Chapter 4

"Who plowed up my garden?" Nash fumed as he charged into the kitchen, startling everyone.

"If you mean that half an acre or so of marijuana plants…" Coy grinned. "Me."

Cut turned his head quickly. "You're growing… weed? Here? Did you happen to forget your niece and nephews live here? Play out there?"

"It's not like they go around chewing on random plants around the property," Nash fired back.

"Not the point, Nash," Cut said.

"Then what is?"

"The point is it's illegal." Coy stood between his brothers.

Nash shrugged. "Not everywhere."

"Wow. Not everywhere? That's your reasoning? So, what, you're a pothead dealer now?" Cut asked. "Dealing where it isn't illegal?"

"Oh great. That'll be a fun one to defend," Devyn chided. "Never thought when I signed up to be a lawyer that it would be my own brother, the small-town drug lord, who kept me in business."

"No and no." Nash sneered. "I don't do drugs, nor do I sell them."

"Then why the plants?" Coy asked.

"Land lease," Nash said matter-of-factly. "They're going to harvest the plants when they mature and sell them. I get twenty-five percent. Well, were… So no liability."

Coy shook his head. "Wrong. You hold all the liability. It's here, on our property. Not your customers."

"He's right, Nash," Devyn confirmed. "It also means everyone on the ranch goes down as an accessory at a minimum, with possession with the intent to distribute charges and… Should I go on?"

Nash crossed his arms across his chest and thought about her claim a moment. "Well, all I'm sayin' is, it should be legal then nobody would have anything to worry about. If it's fine to have in some places, shouldn't it be fine everywhere? Anything you can do about that, Ran?"

"Not a chance." Ransom laughed. "I deal with other stuff in the oval that's much bigger than… weed. Not sure that's the legacy I would want to leave our country with. Besides, the countdown is on, and I only have a handful of weeks left before I pass the torch to the next commander-in-chief."

"Yeah, I suppose you're right," Nash agreed. "I was just… trying to raise funds. Help pay the medical debt from Mama's treatments and such."

"That's all taken care of," Coy said.

"Not all of it. Has anyone dug into the financials at all?" Nash asked.

"I suppose we probably should," Devyn said. "Just kind of makes it all real when we do that and read her will."

"Well, let me enlighten y'all. I caught her cryin' one night over them bills and prayin' out loud that we didn't lose the place because of her. Can you imagine how she felt, thinkin' this place was more important than her health? I told her not to worry about it –– that I had it handled. This was me handlin' it the quickest and easiest way I could. I'd run down my savings covering what I could and needed a plan B. The opportunity just sort of fell in my lap. So, I took it."

"What's done is done. We'll all work together on the financial aspect and make it all right," Coy said. "Everything will be fine. In the meantime, I cut it down, you need to get it all cleaned up."

"Already did." Nash said, grabbing a sandwich off a platter on the counter. Nora smacked his hand and grinned but let him take it and stacked more on top.

"Not all hope is lost on you after all." Coy chuckled.

"Just tossed it all on the burn pile. It's burn day. It'll all be gone in no time."

Coy choked on his water. "You lit it?"

"Jesus, Coy. I didn't leave it unattended or anything. Have a little faith in me, I got a ranch hand watchin' the pile."

Coy turned to the group. "Can burning a massive pile of marijuana plants, you know…"

They each shrugged.

"I have no idea," Cut said. "Pretty sure getting the whole town high isn't the best way to find out."

Ransom kissed the top of Dillon's head and grabbed his jacket off the back of his chair before heading for the door. "Let's go."

"Not sure the President putting out a blazing pile of weed makes for good optics," Coy warned.

"No. I suppose not. But they don't drug test the President, and I'm not worried about optics –– my detail has the property secure. Like I said, I'm on my way out anyway, so worst case…"

"You leave office on a high," Coy teased.

Ransom chuckled. "Good one."

"Let's do this," Coy said, following Ransom out the door, the other men on their heels.

"Wait. But you didn't eat lunch," Devyn shouted after them catching the eye of another member of Ransom's detail who'd been waiting right outside the door. "I'll uh, I'll bring it out to y'all."

Coy looked between his sister and the agent. "I'm sure you'd love that, sis. Always so helpful. Worried about others."

"Helping herself to Ran's detail, anyway." Nash laughed. "Man, you move fast, girl."

"Shut up, Nash, or you can find yourself a new lawyer."