd done your job well you would have found out he's not capable of doing something like that.”
Wyatt had to fight to keep the smile from his face. He put his arm around Maria. “We know Bo and we know he wouldn't do anything like that, Maria, but Sheriff Culler doesn't know him. He was just doing his job, following up on the leads he had.”
“I guess,” she said, but was obviously still not impressed with the sheriff.
Bo showed the sheriff out, then returned to have supper with his friends. They talked about the odds of there being someone else named Bo that apparently looked very similar to him, but were all glad the ordeal was over. “Life at the ranch is never dull,” Bo said.
Alicia expressed an interest in learning how to ride horses, so the next evening Bo took her out to the stable. Once he assured himself she didn't h
ave a fear of the big animals, he showed her how to brush them out. She loved the horses and enjoyed brushing them. The horses loved being brushed, and took to her immediately.
He occasionally found her out in the barn, brushing down one horse in particular, a mare named Patsy, who was very easy going. The two quickly became friends.
Over the next few weeks Alicia and Kayla also formed an easy friendship. The four of them made plans to go out for dinner together one Saturday evening, and the girls decided to go check out the new store that had recently opened. It was advertised as having everything you might need in a kitchen. Both ladies liked to cook and were excited to see what the store was like.
They decided to treat themselves to lunch, as well, so Kayla was at The Winding Waters around 11:00. They told the men they were going to have lunch, see what the store was like, and Kayla would drop Alicia off and go home in plenty of time to allow both ladies to be ready in plenty of time for the men to take them to dinner.
They enjoyed their lunch, and eagerly went to the kitchen store. They lost themselves, pointing out gadgets and small appliances they'd neither one seen before. They found several things they both wanted to try, which gave them an idea. They decided to get a few of these new gadgets, then get together and cook a meal for their guys.
With this new idea in mind they went through the store again, trying to decide what they wanted to get, and what their menu would be. They changed their minds several times, but were both completely satisfied and excited with their final decision.
They took their purchases to the checkout and got in line. The line was long, and as they were waiting their turn Alicia looked at her watch. “Oh, my goodness, Kayla, I had no idea it was this late.”
Kayla glanced at her watch. “Oh, gosh. We aren't going to make it back when we thought we would.”
“The guys will be upset if we're late, won't they?”
Kayla shook her head. “Not necessarily. We'll call them and tell them we're running late. Maybe they'll be okay as long as they know we're okay.”
“It certainly won't hurt,” Alicia said as she pulled her phone out. “Unfortunately, though, I think you better call Wyatt. My phone must be dead.”
“Remind me when I get to the car. I must have left my phone in there. I don't see it in my purse.”
When it was their turn to check out, the cashier told them she had one of the items they were purchasing. They started talking about it, and she shared some helpful tips, along with recipe ideas. They took their new gadgets to the car and eagerly planned their meal as they headed home.
“Kayla, I just remembered. Did you call Wyatt and tell them we're running late?”
“Oh, no, I forgot.” She looked over to the cup holder she usually kept her phone in, but it was empty. “Do you see my phone anywhere? If it's not in my purse it's usually in the cup holder.”
Alicia looked around the car, but didn't see it. “Where do you suppose it could be?”
Kayla pulled over into a parking lot. “I don't know, but I'm starting to get worried now. What if I lost it? It's got information on there that I don't want someone else getting.” She picked her purse up and started taking things out so she could search through it.
Meanwhile, Alicia got out of the car and looked in the back seat, and under the seats, thinking maybe it fell out of her purse and onto the floor. After a few minutes they came to the conclusion it wasn't in the car. Kayla sighed. “Great. I wonder where I lost it.”
“It could be at the store somewhere, or you could have lost it at the restaurant.”
“Or it could have fallen out of my purse while we were going to or from either of those places.” She sighed, and glanced at her watch. “And Wyatt's going to be really upset. We told them we'd be ready to go eat by 6:00 and it's a few minutes past that now.”
“We better get back to the ranch so they don't start worrying.”
“I'd say we're already too late for that,” Kayla said. “But you're right; we better get back there.”
Fifteen minutes later they pulled in the drive of the ranch and were met by two large men who looked very concerned, but not too happy. They opened the car doors and helped the ladies out. As if in sync, they asked, “Are you okay?”
The ladies accepted hugs from their men and assured them they were fine.
Wyatt looked down at Kayla. “Then where have you been? And why haven't you been answering your phone?”
Bo echoed his boss. “You haven't been answering your phone, either, Alicia. Why not?”
The girls quickly explained their dilemma, including the long line at the checkout, which led to the discovery of one dead phone and one missing phone.
“That's not something you want to lose,” Wyatt said. “We better backtrack your route. We can ask if anyone turned one in, and if not we can check the floor inside the stores. You can show us about where you parked and we'll look in the parking lots, too. Do you remember where all you girls went?”
While he was asking Kayla these questions, Bo leaned down close to Alicia's ear and quietly said, “I thought we'd talked about you keeping your phone charged and with you anytime you're away from the house.” Her shoulders slumped and she started to say something, but he stopped her. “We'll talk later.” He motioned to Wyatt, and she listened to what he was asking.
“Well, let's start at the beginning,” Wyatt was saying. “When was the last time you remember having your phone?”
“I don't know,” Kayla answered him. She turned to Alicia. “Do you remember me getting any calls today?”
Alicia thought several moments. “No, now that I think about it, I don't. That's really unusual.”
“Not if you don't have it,” Wyatt mumbled, rubbing his jaw. “Maybe we need to go to your house and start our search there.”
Kayla looked at him, confused. “Why at home? Are you saying I left the house without even grabbing it?”
“I don't know; you tell me. Do you remember grabbing it before you walked out the door, or making any phone calls all day?”
She thought again and slowly shook her head. “No, I guess I can't actually say I remember ever using it or actually having it today.”
“Then we'll start at your house. Do you girls need to change before we eat dinner, or are you ready to go?”
“If we go somewhere casual I'm good,” Alicia offered.
“Me, too,” Kayla agreed.
“Good. Let's take my SUV and we'll go to Kayla's house first. If it's not there we'll decide then what to do next.”
Chapter 5
Luck was with them, and when they stopped at Kayla's house they found her phone on the dresser in her bedroom. “I must have forgotten to get it when I left this morning,” she said.
“It wouldn't have done you any good anyway,” Wyatt said with a bit of an edge. He handed it to her. “It's dead.”
Alicia and Bo both noticed the look that exchanged quickly between Wyatt and Kayla. Alicia wondered what that look meant, but Bo was pretty sure he knew. No use to dwell on it now, though.
“Well, I'm glad you found it,” Bo said. “Are we ready to go get some dinner?”
Kayla seemed anxious. “I sure am. I'm starved. Sorry I held us all up this evening, but now that I have my phone, let's go eat.”
She started toward the door, but Wyatt caught her arm and stopped her. “Why don't you plug your phone in first, so at least it'll be charged tomorrow.”
“That's probably a good idea,” she said.
As she took her phone to her bedside table and plugged it in, he murmured, “Better late than never.” She nodded, and looked down at the floor.
Bo directed Alicia out the door, sensing a moment alone might be appreciated. “We'll be out by the SUV. I want to show Alicia the red variegated roses by the swing. I think she'll really like them.”
She looked up at him with a question written all over her face, but he shook his head ever so slightly and guided her out the door and outside. He did indeed
show her the roses he'd mentioned and leaned down to talk softly by her ear. “I think they need a couple minutes alone right now.”
She nodded and whispered, “I think so, too. He seems upset.”
“He is. Honey, you don't know how scared we were when you two were late and neither of you were answering your phones. When we found out we'd both talked to you two previously about keeping a charged phone with you anytime you're away from the house, you can imagine what kind of awful thoughts were going through our minds. But it turns out those two just had a serious talk about that same subject less than a week ago. We're both very relieved and happy that you're home safe, but that doesn't let either of you off the hook.”
Alicia was in a fog. He called her honey, and that was the first time he'd used that or any other term of endearment like that, and she liked it very much. But when his words settled into her brain, for the first time Alicia realized exactly what he was insinuating, and she was instantly nervous. “Bo, you don't mean – you aren't thinking about – that doesn't mean—”
“Honey, what I'm saying is that tonight after we get back from having dinner, you're going to get your sweet little bottom warmed.”
“Oh, no. Bo, no, you can't do that.”
He turned her to look at him, using two fingers to lift her chin so she was looking into his eyes. “Alicia, you've been warned. Tonight you will receive your first spanking. I suggest you take this time to wrap your head around that idea and accept it. If you keep pulling away from me, like you're trying to right now, I'll ask Wyatt to take us home and we'll take care of it now, and meet them at the restaurant later. If you want to do that, we can, but you'll be sitting on a sore bottom at the restaurant. I assumed you'd prefer waiting until we got home. The choice is yours, though. If you prefer it beforehand, just keep fighting or pouting.”
“Bo, no, that would be so embarrassing. Don't let them know you, that you—”
“That you'll be getting a spanking tonight? That's up to you. If you behave yourself, we'll wait until we get back home. But if you keep fighting or pouting, I'll ask Wyatt to take us home first.”
Life at the Ranch Page 6