I sigh and sit back against the couch. “Can you talk?”
“I’m in between patients. What’s going on?”
I stare at the flames dancing in the fireplace, trying to figure out how to even begin this conversation. The warmth feels good against my skin, but there’s a chill inside me that has nothing to do with the weather outside.
“Something weird happened today at the feed store,” I finally say, tucking my legs underneath me. “Noah stopped me on my way out.”
Nora’s eyebrows raise. She knows Noah from high school, just like I do. “Deputy Sanchez? What did he want?”
“That’s just it. He was acting all official and serious, not like the Noah we grew up with.” I run my fingers through my honey-blonde hair, still damp from the rain. “He warned me about Truett and Jesse. Said they’re into something dangerous and I should be careful.”
The concern that flashes across Nora’s face makes my stomach drop. She adjusts her position, and I can see she’s in her office at the clinic, still wearing her scrubs.
“What exactly did he say?”
“He told me to watch myself around them. That they’re not the same people they used to be.” I pause, remembering the intensity in Noah’s eyes. “Nora, he looked scared. Actually scared. And you know, Noah. Nothing rattles him. He used to stare down that o-line without fear.”
“Aubree…” She hesitates, glancing around her office like someone might be listening. “I don’t know anything for certain, but there’s been talk around town.”
My heart starts racing. “What kind of talk?”
“People have noticed things. Cattle going missing from ranches in surrounding counties. Always small numbers, nothing that would trigger a major investigation, but enough that folks are starting to connect dots.” She lowers her voice. “And your brother and Jesse, they’ve been spotted in areas where it’s happened.”
I feel like someone just punched me in the gut. “Are you saying they’re stealing cattle?”
“I’m saying you need to be careful. I know you love Truett, and I know there’s history with Jesse, but if they’re involved in something illegal…” She trails off, but I can see the worry etched on her face.
I think about all the times Truett has been gone lately, all the hushed conversations that stop when I walk into a room. The way Jesse looked at me tonight in the barn, not just with desire, but with something darker. Something desperate. Even going back to after our parents died. How did we make it?
“They wouldn’t,” I whisper, but even as I say it, doubt creeps in. “They’re good men, Nora. They wouldn’t resort to stealing.”
“Good men do bad things when they’re desperate,” she says softly. “And from what I hear, both ranches have been struggling since your parents died.”
The fire crackles loudly, and I jump. Everything feels different now, like the walls of this house are closing in on me. The comfort I found here suddenly feels false, built on lies I didn’t know existed.
“How bad is the talk?” I ask.
“Bad enough that people are starting to watch them. Bad enough that Noah felt he needed to warn you.” She pauses.“Aubree, if they are involved in rustling, this isn’t just about a few stolen cows. This is federal-crime territory. Prison time.”
My hands shake as I process her words. Prison. The thought of losing Truett to something like this makes me sick. And Jesse…God, Jesse. After everything we’ve been through, everything we lost, how could they risk throwing their lives away?
“What am I supposed to do? Confront them? They’ll just lie to me anyway.”
“You could leave again,” Nora suggests gently. “Come stay with me in town until this blows over.”
“No.” The word comes out stronger than I feel. “I just got home. I’m not running again.”
“Then be smart. Keep your eyes open, don’t ask too many questions, and whatever you do, don’t get involved. If they are doing what people think they’re doing, the last thing you need is to become an accessory.”
The word accessory hits me like a slap. The idea that I could somehow be implicated in whatever they’re doing makes my chest tight.
“There’s something else,” I admit, my voice barely above a whisper. “Tonight in the barn, Jesse was…different. Intense. Like he was barely holding himself together.”
“Different how?”
I think about the way his green eyes burned when he looked at me, the desperation in his touch when he pulled me against him. “Like a man with nothing left to lose.”
Nora is quiet for a long moment. “Those are the most dangerous kind, Aubree. Men with nothing left to lose will do anything to protect what little they have left.”
