Second Chance Ranch Chapter 34

Chapter THIRTY-FOUR:

Despite his injured leg, Kelly watched Squire pin Clark in two seconds flat, a clear testament to his Army training and impressive physical condition. While three police officers took care of the situation on the floor, another untied her feet and hands.

“He broke in,” she said. “The one on the floor. His name is Clark Paxton, and he’s the foreman at Three Rivers Ranch. He’s a thief. Don’t let him up without cuffing him! He’s the bad guy.”

She watched as one of the cops helped Squire to his feet, and he looked shell-shocked—the way he had the night of the rodeo, while the fireworks went off.

“He’s a veteran,” she said, indicating Squire. “Suffered a bombing on his tank, and that loud noise…can you take him into the kitchen and get him to sit down?”

“I’m okay, Kel,” Squire said, but he sure didn’t seem to be okay. He stood out of the way now, watching two cops wrestle with Clark to get him to turn over so they could get the handcuffs on him. 

“Ma’am, are you okay?” A policeman helped her stand, but Kelly could only nod. She took a shuddering breath and told herself not to break down now. But bent pins and bits of string wouldn’t hold her together for long.

“My parents and my son,” she managed to say, her mind suddenly overwhelmed with what might have happened if her parents had walked in on the situation between her and Clark instead of Squire.

“Are they here?” the police officer asked.

“He said they went to church.” She turned on numb feet toward Squire. It was so good to see him, even as disheveled as she was. “He has my phone somewhere.”

“What’s happening here?” the officer asked, looking between Kelly and Squire. 

“He stole one-point-six million dollars from my ranch,” Squire said, clearly coming back to himself.. “He broke into this house and tied up a woman. I want him arrested.” He stared coldly at Clark, who glared back.

The two officers finished cuffing Clark and recited his rights as they led him outside, leaving Kelly with Squire and two additional cops. One was glancing around and jotting down notes. The other remained by Kelly’s side.

“Ma’am, I’m Officer Swenson. Can you tell me what happened?”

Kelly squeezed her eyes shut like she could disappear that way. “I woke up late, and my family was gone.” She suddenly needed to hear her mother’s voice and Finn’s laughter. “Where’s my phone? I need to call my parents.”

“I’ll do it.” Squire thumbed on his phone and stepped into the dining room, an officer going with him. He’d have to tell his side of the story too.

Kelly sank back to the couch and cradled her head in her hands.

“You woke up late?” Officer Swenson prompted.

Kelly nodded just as Squire returned. “No answer.” He sat next to her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “I’m sure they’re still in church. I called Pete and asked him to go get them.”

Kelly leaned into Squire’s strength, glad his episode had passed already, and nodded as the officer said again, “So you slept late….”

Clark’s dark eyes filled her vision, blocking out the sunlit living room and the weight of Squire’s arm. The ropes bit into her wrists. Her own pleas—high-pitched and hysterical when she asked about Finn—painted the inside of her skull.

“Kelly.”

Squire’s commanding tone broke the web of fresh memories. She looked into his eyes, easily finding the love and concern swimming inside their depths.

“I heard footsteps upstairs. At first I thought it was my father, but it wasn’t. It was Clark Paxton, the foreman at Three Rivers Ranch where I work.”

“And that’s your ranch, sir?” Officer Swenson asked, writing though he focused on Squire.

“Yes, we’ve been working for several weeks to find a substantial amount of money that’s been missing for years. Kelly figured out who’d taken it.” He lowered his head until his lips leveled with her ear. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t here.”

She squeezed his hand; she didn’t want to have this conversation in front of a police officer.

“So Clark Paxton entered your home without your permission?”

“Yes,” Kelly said. “He tied me up and left me on the couch while he went downstairs. I live in the basement with my son.” An involuntary shiver ran down her spine. If Finn had been here with her…. She couldn’t complete the thought.

Squire kept one arm across her shoulders and brought their joined hands to his lap. She relished the warmth and steadiness he provided, grateful he’d come despite the harsh words she’d said to him.

“I could hear him down there going through everything. I heard crashes and stuff. I don’t know what he did, but he didn’t find what he was looking for.”

“Which is?” Officer Swenson asked.

Kelly exchanged a glance with Squire, who nodded. “A CD that has irrefutable evidence that Clark is the one who embezzled the money from cattle sales at Three Rivers. He has all the missing documents in digital format on the CD, and his username is in the electronic data on the files.”

“Where is the CD?” Squire’s eyes blazed with emotion. Anger, hope, love.

“I put it on top of the cabinet above the toilet in my bathroom. I know Clark didn’t find it. He was livid when he came back upstairs. He kept asking me where it was.”

“May I?” Squire asked Officer Swenson, who waved at him to go down and retrieve the CD. The radio on his hip beeped, and a voice came through the line.

“Cory to Swenson. I caught Will Armstrong just as he was leaving. Seems someone had told him about the situation at their place. They’re on their way home now.”

Relief slammed against Kelly like waves against cliffs. She wept with the release of fear and worry, with knowing her parents and son had been safe at church.

Officer Swenson patted her back and excused himself. When Squire returned with the CD in his hand, Kelly wiped her tears. “I kept it safe for you.”

He sat on the couch next to her, his knee pressing against hers. “I don’t care about the CD, darlin’.”

She studied the red marks ringing her wrists. “You don’t?”

He reached for her hands and rubbed the lines like he could erase them through his touch. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

He gently lifted her chin to look into his eyes. “You’re not fine.”

Her chin shook as she tried not to cry. “I’ve never been tied up before.”

“I have,” he said. “And you looked much better than I did.”

She half-laughed, half-cried, and he pulled her into an embrace. “I’m so, so sorry, Kel. I made so many mistakes. I should’ve told you about the acceptance letter. I should’ve asked you to come to College Station with me as soon as I thought of it. I should’ve let you help me come up with ideas for—”

“Wait,” she said, leaning away from him though in his arms was where she wanted to stay. “Go back to that last one.”

He took a deep breath, his eyes round with anxiety. “I want you and Finn to come to College Station with me. I can’t leave either of you here for four years.”

“You can’t?”

He shook his head slowly. “I let you go once before. I don’t want to make the same mistake twice. I’ll wait as long as I have to. I love you and want to be with you.”

Her chest exploded like she’d swallowed firecrackers. He loved her.

How should she respond? Was she ready to repeat the sentiment to him?

Squire ran a hand over the scruff on his face. “I was scared to talk to you about things.”

“You?” She leaned into his chest to feel the comforting thrum of his pulse against her cheek. “You just attacked a man, after sneaking through my house silently. I didn’t see an ounce of fear in you.”

“Adrenaline,” he said. “Army training. It’s not the same thing.”

“And yet somehow I scare you?”

“Not you.” He pressed a light kiss to her temple. “Being with you. Or not being with you. Or something. And with the money obstacle out of the way, all that was standing between me and you, was, well, me.”

“If I’d known finding the money was going to freak you out, I wouldn’t have worked so hard to do it.” She twisted so he could see she was teasing.

He kissed her, the pure love in his touch erasing the pain in her wrists and the horror of the morning. She pulled back when she heard the crunch of gravel under tires. She rushed to the door, outside, and down the steps. “Finn!” she called as her father got out of the truck.

Her mom exited on the other side and paused to help Finn down. They met at the front of the truck, where Kelly hugged Finn so tight she thought she might break him.

“Kelly, what happened?” her mom asked, glancing at the patrol car still in their driveway, the cops milling about, comparing notes.

She shook her head as she glanced at Finn. “A little problem in the basement,” she said with a false note in her voice. “We’ll need to stay upstairs.” She held back the tears and took her son’s hand as they moved toward the house.

“Ma’am,” Officer Swenson said. “I’m afraid we’re going to need to process this place.” He looked over to her parents. “Heya, Will. Sorry about this. Do you have somewhere else you can go?”

Squire waited by the door, his hat perched on his head. “They can go to the ranch.”

“We can go to Crystal’s,” Kelly said. She met Squire as he came down the steps. “It’s a long way to the ranch, is all. Crystal is right here in town.”

“Shouldn’t take too long,” Officer Swenson said. “We just need to make sure we do everything right.” He looked over to Squire. “That means I’m gonna need that CD.”

Squire looked like he’d fight another war to keep it with him. Kelly reached out and touched his arm. “Baby, I backed it up on my computer. I printed everything. You don’t need it anymore.”

He nodded, but it still took him a few extra seconds to relinquish his hold on the slim case. Officer Peterson slid it into a plastic bag and handed it to another cop.

“Can I go?” Squire asked. “My daddy needs me down at the station. He’s filing a complaint right now.”

“I’ll have one of my men take you,” Officer Swenson said. “We still need to get your entire side of things.” 

Squire nodded, his expression grim, and Kelly hated that now he had another bad memory with her in it.

“You can’t go,” Finn said, pouting and tugging on Squire’s jacket. “Buster can catch the Frisbee now. You gotta see ‘im.”

Squire crouched in front of him, his smile suddenly stretching his mouth. “That’s great, buddy.” He glanced up at Kelly. “Can I come back later?”

Finn studied him as Kelly nodded. “You’ll come back, right?”

“Sure thing.” Squire ruffled Finn’s hair and stood. He tipped his hat to her parents, slid one hand around her, and kissed he briefly. “I’ll be back just as soon as I can.” He started down the driveway.

“Squire,” she said. He paused and turned back to her.. She wanted to tell him she loved him too, but the words wouldn’t form. “Come back soon.”

He nodded, his gaze intense and unwavering. “As soon as I can, darlin’.”

She watched him move down the driveway and get in the patrol car with another officer before she turned back to her family. “Finn, let’s call Auntie Crystal and go have some lunch with them.” She nodded toward the house and met her momma’s eyes. “I’m so sorry about the house.” 

Two officers entered it as another police cruiser pulled into the driveway. This was going to be a circus, and neighbors were already coming outside to find out what was going on.

“We should go,” Kelly said, and she looked at Officer Swenson. “We can go?”

“Yes,” he said. “I have your number, and I’ll get in touch with you if I need more information.”

“Are we going to have to sleep somewhere else?” Finn asked, a dose of worry in his voice.

Kelly’s heart constricted as they headed for her daddy’s truck. “No, baby. I’m sure we’ll be able to get back into the house soon.”

“Okay.” Finn skipped toward the truck, and her daddy drove over to Crystal’s. Some many questions beamed from her eyes, and pure exhaustion pulled at Kelly.

“You’re not even wearing shoes,” Crystal said, drinking in the sight of Kelly’s bare feet.

She’d forgotten, and as she looked down, something inside her broke. Before she knew it, she was sobbing. It seemed like all the fear she’d felt, the horror at hearing Clark rip the cushions from the couch, tear the movies out of the cabinets, shake the books, just came rushing out of her.

“Come on, Finn,” Crystal said in a loud voice. “The boys are watching cartoons upstairs.” She hustled the little boy away, and Kelly would have to thank her later.

“Honey.” Her daddy wrapped his strong arms around her and held on. Her mom did too, and Kelly had never been more grateful for her parents.

After only a few minutes, she composed herself. “I’m okay,” she said. “I am.”

Her mother grabbed her hand and squeezed. “You’re a strong woman, Kelly.”

She wiped her face, but the tears wouldn’t stop completely. “I have no idea what the basement will look like,” she said. “And after the cops go through everything….”

“Come on,” her mom said. “None of that matters. Let’s go inside before we roast to death.”

Kelly let her parents lead her inside while her tears continued, because they were for Squire. But this time, Kelly wasn’t upset that she was crying over a man. If there ever was a tear-worthy cowboy, it was the one who came back even after she’d told him to stay away, who snuck through the house, who leapt at her captor and rescued her.