Four Weddings & A Vendetta (Remington Ranch #5)

by SJ McCoy

  That had them all laughing. As she laughed with them, Corinne realized again how comfortable she’d grown with them—and how happy she was that these girls were going to be her and Ruby’s family.

  Chapter Twelve

  Chance hoped that he’d find Beau in the office. He hadn’t called him to make sure first, because he was giving himself room to back out. All of his instincts were screaming at him that he should end this his way. Since he’d talked to April, on that same morning Guy had paid a visit on Summer, he’d had to keep himself on a tight rein. He was managing it, for the sake of the family, but he wasn’t sure how much longer he’d be able to. He’d decided to talk to Beau in one last-ditch attempt to see if there was anything they could do within the law. If they didn’t come up with something, he was going to put a stop to Guy his own way and to hell with the consequences. Whatever the consequences might be, they’d be for him alone to deal with. The threat to his family, and to April, would be eliminated, and that was all that really mattered.

  He parked the truck on Main and sat there a moment, wondering whether he should just go ahead and take matters—and the law—into his own hands. As he wrestled with the decision, Luke Wallis came out of a store a hundred yards away and started walking toward him. Chance narrowed his eyes and looked skyward. Was someone trying to tell him something? He climbed out of the truck deciding to let fate intervene if it so chose.

  “Chance!” Luke eyed him over. “What are you doing up in town? I thought you were all holed up at the ranch.

  “We moved everyone down there so none of the girls would be left home alone—and without protection.”

  Luke shook his head sadly. “I know what you think of the law, and in this particular case, I’m inclined to agree with you. But I’m still sworn to uphold it, Chance. I can’t do anything, not until we prove that he’s done anything.”

  Chance nodded. Luke was a good man. Chance respected him, even if he couldn’t respect a system that let criminals walk free while people like Al Delaney had their barn burned down, and people like Summer were terrorized in their own home—and people like Chloe died. He sucked in a deep breath and got a grip. “I know. I don’t suppose you’re getting any closer to proving anything are you?”

  Luke didn’t answer for a long moment.

  “Come on. You know as well as I do that he’s threatened April’s life. I don’t believe even you can take that lightly.”

  For a moment, anger flashed in Luke’s eyes. “I don’t take any of it lightly, Malone. Not one damned thing, but my hands are tied.”

  “Mine aren’t.”

  “I know, and honestly, if this goes much further, I’m about ready to turn my badge in and join you.”

  That didn’t surprise Chance too much. Luke really was a good guy. “Have you got anything that might help?”

  Luke shrugged. “Maybe. We tracked down the ranch hand.”

  “Which one?”

  “You remember the truck that rammed Beau?”

  “Like I could forget. The one that disappeared afterward.”

  “Yeah, belonging to the hand who, that very same day, stopped working at the Preston ranch.”

  “What about him?”

  “Summer Lake PD picked him up. He was living in the truck on the outskirts of town.”

  “Damn! So, Guy had him hit Beau and then sent him down to break into April’s place and deliver divorce papers?”

  Luke nodded.

  “Come on, I know you’re not supposed to say anything, but you’d better tell me. You can think of it as crime prevention, because if you don’t tell me the law is going to act soon, then you know damn well that I am.”

  Luke pursed his lips. “We’re not having this conversation.”

  “I agree. We never talked. You never told me anything; I never threatened anyone. So tell me.”

  “The hand, goes by the name of Greyson. He told the Summer Lake officers that Guy was blackmailing him, that he was going to turn him in for parole violations. Greyson’s a drunk, a small-time thief, no good, but not real bad. He was scared of Guy and went as far as following April to make sure she left town when she told Guy she would. After that he says Guy started getting worse, he wasn’t just asking him to do petty stuff. He wanted him to set up an accident for April.”

  “Damn! What are they doing? Did they take her into protective custody?”

  Luke shook his head. “They didn’t see the need; Greyson’s in custody. He refused to do anything that might harm anyone…”

  “Other than ramming Beau?”

  “Yeah, I mean down there. He got scared, ran out of money, and like I say, was living in his truck when the local officers picked him up.”

  “Just because he refused, doesn’t mean Guy hasn’t hired some other lackey. Does April even know?”

  She does. “Colt, the officer I’ve been talking to, he paid a visit on her and her boyfriend.”

  “Did he tell them to get out of town?”

  Luke shrugged.

  “Shit. I’m going to call her and tell her myself.”

  Luke stared at him.

  “And you wonder why I’d rather take things into my own hands than rely on you?”

  Luke nodded.

  “So what are you doing?”

  “Based on what we’ve got from Summer Lake PD, we’re going to bring him in for questioning.”

  “Well, halle-fucking-lujah! And then what? You bring him in, have a nice little chat over a cup of coffee and then have to let him go again?” Chance was starting to see red.

  “We’ll be able to keep him for twenty-four hours. Unless we can charge him with something.”

  “And can you?”

  “We don’t have enough evidence yet, on the fires.”

  “What do you need? I can get it for you.”

  Luke closed his eyes. “I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that.”

  Chance needed to watch his mouth. “You don’t need to. This conversation didn’t happen, remember? Neither of us ever said a word.”

  Luke smiled. “Yeah, and I’m glad of that.”

  “Seriously though, what kind of evidence would it take to charge him?”

  “Something concrete that would tie him to the fires or any one of the fires.”

  Chance nodded. He didn’t see any way he could help with that. “And what about what this Greyson has said about Guy putting him up to ramming Beau?”

  “It’s his word against Guy’s.”

  “So there’s nothing? He can threaten to kill people, he can set up a hit-and-run, he can basically do whatever the fuck he likes and the law isn’t going to do a damned thing, and yet if I lay a finger on him, I’m going down for it, right?”

  Luke looked uncomfortable.

  “And you dedicate your life to upholding that?”

  “It’s not perfect, but what would we do without it? You’re a good man, you have morals. You want to dish out your own justice, because you believe you’re right….”

  “And you don’t think I am?”

  Luke held up a hand. “I didn’t say that, but without the law—without a system—then everyone no matter how, evil, greedy or crazy they are, would have the same right to dish out their version of justice too. No system can ever be perfect, but we have to have one.”

  “Even when it screws good people over and let’s innocent people’s deaths go unpunished?” Chance needed to calm down. He was raising his voice, and they were standing in the middle of Main Street. “Sorry.”

  “It’s okay. I feel your frustration. Let me see what I can do.”

  “I’ve been waiting for that for weeks.”

  “Give me one more week?”

  That took Chance by surprise. “Then what?”

  “Then I might just be frustrated enough to join you.”

  Chance grasped Luke’s shoulder. “I’d never let you do that, but I appreciate the sentiment.”

  “I mean it.”

  Chance shook his head. “You
know what happens to police officers in jail.”

  Luke nodded.

  “You ain’t going with me.”

  “Don’t, Chance.”

  “I don’t want to, but I’m almost to the point where I don’t believe there’s any other way.”

  “We’ll find one.”

  “I hope so. Anyway, I think the conversation we didn’t just have should officially be over now. To answer your very first question, I came up here to talk to Beau. He’s the smart one in the family and I want to make one last-ditch attempt to see if there’s anything we can do within the law to stop that bastard Preston.”

  Luke nodded. “Good luck with that, and let me know if there’s anything you need from me.”

  “Thanks. I’ll see you around.”

  “No doubt.”

  Chance tipped his hat and walked away. He was seething. He needed to talk to April. He needed to talk to Beau. Most of all, he needed to put a stop to Guy fucking Preston!

  ~ ~ ~

  Gina stopped walking when she spotted Chance striding down Main like a man on a mission.

  “Chance!”

  He stopped and turned, scanning his surroundings looking for all the world like an outlaw in all old movie. Gina waved and his expression softened when he spotted her. He came toward her.

  “Hey, Gina.”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Ah, nothing.”

  Gina raised an eyebrow. “You can’t bullshit me.”

  He chuckled. “You and Mason are a pair together. He said exactly the same thing to me the other day.”

  “Well, it’s true, with both of us, so why waste time?”

  “Yeah, he said that, too.”

  She waited.

  “If you really want to know, G. I’m wound up to fuck. I talked to April, she’s worried sick. I just talked to Luke Wallis, and from what he told me, she has every reason to be. I can’t take much more before I end this my way.”

  “And where are you going?”

  He smiled. “Don’t worry, you’d be proud of me. I’m going to see the smart brother to see if he’s figured out what we can do—his way, before I go mine.”

  She nodded. “I am proud of you, but I’m starting to think your way might be the only way. I just talked to my dad and he said Guy’s been parked at the end of his driveway.”

  “Fuck! I’ll get down there.”

  “No, it’s okay. Mason’s going to pick him up and take him to the ranch.”

  “And he’s going to go?”

  “Yeah. He sounded as though it’s really gotten to him. Since we told him about the baby he feels as though he’s got something to live for again. Which is great, but at the same time, I think it makes him feel more scared. You don’t worry so much when you’ve got nothing to lose, do you?”

  “Ain’t that the truth.”

  Gina’s heart sank. She knew from the way he said it that Chance was thinking about himself. “You’ve got everything to lose, Chance.”

  He shook his head. “Nah, life’s good, don’t get me wrong. I love all of you guys. I love my little sister and my nephew, but no one’d miss me. No one depends on me. No one needs me.”

  Gina shook her head. “We all do.”

  “You know what I mean, Gina.”

  “I do, but Chance you have a future. You can’t throw it all away on some vendetta. You never know what tomorrow might bring.”

  “The future doesn’t mean much to me, G. It hasn’t for a long time. All I have is a past. I’m never getting it back, and nothing the future could bring could ever be as good as what I already lost.”

  She didn’t know what to say to that. She wanted him to have hope; she wanted him to believe that happiness was possible for him again someday. But she also knew that if she pushed her point too hard it would sound like she didn’t understand just how much he still treasured his past and the girlfriend who had died, Chloe. Her eyes filled with tears, which seemed to happen a lot these days. It must be her hormones, she wasn’t a crier.

  He put a hand on her shoulder. “Sorry, I know you care.”

  “I more than care, Chance. I love you—we all do. Just because you don’t feel you have anything to lose, that’s not fair. You don’t understand how much we have to lose if you do something stupid.”

  His eyes widened and she nodded, she hoped she was getting through.

  “See, the way you feel about him hurting one of us? That’s how I feel, how we all feel about the possibility of losing you—of you going to prison or something worse because of him.” There, she’d said it. “I know it’s not fair of me, I’m being selfish. I’m making you responsible for our happiness; you can’t do what you want to, because if it goes wrong, you’ll hurt us.”

  Chance narrowed his eyes at her. She raised her chin and stood her ground. He could be as mad as he liked. It was all true.

  Eventually he sighed. “Thanks.”

  She smiled. “Sorry, being part of a family comes with a big responsibility. You like to think you’re still a loner and you’re not subject to the same rules as the rest of us, but you are. Your name might be Malone, but you’re a Remington as sure as the rest of them. So you go talk to Beau. I’m going to head on back down the valley to see my dad, and if you feel like sitting out on the porch tonight staring at the stars and drinking a whiskey, I’m pretty sure he’d be glad of the company. And you know him, you won’t have to speak, or listen to, a word.”

  He smiled at her. “I guess I’ll see you later then.”

  She gave him a quick hug and hurried to her truck. She was worried about her dad. And now she was worried about Chance. She could do without all this worrying and stress. It couldn’t be good for the baby. She climbed into her truck and rested her hand on her stomach, hoping that when the baby came all of this trouble would be behind them, and that the arrival of her little Phoenix would herald a new beginning for all of them.

  She stopped at the gallery to let Cassidy know that she was heading home. She’d been out at the post office when her dad had called and she’d gotten straight onto Mason to go get him.

  “Hey.” Cassidy came out of the back holding up two of Gina’s photos. “I was thinking, what do you say we…What’s wrong?”

  “I’m okay, but I need to get home. Mason’s gone to pick my dad up.”

  “Oh, no! What’s happened?”

  “Guy pulled the same stunt on him as he did on Summer. Sitting in the driveway watching, trying to scare him.”

  “Jeez. Al must’ve been scared if he called Mason instead of going after him with his shotgun.”

  Gina nodded. She’d thought the same thing and it bothered her. “Yeah. Are you going to be okay here? Do you want to close up and come with me?”

  Cassidy made a face. “No freaking way! I’m not afraid of the big bad wolf. If he wants to come in here after me, then he’d better be ready to face me and Yogi.” She picked up the bear paperweight with a grin.

  “I’m serious, Cassidy. I don’t like this.”

  “I’ll be fine. Seriously, even if he came in here, I could run out into the street. By the sounds of it he’s more likely to just sit outside and stare at me. If he does that I’ll call Luke and tell him he needs to charge him with harassment or something. You’d think they’d come up with something they could charge him with by now. Lock him up and let us all get back to normal, that’s what I say.”

  “If only it were that simple.”

  “I don’t see why it can’t be.”

  Gina shrugged. “Me neither, but apparently they can’t pin anything on him.”

  “Yet, it’s just a matter of time, I’m sure. You go see your dad, and don’t go worrying about me. I’ll be fine.”

  “Okay. But let me know when you leave and when you get home would you?”

  “Yes, mom.”

  Gina shook her head. “See you later.”

  “Bye.”

  ~ ~ ~

  Once Gina had gone, Cassidy put the two photos down on th
e desk and plonked herself down. She was tired of this whole business with Guy. She wasn’t used to cowering away from trouble, and that’s what this felt like. Guy was a crazy bastard, no two ways about it, and you had to handle crazy carefully, but still. This was driving her nuts.

  She wondered how Gina’s dad must be feeling right now. She loved Al. He was a cantankerous old soul, and the two of them got along like a house on fire. She shook her head. That was a bad expression to use at the moment.

  She started to doodle on her pad. What possessed someone to start a fire? To deliberately go out and try to burn down someone’s barn? She couldn’t fathom it. The one thing that she’d been able to cling to was that the fires had all been started in barns. If it was Guy and he really was crazy, then at least he wasn’t killer crazy. A shiver ran down her spine. At least not yet. Corinne and Chance had been convinced all along that Guy was responsible for Beau’s accident… She started at the sound of noise in the back office. Damn, she was spooking herself out! She reached for her trusty paperweight and went to check it out.

  She pushed the door open slowly with one hand while holding Yogi up ready to strike with the other. The office was empty. No one there. Nothing moved. She let out a little laugh of relief. This was ridiculous. Still she retreated to the relative safety of the gallery out front. It was quiet this afternoon, and she didn’t want to get home too late. She checked her watch. If she left now, she could stop at Deb’s wine store and pick up a bottle of something—and maybe get Al a decent bottle of bourbon, he’d like that. She looked around. Yeah, she’d get on home. Not that she was scared or anything.

  She hurried into the back and locked the door from the inside then dashed back into the gallery feeling stupid. She could get to her car just as easily from the front door as she could by going through the alley out the back.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Beau looked around at his brothers. They were all gathered at Mason’s cottage at his request. After talking with Chance, he’d finally managed to come up with something that might work against Guy. “Thanks for coming. I wasn’t sure if using the excuse of talking about wedding stuff would be good enough to get you all here.”