“Where’s that lazy son of mine?” Jarrett looked around. Not seeing Lachlan, he scoffed. “Let’s go wake him up.”
“He’ll be at the stables. He’s always up early and ready to work every morning,” Marshall reassured.
The relationship between Jarrett and Lachlan could be strained at times. Lachlan had disappointed his parents when he turned out to be a less-than-perfect adult. A troublemaker, no good at school, and quick to temper. Marshall could relate in many ways, but where his family had given him the support to find his calling, Lachlan became more of a black sheep. Though his uncle always seemed to see the worst in Lachlan, Marshall had come to rely on his cousin and would depend on him more, now that Jack was gone.
“Alright, I won’t give him a hard time,” Jarrett said, heading to the door when everyone was finished their breakfast. “I just want you to make sure he’s pulling his weight around here.”
The men followed Marshall down the front steps of the main house.
“He is,” Marshall said with confidence. “He’s been really helpful.”
“I always tell him: Fortune favors the bold. The King men need to be bold, work for what they want,” his uncle prattled on. “Sometimes, it seems like he wasn’t born with those genes.” Jarrett chuckled at his comment, though Marshall found it unnecessarily harsh.
Marshall was grateful it was still dark outside; otherwise, Jarrett would have seen him roll his eyes as he walked in front of them. Reconsidering, Marshall did acknowledge that fortune had favored him as soon as he made a move for Colette. Making bold moves had a great outcome for him.
Asking her out, regardless of how it would be perceived, had given him a gift greater than he could have ever imagined. All he wanted was to protect what was his now.
Troubled, he dug his hands in the pockets of his jacket, nodding at his cousin as they saw him in the stables. Lachlan had already started to feed the horses.
“Marshall, can we chat for a minute?” Lachlan said quietly after greeting the other King men. His bright blue eyes were full of concern as his brows drew together.
His cousin had the same dark wavy hair as him and Roger, though his frame was taller and slimmer than Marshall’s.
Nervousness settled in his chest. He was not ready for any more bombshells today.
While the older men continued where Lachlan had started, Marshall pulled his cousin into the office. His brown hair wastucked under his baseball cap. His cousin pulled his hat off and wrung it in his hands as they entered the office.
“What’s up?”
“I hope I’m not overstepping, but I know some of the details of Jack’s death from Grandpa, and I made an executive decision. It’s not my place, but I figured you would be okay with it.”
Pulling his head back in surprise, Marshall frowned at his cousin’s revelation.
“The Dawers took their horse to be boarded elsewhere since the murder, and I just thought, since we have an empty stall, I’ll put Vinny in there. I cleaned out his old stall, and we can leave it for now. So that you don’t have to go there all the time.” Lachlan looked down at his hands.
A flood of sadness rose in his chest. He closed his eyes, trying to keep up with the barrage of emotions flooding his system. Blinking away his tears, he grabbed Lachlan by the shoulders and pulled him into a hug.
“Thanks, Lachlan,” he said, his voice thick with emotion. “That means a lot. I hadn’t even thought to do that.”
“I got your back,” his cousin replied, squeezing him tight. “We King grandchildren have to stick together, right?”
Marshall laughed, squeezing Lachlan’s shoulder one more time before letting go.
“Yeah, except where the hell is Roger?”
Apparently, his brother had missed the family memo and was indulging in sleeping late. They didn’t wait very long until his brother appeared, ready for a day of labor. Marshall was grateful for the reminder that his family always had his back. Surrounded by amazing people, it was hard to imagine anyone wanting to hurt Jack.
The truth lingered in his mind that someone had.
The happiness of having everyone together was a balm, but reality would settle in soon. Marshall would have to face somehard truths and make some difficult decisions. He was willing to do anything to keep everyone at Rosebud Ranch safe.
Even if it meant breaking his own heart in the process.
CHAPTER 39
Though he told himself he didn’t care if anyone knew about it, Marshall waited for everyone to be asleep before he snuck out of the house. He wasn’t brave enough to broadcast his relationship with Colette to the entire family yet. It was important that she be sure about him as well.
Did she think he was worth the risk involved in loving him?
