Mason angles his body away from me, cupping the phone and makes a half-hearted attempt to whisper. “I heard you, ma’am. You think she’s keeping a donkey and cow in her shed.” He jots something down on his notepad. “Yes, the sheriff is out of the office today but will be back tomorrow. We can stop by first thing in the morning to investigate if you’d like.”
My hands curl into fists as I shoot daggers at Mason, but luckily, he’s too immersed in his scheme to go after Birdie to notice. Either Birdie’s neighbor was snooping around her property when she wasn’t home, or she’s just speculating after hearing rumors about her recent run-in with the law. Either way, I’m not taking any chances.
“Looking forward to seeing you too, ma’am,” Mason says before hanging up the phone.
He pulls his cell phone from the desk drawer and leaves the room. No doubt he’s calling to leave a voicemail for the sheriff, knowing he goes to bed early, especially after a long day out of town. He typically checks on any urgent matters first thing in the morning. He does have a second phone for emergencies, but Mason isn’t foolish enough to use it for something like this.
Sheriff Matterson takes every complaint of suspicious activity seriously, which will leave him no choice but to show up atBirdie’s place on his way to the station tomorrow. Luckily, that still gives me time to fix this and keep Birdie out of trouble—although destroying video evidence is one thing… Moving smuggled animals without being seen is a whole different challenge. If I’m going to pull this off, I’ll need reinforcements.
Group Therapy Halstead Siblings Edition
Walker: We’ve got a problem.
Briar: Oh, look who finally came to the group chat for backup.
Jensen: Ignore her. She’s just excited that you initiated for once.
Heath: Looks like Briar and Jensen have you covered.
Briar: Nope. Whatever is going on, we’re ALL supporting our brother.
Heath: Can’t it wait? I’ve got a cow that’s ready to drop a calf any minute.
Briar: Pops told me we’ve got at least a week before that calf comes.
Walker: Guys, this is serious.
Briar: What is it?
Walker: Someone reported Birdie for keeping a donkey and cow in her shed. I think Mason is going to ask the sheriff to go with him to check it out first thing in the morning.
Briar: Oh shit. I’ll loop in the girls.
Heath: Wait she actually took them? I figured that was town gossip.
Jensen: Nope. That woman has no sense of self-preservation.
Walker: For starters, she RESCUED those animals.
I still have no idea if they’re actually on Birdie’s property, but based on the video evidence, there’s no disputing that she did take them from the fairgrounds.
Walker: Second, her courage and compassion are what make her so damn special.
Briar: Aww, look at you defending your woman. How romantic.
Walker: Briar focus.
Briar: Right. I’ll text the girls and get back to you shortly.
Jensen: We’ll be ready when you need us.
Walker: Thanks.
Briar: Heath???
Heath: Fine… I’ll get one of the ranch hands to take over cow duty so I can be there.
I can picture him grumbling and wearing a scowl while he texts his reply. Even still, I appreciate him dropping what he’s doing to help.
