by Talty, Jen
“Any child of Delilah’s would have a claim no matter what the will stated,” Jake’s father said.
“Not necessarily. Adoption would make the child legally someone else’s,” Luke said.
“Wasn’t a legal adoption,” Jake said.
“But my point is the farm wasn’t left to a direct blood connection,” Luke said. “It was left to Ethan, who doesn't have to leave it to you, or your child.”
“Let’s consider,” Jake added, “that Granddad knew mom had a son with another man, so by not naming me in the will, his only known grandchild, he believed he was protecting us from this very thing.”
“Which brings me to why this man might want to eliminate any other person who had a claim,” Luke said.
“Specifically, my child. The baby became a game changer when we created the possibility of an heir. Makes me wonder if whoever poisoned my dad had been patiently waiting for him to die, leaving the farm to whoever, then challenging the legalities of my grandfather’s will.”
“They could challenge the will and rightful ownership anyway, at any time,” Luke said. “But, considering the history, and the fact Jake hasn’t been on the farm in years, one has to think that even if the farm was left to Jake, he didn’t want it, leaving room to challenge the validity of ownership.”
“Me being back at the farm has to be making whoever this is trigger happy.” Jake swallowed. “Also makes me a bigger target.” He leaned back on the sofa and stared at the ceiling. “There are only five employees on the farm that were born in the same month and year mom had the baby. Two of them are second generation employees.”
“Who are they?” Luke asked.
“Kicker and Charlie son, Trevor.”
“Any chance they were adopted?” Luke asked.
Jake shook his head.
“Where’s kicks mother?” Luke flipped through some papers.
“She’s in a nursing home,” Jake’s father said. “She had a stroke. I help with the bill. She was a good woman.”
“All right,” Luke said. “What about Trevor?”
“I think we can rule both of them out since I knew their mothers when they were pregnant,” Jake’s father said and Jake readily agreed.
“Who are the other three?”
“A man in the billing office. Hired six months ago,” Jake said. “A new IT person who was hired two years ago. Does our website. Manages advertising. All that stuff. And finally, Timothy Overton, the man I was just talking to and a horse trainer and breeder. He came recommended from a farm in Central New York. He seems to know his stuff and people on the farm appear to like him.”
“Why’d he move here?”
“Don’t know that,” Jake said.
“What about potential fathers?” Luke was all business, something Jake admired.
“I emailed you the list. It’s not very long,” Jake said.
Luke gathered up his things. “I’ve got a lot of ground to cover. I’ll be in touch.”
Jake closed his eyes for a moment, taking in a long deep breath. They had more questions than they had answers. Nothing fit.
“What a mess,” his father said shortly after Luke had closed the door. “I thought I was protecting everyone.”
“We’re going to fix it.” Jake stared at his father. Years of regret etched in every wrinkle. “It’s going to all be fine.”
“You don’t know that,” his father said.
“Perhaps not, but I’m good at my job. I’m going to protect us all or die trying.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” his father muttered as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small pouch, placing it on the table. “Take it.”
“What is it?” Jake had his answer the moment he lifted the pouch. “Mom’s rings?”
“And mine,” his father said. “The wedding bands match.”
Jake fingered the bands in the fabric, reaching back in his mind, remembering his mother’s engagement ring. “Why are you giving me these?”
“I don’t know how long I have.”
“Don’t talk like that.” There had been so many bad words between him and his father. Then the long silence. No amount of time could make up for that, but Jake desperately wanted all those things that Kenzie described the day she told him about the cancer. Just one more fishing trip. One more ride on the trails. One more anything that didn’t have to do with someone trying to kill them.
“Even if I get past the next hurdle with the surgery next week, my time is limited.”
“Still doesn’t answer why you’re giving me these rings.”
“There was a time you wanted to marry Kenzie.” His father held up his hand. “I know things have changed, so if you and Kenzie don’t use them, then I want my grandchild to have them.”
“Then you give them to the baby.” The weight of the rings and everything that went with them, fell heavy on Jake’s heart.
“You still love her,” his father said. “Even if you can’t admit it to yourself, it’s true.”
“I honestly don’t know how I feel about her.” Jake meant to give the rings back, but instead he found himself tugging at the strings, pulling the pouch open and peeking inside. “I loved her back then and I’ve never stopped caring about her, but we have our own set of unresolved issues that I can’t even begin to deal with right now.”
“Don’t do that.” His father leaned forward. “Don’t do what I did and feel with your brain.” He tapped his chest. “You know exactly what you feel, but you’re way too much like me and everything has to be logical and well planned out. I let my ego get in the way of my family’s happiness.”
“I wouldn’t go that far.” Jake dug his fingers in the bag, pulling out his mother’s engagement ring. Biggest rock he’d ever seen. He wasn’t sure if Kenzie would wear something so extravagant on her finger. She certainly couldn’t wear it doing half of what her job required. But he could picture it on a nice chain that dangled dangerously close to her cleavage. “Mom slept with another man. I’d be pretty angry about something like.”
“Your mother had been through some tough times and she wasn’t taking her medication regularly.”
Jake pulled out the matching wedding rings. They were simple silver bands with the Cavanaugh logo etched across the top. “Now you're making excuses for her, something I never allowed when I thought it was you who had the affair.”
“I could forgive the affair, but I didn’t think I could do it while staring at the face of another man’s baby,” his father said as rubbed his jaw. “My guilt over that is monumental. I paid a price both monetarily and emotionally. I wonder if I had tried to accept the child as my own, if your mother would still be with us and you and I would have…” his father fell into a coughing fit.
Jake maneuvered himself so he sat on the coffee table, rings still in one hand, while the other patted and rubbed his father’s back until the coughing turned into wheezing.
“My childhood was pretty damn good,” Jake said softly. “It wasn’t until I declared a major in college that we started to fight and that wasn’t entire your fault. But even then, things were fine until I found about mom.”
“Had I not lied—”
“Had I not gone to the Academy, without your knowledge, not telling you where I was, it wouldn’t have taken us ten years to get past that lie. Nothing happens in a vacuum.”
“But it all started with my lies.”
Jake didn’t want to argue with his father, nor did he want to have this conversation, but he sensed his father’s need to clear the air. “Yes. That had a lot to do with it, but I could have behaved differently. I could have told you what I was doing. I know the damage I did with Kenzie by leaving, I imagine it wasn’t much different for you.”
His father smiled. “She always believed you’d come back. That somehow, we’d be able to put the past to rest. I think that’s why she kept reaching out to you.”
“Did you know she came to see me all the time?” Jake gently dropped the r
ings back in their satin pouch. Now that they were in his possession, he couldn’t hand them back. It would not only be an insult to his father, but it would disrespect his mother’s memory. Even though that was tainted now, one thing he knew for sure was that his mother loved him deeply.
“I knew,” his father admitted. “I always hoped that one day you’d come back, but what I regret the most is that I didn’t come to you myself.”
“I own that, too,” Jake said. He held up the fabric that contained the rings. “I will keep these, but I don’t know what I’m going to do with them yet.”
His father nodded.
“Let’s get you back upstairs. You need your rest.”
“I wish you weren’t right,” his father admitted. “Thanks for not fighting me on the rings.”
“They will stay in the family, that I can promise.”
“I’m very proud of you.” His father took the hand Jake offered. “I know I never showed it.”
Jake looked around the room. “Everything in this office and upstairs in my old bedroom tells me that you not only accepted my profession, but that you approved.”
“A little too late.”
“No, Dad,” Jake said. “As long as we’re both still breathing, it’s never too late.”
Chapter 11
KENZIE LET JAKE TAKE the final bucket of horse feed. All the personal horses had been transferred to the south barn, which was farther from the cabin, but had enough stalls to house most of the horses, while the rest had been put in the north barn. “I’m perfectly capable of doing this by myself.”
“Maybe, for now,” Jake said. “But you really should start letting Kicker do all the heavy lifting.”
“I will in a few months.” She leaned against the post in the middle of the barn, watching Jake’s bicep muscles twitch as he filled the final bin. “I’m pregnant, not disabled.”
“Lifting heaving objects could cause problems. I read that in your pregnancy book.”
“I wanted you to be involved, not over-bearing and insanely over protective.”
He closed the stall door, then tossed the bucket to the side, taking long strides until he stood directly in front of her, arm stretched out, bracing himself against the pole. The rising sun peeked through the barn doors, casting a glow across his dampened hair. “I tend to be grumpy when I roll over at five in the morning and the other side of the bed is empty.”
She smiled. The last week they’d made love almost every night and had fallen into a nice rhythm, ignore the future problems and focusing on the here and now. “This is what I get for letting you share my bed.”
His mouth less than an inch from hers, he said, “We would have shared a whole lot more had you not left this morning.”
“Someone has to feed our horses.”
“Like I said, Kicker should be doing that. Besides, I don’t like you being down here alone.”
“I wasn’t,” she said. “You have Luke and his team practically camped out with us.”
“Still not the point.” His lips brushed against hers so tenderly it was like being tickled with a feather. “I was worried,” he whispered before his tongue traced her lips, then swirling inside her mouth in a slow erotic dance.
Instinctively, she wrapped her hands around his middle, drawing his hard, taut body against hers. “A girl could get used to this.”
He groaned before burying his face in the cruck of her neck, kissing the skin just below the ear lobe.
“Oh.” Kicker appeared in the doorway. “Excuse me.” He turned and started to walk out of the barn.
“No need for you to leave,” Jake said. “I have to get going. Besides, Kenzie wants to talk to you about stepping up and doing some of the things she normally does since she’s pregnant.” Jake kissed her cheek, then winked.
She shook her head. “Nice set up.”
Jake shrugged.
“Whatever you need,” Kicker said. “It’s what I’m here for.”
“Good,” Jake said. “No more heavy lifting for her. I expect you to do that part. She can take care of all the paperwork and other stuff.”
“Yes, sir,” Kicker said. He was only a couple of years younger than Jake, but years of manual labor had taken its toll. Years in the hot son, or the biting cold of winter, created deep set lines. His ice blue eyes still vivid, but lacked a luster he once had before his father had died and he had to put his mother in a home.
“Are you back?” Kicker asked. “I mean, to run the farm?”
“Nope,” Jake said. “She and my dad are still your bosses. I’m here to be with her.” He poked her belly. “And our baby. However, I’d appreciate it if you kept a watchful eye on her, making sure she doesn’t overdo it.” It had been decided to bring Kicker and Charlie into the fold, with the exception they had no idea there was another possible heir to the farm, but other than that, they’d been given every detail, including Ethan’s cancer.
“Understood,” Kicker said.
“Thanks,” Jake said, turning his gaze back to her. “I’ve got an appointment this morning then I work till eight. Should be home by nine. Luke went to go talk with a couple of people, so straight to the office building and let me know you got there.”
She nodded and watched him saunter out of the barn. His jeans fell low on his waist, outlining his glutes and thighs as his muscles flexed against the fabric.
“It’s nice to have him back.” Kicker picked up the pitch fork and started cleaning up the piles of hay. “I haven’t had a chance to say congratulations.”
“Thanks.” Her belly had popped, putting her into what Stacey had deemed a pre-maternity clothes period, which consisted of leggings and oversized shirts. “I think Jake and I shocked a few people.”
“That’s putting it mildly.” Kicker continued cleaning around the stalls as she perched herself at the makeshift desk Jake had made her out of an old Formica counter top and a couple of wooden horse hurdles, and went through the day’s events on her laptop.
“Most are happy to see you and him back together and that he reconciled with his father, but everyone is still on edge.”
“I’m not surprised,” she said. “Thanks for keeping the fact that Boots was shot from everyone.”
“Not a problem, but everyone knows the fire was set on purpose. That Mr. Prichard was poisoned as well as the horses. They are worried about their own safety, even with all these cops Jake has around.”
“I was hoping they’d make people feel safe.”
“It's having the opposite effect. Morale is down with the farm hands and everyone in the office is speculating.” As her assistant, Kicker managed the farm hands, but also maintained a cubicle in the office building, dealing with upper level management. He was her eyes and ears with all the staff from the lowest level employee to even Master’s and his son Trevor. Everyone respected Kicker as a second generation and more importantly, they liked him.
She was still working on regaining trust when she’d been plucked, instead of Kicker, from a lower level employee to COO when Jake had abruptly left the farm. The odd thing was that Kicker didn’t even want the job. Actually went to Ethan and said he’d rather be assistant than lead.
“What do you think we can do to put everyone at ease?” she asked.
Kicker put down the pitch fork and leaned against one of the stall doors, feeding Jester, his horse, some apple slices. “I know you thought it best to cancel the annual barbeque, but I think it would be good for everyone to have a little fun.”
“Ethan is having surgery in a few days. Not sure he’d be up for it,” she said. “But we haven’t cancelled it yet. Jake is on the fence. He doesn’t like the idea of putting us all out there, but he did mention it could be a way to draw whoever is behind all this crazy stuff out.”
“I don’t like that,” Kicker said. “My only goal is to lighten the tension on this place before people start accusing each other and become suspicious of their co-workers.”
“I’m already suspicious,�
�� Kenzie said.
“People are also talking about now we lost another sale to Thatcher,” Kicker leaned against her desk, arms folded over his chest. “I’m afraid the rumor mill is going to hurt us where it counts.”
“We’ll recover,” she said. “Our horses are doing well this year, race wise, so as long as nothing else happens, we should be fine.”
“But something else could happen,” Kicker said.
She closed her laptop and stuffed her it in her backpack, along with the morning's paperwork.
Kicker had moved to the barn opening, then paused and looked back. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Sure,” she said.
“If Jake’s not coming back to the farm to run it, what’s going to happen when Mr. Prichard…I hate to even think about it, much less voice it. He’s been so good to me and my family over the years.”
She flung her backpack over her shoulder, and snagged her portable filing case as she took a few tentative steps toward the barn door, where Kicker stood. “The farm will stay the same. Only, I’m going to need you to step into COO. I know you didn’t want it before—”
“I wasn’t ready,” he said. “I am now, if that is what Mr. Prichard wants. I’d do just about anything for that man.” He took the case from her hands and followed her to her Jeep. “He helped me when my father died and when my mom had her stroke. I’m not sure I can ever repay him.”
“He doesn’t want you to.” She slid behind the steering wheel, pulling the backpack off her shoulder. She was about to set it down on the passenger seat when she heard the tick tick of a rattle, only it vibrated continuously. “What the hell?” She looked over and coiled in the seat next to her was a large rattle snake, his tail wagging high in the air and his head in the center of the large coil. She froze, unable to tear her eyes away from the slippery reptile staring at her, waiting to strike. Her breath hitched and her pulse shot up so fast it made her dizzy.
“Move slowly,” Kicker said. “Leave the door open and just step away.” But before she had the chance, the reptile lunged forward, striking her backpack. She dropped and ran from the vehicle. In all her years on the farm, she had never once seen a rattlesnake. While there was a sighting at least once a year in the area, they were rare. Most people thought rattlesnakes were non-existent in the state of New York. They weren’t, just not something anyone thought about. “Do we need to call anyone?”
