Chapter 41

CHAPTER 41

JESS

S ophie and Tag had come over after the craziness of the weekend to blow off some steam with me. We sat around the fire with Slate and Austin, who seemed to have made up after locking horns just yesterday.

The sun had gone down and crickets were chirping. A light breeze granted relief from the oppressive heat of the summer air even at night. Mom and Dad had been out here with us earlier, but after Dad had manned the grill and Mom had stuffed us full of her sides, they'd called it a night.

On the back patio in the garden, we watched the flames dance in the fire pit Dad and I had built together a few years ago, and another swell of pride rose from deep within my soul. I'd been so sure my father was going to take that money and yet he'd taken the worst thing that had happened to us in a long time and turned it into a positive.

We weren't selling.

At least not to Oden Sawyer and not right now. I had received a stay of execution with the sweeping declaration he'd made, and as I sat around the fire with my friends, I felt a sense of peace that could only mean that this was the right thing.

The Merricks weren't done with Merrick Meadows Farm just yet.

I sipped my beer, recounting the sabotage to my friends. As trusted members of our inner circle, Dad had agreed that I could talk to them about what had happened. Austin and Slate added to the story as I told it, and I felt the adrenaline of it all pumping through my veins once more.

"Are you okay?" Sophie sipped her drink before she suddenly stood up and started tearing open packets of stuff she'd brought along for s'mores. "My heart can't take this. We need chocolate. Gosh, who ever thought something like this could happen here?"

Tag whistled. "This is some Yellowstone level shit, guys. Are you serious? Who thought Firefly Grove would have this in it? I sure didn't."

I shot a look over at Slate, who had been joking just the other day that this wasn't Yellowstone , the popular TV show that was like a soap opera for men who wished they were cowboys. Knowing that he'd used it to imply that I was being dramatic, I smirked at him and lifted my eyebrows.

"You see?" I said. "I'm not the only one."

He gave me a sheepish smile in return and I couldn't help but grin. Slate shrugged, but I saw the twinkle of laughter in his eyes. "What? How was I supposed to know the equipment was going to be sabotaged just a couple of days later? This kind of thing doesn't exactly happen on every project."

Tag snagged a s'more from Sophie's hand as soon as she'd finished making it and stuck it right into his mouth, smirking at her around it. "I need sugar for all this drama. It's insane."

Surprisingly, she didn't even light into him for stealing her snack. Instead, she set about making some more and nodded at him with wide eyes. "I guess we should just be happy that someone wasn't hurt."

"The equipment was hurt," Austin said.

"So was the land," I added, sighing. I thought about how much longer this little stunt had added to the time it would be before the cows would be able to graze that field again. This had definitely left us in a pickle beyond just the immediate damage.

But not even that could get me down right then.

"Everyone is fine, though," Slate said, inclining his head at Sophie. "You're right. That's all that's really important. That being said, the oil business might be sketchy, but it's not so sketchy that people often hurt each other just for some profit."

"I'm not so sure about that," Austin said, casting a look at Slate and lifting his hands to show he came in peace. "According to the internet, there's a lot more of this kind of thing going on than you might think. Whenever there's money involved, people just become assholes. I guess it doesn't matter what field you're in."

"True," Slate agreed. "It's those bad apples. They're everywhere, man."

"So what happens now?" Tag asked, the question muffled by the chocolatey goodness in his mouth. He swallowed before he turned to me. "Do you, like, hire security or something?"

Austin shrugged and shook his head, resting back on his palms on the bench. "I have no idea." He turned to look into the darkness of the night as if he could see the site through it. "That might not be a bad idea, though. You don't happen to know where we can find mercenaries who will work for free, do you?"

Sophie's eyes widened to saucers as her gaze flicked from Austin's, to mine, to Slate's. "They need mercenaries?"

He shrugged a shoulder, but when he saw the shiver running through her, he chuckled and shook his head. "That might be a little bit extreme at this point."

While I noticed that he'd qualified the statement by adding "at this point," I tried to ignore the implication that he'd had to hire mercenaries before and focused on the problem at hand. "Okay, but you're the expert. What do you suggest we do?"

"Hire an investigator," he said as he stared into the flames. "It's the only thing we can really do."

By the time I was done with my chores the next morning, those words were still echoing in my head. Not only because it meant spending more money on paying yet another person to help us, but also because of the look on Slate's face when he'd said it.

He'd been pensive. Serious. It'd scared me a little.

Now, Sophie and I were in her car on our way into town. The windows were down. Taylor Swift blasted over the speakers. Sophie was popping her bubblegum.

From the outside, I knew everything would look fine to anyone who saw us now, but I felt like I'd caught a glimpse of the dark underbelly of life. It put me on edge, and that was why I knew we would have to hire an investigator as soon as we walked out of the post office.

"We really needed to pick up a part for your mom's sewing machine?" she asked, her arm looped through mine. She slid her sunglasses back onto her face. "You should've just asked me before you ordered it. I might've had the part already and she wouldn't have had to wait."

A knot formed in my stomach as I took in the car parked right next to Sophie's. I caught sight of Oden Sawyer. He was even leaning up against Sophie's pink bug, chewing a toothpick and twirling it between his fingers when he saw us approaching them.

"You and I need to talk," he said, eyes fixed on mine. He ignored Sophie like she wasn't even there. "I'll give you a ride back to Merrick Meadows. Let's go. This is important."

He gave me a rehearsed grin and tossed the toothpick, sweeping a hand out toward the flashy car.

My head snapped back and I laughed. "Uh uh. No, thank you. I'll get back with my friend."

Sophie cocked her head at him, scrunching up her nose as her eyebrows climbed on her forehead. "You paired the wrong pocket square with that suit."

He glanced down at the pocket square and I snorted, looking him over myself even if I wouldn't even have noticed it if she hadn't pointed it out. "She's right, you know. Orange is a horrible color on most people. Maybe consider another next time."

Sophie winked at me and released my arm. She walked around to the driver's side and climbed in behind the wheel, but when I made to follow her, he reached out and grabbed my arm. His jaw grinding, he narrowed his eyes on mine. "I'm giving you that ride whether you want it or not. I said that you and I needed to talk, and we're going to do it."

I yanked my arm out of his grasp, bringing it to my chest and making sure to take a big step back. My pulse was racing, the knowledge that I was looking at the man who had sabotaged us a certainty all of a sudden "You weren't interested in speaking to me the other day, so I suggest you take this up with Slate Spieres. He's our consultant in this matter. Any questions or concerns you have can be addressed with him. The family isn't speaking to anyone right now. Good day, Mr. Sawyer."

I stepped around him. He blocked my path as his chin lowered and he gave his head a firm shake. "I'm here to speak to you, not Slate. If I wanted to talk to him, I'd have called. Now get in the damn car."

"Have some damn manners," I said. "I can't help you anyway."

"Yes, you can," he ground out, taking a deliberate step toward me. "Rumor has it you were next in line to take over that farm."

"That's right," I said. "I am next in line."

"Which means I miscalculated the other day when I insisted on speaking with your father. It seems you're the Merrick I should be dealing with."

"You shouldn't be dealing with any of us," I said. "We're not taking your offer and we won't be bullied."

"I've heard," he replied, taking another step closer. This time, it put him close enough that a shiver of unease ran through me and I took another step back, but he wasn't deterred. If anything, he seemed pleased by my fear. As he jerked his head at his car, he smirked. "Get in, Ms. Merrick. You and I have business to discuss."

"My business is none of yours, Mr. Sawyer. And I have no interest in anything you have to say. You can discuss things with me until you're blue in the face, and we still wouldn't be selling the farm. You can go back to the concrete hole you climbed out of now. There's nothing here for you. Goodbye."

As I turned to walk around him, he circled my wrist in a vise-like grip and tugged me closer. Then he leaned in. The acrid stench of old tobacco was on his breath. He got in my face and yet he was careful about not making it look like he was manhandling me.

Whoever saw us would just think we were having a quiet, private word, but his fingers were like a metal band around my wrist, digging in and making it very clear that he didn't intend on letting me go.

"After what happened the other day, you should really reconsider your position," he said.

I'd already been sure that it had been him. As soon as we'd emerged from a regular errand to find him conveniently waiting next to a car that wasn't even one of ours, I knew he'd been waiting for me. Possibly even watching the farm and following us here.

He wouldn't have done that for any reason other than something nefarious. It just wasn't the way people acted, but now, he'd confirmed it. Oden Sawyer truly was responsible for the sabotage.

I saw red. Jerking my arm out of his grasp, I advanced on him this time instead of vice versa. "It was you, wasn't it? You trespassed on our property and messed with our equipment. You desperate, low-life prick. I don't know who your client is, but I'll be letting them know personally that you've cost them this deal as soon as I find out."