Cowboy Roped In: Contemporary Western Romance (Wild Creek Cowboys Book 2)

by Mary Leo

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” Chase said. “This says eight hundred and sixty-nine thousand dollars and fifty-three cents. That’s a hell of a lot of money. Who does it belong to?”

  RuthieAnn plopped down next to Kevin, looked up at Chase and said, “Evidently, it belongs to Kevin and me.”

  Thirteen

  “I don’t understand,” Chase said, sitting down next to RuthieAnn. “Did your dad rob a bank? This can’t be true. He was always scraping by. Never had enough money to buy a decent meal.”

  Chase could remember countless times when he’d sit across from Clark inside Around The Bend making sure that he ate at least one good meal that day. Clark usually drank all his meals, telling Chase he didn’t have the money for dinner or lunch or breakfast. Not that Clark ever woke up in time for a traditional breakfast, but if he did, he swore he didn’t have the cash.

  He’d lied.

  “But he always had enough for booze,” Kevin added while looking down at the slip of paper.

  “Yeah, but most of the time other people would buy it for him,” Chase said, still reflecting on all the times he’d be the one buying.

  “We’re going to have to find out how he managed to get all this money,” RuthieAnn said. “There has to be something wrong. It can’t be his. I don’t remember him ever working, like at a nine-to-five.”

  “It’s not his. It’s ours. It’s under our names,” Kevin said, beaming. And then he started laughing until tears fell from his eyes.

  “It’s not funny,” RuthieAnn told him. “It might be drug money or stolen money or who the hell knows? We could be in a lot of trouble. Someone could be looking for it. Maybe that’s why he put it under our names. Not because he was looking out for us, but because he was trying to hide it from some bad guys. Drug dealers or worse. Who knows what he’d gotten himself into?”

  “Top secret espionage, no doubt,” Chase teased, knowing perfectly well that the chances of Clark getting tangled up with an underworld, especially while living in Wild Creek where people still left their doors unlocked at night, was ludicrous.

  RuthieAnn nudged him. “Don’t joke. This is serious. Clark may have gotten caught up in something bad, and now Kevin and I have to figure out what to do to protect ourselves.”

  “I think that’s a stretch, but if it’s what you want to believe, who am I to dissuade you,” Chase told her, but there was no way this money had anything to do with the underworld. Clark might have been a lot of things, but he was not a crook. It had to be something else . . . but what?

  “We may never know the truth,” Kevin told them, trying his best to regain control of his laughter. “But don’t you guys see the irony in all of this? The man was rich, yet he lived like he had nothing. Why? He didn’t even pay his damn electric bill! There were times when we didn’t have any lights in the house or heat in the winter. It’s insane. What kind of sicko was he?”

  “This doesn’t make any sense,” Chase said, wondering how Clark could possibly have amassed such a fortune . . . legally.

  “We’ll just have to wait until the morning when the bank opens to find out where it all came from,” RuthieAnn said. “There must be records of deposits.”

  “Have to be,” Chase agreed. “But in the meantime, did you find the letter about the key?”

  He decided not to tell her just yet about Lucky’s release, and his apparent visit to her place in Vegas. Besides, maybe Sheriff Gentry was right. Chase needed to stay out of it, although, no way was he leaving her alone tonight. He intended to stick by her side no matter what excuse she came up with for why she needed her space.

  Not tonight.

  By tomorrow she would probably be officially informed. Then maybe they could get a game plan together that Chase could live with. And it would not contain any plans for RuthieAnn and Jayden to return to Vegas. Anything could happen in Vegas. They didn’t have the slogan What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas for no reason.

  Nope, he would not allow her to leave even if he had to threaten her—not that he had the slightest idea what he’d threaten her with—but if it came to that, he’d come up with something.

  “The letter. Yes. I haven’t read it yet.” RuthieAnn said as she fished around in her bag for a moment, then pulled it out and ripped it open.

  “Clark really didn’t want me involved in this,” Chase reiterated. “Are you two sure you want me to tag along? Maybe we should respect his wishes.”

  “Are you kidding?” Kevin quipped. “After what we just learned about all that money in his, or rather our account? We need moral support from someone who knows about wealth.”

  Chase had to snigger at that one. He never paid much attention to any of it. That was Reese’s job. Chase just needed enough to pay his bills, put food on the table and buy a new pair of boots every now and then. Everything else was just excess. Those millions were lost on him. He couldn’t care less.

  “Don’t look at me!” he said. “I don’t even know what my family is worth now. I try to ignore all of that and take it a day at a time.”

  “Yeah, but you always have money in the bank,” Kevin said, looking over at him. “I don’t know what it’s like to have a safety net like that.”

  “Yeah, it’s nice,” Chase admitted. “Real nice, especially when you’ve had to struggle to make ends meet all your life. But I try not to let it go to my head.”

  “If this eight-hundred-thousand is really ours, I’ll try to do the same,” Kevin chided. “Wouldn’t want to get a big head, but my own car would be nice. Right now I take the bus to school or hitch a ride. I can’t imagine what owning my own car might feel like.”

  “Let’s not start spending that money just yet,” RuthieAnn said as she read a ticket of some kind that fell out of the envelope. “Okay, so it’s a key to a storage unit. Apparently, it’s only a couple miles from here. We could go right now if you guys are up to it,” RuthieAnn told them.

  Chase saw there was a handwritten letter inside that envelope as well. “Aren’t you going to read that?”

  “Not right now. It’s too long. I’ll read it tonight or tomorrow when I’m more in the mood. Right now, I just want to find out what’s in this storage unit, then eat. I’m starving.”

  “A storage unit! That could be dangerous. Is there more money in there? I don’t know if I can take any more monetary surprises,” Kevin said. “I don’t know what to make of this. And besides, I made plans to meet up with Jimmy and Danny for dinner. Would you two mind if I pass on this? I don’t think I want to know any more about dear old Dad tonight. No telling what’s in that storage unit.”

  “Fine, but hold off telling your friends about the bank account, at least until we know more about it.”

  “Yeah, like that’s even possible,” Kevin countered, standing then gazing down the street towards the diner.

  “Well, then at least tell them to keep it to themselves,” his sister warned.

  “I’ll try, but these guys never could take direction.”

  “Teenagers!” RuthieAnn mumbled as she turned to Chase. “Now you’ve got to come with me. Kevin’s right. There’s no telling what I might find in there. And afterwards, dinner’s on me. I just happen to have a bag of money.”

  She shook the paper bag in front of his face.

  “Let’s not forget what’s in the bank. I may want dinner in Rome,” Chase goaded, walking in closer to her, moving the bag out of the way so he could see her beautiful face bathed in the golden light reflecting off the front of the buildings along Main Street.

  “Anywhere you want to go is fine by me,” she said, walking up closer, grinning up at him as if they were alone. He slipped his hand along the side of her face and tangled his fingers in her hair. Her skin felt smooth and her hair like silk. As soon as he touched it, the scent of lavender and vanilla wafted up enticing his senses. Were they alone? He didn’t know. All he could see were those sweet almond eyes of hers that he wanted to get lost in for the next hundred years.


  “Okay, that’s my cue. I’m outta here,” Kevin said, breaking Chase’s trance. The woman had a power over him she didn’t realize she had, and he wasn’t about to tell her.

  “Wait,” RuthieAnn called after her brother, pulling away from Chase. “Take some of this cash. Buy your friends dinner.”

  She reached in the bag and pulled out several hundred-dollar bills. Kevin took one. “We’re in Wild Creek, not San Diego. Catch you tonight at the inn. Maybe,” he said, then he ambled away.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” she yelled as he made his way up the sidewalk.

  He turned while he continued to walk backwards. “You guys do what you want. See ya!” Then he swung back around and ran the rest of the way until he disappeared into the diner.

  BY THE TIME RuthieAnn drove Chase over to the storage facility, a typical outdoor establishment with row after row of orange or blue metal roll-up doors on each unit, the evening had turned into night. The entire place had a chain-link fence around it, was lit up like a stadium, and the only way in demanded a special access code, which Clark had written on the envelope. Chase punched it into the keypad, and the gate opened. They drove in and parked.

  “Fancy for Wild Creek,” Chase said as they walked by the rows of buildings that housed the different-sized units. “Didn’t know this place even existed.”

  “Clearly, my dad did, and he wanted the extra protection. I’m worried that Kevin might be right . . . drug money on pallets.”

  Chase snickered at the absurdity of her statement, but hoped like hell she wasn’t right.

  As they walked down the rows of long narrow buildings, looking for Clark’s main unit number, Chase noticed all the security cameras at every turn. A prickle of apprehension zipped up his spine.

  “This place seems way too protected for Wild Creek. I’m beginning to think that your dad has more cash stored in here or drugs. What the hell would we do then?”

  “Run?”

  “Damn straight and call Sheriff Gentry to come take a look.”

  “This is getting too creepy.”

  Chase shook his head thinking of all the possible scenarios for Clark storing something in this fortress, and none of them were very good. “I’m beginning to think you guys are right. Clark was into something bad. Look at all of this. Whatever is in all these units is protected better than some banks.”

  “This is his row of units,” RuthieAnn said just as a guard and his German Shepard walked by, greeting them with a nod and a “Lovely night, tonight.”

  They nodded back their agreement.

  Once he passed, Chase said, “Oh yeah, definitely something bad, seriously, horribly bad. Maybe we shouldn’t even look inside.”

  RuthieAnn stopped in front of a bright blue door. “Too late. This is it. Are you ready?”

  “No, but let’s get it over with anyway. Should I do the honors, or do you want to do it?” He held up the rather large padlock. “It would take a monster pair of metal cutters to cut through this thing.”

  “Another indication that he has something in there that required a lot of protection.”

  RuthieAnn held up the key. “You do it. I’m too nervous.”

  Chase took the key, sucked in a deep breath and quickly opened the lock. He then slipped it out of place and rolled the heavy door up in one big whoosh. A light came on, illuminating a seemingly empty unit.

  They both stood there for a moment, staring inside, stunned.

  “Is this some kind of joke?” RuthieAnn said as she stepped inside the unit, looking around.

  “Where are all his pallets of money or for that matter, where’s anything?”

  Chase followed her inside.

  “Wait, I think there’s a box in the corner,” RuthieAnn told him, sounding happy she found something.

  The box had been difficult to see at first. It was almost the exact shade of beige as the walls and floor. They both gazed down at a flat rectangular box. “Somehow I don’t think that’s filled with drug money.”

  “Maybe it’s priceless stolen jewelry or a painting or a stolen coin collection.”

  “Or maybe it’s an empty box,” Chase reasoned. “Why the hell would he have an entire storage unit for this?”

  “Maybe it’s a bomb and he’s going to blow us both up.”

  “He was mean, but not that mean. Maybe it’s more happy family pictures or some kind of long apology letter meant just for you. After all, he was pretty insistent that I didn’t come along on this adventure.”

  “Well, we can’t know unless we open it.”

  But neither of them moved.

  “Go ahead,” Chase ordered. “Open it.”

  “Me? Why me?”

  “Clark didn’t want me anywhere near this place. I think it’s your duty as his daughter to open it.”

  She took a step forward, and Chase quickly grabbed her waist. She jumped and squealed. “Don’t do that.”

  “How about we do it together?” Chase asked, knowing that would be the only way they were going to get this thing over with.

  “Good idea. Let’s do it.”

  They both slowly hunched down around the box. RuthieAnn hesitated for a moment, then in one quick movement, she ripped open the top of the box.

  At first, Chase didn’t know what he was looking at, then as if a bomb went off in his brain, bright pink blinded him as he tried to focus on what he was seeing. He staggered back as he attempted to stand. RuthieAnn tried to cover the box, but it was too late. He’d recognized what was inside. Why Clark had been adamant that Chase stay away from this. Now, he wished he had. Wished he could rewind the entire night and had listened to Clark. He wished he had stayed away.

  “Chase, I can explain. Please. Chase.”

  But he didn’t want to hear her . . . didn’t want to hear her voice. He held up his hand for her to stop as he backed away.

  A torrent of vivid memories pulsated through his head. The dark blue car, RuthieAnn wearing that exact jacket, the sensation of being hit head-on, his body flying through the air, bouncing on something flat, falling on his bike, and the car still coming, still moving. He remembered gasping for air after he slid on the ground, the excruciating pain . . . and then silence. Complete and utter silence until he awoke and RuthieAnn knelt over him, slipped off her jacket, that bright pink jacket, and tucked it under his head.

  A male voice, laughing, threatening, but he couldn’t see a face, only his boots, his black biker boots.

  “I’ve got you,” she’d said to Chase. “You’re going to be all right.”

  A wave of nausea overtook him and he ran out of the unit to a trash bin and emptied his churning stomach.

  “Noooo,” RuthieAnn yelled, as she came up behind him, trying to say something, trying to get his attention, but it was too late.

  Raw emotion fogged Chase’s eyes as he wiped his mouth, and turned to her, completely drained. He couldn’t breathe as his chest tightened so hard and fast that for a moment he thought he would pass out from the pressure. His entire body ached, just like it had that morning. All this time . . . Clark knew . . . she knew, but no one told him.

  They’d made him into a fool.

  Betrayal rushed up with the bile from his now empty stomach and he swallowed hard to hold it back.

  His eyes watered and his body shook.

  He reached out and grabbed both her arms, abruptly pulling her in towards him. He wanted to hurt her, shake her, scream out his pain. Tell her how much he hated her, despised her for what she’d done, what they’d done. His anger was all consuming. It blinded his thoughts.

  “Chase, I . . . RuthieAnn began, her face streaked with tears.

  Her soft voice cut through the fog. Tempered his soul. Reminded him of who she was now. Still, he couldn’t seem to tamp down the rage that had blown up inside of him. Like a grenade that had been there all along, and seeing the jacket had pulled the pin.

  He couldn’t speak. Couldn’t form the words. All he could do was hold her and star
e into those deep brown eyes of hers. Those eyes that had lied to him not only on the road that morning, but in his bed.

  God, how he wanted to lash out, but he didn’t.

  He couldn’t.

  He felt his muscles weaken. His anger subsided. He felt suddenly cold and hollow inside.

  Then, without saying another word, he loosened his grip, turned around and walked away from the woman who had broken him twice.

  Only this time, he knew he would never recover.

  RUTHIEANN HELD HER son tight as he tried to fall back asleep next to her in his bed at the inn. She’d been crying for most of the night, alone, on the sofa, but she’d climbed into bed with Jayden when she heard him stir.

  “It’s okay, baby. I’m here,” she whispered in his ear as she raked his hair, and ran her hand over his smooth skin. She loved her boy so much that it hurt. He meant everything to her and she would protect him with her life if need be. But she knew what she’d done to Chase, what she’d kept from him, and how he learned the truth was simply unforgivable. This betrayal would hurt her son as much as it hurt Chase and her own heart. She couldn’t bear it.

  He settled into his pillow and soon he was fast asleep again, but she remained wide-awake. Nothing seemed to soothe her, no amount of music or old movies or any of her usual pacifiers could quell the sorrow she felt for the complete betrayal she’d seen on Chase’s face. It plagued her like nothing she’d ever experienced.

  RuthieAnn slipped out of bed and trudged back to her sofa, tears once again falling freely as she stumbled through the tiny living room. She had tried to call Chase several times, but he never picked up. She’d sent text messages with no response. She even drove to his house and knocked on his door, but he didn’t answer.

  She’d stopped off at Wild Hearts Spirits on the way home, bought two bottles of tequila, determined to down as much as she could, but by the time she’d gotten back to the inn, and carried her sweet son inside and tucked him into bed, she knew booze wasn’t the answer. She dumped both bottles into the bathroom sink.