The Heart the Cowboy Broke

by M J Andrews

  “I’m looking forward to getting to know you, Finn. At least while you’re here,” Aubrey said.

  “About that,” Finn started, “I’m not returning to the Rangers or the Army. So I’ll be around indefinitely if that’s okay with everyone else?” he announced.

  Silence fell over the house as everyone took in the news that Finn shared. Sawyer knew the challenges he would face reintegrating into civilian society, and he would be there for his brother as he battled those demons.

  “Your room is exactly the way you left it,” Miss Martha cheered.

  “This is home, Finn. Welcome home,” Aubrey continued.

  The rest of the evening passed without incident as Finn talked about his time overseas, or what he could tell them. Jordan and Daisy arrived shortly after Finn arrived. Both were ecstatic that Finn would be staying home and Jordan had already enlisted his help with Leo. After supper, when the dishes were put away and the night started to whine down, the siblings gathered on the front porch in their designated chairs.

  He listened as his family talked about their lives and something inside him felt as though he was missing something. As he looked at Aubrey snuggled onto Remi’s lap, he realized what he was missing. Love. That didn’t mean that there wasn’t love in his life, there was, but the love of a woman, a future of possibility and family. Lexi popped into his head and he wondered why she would. With the excitement of Finn’s return, he hadn’t the chance to continue the conversation with Remi about what he should do.

  He knew he had to start somewhere, so he figured he needed to do some serious wooing just to get her to give him the time of day. He tossed and turned that night as the uneasy feeling settled on his chest. For whatever reason, Lexi’s opinion of him mattered and the fact that she was hurt by him mattered. He couldn’t leave it and not at least try to make it up to her.

  The next morning, he took a detour on his way to the office. He stopped into the local florist and had a dozen blush pink roses sent to Lexi at her parent’s home. He didn’t know if she’d moved to the ranch yet, so to be safe, her parents’ place was the best alternative.

  On the card he wrote:

  Let me make it up to you.

  Love: SMG

  He entered his office with the thoughts that it would be a great day. He had a plan on how to get Lexi to talk to him and his brother had returned from war in one piece. He was walking on sunshine until he opened his office door and came toe to toe with a large man in a black suit. Sawyer’s gaze ran up over the man before he shifted and moved toward his desk.

  “Can I help you?” he asked, a bit peeved that the suit was in his office in the first place.

  “I’m Agent Phillips from the FBI. I have some information I thought would be good to share with local police,” he said robotically.

  “Okay, have a seat and tell me about this information,” Sawyer instructed.

  “Raymond Brant is a serial killer who was incarcerated in a federal facility in New York State. He was convicted of murdering twelve different women and dumping their bodies in Central Park with a note stapled to their chests,” Phillips laid a file folder on his desk, “We have information to believe that he could be coming to this area.”

  “I thought you said he was incarcerated?” he questioned, glancing through the gruesome file in his hands.

  “He was incarcerated, but during transport to court, he found a way to disarm the guard and escape. We believe he’d pose a risk to anyone involved in the case,” he said sharply.

  “I still don’t understand what this has to do with Silverton,” he challenged.

  Phillips sighed, “I have reason to believe that the lead prosecutor is staying here, Lexi Scott.”

  Sawyer’s attention peaked at the mention of Lexi’s name. His head tipped up from the file he was scanning. A cold shiver ran through him at the thought that Lexi was connected to any of the scum she put away back in New York.

  “Ms Scott is staying here with her parents, but she also has a ranch near mine. Are you trying to say that Lexi could be a target for Brant?” his heart pounded in his chest at the thought of Lexi on Brant’s radar.

  Phillips moved forward to place his elbows on his thighs. “Sheriff, Ms Scott is responsible for incarcerating Brant and sentencing him to twelve life sentences. The man would never see the light of day again. During the trial, Ms Scott received threats from him regularly and we assigned an agent to her for her safety. Now that Brant has escaped custody, I believe Ms. Scott will be his number one target,” he claimed.

  Sawyer pulled his hand down his face. He didn’t like the idea of Lexi being unguarded while she was in Texas. If Brant tried to get to her and hurt her, he’d never be able to live with himself.

  “I’ll have a guard assigned to her while she is in Texas. Should she return to New York this office will contact you. Does Lexi know what’s happening? Have you spoken to her?” he asked.

  “No and honestly, Sheriff, I’m not here in an official capacity,” he admitted. “But my conscious would not settle until I knew Ms. Scott was aware of the threat.”

  Sawyer stood and offered his hand to Phillips, “Thank you, I’ll be sure to have someone follow up with her and have this photo circulated,” he confirmed.

  He escorted Agent Phillips and stopped by Parker’s desk to hand him the photo. Brant didn’t stand out and would be hard to find unless his deputies knew what they were looking for. A white middle-aged man, with brown hair, brown eyes and in his mid-forties, would blend into Silverton without any issues.

  “Parker, can you please circulate this to the others. Tell them if they spot this man to call me directly and to apprehend him,” Sawyer instructed, as he grabbed his cowboy hat and keys.

  Parker looked up from the photo, “Where you headed to, Sheriff?” he asked.

  “I have to go see Ms Scott. You can reach me by phone,” Sawyer said.

  He left the office and drove directly to Jenkin’s ranch, where he suspected Lexi would be with her brother. He wouldn’t let anyone get near Lexi and he made it his mission to ensure she stayed safe while in Silverton.

  Chapter 10

  Lexi

  Lexi spent her day shopping with her mother on Main Street. It was the only way to get her to stop asking about the flowers she’d received that morning. Luckily Sawyer didn’t sign his name and left initials.

  Regardless, her mother was on round three hundred and forty-six of guess and Lexi manipulated her into shopping. Her mother loved doing “girly” things with her when she visited. Her mother also knew everyone in the small county and they were stopped every couple of minutes when someone spotted her. She was browsing through dresses in a boutique when someone walked by the glass and she immediately recognized him.

  Finn.

  Finn McGuire was one of her favourite people when they were growing up. She knew from her mother that he enlisted in the Army when he graduated from High School. He was a year or two younger than her and Sawyer, but he was so charismatic that he made friends instantly with anyone he met.

  “Hey Mama, I just spotted an old friend, I’m just going to pop outside for a second,” she said through the dressing room door to her mother. Lexi didn’t give her time to answer before she was out of the store. She saw Finn place an order at the local coffee spot and made her way to him. She also needed another fix of caffeine if she was going to keep up with her mother’s shopping spree.

  Finn looked different, but she expected that. War took its toll on those who served. He’d beefed up since the last time she saw him, but his smile was still the same as it had always been — charming and intoxicating.

  She stood behind Finn in the line for coffee but wasted no time moving in front of him to say hello. She had forgotten how much bigger he was than her. At six foot three, he towered over her five foot six, even in her highest heels she wouldn’t even come to his nose.

  “Hey Finn,” she greeted.

  He eyed her speculatively before he realized who she
was. Lexi saw when realization dawned on him.

  “Lexi Scott!” he said gleefully.

  Before she knew what was happening she was lifted off her feet and taken into the best bear hug she’d ever had. Finn spent a lot of time on the Ranch when they were growing up. Although Lexi was older, he had a great friendship with Jack. Once Finn released her from his grip, they placed their orders and Finn invited her to sit and catch up.

  The coffee spot was small, but they made the best coffee in the county. The owner had Nora Jones blasting through the overhead speakers, and there were tables, couches and bean bag chairs around the place. It was a hipster’s paradise.

  “When did you get back?” Lexi asked.

  “A couple of weeks ago, but I stayed in California for a couple of weeks to clear my head before I came down here to deal with my rowdy siblings,” he answered.

  Lexi chuckled. She knew a thing or two about the McGuire clan and growing up she was envious of them. They all fit together so well and looked like the perfect family from the outside.

  “How long will you be back before you head out again?” Lexi posed.

  The mention of another deployment caused Finn’s face to fall. He had already been through four tours and had moved up in the Army. As much as she knew that Finn loved serving his country, she also knew that it wasn’t something he could do forever. Every time he returned home, his PTSD caused him issues, and he struggled to integrate back into civilian life.

  “I think this last one was it for me,” he confessed.

  “You’re ready for that?” she asked, reaching across the table to touch the top of his hand. She knew Finn struggled with that decision. He’d seen the most horrendous and evil acts in the world during his time with the Army. He grabbed her hand and interlocked their fingers.

  “Yeah, I am,” he nodded. “I always knew that there would come a time when it would no longer fulfil what I need. I want to settle down, have a family, get a regular job. But it's not fair for me to make my wife and children wonder if I’m going to make it back this time or that time.”

  “Well, you know if you ever want to talk about things, I’m around. Looks like I’m going to be around for at least 12 months,” she sighed.

  “Why 12 months?” Finn asked, his head popped up from his stare at his coffee lid.

  “Nana put a clause in her will that for me and Jack to keep the ranch we both needed to stay there for a year.”

  Finn’s mouth dropped open as he processed what she had told him.

  “What about New York? You have a great job there and you’re a damn good prosecutor,”

  She shook her head and dropped her gaze to her coffee cup lid. She knew she wouldn’t find any loopholes in her Nana’s will and that she’d stay in Silverton. She knew she would lose everything she worked for in New York, but she couldn’t take the ranch away from Jack. She wouldn’t be able to live with herself if she did.

  Lexi’s phone rang, interrupting their conversation. She glanced at the caller ID and noticed it was her father.

  “It’s my dad, I’m just going to take this,” she said.

  Finn rose from his seat, pressed a chaste kiss to her cheek.

  “It was nice seeing you, Lex. We should catch up again sometime,” he winked as he walked out of the shop. She turned to her phone and pressed the answer button.

  “Hey, daddy,”

  “Peanut, where are you?” his voice was tense and serious, which caused her radar to snap to attention. Her father rarely let things bother him, so she knew that whatever was going on was serious.

  “I’m at the coffee shop. Daddy what’s wrong?”

  “Peanut, the Sheriff is at the Ranch with Jack. He said he needed to talk to you about an urgent matter and would prefer to do that in person,” he replied.

  Did that man honestly think that he could dictate when she met with him and how? She prided herself on maintaining her patience, but Sawyer was pushing every button and she was ready to flip her bitch switch on his ass.

  “Well, you can let the Sheriff know that I will be there once me and Mama are done shopping,” she said before she hung up the phone.

  Who did Sawyer McGuire thing he was, telling her to drop everything and go meet him? All the other ladies in the county may drop everything — including their knickers — to be his afternoon delight, but she wouldn’t. It would be a cold day in hell before she jumped whenever Sawyer McGuire needed an audience with her.

  With that decided, Lexi took her latte and walked the short distance to the boutique where her mother was spending way too much money. As she walked slowly through the street, she took in the sun on her face and the warmth of the rays. She smelt the gardenias and sweet peas in the warm breeze. Storefronts had the beautiful flowers accentuating their shops, which added a vibrant splash of colour to the otherwise bare street. The cobblestone street-hardened her footsteps and combined with the array of colour and iron streetlamps, Lexi felt as though she had taken a step into a different time.

  Lexi felt a slight chill spread through her body. She felt as though there were eyes on her from somewhere, so she took the time to search around. She didn’t spot anything out of order, but the hair on her arms stood at attention. She dismissed her feelings as irrational and tried to push them out of her head. She’d had her share of threats from clients when she was in New York, but surely no one would think to follow her to Silverton. A new person in that small of a place would stand out, she thought. She was engulfed in her thoughts when someone bellowed behind her.

  “Lexi!” her mother hollered, as she strolled down the sidewalk toward her with an immense number of bags hanging from each of her arms.

  “Mama, you scared the shit out of me,” she admitted.

  “Oh darling, I’m sorry! But please, good southern ladies don’t use words such as shit,” she fell into step with her daughter.

  She loved goading her mother when she talked about southern mannerisms. Lexi was taught that good southern ladies kept their mouths and legs closed and their appearances appeasing. Lexi always challenged her mother and kicked up a ruckus when her mother insisted that she go through cotillion. She hated every moment of the experience. She preferred to be mucking stalls and riding horse over pretty dresses and table manners.

  “But Mama, what does a southern lady say when she thinks something is bullshit?” she asked.

  Her mother gasped but saw the teasing expression on Lexi’s face. She swatted her daughter’s arm jokingly, making Lexi laugh. She was so easy to pick on. It was unbelievable to think that she lived happily with her father and two children who found it fun to pick on her.

  Mama’s phone rang as they approached the car that was parked along the side of the street. Lexi had taken her car and she often forced herself to drive since the accident. Her mother never questioned her insistence on driving and she never explained.

  Her mother answered her phone and stood on the sidewalk while Lexi walked around the hood of the car to the driver’s side. She had to wait briefly for a car to pass before she made for her door. Her mother was still on the phone and Lexi waited for her to finish. The traffic wasn’t busy so she leaned back from her car. She was digging in her purse for her keys when a car started down the road at full speed. Lexi didn’t hear the car approach and didn’t realize she was dangerously close until her mother screamed.

  “Lexi!”

  Lexi turned in time to register what was about to happen if she didn’t act. In a split second, she jumped onto the hood of her car and rolled to the ground. Her purse was not as fortunate and was ran over by the car. Lexi hit the ground hard and felt a warm trickle above her left eyebrow. She turned over and touched her face. When she looked at her hands they were covered in blood.

  The next thing she knew, she was back to the night of the accident ten years ago. Tears streamed down her face as she stepped off the curb in her strappy heels. She felt the impact of the car and heard the smash of glass as she collided with the windshield.
She heard the screaming of sirens and the yelling of the bystanders who came to help. Her left temple throbbed and her vision blurred. A voice knocked her out of the trance. It was her mother. She was yelling and holding onto Lexi’s shoulders as she collapsed on the sidewalk.

  “Lexi! Lexi! Speak to be God damn it!” her mother bellowed, as she shook Lexi’s shoulders. Lexi chuckled before she spoke to her mother.

  “I don’t think a good southern woman cusses, Mama,” she laughed, but it deflated when she felt the tears sting her face and saw the blood on her hands.

  “Your father is on his way for us. We need to get you to a hospital,” she shrieked.