Second Chance Ranch Chapter 31

Chapter THIRTY-ONE:

Squire woke on Sunday morning, his back one giant knot from sleeping on the ground for the past few nights. He stretched, trying to work out the tightness in his muscles, while Benson nosed his way into Squire’s pack for something to eat.

Squire hadn’t been sleeping well. He felt so guilty for not telling Kelly about his DVM acceptance. Even under the blanket of stars, he hadn’t been able to figure out how to make things right with her. All he could hear was the break in her voice when she asked why he didn’t tell her.

To protect you sounded lame. And to protect myself sounded selfish.

He wished Pete hadn’t gone back to the homestead last night. Without his phone, which he’d abandoned in his cabin after texting Kelly where he’d be, he felt truly alone. The service out this far was non-existent, but he could at least pretend he could send Kelly a text.

He wasn’t sure how much time had passed when Benson barked, drawing Squire’s attention. He turned toward the sound and immediately saw a trail of dust rising in the air.

“Who is it, boy?” He reached down and scrubbed behind Benson’s ears. He whined, which meant it was someone friendly. A few minutes later, Squire recognized his father’s horse.

Concern caused his heart to beat quicker, and he pulled on his boots, jammed his hat on his head, and rolled up his sleeping bag. By the time his dad, Pete, and Tom arrived, he was ready to go.

“What’s wrong?” Squire asked his father, swinging himself up onto Juniper’s back. “Is Mom okay? One of the calves?”

“Everything’s fine,” his dad said. “Except for this.” He held out Squire’s phone.

He took it, a frown pulling at his jaw. “I left this behind on purpose.”

“Miss Kelly’s been trying to get in touch with you,” Tom said. “Said it was a matter of extreme importance.” He looked at Squire, his expression unreadable.

Pete said, “I found them going back in last night, after they tried to find you for a couple of hours. I knew where you were, so we grabbed your phone from the cabin, and came out this morning.”

His daddy fixed him with a look that meant trouble, and Squire squirmed in his saddle. He was used to getting the evil eye from his mother, but from his daddy? Tom wore a dark look that said Squire should’ve known better than to keep secrets from his family, and Pete nodded to his phone, like, Go on, Major. See what she said.

“Kelly’s been texting and calling for two days,” his dad said. “I’ll admit I don’t understand all of the messages. Something about some missing money. Why don’t I know about this? What’s going on?”

Flames and ice crystals warred in Squire’s head. The scorching fire would force out the truth about the money. Regret tipped the blaze, but Squire focused on what he could control. The shards of ice cut new pathways for fresh possibilities. Had Kelly found the money? He almost wept that he might be able to finally drop these burdens he’d been shouldering alone.

“Son,” his dad said, swinging his horse around. “We need to get back quickly. And you better talk the whole way.”

* * *

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell us,” his mom said, her hands winding around each other. Tom had looked exhausted as he’d headed into the stables to brush down the horses. At least Pete had gone with him. 

Inadequacy pooled in Squire’s fingertips at his demonstration of incompetence. His dad was too old to be missing entire nights of sleep, and they didn’t pay Tom enough to babysit all the cowboys, and an old man, and apparently Squire.

“Frank, how can we leave the ranch now?” His mother sounded near tears, and Squire wished he’d told his parents the truth months ago.

His father had done nothing but listen on the way back. Squire had told him everything, and then he’d made Squire explain it all again to his momma. Squire had never seen his dad cry, but he certainly looked like he might now.

“I have voicemail messages from Kelly,” Squire said. “Let me listen to them.” He went down the hall to his old bedroom as he dialed his voicemail. Kelly’s voice, urgent and beautiful, came through the line.

“Squire, it’s Kelly.” His pulse jumped at the simple sound of her voice. “I know I told you I didn’t want to talk to you, but please call me as soon as you get this.”

Beep.

“Squire, it’s Kelly. Tom said he found a CD in Clark’s desk. I don’t know if it’s his, but I think you should be careful around him. It has all the financial documents on it, even the ones that were un-filed. The ones that totaled exactly the amount of the missing money. Just…be careful.”

Panic struck him like a blow to the back of the head. He spun, expecting to see Clark standing in the doorway. But there was no one there.

Beep.

“Squire, it’s Kelly. I have all the documents with me, as well as the disc, and I’ll give them to you so you can show your father and figure everything out. Please, just call me as soon as you can.”

Beep.

Squire tried calling Kelly. She didn’t answer, and he got a taste of his own medicine. It was bitter and frustrating. Surely she must have been frantic to get in touch with him. Just as he was to talk to her right now, to ensure her and her son’s safety.

He hurried back into the family room, where his parents still sat. “Squire, what’s going on?” his mom asked.

“Tom found a CD in Clark’s desk and gave it to Kelly. It had all the missing documentation on it.”

“Clark?” his father repeated, his eyes lined with exhaustion. “Where’s the CD?”

“I thought you listened to the messages,” Squire said, frowning. Had Clark just been going about his business all this time? His fingers curled into fists, and he looked past his daddy to the windows that showed the ranch.

“I read the texts,” his daddy said. “Tom said Kelly was really upset. That she didn’t want anyone else to know. That was enough for me.”

“Kelly has everything we need,” Squire said. A wave of realizations washed over him. Kelly trusted him. She hadn’t held anything back from him. She said she’d give him all the documents to show his family. She could’ve insisted he let her do it so she could get the recognition she deserved for a job well done.

He’d kept secrets from her, didn’t tell her everything so she could make the most informed decision for her and Finn. Kicking himself for a lot of things, he pulled out his phone and fired off a text to Kelly. Keep the CD safe.

“Kelly said she printed everything, but I don’t have it right now.” He glanced at his father. “Kelly believes they took the money from our cattle sales for themselves. It’s enough money for you to retire comfortably and for me to finish school before I come back and run Three Rivers.”

His words faded into silence, leaving him wondering what he’d been so afraid of discussing with his parents. He realized he didn’t have any excuses left. Nothing to keep him from finishing his degree. Nothing from asking Kelly to go to College Station with him.

Only his own insecurities about being good enough for her, strong enough to finish school, wise enough to be a father.

His own shortcomings had been the real reason he hadn’t wanted to tell his parents about the missing money or Kelly about coming to College Station with him.

Tom burst into the house, his dark gray eyes storming. “My desk has been ransacked,” he said. “My cabin too.”

A sharp barb of fear punctured Squire’s lungs, causing the air to leak out in a slow hiss. “Clark.” He turned to his parents. “Where’s Clark?”

“He left this morning,” Squire’s mother said, her hands flitting around her face. “Said he was going to Amarillo.”

Squire scrubbed his fingers through his hair, forcing himself to focus on one task at a time, the way his Army training had taught him.

“Squire, what do we do now?” his mom asked.

“I think we need to call the police.” He checked his phone again. “I’d just hate to accuse Clark if he wasn’t the one at fault.”

“Who else would go through their old desk?” Tom asked, his eyes glittering with the same anger cascading through Squire’s body. He felt like smashing his fist through the wall. Money didn’t matter if he couldn’t have Kelly. Being a veterinarian would mean nothing.

Everything shattered inside Squire. He squeezed his phone, imagining his grip to be strong enough to splinter it into a thousand pieces. He hated that he’d driven Kelly away, kept secrets from her and his parents, hidden how he really felt about everything in his life, her and Finn included.

Even though his mother had warned him not to, he had bottled everything up.

No more, he thought as he glanced around his ranch. He wanted to finish his veterinarian degree, and he wanted Kelly and Finn by his side while he did it.

“I’m going to Kelly’s,” he said, his determination growing when his father nodded. “Tom, please stay here and make sure my parents stay safe.”

“You got it, Boss.”

Squire drove faster than he ever had before, calling Kelly twice without getting her to pick up. With every passing mile, his Army radar blared and then screamed. He dialed Pete.

“Where are you?” he asked when his friend answered.

“Nice to hear from you too,” Pete said in a quiet voice.

“I don’t have time for games, Lieutenant,” Squire barked. “Kelly could be in trouble. Where did you go once you got back to the ranch?”

“I’m at church.” Scuffling came through the line. “I’m heading outside. What do you mean, Kelly could be in trouble?”

Squire’s heart leapt, but his alarm kicked up to a steady wail. “Is Kelly at church?”

“No,” Pete said. “Her parents are here with her son. But she’s not with them.”

“Can you meet me at her house?”

“I think I remember how to get there,” Pete said.

“As quick as you can, Lieutenant.” Squire hung up. He trusted Pete. He could count on him for anything, even in the middle of church. Why hadn’t he been able to trust Kelly, even after prompted to do so?

He didn’t know, and he didn’t have time to psychoanalyze himself. The only thing he could do was drive faster. So he did that.