“No. It’s all right, Kasey.”
“Tell me why the fuck you’re here then,” I grunt.
He sighs. “Colt called.”
And just like that, the world stops spinning. I lean against a wooden beam and brace myself for the worst. “What did he say?”
“Cops showed up at Rustlers Ranch about an hour ago. Ellis told them everything.”
Shit. Shit shit shit. “Everything?”
Rhett tosses his helmet on the seat of his bike and comes up the steps to stand next to me. Wrapping a hand around my shoulder, he says, “He told them he was hosting a game night. That he’d invited Maverick’s crew and a couple new friends he made too. He said Maverick was losing the game, and then losing his cool, and the two new friends turned out to be cops who tried to shut Maverick down. That Maverick pulled a gun, shot the cops, and then pointed it at him. So Ellis shot him first.”
Relief slices through me like a whip. I let out a long, slow breath. “He said he did it.”
Rhett nods. “Yep. Didn’t even say we were there. Didn’t say Colt and Wylie Jo were there either. He took the fall for all of it, told them where to find the bodies, and they arrested him and took him in.”
“Fuck.” Ellis promised me he’d take the fall if it came to it, but Ellis himself is a selfish career criminal and I didn’t exactly trust him. “What about ballistics? I still have the shotgun?—”
“Colt said Ellis told them he ditched the gun over a bluff, hours out of town, scared about getting caught. He said he doesn’t remember exactly where. They obviously aren’t going tofind it, but he did his best to explain it away. I’m sure they’ll try to look but . . .”
“So it’s over?”
“Well, there’s obviously still a bit of a process. With Ellis admitting to everything, there’s not a whole lot of reason for those badges to investigate anyone else. And without placing any of us at the game, the cops don’t have anyone else to talk to.”
“There was that one guy, who came with Maverick. The one who ran.”
“I doubt he’s going to come forward. His boss is dead, he doesn’t owe him anything anymore. And coming forward means putting himself right in the middle of it all. There’s nothing to gain from it.” Rhett shakes his head. “He would be stupid to say something.”
“How’s Colt?”
“A little shaken up. But . . . he said the way the cops were talking to Ellis, it sounds like they’re more interested in Maverick being dead than in Ellis’s gambling. Ellis’s story means he acted in self-defense.Andhe’s cooperating. Colt thinks his time away won’t be too long, and that Ellis will be a better man for it.”
“Damn.” I look out into the distance, where the dark sky meets moonlit trees. “That could have been you, Rhett. It could have been me. It could have been every one of us, at some point or another.”
For a while, Rhett doesn’t say anything. And then he takes a deep breath and mutters, “I know.”
I look at him. “We have a second chance too. With this ranch. With each other. I know you aren’t exactly happy that I got married for it, and I want you to know that I understand. Regardless of my feelings for Ava, it was a little reckless. But it should get Huck off our backs and . . .” I scrub a hand over my face. “This family has struggled in every fucking way that countsand,fuck, I don’t want to suffer anymore. I don’t want to have to scrape together good days. We deserved so much more than we were given from Dad and his brothers, and I want to make sure we give the boys something better than we have now.”
Rhett squints at me. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying . . . no more fucking around. Let’s look at the books on the ranch, find ways to be financially stronger so we aren’t killing ourselves to stay ahead. Let’s look at the bar and do the same. No more fucking illegal bullshit. No more fighting or reckless behavior. We need to stop giving the people in this town more reasons to hate us. Let’s find ways to mend our relationship with the community. Find ways to bring in some fucking peace.”
“Shit,” Rhett grumbles. “I expected you to be kissing the ground, not waxing poetic.”
I shove him on the shoulder, and he laughs. And then his face grows serious.
“Look,” he says. “I’m sorry. For being there that night, for not letting you in. I thought I was doing the right thing, but it’s no excuse. I knew I was putting myself in danger. And if you hadn’t come, I . . . Fuck, man, I might be six feet below ground. You’re talking about second chances, and I get it. I’m living out mine, and I want to be worthy of it. I want my family to be proud of me, and a long life with Olivia, and maybe some of our own kids one day, you know? I refuse to be like Dad and raise them with an iron fist that’s wrapped around a fucking bottle.”
I grin. “Change, Rhett,” I agree. “It starts with us.”
He looks at me with a knowing smirk. “Speaking of kids, jackass. When did you find out Ava’s pregnant?”
“Before the wedding,” I admit. “She didn’t want to get married without me knowing.”
“Well, that’s a relief,” he mutters. “How do you feel about it?”
I can’t help the smile that spreads across my face. “I don’t know how to explain it, but I don't think I’ve been happier about anything in my entire life.”
