Chapter 8

"You're sure today is the day, huh?" Coy asked, sitting as a passenger in Kenzie's personal vehicle.

"It wasn't yesterday, and definitely wasn't the day before, so yes… Today is the day." She chuckled. "I told you there isn't any consistency to the appearances of these guys around town. They just show up and disappear at random."

"And you're certain it's the same crew each time?"

"Same group of men in general? Yes. Same crew each time? No, it's like they take turns, rotating in and out, but I know there are at least six frequent fliers, coming and going. Maybe ten," she shared. "Usually see them around every couple of days. Once in a while, there's a new face, but the new ones never stick around or show their face twice."

"Shit, Kenz. How long have you been watching them and collecting intel?"

"Oh, I don't know. The last year or so. I'm sure they've been here longer, that's just when I started noticing them growing in numbers. At first, I thought maybe they were seasonal workers coming in for harvest, calving season, or the various breeding seasons."

"You ever follow them?"

"A couple of times, but I lose them each time or get called to something else. I don't have a good reason to pull them over or haul them in. They don't cause trouble, try to blend in, and don't really give me reason to suspect anything other than…"

"They don't live here." Coy finished her statement, understanding where her suspicions came from.

"Coy, this is a small town where everyone knows everyone from here and the surrounding counties. When someone sticks out, they stick out."

"You sure they haven't settled anywhere around here? There are a lot of towns much smaller than Coyote Creek around these parts that are lucky to have a gas pump and a small market, much less the few other things we have here."

"If they're from the more rural areas, I haven't been able to find them. And there's something else. This is going to sound real narrow-minded of me…" Kenzie lowered her voice as if others could hear what she had to say while inside her car. "Every now and again, and certainly becoming more often than not, they're dressed… nice."

The corner of Coy's lips curled into a curious grin. "Dressing nice is suspicious?"

"Coy, look around. You're from here," she defended, pointing to various people roaming up and down the sidewalks from where they sat. "This is a community full of farmers and ranchers. Small town. Nobody dresses up to go to the Harvest Haven Feed Store for chicken scratch or the Barnyard Bounty Market for a six pack and hot dogs for an impromptu tailgater at the ranch down the road to practice barrel racing."

"I know what you're saying, I just wanted to hear you say it. Around here, people dress up for weddings, funerals, and church on Sundays, and dressing up means shit kickers, their good jeans, and your Sunday best blazer." Coy chuckled. "So, what are your suspicious out-of-towners wearing?"

"Slacks. Shiny shoes even. No cowboy hats or shit kickers. Expensive." She shrugged. "Nobody dresses like that out here. And when I run plates, they're usually rentals."

"Rentals, huh? I suppose that validates the out-of-towners theory," he agreed. "Anything else? Crime, even petty?"

"No. Not at all. Which is why I know my suspicions sound so out of left field. It's really just a hunch. A gut feeling, ya know?"

"I do know, unfortunately. That gut feeling is rarely wrong, too. What about the marijuana trade? Has that become a problem around here?"

"Not at all, which is why Nash's little business deal has all sorts of red flags around it."

"Agreed." Coy nodded, watching an SUV with out-of-state plates park only to see a family exit the vehicle who appeared to be on vacation or visiting. "I suppose it makes sense to grow your crops far away from your customer base and competition to protect the investment, so to speak, but out here? Why? We are quite away from any bordering states where it's legal. So as much as I can understand growing it elsewhere, growing this far away seems like a bad business plan."

"Copy that," she said, distracted by a man approaching her side of the vehicle with a bag in hand.

Coy reached for his weapon and rested his hand on it.

"Easy there, Stone." She rolled down her window, passed the man folded up cash, and he handed her the bag. "Thanks, Bud."

"Not a problem, Sheriff. Stake out, huh?" Bud asked. "Them teenagers tippin' old man Henry's cows again?"

"Somethin' like that." She chuckled.

"Well, it's sure a nice day for it. Enjoy your eats." Bud said and walked off, crossing the street and disappearing down the sidewalk.

Kenzie dug through the bag and pulled out a stack of napkins and a few plastic utensils followed by a couple of cardboard food containers. She handed one to Coy.

"You ordered food. To a stake out. Now everyone knows we're here and watching." He shook his head and peeked inside the food container to find a pile of fries and what appeared to be a BLT sandwich.

"Well, they're all going to think we are watching the juvenile delinquents in town, not watching for potential weed smugglers. Bud will have the whole town spreadin' that gossip like wildfire in no time."

"Why do you want him sharing anything at all?"

"One, because I'm hungry. Two, it kills two birds with one stone when the cow tippers catch wind and stop for a while, and three, this BLT is life-changing and you're going to thank me for it," she said.

Coy pulled out a sandwich quarter and started to bite into it.

"Stop!" she hollered, causing him to drop his food. "You need this."

Kenzie handed him a small Styrofoam cup. "Dip it."

"What?"

"Dip it, Stone. The sandwich."

Coy opened the container and snorted at its contents. "In ranch dressing?"

"Sure thing," she said, dipping hers in the cup and taking a hearty bite.

"That sounds… disgusting. I'll save the ranch for the fries, but the sandwich…"

"Nope. Don't do it. You dip that first bite and give it a try first. If you hate it I'll leave you alone, but my money is on the life-changing experience you're about to have."

"Life changing, huh? Guess it can't hurt… Or get any worse."

Coy did as he was told, albeit with reluctance, and took a bite. Despite his efforts, he couldn't help but grin. In an effort to hide his satisfied palate he turned and looked out the window.

"I can see your stupid smirk in the side view mirror, Coy." She snickered. "Told ya."

"I have to give it to you. This is pretty good. Who would've thought," he admitted, stuffing his face with another hearty bite. "Lola do this?"

"You know Lola?"

"Nah, but I heard about her BLT. Best around. Guess that kid got somethin' right." Coy laughed.

"These things are famous around here. Only thing on the menu other than appetizers. On Christmas and Easter, you can order it with ham on it, too." She laughed.

"Wow. That's… very Coyote Creek."

"Isn't it though?" She snorted as she continued to indulge. "Never thought I'd miss this place and didn't realize I had until I came home."

"That's right. You were gone quite some time, serving… what branch?" he asked.

"That's classified," she deadpanned.

"Classified. Wow. You did pretty well for yourself. But you know, I could probably find out where and what with a single phone call."

"I'm sure you could, Stone. But you won't." She shot him a warning glare. "You know better."

"That I do." He snickered. "Always been a little afraid of you."

"As you should be," she teased.

"What brought you back here?" he asked, "Sounds like you had a good thing going for you."

"A lot of things, really. Things I couldn't manage from overseas anymore."

"Okay, you were stationed overseas." He nodded, tucking that bit of information away. "Noted. What kind of stuff? Family?"

"A whole lot of family stuff. First, it was my dad passing suddenly. It was so out of the blue. He was a relatively young guy, healthy as could be. I still don't understand how a guy like him has a heart attack like that –– then a stroke while in the hospital."

"I remember that. I was sorry to hear. Such a tragic loss. I was overseas myself, or I would've come back for the funeral. I couldn't get away."

"I know you would've. You two had a special relationship."

"After my own dad passed, your dad sort of… took us all under his wing. Looked out for us."

"He was your daddy"s best friend their whole lives. He loved y'all like his own," Kenzie shared. "He was proud of you. Said so, often, and also how much your Pop would've been proud."

"Well, that's nice to hear. I'm glad Cut had him. Don't get me wrong — our Mama was a force and handled things pretty well after our Pop passed, but I know George Stoddard made sure they had everything they needed and saw to it we all stayed in line and went easy on Mama."

"That sounds about right. Being the sheriff kind of helped him in that department where we were all concerned."

"I reckon you're right about that. And now you have his badge."

"When he passed, Uncle Glen was voted Sheriff. He was a shoo-in, given he's daddy's twin brother."

"That's why you came home? To inherit the badge from old Glen?"

"Not at first." Kenzie stalled, wrapping up her food and tucking it back in the bag. "I uh, came home because… Phew… That's a hard question, even if it has an easy answer."

"You were married. Something happen?"

"I came home to try and save him," she said, looking anywhere but at Coy. "PTSD, they said. A really bad case of it. He was special ops, the rest is classified even from me. He saw a lot of bad shit, Coy. More than any human should witness. It eventually caught up to him."

"Oh, shit."

"Oh, shit is right. I tried. I tried everything. I retired early. I moved everywhere with him. Tried to get him help. Both being active duty with specialties like we had, there were big gaps in our marriage where we were apart. We loved each other as hard as anyone could love another, so it worked for us. We were going to work hard while we were young so we could retire young and live a whole second life after. We didn't get the chance. Never could find the right mental health help for him."

"Jesus, Kenz."

"He lost his battle at his own hand." She stared out her side window to gather herself and fight off the ghosts that were threatening to haunt her. "That's why I moved back. I thought there was nothin' better to heal the soul than this place. I was wrong. I don't even stay out on the family ranch. Glen runs it. I have a small place in town."

"He did it on the ranch –– took his life there," Coy said as a statement, not as a question. "I am so sorry, Kenzie. I had no idea."

Coy placed his hand on hers, quickly getting her attention as she whipped her head in his direction.

"Not many people knew. We weren't even in town that long before I became… the Widow Gray," she said in dramatic fashion. "I'd already retired at that point. There wasn't much for me to go back to so I started over. Here. First as a deputy under my uncle, then Sheriff when he retired."

"That's quite a story. Does it have a happy ending?"

She smiled back at Coy. "Yeah. So far. I'm pretty happy here."

"Your turn," she said, pulling her hand from his. "I know what brought you here this trip, but what kept you away all these years? I notice you aren't wearin' a ring. I don't recall hearing anything about a Mrs. Stone, not that I asked. Your family gets real quiet when I ask how you're doing."

Coy stared her down, hoping she'd give up and change the subject, but she didn't. "You ask how I'm doing, huh?"

"Sure do. Old friend. Known you my whole life. Shoot, we were high school sweethearts. Prom King and Queen. Why, you were my first love, Coy Stone."

"That was… a million years ago. We were both different people back then." Coy dropped what was left of his sandwich in the box and set it up on her car dash, quickly understanding why she seemed to lose her appetite as well. "My family never said anything?"

"I'd heard whispers that you'd married when I'd call home, but then… nothing. Just that you were doing fine."

"Fine, huh." He shook his head. "I guess I really didn't give them any more than fine. Though different circumstances, our stories aren't all that different. I lost my wife to the job, too."

"She was active duty?"

"No. Not Emery." He almost smiled but then remembered that pain in his chest, and it quickly dimmed. "She was a bartender at a bar in a small town where I was stationed. Tough as nails. Didn't take any shit. She was working there at night to pay for college. She was studying to be a nurse when we met."

"Sounds like your type," Kenzie teased, lightening the mood.

"She certainly was. Not just anyone can partner up with people like us, Kenz. You know?"

"I sure do. Takes a strong human to deal with the shit we bring home."

"She did though. With so much grace. She was home for me. We married right away. She finished school. I was gone a lot in those early years but when I was home, it was like no time passed. I retired and went private sector so I could be home more, control my schedule, and work when I wanted. We were starting a family."

"Oh wow," she whispered.

"I don't know how much you know about what I do, but it puts me in some pretty twisted crosshairs. I took a job. One that paid so well, I was going to be able to take quite a bit of time off, you know, for the baby. It was going to set us up nice and when I finally went back to work, I could be choosy, ya know. It was the dream we'd been waitin' for."

Coy rolled his window down halfway to let the breeze flow through, propped his elbow on the door ledge, and cradled his chin on his fist.

"You don't have to finish if…"

"Nah. You told me yours, I'll tell you mine. Fair is fair. It's just that I really haven't told many people and saying it out loud… Well, it doesn't seem real. It was a thousand lifetimes ago."

"I understand that." She said, resting a supportive hand on his shoulder. "Only talk about it if you're sure. I'll be just fine if you don't. Not keepin' score, Stone."

Coy looked at Kenzie like he was seeing her for the first time. He studied her. Took in all that was familiar and all that had changed. He saw the same sweet girl who used to sleep over at his house with his sister but sneak out with him in the middle of the night to the barn where they would talk for hours, amongst other things.

"Hmph." He snorted. "Same girl, different life, Kenz."

"I hope I'm not the same girl. The girl you knew had a lot of growing up to do."

"Pretty sure she did," he said, still locked in her stare. "Pretty sure she did."

Kenzie's hand slid off his shoulder, over his bicep, and landed next to him on the center console between them. "So, you noticed."

"I noticed." He turned away with a sense of guilt. Maybe because he had no business looking at her the way he was or saying the things he had. She was a grieving widow, after all –– Hell, he was still grieving. It didn't matter how many years had passed since she lost her husband. She deserved better. Maybe the guilt was also because he was looking at another woman in a way he'd only ever looked at his wife. His dead wife.

"My job… It's complicated. A lot of what we saw out in the field, active duty, well that kind of shit happens right here at home. The cases I took on –– specialized in ––were dark, ugly, and diabolical. I took the wrong one. Thought I'd be ridding the world of one of the worst kinds of predators. Instead, I was double-crossed, the predator preyed on me, took my then-pregnant wife, and did things…"

"Oh my God," she whispered.

"I pray God was there that day. I hope He was, anyway. What Emery endured… because of me…"

"It wasn't because of you, Coy," she said quietly as her voice quaked. "It's the job."

"A job I chose to take. Money blinded me. I didn't protect my family like I should have."

"You couldn't have known what was going to happen."

"Maybe. Maybe not. Perhaps if I'd done a little more recon, dug for more intel, hid my wife until I was done and knew everyone was safe." Coy paused. "He found out who I was. Despite all the fail-safes we have in place in this line of work, he still found her. Taught me a lesson. One I learned dearly from. Emery was kidnapped, trafficked, and tortured… until she died from the injuries she sustained. Then she was left in a dark cold warehouse that had been nothing more than a temporary brothel. I, uh, I was the one who found her."

Now it was Kenzie who took Coy's hand. "I'm so sorry. I… I don't even know what to say."

"There's nothing to say," Coy said, turning his attention to Kenzie. "Nothing anyone can say or do to bring her back or undo all the shit we've all done and gotten ourselves involved in –– regretted doing or getting involved in."

"You're absolutely right about that," she agreed as a lone tear trailed her cheek.

Coy swiped it away. "There's a cost to serving, protecting, and trying to make the world a better place. We both paid that price heavily."

"That we did. Though I have… so many regrets, I still think I would do it all over again. I wouldn't trade the good memories for anything because they're worth having, even if the cost was so great. They say that the pain and grief is a measure of love. The greater the pain, the greater the love. I feel lucky to know that kind of love."

Coy looked at her but didn't say a thing as he let her words wash over him. The more he thought about it and considered her idea, the more it made sense to him.

"You know. I hadn't really ever heard it put that way before," he said, bobbing his head. "I uh, suppose I wouldn't trade the memories for anything either… They're what keeps me going. Keeps me fighting. Strengthens the mission to right all the wrongs. I wish I didn't have to do life without her, but I'm glad I didn't have to go through it without having known her like I did. Or loving her. Wow, that's hard to say."

"Perspective. It's a wild thing," she said. "All we can do is lean into the good times because they far outnumber the bad, right?"

"When you put it like that, yeah," he agreed. "There were a lot more good times than bad. Shit. When did you get so smart, Kenz?"

"When I finally grew up and realized I had a choice. Live a whole life with all that it comes with, or live a half-life that may not be worth livin'. Chose the aforementioned, obviously. I think the trials and tribulations make us better people. Stronger. Smarter, even. It's a choice. Learn to overcome and do something with it or fall victim to your worst days. What do you choose, Stone?"

"You ought to write a book on that." He snickered.

"I'm sure someone already has," she said with a half smirk.

"I guess…" he began with hesitation. "I guess I choose the aforementioned too. No one's quite said anything like that to me before."

"Ah, unless someone's been through it, in the ways we have, there isn't much they can say that sticks. All the condolences and well wishes are all great and fine, comforting even, but figuring the part out that I just shared… Game changer."

"I suppose you're right." And oddly, Coy felt lighter. That wasn't to say he was done grieving or missing his wife, — Hell, that would be his life sentence, but somehow missing her, grieving her, and regretting his role in her demise felt… different."

"Look at us." She chuckled. "Couple of small-town kids went out into the big bad world, came back home with big world problems… and broken."

"Somethin' like that," he agreed. "Now I understand why you gave Ran such a hard time."

"Oh, that was mostly for fun. I know he's tried to do better for our veterans and fallen heroes. For whatever reason, they always go to the back burner in every administration. If I'm being honest, he's probably done more for vets than anyone before him. And I voted for him."

Coy burst into laughter. "Then why the hard time?"

"I don't know. Testing him, maybe? Make sure he knows around here he's just one of us and not above us."

"A hazing. You were hazing the President of the United States."

"More or less. Look, Dillon's happy. Happier than I've ever known her to be. He's good for her, and she's good for him. Thought I'd break him in a little since they'll be spending more time around here once his term is up."

"Ah, so you're doing him a favor."

"No one in Coyote Creek is ever going to roll out the red carpet for him. They're going to expect him to show up for branding season just like the rest of the town, even if he's followed by all that muscle everywhere he goes."

"That's true. I guess that's the beauty of this place. Everyone is treated equally and with respect so long as you do the same. Makes life easier here."

"You thinking of coming back, too?"

"I don't know. Hadn't really thought about it. The branch of my company that I'm working for, Safe Haven, is headquartered in a little mountain town off the beaten path, hidden in plain sight –– for a reason –– but each case takes me somewhere else, so I could land just about anywhere and still do the job. The road's pretty much been home for me, though."

"So, sticking to the road?" She pulled her hand away, realizing they were still in each other"s grip.

"Probably. Until I have a reason to settle somewhere, I guess." He paused, tapping on the armrest on his car door. "I'm here for now, though, settling Mama's estate with the others, which shouldn't be too difficult, and making sure the ranch is fine. Got a new little one joining the family soon, may as well stick around for that."

"So here we are. Back where we started." She tossed her hands in the air and slouched in her seat.

"Before different branches of military broke us up all those years ago and the world swallowed us whole."

She looked at him. "A broken mess. Together."

"Yeah." Coy looked out his window and something, or rather, someone, caught his attention. "Kenz?"

"Hmm?" His suddenly stern tone caught her attention, and she followed his stare.

"I think I know what you mean by how those guys dress." Coy pointed in the direction of the local bar where a couple of well-dressed men were entering, along with a few who were better at blending in.

She grabbed her camera while he grabbed his phone and each began snapping pictures.

"Told you they stood out and today was the day. Those are the guys we've been waiting on."

Coy's phone began to ring. "Damn it. It's Cut."

"It's okay, I'm gettin' them. Answer it."

Coy tapped his screen and answered on speakerphone. "Yeah? This better be good."

Cut's voice was filled with something that sounded like anger and equally fear. "Coy… You better get here quick. Bring Kenzie."

* * *

A trail of blood surrounding Devyn's car immediately caught Coy's attention as he stepped out of Kenzie's vehicle, then the bullet holes in her windshield and one lodged in the side of the vehicle. Coy pulled that bullet casing from the fender of the car and studied it.

"What the hell happened here?" Kenzie asked, standing at his side. She looked inside the vehicle. "There's blood everywhere."

Coy rushed up the steps to the house and through the front door to find only what could be described as organized chaos –– and his worst nightmare. Something had found him again. Came for his family. A past that wouldn't stay dead. A past that wouldn't stop chasing him until he submitted to it or… he was dead.

Nora was lying on the couch with Cut at her side trying to comfort her despite the seething glares he was directing at Nash. Cut was worried. It was written all over his face. They all were.

Some rowdy children could be heard in the distance, obviously sent off somewhere away from the blood bath that was their family"s living room and kitchen. Devyn frantically paced between the two rooms, covered in blood, while Dillon leaned against the kitchen counter and watched her sister pace –– her expression etched in worry.

Near the kitchen table, Nash handed Ransom first aid supplies as he tended to the bleeding individual seated there, creating a makeshift triage setup. Coy wasn't sure where to start or what to say, torn between the two open spaces his family filled. When Ransom turned to look over his shoulder, he revealed the bloodied victim was one of his agents who sat, shirt cut off of him, sweat beaded at his brow, and his jaw so tight you could nearly feel the pain it represented.

"Start talking," Coy said coolly to whoever was listening. But no one spoke. They all wore looks of shock and horror as if waiting for someone else to answer. They were speechless.

"That's a lot of fucking blood," Kenzie said, reaching for her phone. "I'm calling this in. We need an ambulance, and?—"

"Put your phone away," Ransom said calmly. "No need. We got this."

"I'm only asking one more time. What. The hell. Happened here?" Coy seethed through gritted teeth.

"We were sh-shot at," Devyn stammered. "Someone tried to k-kill us."

* * *

Get ready for more Stone Cold Secrets, coming soon!