by Miley Maine
“You’re obviously a more highly evolved person than I am.”
“And don’t you forget it,” she said. “I am going to get the full story before all this is said and done.”
Why had I thought I’d be able to control the situation here? Clearly I was out of control. Might as well lay all the cards on the table. “There’s one more thing,” I said.
“You have an evil twin?”
I rolled my eyes. “No. But one of the ranches we’re about to visit belongs to my parents.”
“Oh, cool. I can’t wait to meet them,” Jennifer said. “Are they flipping out about this power grid threat?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t talked to them in four years.”
“What? You haven’t talked to your parents?”
“It’s actually my dad and my stepmother, but no. I haven’t.”
“Fucking Hell, Wakefield. You are the most tight-lipped bastard any of us have ever seen. We didn’t even think you had parents. We thought you were dropped fully-grown from a spaceship.”
It was true that I never talked about my family.
Her face clouded over. “Are they assholes? Do I need to watch out for you in this interview?”
“No, they’re fine. I mean, they’re definitely assholes, but they weren’t abusive. They didn’t want me to go to college. They thought it was a waste.”
“Wow.”
No wonder Jennifer was stunned. She’d grown up in San Francisco with worldly parents who’d taken her to Japan for her fifth birthday and Indonesia for her tenth. Her childhood had consisted of Broadway plays, museums, and indie films. My childhood had consisted of cows.
“They have a very narrow world-view. They thought ranching was our duty and our responsibility. Nothing else mattered, nothing else was allowed. So I left.”
“All or nothing, huh?”
I didn’t need to tell her the “nothing” part had been their idea. And Bree’s.
Soon after we turned off the highway onto the dirt road that led to the ranch, the house came into view. Overall, it looked exactly the same as it had a few years ago. The house was on the left and the bulk of the ranch, including the barn and the chicken coop, lay to the right.
As we parked, a few chickens strutted near the car. A few cows sauntered by, nosing at the grass. “Oh, my god,” Jennifer said. “You grew up here? I have to take a picture of this. It’s like something from one of those old TV shows from the 50s where everything is so peaceful and quaint. Like Leave it to Beaver.”
Yeah, it had been so peaceful that my mother left when I was four. The only memory I have of her is the smell of her shampoo. She hadn’t even told me goodbye. She just left in the middle of the night. She hadn’t told my dad goodbye either. He thought she’d been kidnapped or lost her mind, so he’d filed a police report and called all the hospitals. A month later, he tracked her down in Florida. She was fine, except she was pregnant with another man’s baby.
When it was clear she wasn’t coming back, my dad burned all her photos. “Better off without her,” he’d mumbled. And then he never spoke of her again. When I tried to ask about her, he snapped and told me never to bring her up again. I couldn’t even remember what she looked like.
Jennifer definitely did not need to hear about any of that. Acid pooled in my stomach. If I survived this assignment without an ulcer, it would be a miracle. I straightened my tie and grabbed my tablet and clipboard. The walk up to the front porch went by far too quickly. On the final step, I paused.
A small red tricycle sat at the far end of the porch. Next to it was a pile of broken chalk and a stack of Legos. That was odd. I was an only child and Mary, my stepmother, didn’t have kids. Maybe my dad had sold the ranch and hadn’t told me. The acid in my stomach receded. This was probably a young family trying to make a go at a good, old-fashioned career in ranching. I had nothing to be anxious about.
I pulled the screen door open and rapped on the wooden one behind it. It swung open. The fire burning a hole in my stomach flared back to life. The person holding the door open was Bree.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
Had she gotten married? Was the young family that now inhabited the house I’d grown up in hers? Was I going to have to go in there and question her and some guy while their brood of kids raced around?
“Working,” I said. I pulled my badge from my pocket and flashed it at her. “I’m here as Agent Wakefield.” I pointed at Jennifer. “This is Agent Ramirez.”
“Yeah, I’m just going to wait by the car,” Jennifer muttered.
“I don’t need to see your ID,” Bree said. “I need to know why you’re on my land.”
“Your land?”
“Yes. My land.”
“Did something happen to Walter?”
“Walter is just fine. He still lives here.”
“Then why are you here?”
“Is this something you need for whatever you’re doing? Because if not, then it’s not any of your business.”
“I need to speak to the homeowner.”
“That’s me.”
“You?”
“Yes, me. You think a woman can’t own a ranch?”
“You know I don’t think that. I’m just surprised to see you here.”
“You wouldn’t take care of this place and someone had to. Your father signed it over to me three years ago.” She cocked her head to the side. “Is there a problem? Do I need to ask for a warrant?”
I refused to show how badly I was reeling. I was here to work, not argue. “We have reason to believe there’s a potential threat to the power grids. We’re searching all the property on the outskirts of town to make sure no one’s hiding illegally on your property. We don’t have a warrant, but I’m happy to have one sent over if you require it.”
She opened her mouth, but before she could eviscerate me again, something flew at me and hit me right in the forehead.
Startled, I flinched, but managed not to make any noise. It was a foam arrow. I reached down to pick it up, and a small child came hurtling down the staircase.
“I got you, Sheriff Nottingham!”
Sheriff Nottingham? Ah. The kid wore a brown and green costume, complete with a felt green hood over his head. This child must be the source of the tricycle, the chalk, and the Legos on the porch.
The thought of Bree having a child with another man...
“You sure did, Robin Hood. You’re a good shot,” I said to him. I started to bend down to talk to him, but Bree stepped in front of me, blocking the kid with her body.
“You know what, just go ahead and do what you need to do,” she said.
“Is he yours?” I asked.
“You’re working,” she bit back. “Go work.”
“Thank you. We’ll let you know if we find anything,” I said.
She didn’t answer, but slammed the door closed. A second later, I heard the heavy lock click into place.
“That went well,” Jennifer said. “Let me see if I have this all straight.” She made a sweeping gesture that encompassed the house and the rest of the ranch. “This is your childhood home. Your father still lives here with your stepmother. But they don’t own it anymore. They gave it to your ex-girlfriend, who lives here with a small child that is most likely hers. Also, she hates your guts.”
“That sums it up.”
“I’m speechless. I’ve known you for three years. We hang out all the time. You’re my partner and probably my best friend. But I had no idea about any of this.”
“I don’t like talking about it,” I said.
“Yeah, I gathered. She must have really done a number on you.”
We’d spent enough time dwelling on my past. “We’re here to inspect this ranch. Let’s get started.”
5
Bree
The front door was the only thing holding me up at this point. Ian, unaware of my distress, aimed his toy bow at my face and let go of the string. An arrow hit my cheek.
&
nbsp; “Where’d the man go?” He scrambled to the window. “Oh! I see him. He’s by the cows!”
I’d known this was possible. Hell, I should have known it was likely with such a serious threat happening in our town. I’d heard it myself when I snuck around the sheriff’s office to listen in on their meeting with the FBI. And the sad truth was that if I had to pick one person in the world to investigate these criminals, I’d pick James. He was methodical. He was stubborn. And he was determined.
I just couldn’t handle seeing him.
At least this time I was clean. I’d been in the garden, so I hadn’t started on my daily ranch chores yet and I didn’t smell like a cow, just dirt and cucumbers and radishes.
And now he’s come face to face with Ian. It was such a close call. While James and his partner Jennifer moved around the property, I got moving on my daily chores. Walter took over with Ian and, just as she’d promised, Mary started canning.
An hour after they’d showed up, James and Jennifer appeared back in the yard. “We didn’t find any potential breaches in your property,” he said, “or any evidence of someone camping here.”
He’d walked the perimeter of my land and somehow come back just as clean as he left. Even Agent Ramirez had some stray grass clinging to her suit pants.
Ian burst through the door, this time decked out in his cowboy outfit. My shoulders sagged. At least he’d included the domino mask that covered his eyes. Sometimes his obsession with dressing up drove me nuts, but today, it was coming in pretty freaking handy.
I rubbed my forehead. Is this what I’ve been reduced to? Relying on my child’s toys to protect him from being recognized by his biological father?
James handed me his card. “If you see anything at all suspicious, please call us.”
“Suspicious like what?”
“Tire tracks that aren’t yours. A water bill that’s higher than usual. Food wrappers that you don’t recognize. Your internet service being slow.”
“We don’t have the internet here, but I’ll keep a watch for anything else.”
“Thank you.”
Agent Ramirez nodded at me. “Nice to meet you, and thanks for your cooperation.”
Agent Ramirez went and got in the car, but James lingered. “Did you marry someone else?” he asked.
“No. Not that it’s your business, but an airman stopped by on his way to Fort Lackland in San Antonio. He was headed for an overseas deployment and he didn’t give me his last name.” I smiled bigger when he cringed. “Satisfied?”
“He seems like a great kid.”
“He is.”
Thank God, he had nothing else to say. As soon as the dust settled behind their SUV, I dialed Lacy’s number.
Before she could even say hello, I lost it. “What did I do wrong in a past life?” I yelled into the phone. “Why didn’t you tell me he was here?”
“Tell you who was here?” she said, but I could tell from the tone of her voice that she knew exactly who I meant.
“Seriously?” I yelled. “I have overdue bills. I’m behind on the mortgage. There are terrorists in Laurel Bay and the icing on the cake? My ex is here and you knew and you didn’t tell me! What the fuck, Lacy!”
I couldn’t go back inside to talk about this. The chickens were laying eggs, but Mary and Ian usually collected them, so there was nothing for me to do there. The nervous energy made my nerves crackle. However, there was hay that needed to be spread. Maybe that would wear me out. I grabbed the pitchfork and set to work, tucking the phone between my chin and ear.
“I wasn’t planning to hide it from you, I swear,” she said.
Lacy had grown up here, too. She’d been my friend for my entire life and she’d been around for every fun second of my breakup.
“You know, I thought I saw him yesterday,” I said, moving into full-on rant mode. “When the agents showed up. There was a guy walking out of the fire department and my brain just shorted out and went, ‘that’s James’.” I stabbed the hay with the pitchfork.
“I was going to tell you,” Lacy said. “I just hadn’t figured out how to break the news.”
“You do realize why that might be a problem? He’s four years old and currently dressed up like a scuba diver.”
“Shit, Bree. I’m sorry. I didn’t even think about that.”
I was so out of breath now from spreading the hay and yelling at the same time. “Well, I doubt it’s going to take much for him to put two and two together. He is an FBI agent after all. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out the timeline involved with Ian’s birth.”
Lacy sighed. “From what I saw, he’s so focused on the case, he won’t have time. He was very single minded. It is kind of cool that he made it to the FBI. Lots of teens say they want to, but they don’t make it that far.”
“Lacy! This is not about him!” And how did everyone remember James wanted to be an agent? Sure, he’d talked about the FBI from time to time when we were teenagers, but I’d thought it was idle chat, the way all kids talk about being astronauts but then they end up working at the gas station on Interstate-30. I guess I hadn’t been paying attention well enough.
At the time, I’d thought we’d be together forever. I had good reason to feel that way. We’d met when we were five and started dating when we were fourteen. By the time we graduated high school, we’d spent the majority of our lives together.
“I really am sorry, Bree. I’ll make it up to you,” she said.
I’d already forgiven her. Lacy was a loyal friend and she was working right now. His visit had been an official part of her job. James wasn’t her problem; he was mine. It wasn’t up to her to keep me informed about my ex. I had to focus.
“Lacy, this is crazy,” I said, trying really hard not to whine. “There are four agents here. He’s one of them. What were the odds?”
“Probably high. I mean, he is from here. Maybe they like for agents to be familiar with the area?”
“He hated it here. He said he couldn’t stand Texas. And now, after all that hysteria, he came back to work in the Houston office? Houston’s not any different from Dallas, which is pretty close to Laurel Bay!”
“Maybe it was the only field office with a job opening.”
“Stop being rational at me!” I said through clenched teeth.
“Fine. It’s crazy! It’s lunacy that he would get the one job he’s always wanted, then show up back in his own hometown to do that job!”
“Shut up! I get your point.” It wasn’t fair for me to yell at Lacy over this. None of it was her fault.
“You know I support you.”
“I know. I just feel like I’ve been bulldozed by everything all at once.”
“What can I do to help?”
A sigh escaped my lips. I’m sure it sounded overly dramatic. “Nothing. Thank you for offering. None of this is an easy fix. But none of it’s going to kill me either. Or at least I hope it won’t.”
“You’re the strongest person I know. You can do this. James won’t be here forever. They’ll figure out what’s going on with this terrorist cell and he’ll move on.”
Exhausted, I let my body rest against the barn wall. “Thank you. I better go.”
No one was going to show up and fix this for me. It was a mess I’d created myself. But I still had plenty of real work to do, and obsessing over James wasn’t going to get the ranch taken care of.
6
James
This job was fucking torture. On the three hour drive to Laurel Bay from Houston, I’d assumed I might see Bree. Maybe at a grocery store, or in the community.
That would have been a gift. Instead, I’ve already spoken to her twice.
And she was living in my own fucking house. And to top it all off, she had a kid.
I couldn’t get Bree out of my mind or the fact that she’d slept with someone else. Of course, I knew it would happen. We weren’t together and hadn’t been for years. We’d both had to move on with our lives. I just hadn�
�t expected how hearing that would affect me.
Bree was supposed to be my wife. Her child should have been mine. Admitting it sucked, but I missed her. If anyone had asked me a week ago, I’d have said no, that I never thought about her.
She was bitter, but I would be, too, if I was the one trapped in Laurel Bay while my ex was out living the life she’d always wanted. I’d always admired her spunk. She always had a snappy comeback, even when we were kids, which got her into trouble with our teachers more than a few times. I’d preferred to keep my mouth shut in those days, but I was glad to see she was still just as saucy as ever.
I’d wanted to have a part in giving Bree the life she wanted. The problem was I didn’t know what that life was beyond living in Laurel Bay. At the time, I’d thought she was tied here by her mother. But now her mother was gone and she was still here, captive on that ranch.
Was it possible she wanted that life? Was she happy? It was hard to tell. She’d never admit to me if she wasn’t. She was as gorgeous as ever, but she looked tired. Worn down. I’d heard from many of the agents I worked with that parenthood wore you down, and she was a single mother, with only my father and Mary for help.
Did my father help? He’d been a decent dad, if putting food on the table was what you considered decent. I knew he loved me in his own way, despite his lack of interest in any life beyond ranching.
Back before she dumped me, I’d asked Bree to marry me. I’d known we were too young, but that was the only one of my plans that my father supported. He thought the two of us getting married would ground me and cure me of my delusions of grandeur.
Bree and I never got to the altar. In fact, we never got past me getting down on one knee and slipping the ring on her finger. She’d been gleeful about our engagement until I broke the news about my acceptance to Michigan State. I’d even pulled the letter from my pocket to show it off to her. Not only had I been accepted, I’d gotten a full scholarship, which included a dorm room and books. Other than the day I’d gotten my acceptance letter to Quantico, it had been the happiest days of my life. I still had the letter.