“You get out of here before I call the sheriff!” the clerk shouts.
I look down at Matty, pointing my finger at him. The expression on his face is like he didn’t ask for the blow he received. My voice is laced with conviction and warning. “You keep your mouth shut about Laura, or the next time, I’ll knock you out permanently.”
Chapter 16
Matty
Daddy waits for me in the back office. He’s crunching the numbers through from today, as he does every day at closing time. My brother Derek and I help run the place; Derek behind the counter, me with deliveries and taking private orders, and daddy with the books. Mama takes the floor and we have a couple of part-time staff to help during daily peak times and peak seasons. All in all, it’s a pretty decent set-up here.
What daddy doesn’t know is that I’ve been cooking up the books a little. The place makes good money, but daddy’s got a lot of it tied up to pay for the mortgage on both our house and on the warehouse that we work under. So, when paychecks get printed, I’m not going to lie, they fall short. Luckily, daddy lets me do all my own paperwork, so when a customer buys stuff, I pick a few good ones, and fudge the numbers. Been doing it for years and daddy still hasn’t picked up on it.
How else do you think I can afford my car? I don’t dress like a pauper, either. And I have a penchant for nice things like jewelry, watches, things like that. The women fall all over the place for it, too. This one girl I took out last month, she couldn’t wait to go out with me. She’s new in town, see. She was visiting someone from here in Huttonville, so she didn’t know me. Anyway, I took her out to dinner, bought an expensive bottle of wine. Then, she was all over me when we went for a walk down by the waterfront. We went back to her place and had us a little howdy-do time, if you catch my drift. Then she went back to whatever place she’s from. My point is, I wouldn’t have been able to afford any of that if I hadn’t fudged the numbers last month. Costs are even higher with chicks who don’t have a place of their own, like me, because then I have to take them to a motel.
Daddy doesn’t like it when the folks over at The Arches tell him that I’ve been coming around, either. They order stuff for their suites from us a lot, so daddy knows when I’ve been messing around. I can’t afford the big hotel that just opened here a couple of years ago. Anyway, I saw that Grayson asshole over at The Arches earlier last week, as I dropped off an order. I knew he was from out of town, as he stuck out like a sore thumb, sitting in the restaurant alone. What an idiot. Nobody does that unless they want people to talk.
Anyway, when I heard that this new guy was working over at Laura’s I put two-and-two together and figured it out. It pisses me off because he’s got that look in his eyes, like he thinks he’s better than you. After the few encounters that I’ve had with him so far, I don’t like him at all. Not one bit. It’s no secret that I’m completely head-over-heels in love with Laura. She knows it. Everyone knows it. Hell of a woman, and hell bent on keeping her beloved husband’s legacy alive. She’s not dated a soul since he died, and I respect that. Not to say that I haven’t tried to ask her out a dozen times or two over the years, but one day she’ll say yes. I just know it.
A woman like that; independent, self-sufficient, got it in her head that she don’t need a man, I like it. Let’s face it though, she does need a man for the heavy lifting around the ranch, otherwise why else would she have all the guys working for her. Now, all the other guys I get along well with, especially that Lloyd. You’d never know it by the way that he tries to get rid of me so fast, but he digs me. Laura’s brother, Will, he’s just funny. He tried to threaten me at this party that they had last night, but I just laughed and walked away. Like he could actually see to it that I have to eat out of my own ass…what a card!
Laura, she’s also filthy goddamn rich. If I ever get a piece of her…and a piece of that…wha hell…I’d be in hog heaven. But none of that’s going to happen with that Grayson fella hanging around. Hell, he came in and right decked me in the face today! Broad daylight and in a men’s clothing store to boot! I had to tell daddy that I got hit with a two-by-four so he wouldn’t find out, when he asked me why I had a fat lip. Dang son-of-a-gun hurts like hell, too. One of these days I’ll punch that guy right back for it.
In the meantime, daddy’s checking my chits for today, looking them over and over, like something ain’t right. This is one of them jobs that I was telling you about that I fudged over. One of the marinas is putting together new docks for the boats, and it was one hell of an order. It was easy to mess with the numbers on that one. I’m careful to only mess with the larger ones, that way daddy can’t tell. Usually, if I distract him with something, he goes back and signs off on them, adding my commission, as if he lost his place and doesn’t have the time to retrace his steps. That’s a smart technique I picked up on years ago.
Sometimes I wonder what it would have been like to be with Laura back in the day. She and Quentin were joined at the hip in high school, so there was never much chance to wiggle my way in between them. When they got married so young, word first got around town that it was a shotgun wedding. That was my doing. You like that? I was pretty impressed with myself, I must admit. To this day, Laura’s still wondering why people offered her their condolences when more than nine months passed after they got married, and no signs of a baby came. Sometimes she’s not all that bright. Quentin was okay. You could tell that they were real close, though, and sometimes it made me sick.
When he died, I hate to admit it, but part of me was doing a happy dance. I waited…about a year…just long enough to be decent, and I started asking her out. After being with a man like Quentin, she must have been hot for a man, and I figured I would be just the hotness that she was looking for to warm up her cold bed. I’ve never touched her. But I’ll admit to hiding in the bushes by that little pond she made, watching her skinny dip late at night. She does that a lot, by the way. You would think, what, with all those ranch hands hanging around, that she would know better than to pull a stunt like that. Sometimes she’s a little naïve.
That’s where he died, you know. I think that’s why she goes there so much. It’s like her little sanctuary. She brings a horse a lot, too, but not always. She’ll sit there for hours sometimes, quiet, alone. There’s been a time or two where I’ve thought about poking out of the bushes and asking her if she’s okay. I don’t, though, because I know that she’ll freak out and call me a stalker or something. Then, word’ll get around town and I’ll have to pick another town to date chicks again. Bad enough I have to venture out as much as I do already.
“Matty?” daddy calls.
“Yeah,” I shout from the stockroom.
“Come here a second, please.”
“Coming.” I put down the box I was unloading, and go to him.
“How many two-by-fours did you deliver to the marina today?”
I shrug. “I don’t know…what did I write down?” I play dumb. Works every time.
“Your numbers and my numbers don’t match. Are you sure you didn’t transcribe the numbers incorrectly?”
What?
Mama is behind daddy, looking over his shoulder. “What did the inventory system say?” She asks.
“Inventory system?” I ask.
“Yes. I had someone install it last week. He’s been testing it out for me for weeks. Had it custom-made and everything.” Daddy explains. “Your mama suggested that we get one done years ago, since I’m spending hours each day manually adding up figures. Derek does an inventory count daily, so we have all the data that we need.”
“Well, this is the first I’ve heard of any inventory system.” I feel a chill up my spine.
“I know how you hate to talk about technical things, son.” Daddy says.
“Your daddy figures it’s costing him way more money in time to keep the books up manually, when it only cost a couple thousand dollars to create this state-of-the-art inventory system.” Mama says. “Now
, starting tomorrow, you don’t even have to write your orders up for signature. They’ll be printed off.”
“Oh…great.” I say nervously.
“I’ve also hired an auditor to go through historical data, to upload into the system, so that we can have a more accurate picture of shrinkage, and how much money we’ve lost in the last year.”
“Sounds…great.” I paste on a smile, thinking about how many times in the past year that I’ve messed up the books. I know that the funds will not go unnoticed, it wasn’t piddly chump change. “You sure you…trust this…auditor? I mean, don’t they get paid for how many mistakes that they can pinpoint?”
Daddy chuckles. “It’s not like a typo hunter, Matty. Don’t be silly. Now, tell me, what happened with this order?”
Mama takes a look. “Isn’t that the marina order?”
“Yeah.” I answer. Then I change the subject. “How…long will it take this auditor to look at the books from last year?”
Daddy shrugs, giving me a puzzled expression, like I’ve just asked him how many fingers and toes he has. “He’s been working on it for a few weeks. I should have an answer probably today or tomorrow. That’s why I’ve been able to take the time to reconcile daily numbers for the past few days. He’s doing all the grunt work.”
“Why do you ask, dear?” Mama says.
“Just…curious.” I shrug, trying for nonchalant.
Daddy’s face relaxes as he takes another look at my record from today. He turns around and exchanges a look with Mama. “Sit down, dear.” Daddy says. Mama closes the office door. She’s never done that before.
“What’s going on?” I ask, with a nervous chuckle.
Mama takes a seat beside Daddy. “We know what you’ve been doing, Matty.” Mama says. “We thought we’d give you a chance to come clean. We thought that if we told you about the inventory system, that you’d confess.”
“Confess what?” I play dumb, gambling.
Daddy has been wearing his reading glasses, perched up on the bridge of his nose. He removes them. “Matty, I’m too old and tired for these games now. I know that you’ve been changing numbers to suit your pocket for a while. Years, probably.”
“This so-called auditor tell you that?” I ask bluntly, forgetting my tone.
“No, he confirmed my own findings.” Daddy admits. “I’ve had a hunch for a while, but as you can imagine, it’s difficult to come to terms with the fact that your son is a thief.”
“What?” I shriek. “I’m not a thief!”
“And now you’re a liar, too!” Daddy shouts, rising as I rise. Mama rises, too.
“Don’t you speak to your father that way!” Mama hisses.
“Oh, this is bullshit!” I whine. “Yeah, sure, I screwed up a couple of numbers over the years, but nothing like what you’re making out like I did.”
Daddy crosses his arms over his chest, in a stance that I’ve always taken as ‘don’t cross me’. “If you knew that you entered them incorrectly, why didn’t you fix them or let me know that they were incorrect?”
“Because…ah, hell! This is bullshit! Pure bullshit!” I smack my hand on the desk defiantly. “I didn’t do anything wrong! With the pauper’s wages I get paid here, how else do you expect me to survive!”
Daddy sits down. “Get out.” He says, quietly, making my hair stand on end.
“What?” I shriek.
“Get out I said.” He gives me a cold, icy stare. “Give your house keys and your store keys to your ma and get out.”
“Daddy! Come on! How else do you think I bought my car?” I whine.
“Well, then that was the smartest thing you did, seeing as that is what you’ll be living in. You are no longer welcome in our home.”
“What?” I pull at the hair on the sides of my head. “Are you serious!”
Daddy looks at me like he’s never looked at me before. “Dead serious.”
I wait a second, as if he’s going to cave. When he doesn’t, I lift my arms. “Fine.” I hand Mama the keys as I was told. “Can I at least get my things from the house?”
“Your mama has already packed your things up. They’re in the yard.” Daddy explains.
“You…you knew that you were going to kick me out?” I seethe.
Daddy doesn’t answer my question. “Go get your things and say goodbye to your brother.” He says, getting back to work.
I look at Mama. “Daddy’s made up his mind, Matty.” She shrugs, shaking her head. But she doesn’t seem to be rattled. What a fine family I’ve got, eh? Walking out, I slam the office door behind me.
Derek, behind the counter, startled by the bang and seeing the look on my face, says. “Dad figure you out?”
“Yeah, and you’re next, so watch out.” I scoff as I slap my open palm angrily against the bar on the exit door on my way out.
And the first thing I think of is how great it would be to camp out at Laura’s pond…
Chapter 17
Laura
We order pizza for the guys, while Grayson and I enjoy a lovely meal, just the two of us. He’s been working around the ranch since he came home from shopping. I’ve seen him a little here and there, but when he comes into the house, all cleaned up and dressed like he was at last night’s party, I smile.
He’s carrying a bag of food in his hand. “Wow, is all this for me?” I ask.
“Who else?” he grins, kissing me on the mouth.
“And I fixed your fireplace, so your pilot light won’t go out on you anymore.” He adds, giving my rear end a little rub, as he lets his hands trail down to my butt. The hug turns into an opportunity for him to warm me in places that I didn’t know needed warming.
“I’m not sure that I’ll need my fireplace anymore. Seeing as now you’ll be keeping me warm at night.” I wink. Then I look down at his attire. “Is this new?”
“Yeah. It’s some of the stuff I bought today.”
“You do know that you’re supposed to wash it first.” I say flatly, giving him a look.
He waves. “I slop horses all day. Do you really think I’m worried about that?”
I lift a brow. “Alright.”
“I’ve got a surprise for you later.” He says, pulling the food out of the bag, preparing it for cooking.
“More surprises? Gosh, Grayson, if you set such a high bar for yourself, how are you ever going to top it?” I smile, teasing him.
He kisses my lips. “It’s just a little surprise. Don’t get too excited.” His voice is low and sultry.
“I gave the boys the night off.” I say, between kisses.
“So, I get you to myself all night.” he says.
“Of course.”
After we eat and play with Chip for a while, Grayson suggests that we go for a ride. He takes Weasel, I take Trixie. Trixie rubs her snout on Grayson as he’s placing the saddle on Weasel. “Are you sure you don’t want to take her instead?”
“Looks like you’ve got some competition, sweetheart.” He winks.
I grin, walk over, and kiss him softly.
“I think I can compete with her, seeing as I probably smell a lot better.”
“I wasn’t talking to you. I was talking to Trixie.”
I giggle.
“Are you ready?” he asks with a sexy grin on his face.
“Sure. I’m excited!” I gush. “Nobody’s surprised me in a long time.”
“Then it’s long overdue, darlin’.”
As we trot off the ranch, out into the grassland, Grayson has Weasel in a strong gallop, and I get Trixie to the same pace, while the horses start to play together, making us both laugh. “I didn’t know they liked each other so much.” I shout, over the noise of the horses whinnying happily.
“Maybe we should pair them up more often.” Grayson suggests. “Whoaaaa.” He says to Weasel, as we break into a soft trot, heading towards the end of the clearing. The pond is visible from where we are, and I see a dark s
peck of something in the distance. Two specks as we get closer, and finally, as we pull right up into my little man-made sanctuary, I catch on to my little surprise.
Grayson has prepared a makeshift campground. Complete with sleeping bags, tent, fire pit, and chairs. There’s even a cooler off to the side. Observing, I smile shyly at him. “Could you be any cuter?”
“Well, I could try, but I figured you’d like this.”
“It’s very thoughtful, I must admit. I’ve never spent the night out here.”
“Sleeping under the stars.” He looks up at the sky. “Seems pretty romantic to me.”
“It is.” I point to the fire pit. “Where did you get that?”
“Well, I figure that you wouldn’t want me digging a hole here, so I picked this up, so we can take it away, and not leaving anything behind when we’re done.”
“Brilliant.”
“I thought so. Picked this up earlier when I was in town buying the clothes.”
“How can you afford all this? I haven’t even paid you yet.”
“Borrowed some money from Hawk. He knows I’m good for it. I’ve loaned him money before, so it’s a wash.”
“Grayson?” I ask, dismounting from Trixie. “How come you never went back to the ranch, you know, after you gave up your medical practice?”
He dismounts from Weasel, and we each take a seat on the comfortable chairs in front of the fire pit. “Partly, it was pride.” Grayson explains. “But it was also because I felt like I was giving up. I didn’t have my head on straight then, Laura. That’s pretty clear.”
“And your brother Hawk isn’t upset that you left El Paso to come work on another ranch?”
“Hell, no.” Grayson says adamantly. “He’s got enough of us Thomases working for him. The less family blood there, the better. In fact, Hawk’s been trying to pawn Kurt off on me.”
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