Noah looks at him, then back at me. “There’s been cattle going missing from ranches all over this part of the state. Someone who knows what they’re doing, someone who understands ranching.”
The rain drums on the roof of the truck, filling the silence.
“I’d hate to see either of you throw your lives away,” Noah continues. “Your parents were good people. They wouldn’t want this for you.”
“Are we free to go?” I ask, my voice hoarse.
Noah studies my face for a long moment, then steps back from the truck. “Drive careful. This storm’s not letting up anytime soon.”
I roll up the window and put the truck in gear, my hands shaking. In the rearview mirror, I watch Noah walk back to his patrol car, but he doesn’t follow us when we pull away.
“Jesus Christ,” Truett breathes once we’re out of sight. “I thought we were done for.”
“We might still be. He knows, Truett. He fucking knows.”
“But he let us go.”
“This time. What about next time?”
We drive the rest of the way home in silence, both of us lost in our own thoughts. When we reach the ranch, we unload the cattle quickly, getting them into a holding pen where they’ll stay until we can transport them to the sale barn tomorrow.
It’s nearly three in the morning by the time we’re finished. The storm is finally starting to let up, though rain still patters against the barn roof.
“We need to be more careful,” I say as we put away our gear.
“Or we need to stop.”
I look at him in surprise. “You want to quit?”
“I want a lot of things, Jesse. I want my parents back. I want to be able to pay my bills without stealing. I want my sister to be safe.” He runs a hand through his wet hair. “But wanting something and getting it are two different things.”
“If we stop now, we lose everything.”
“If we don’t stop, we might lose more than everything. We might lose our freedom. Our lives.”
I think about Noah’s warning, about the suspicion in his eyes. He gave us a pass tonight, but he won’t do it again. Next time, we won’t be so lucky.
“One more job,” I say finally. “We do this Morrison job, and that’s it. That’ll give us enough to make it through the winter, and then we reassess.”
Truett nods reluctantly. “One more job.”
As we walk back toward the house, I catch a glimpse of movement in an upstairs window. A curtain falling back into place, a shadow disappearing.
Aubree was watching. Waiting for us to come home.
I wonder how much she saw. How much she suspects.
And I wonder how much longer we can keep lying to the people we love.
FIFTEEN
AUBREE
There’sno reason that Jesse and Truett should be getting home this late in the middle of a storm. They were gone much longer than they should’ve been. If what Noah hinted at is true, then maybe they were scouting out their next location.
The front door shuts downstairs, and I hear Truett’s loud footsteps trudging up the stairs. Looking back outside, I watch as Jesse backs out of the drive. From here, I can see his taillights until he turns onto the main road, headed toward his own ranch.
Pulling my thumbnail in between my teeth, I glance at the clock. It’s after midnight, but I need answers. I need him to see me for who I am now, and not who I was back then.
