Chapter 45

CHAPTER 45

JESS

S late was back in New York City, and while he was gone, I'd decided to take matters into my own hands and look into Oden Sawyer myself. I sat behind the ancient computer in our home office, devouring any information I could get my hands on.

While I'd promised Slate I wouldn't get into any trouble while he was away, I hadn't said anything about doing a little investigating. Besides, I thought it was adorable that he was so worried about me. It was cute, but I could handle myself.

If Oden came a knockin', I definitely wasn't about to stand down. As far as I knew though, he'd left town and it wasn't like he'd know I was searching his name on the internet.

With the light breeze from the fan in the corner cooling my skin and a cold lemonade in my hand, I was perfectly safe, staying out of trouble just like I'd promised I would. So far though, I hadn't learned anything damning about the guy.

From what I'd been able to ascertain, he was an investor in multiple companies, a lot of which had a ton of morally gray fine print in their terms and conditions. But I supposed that didn't really mean much.

It looked like he'd been married four times. No children. No family.

He had, however, been sued a hundred times. Arrested a handful yet nothing had stuck.

He's a special cocktail, all right.

I scanned the text on the screen and took in the photographs of him going into and leaving several courtrooms. There were pictures of him standing with politicians while they made speeches or on the other side of barricades while groups of environmentalists protested either his clients or his projects.

All things considered, it seemed he was a scumbag, but not in a way that had landed him in any real trouble as of yet. After doing a bit more digging, I was surprised to discover that he had a degree in engineering. It seemed that before he'd become an oil guy, he'd been a decent student.

He'd won a couple of awards for the engineering department at his university, and as slimy as he was now, he certainly wasn't stupid. Which meant he might have the know-how he would've needed to inflict that specific, and quiet, damage to the digging equipment.

I tapped the side of my mouth, muttering to myself under my breath. "If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck."

It was all circumstantial, of course, but I was more convinced than ever that he was our saboteur. As I sighed and clicked out of the article listing his accolades at university, my dad walked in.

Bleary eyed and tired, he rubbed his white beard and heaved out a breath as he sat down on the old, worn sofa across from me. "How's it going?"

I shrugged. "I don't have a smoking gun yet, but I'm putting together a picture of a man who certainly seems capable of something as ugly as sabotage."

He nodded slowly, looking around like he was missing something.

I frowned. "What's up?"

"Nothing really. It's just strange how the place feels a bit different without Slate around, isn't it? It's funny how it only took a month and a half for him to feel like part of Merrick Meadows."

Urg. Don't remind me.

He hadn't even been gone a whole day and already I missed having him around so much it hurt. A few weeks ago, I'd been so acutely aware of his presence and now it was like his absence smacked me in the face every time I walked into a room.

I smiled at my dad, hoping that I wasn't being too obvious about my feelings for the guy when I shrugged. "Yeah, I know what you mean. It's been nice having someone here, in our corner."

He looked at me with a knowing twinkle in his eyes, but then the light faded and he stroked his beard again. The smile on his face turned into a frown and the twinkle became a cloud of worry.

"What's wrong, Daddy?" My heart skipped as I scooted forward in my chair. "What's the matter?"

Glancing at the door as if to check that we were still alone, he leaned forward a little and lowered his voice. "Have you noticed that your mother doesn't quite seem like herself?"

At first, I had no clue what he meant, but as I thought about it, I recalled how tired she'd seemed these last few weeks. I thought about that time when I'd caught her polishing all the wood in the house and how it'd looked like she'd been about to drop.

She'd dismissed it as being overwhelmed by all the changes around here lately, but as I relayed the conversation we'd had to my father, I realized that she'd definitely been off ever since. "Do you think she's okay?"

He lifted his eyebrows at me. "I don't know. I hope so. I've asked her to get checked out by the doctor, but she insists that she's fine. Just tired. Do me a favor and keep an eye on her, will you?"

I nodded. My stomach hardened with worry and my jaw ached from being clenched so hard. Dad stood up, glancing at me over his shoulder from the door. "Let's keep this between us for now. I don't want her to fret about us worrying about her."

Once again, I nodded my agreement. "You're right. The last thing she needs to be worried about is our worry. My lips are sealed."

"Thanks, honey." He managed a small smile as he rapped his knuckles across the door. "You keep digging. I'll go out and check on the cows."

"The mastitis is all cleared up," I assured him. "Marshmallow was the last one on the antibiotics, but she's finished her course now too."

"All the same," he said. "It gives me something to keep my head busy. I need to get out there for a couple of hours and lose myself in the work. See you later, baby."

"Later, Daddy," I replied, kind of jealous that he was getting to head out, but I had a feeling he needed it more than I did right now.

Plus, there was always more than enough work that if I really wanted to head out, there was a lot I could do to keep my own head busy. Instead, I turned back to the computer and kept digging.

Right now, this was the most important thing I could be doing. We needed to know who we were up against, especially if Slate was right and Oden would turn back up eventually.

A couple of hours later, I'd had enough for the day and I shut down the computer, stretching my arms out above my head and yawning. My brother ambled into the office as I was on my way out, sending me a knowing grin.

"Too much sitting for you?"

I nodded. "You know it. I don't know how you do it all day, every day."

"It's my cross to bear," he teased. Then his brow furrowed as he held my gaze. "Did you find anything?"

"Nothing conclusive, but it's not like I was expecting to find a written confession on the internet that he'd done it. I just wanted to learn more about him and I did."

"Okay, did you learn anything interesting?" He followed me to the kitchen.

I went to the fridge to grab a jug of cold water and he got out two glasses. "Well, he's a qualified engineer. That could mean something. It definitely means he's clever enough to figure out how to sabotage equipment."

Austin's jaw hardened. "Is Slate's investigator here yet?"

"Yep. He's here. Slate showed him around before he left." I sighed, shaking my head, and filled our glasses. "I just wish he was here to tell us if the guy turns up anything."

"If he hears from him, I'm sure he'll let us know. Besides, he's only been gone since last night and he's coming back tomorrow. It's not like we'll have to wait weeks to get an update from him."

"I know. I guess I'm just antsy about it." Which was true. I was anxious to get news from the investigator, but I was also just missing Slate and wishing he was here—and not just so he could tell us if his investigator had any leads.

As I sipped my water with my brother, I suddenly had the urge to tell him how I felt about Slate. I didn't do it, but for the first time, I really wanted to.

After I'd slept in his bed that night and woken up to sneak back to my own room, I'd realized that I didn't want to sneak around with him anymore. Whatever we had was past its infancy stage now and it felt real.

I still didn't know if it had a future, but for now, we weren't just screwing around anymore. It wasn't just about giving into lust or falling into bed together. I cared about him.

Austin's phone chimed, drawing me out of my thoughts. He grinned after he checked it, waving the device at me. "Jax and the guys are going out for a drink. I'm going to join them. Do you want to come?"

I shook my head. "You don't need your little sister to hang out with your old friends with you. Go ahead. Have fun."

"Okay, are you sure?"

"I'm sure." I smiled and waved him off. "Tell them I said hi."

"Will do." After downing the rest of his water, he set his glass down in the sink and left, taking the farm truck into town instead of his own car.

I chuckled. "Maybe you should've bought a truck of your own instead of a shiny SUV."

After refilling my water, I went onto the porch to watch the sunset, wondering where my mom was. Worry churned around my insides, making me feel like there was a hive of bees living in my gut.

Shaking my head, I glanced at the empty seat next to me and wished for the umpteenth time that Slate was here. It really did feel like he'd become part of Merrick Meadows, and without him, nothing felt quite right.

Suddenly itching to at least have some kind of contact with him, I pulled my phone out of my pocket and snapped a quick picture of myself and the open seat beside me. Before I could think better of it, I sent him the picture, hoping that it spoke for itself.

I miss you. I wish you were here. I can't wait until you get back, even if I know it's silly because you've only been gone since yesterday.

I knew it was a lot to expect him to get from just one picture, but that was how I felt. I just had no right to feel it, which was also why I hadn't just texted him the words. I didn't want to make him feel guilty for leaving to visit his sister and his nephew.

He'd be gone less than forty-eight hours in total. In the greater scheme of things, that was nothing and yet it'd told me everything I hadn't needed to know.

Like just how badly I was going to miss him once he left the farm for good—and how much I wished he could just stay with us forever.