As he walked away, she spoke again. “You take it seriously, don’t you?”
He stopped, turning his head toward her to find her sight lasered in on him. “My job as the foreman? Yeah, I do.”
“Thank God you were there when she was attacked. I don’t want to think about what would’ve happened if you weren’t.”
He didn’t either. If he’d been a moment too late, all could’ve been lost. “Fortunately, I was. Aja is fine.”
“Because of you.”
He lowered his lids; there was no sense in denying what they both knew.
“Aja’s too good a person for this shit. She won’t let us go. She keeps fighting for us. I just… I don’t want her to suffer because of me and Seneca. Few people in the world would care about someone like me.”
She tore her gaze from his and looked up toward the open sky as though it held the key to life itself until she’d blinked away whatever spark of emotion he’d seen flash across her brown eyes. “You keep doing your job, Foreman. Keep looking out for her. She won’t do it for herself.”
She rolled up her blueprints, closed the tailgate, and climbed in the truck and drove away, leaving Jackson standing in the middle of the grassy knoll with nothing but wall-less buildings behind him.
Brooklyn’s words replayed in his mind, an eerie chill passing from one nerve to another as he recalled each of them. Fear gripped him. Everything he’d seen of Aja and her crusade to save Brooklyn and Seneca from this faceless foe made Brooklyn’s words resound inside his hollow chest as truth. Aja wouldn’t save herself, so he’d have to.
Chapter 23
Aja felt her phone vibrate in her back pocket as she chopped salad fixings and placed them in a decorative pattern inside the oversize bowl in front of her. She put the knife down and wiped her hands quickly on a nearby hand towel before she retrieved her phone. She smiled as Mat Ryan’s name flashed across her screen. “Mat, how are you this late afternoon?”
“Good. But I’m more concerned about you. It’s all over town that the sheriff was at your house night before last. Is everything all right? Did something happen with Brooklyn and Seneca?”
Aja bit her lip to keep from cursing the Fresh Springs gossip mill. “Everything is fine, Mat. Brooklyn and Seneca are great. We had a minor disturbance on the ranch that had nothing to do with the ladies. We handled it, and the sheriff came to take a routine report and left shortly after.”
“Are you sure? If the women are posing a threat, we can revisit moving them.”
Aja took a deep breath. This was exactly what she was afraid of. She didn’t want Brooklyn and Seneca displaced or, worse, sent back to prison because of some faceless phantom who’d decided terrorizing her land and her people would be fun.
“Mat, I do not want the women moved. They are doing an excellent job here. They’re thriving. We’ve gotten another construction crew to finish what the last crew started. The permits are in place, the sites are already cleared, the foundations laid, and my materials are already here. They can have the work finished in about four months. Four months, Mat. That’s all it will take to realize all of our hard work. Don’t take that away by removing Brooklyn and Seneca from the ranch now. They need this win as much as I do.”
He was quiet for a moment. So quiet, Aja pulled the phone from her ear to make certain the call was still connected. “Aja, you make a compelling argument. But as their parole officer, my job isn’t only to make sure they’re following all the rules but also that they’re in an environment that isn’t filled with criminal activity. There’s been so much going on. Not to mention, you’ve added three live-in workers on your ranch without telling me.”
She rubbed her temple, trying her best to hold on to her temper. “The terms of my contract with Pathways mentioned nothing about clearing my personnel with you. Although I am happy to take part, I still have a business to run that has nothing to do with the state or this program.”
She heard him clear his throat. She was fond of Mat and treated him with respect because it made things easier for her workers. But the ranch was hers, and if she needed to remind him of that, she had no problem doing so.
“Forgive me,” he said. “I didn’t mean to suggest it was a requirement. We’ve had a wonderful working relationship until now. I’m just a little concerned about your workers. Especially that Jackson fellow. He seems rather disagreeable.”
Ain’t that the truth.“Let me worry about Jackson. He won’t be a problem. Please, don’t pull the women.”
“Well, it will be evening soon, but I still need to come over today and visit with Brooklyn and Seneca because of the recent police activity. It was my intention to get out earlier in the day, but I’ve been swamped in my office. Depending on what they have to say, I’ll make my decision based on that.”
“I’m sure it will all be fine,” she replied. “When you’re done, drop by the main house for dinner. If you have to work so late, you might as well get a meal out of it, right?”
“Certainly. Thanks for the offer. I’ll see you this evening.”
Aja ended the call and returned her phone to her back pocket before she could throw it across the room. That damn Jackson and his bullish ways had Mat ready to pull the plug on all the work her employees had done. “Not on my watch.”
After a few cleansing breaths, she retrieved her phone and dialed one of the numbers Jackson had given her for the men watching her front gate. After the first ring, the call connected. “Hello.”
“Hello, this is Aja Everett, the owner of Restoration Ranch. Is this Mr.”—she paused long enough to switch back to the text Jackson had sent, scouring for a name—“Pruitt?”
“Yes, ma’am. How can I help you?”
“I’m expecting a visitor. His name is Mr. Mat Ryan. Mr. Ryan has an open invitation. Please add him to your security clearance list.”
