Second Chance Ranch Chapter 35

Chapter THIRTY-FIVE:

Squire sat at the police station, listening, but with his thoughts far away. On Kelly. He texted her, but he didn’t know if she’d found her phone yet. Or if the police had it. Or if it would even work once she did get it back. He distinctly remembered it going flying as he wrestled with Clark, and why that detail stuck in his head, he wasn’t sure.

He took a deep breath. Money first, Kelly second. Even as he thought it, he knew these kinds of thoughts were what had gotten him into trouble in the first place.

“We’re done here,” the officer said, and Squire stood as his dad did. They shook hands with the officer and headed outside. The weight of one-point-six million dollars landed on his shoulders. They’d found who took it; not where it currently was.

The sunshine seemed falsely positive, and Squire squinted into it as he followed his daddy outside.

“Where’s your truck?” his dad asked.

A few seconds passed while Squire tried to remember where his truck was. His brain felt way too full, and his to-do list kept multiplying.

“Pete’s got it.” Squire joined his father in his truck and studied the familiar landscape as they drove out of town. He noted the Fourth of July streamers, the storefronts he knew like the back of his hand, the stillness of small-town air.

He did love this town, and he did want to raise his family here. With Kelly and Finn.

“Maybe I should go back to Kelly’s,” he said, more to himself than to his father. She had said to come back soon.

“Let it alone, son. She needs some time.”

Squire knew his father was right. He’d seen her face as she sat on the couch, her wrists and ankles bound. Would he always be a reminder of this experience? Just like every time he heard the crack of a whip, he thought of bombs and fire and pain. 

He hoped not, and he added a prayer to that thought.

When his father pulled into the ranch, Squire didn’t want to be there. Clark wouldn’t have the money hidden under his mattress in the foreman’s cabin. 

“Daddy, I just need to go for a drive.”

“Sure,” his father said. “You always do that when you’ve got somethin’ goin’ on.”

He did, and his father left the truck idling and climbed out. 

Squire took his spot behind the wheel, looking at the peaceful buildings as they stood in the sunshine. Nothing looked amiss here, and yet so much was tangled.

He wondered how many lives it would impact. He wondered if he could do anything to find that money. Perhaps Clark kept statements on his computer or in a personal filing cabinet. Squire wasn’t sure if he could just start going through the man’s personal effects, and really, the best solution would be for the man to tell them where the money was.

“You can’t fix this,” he told himself. He wasn’t even sure where Clark was right now. Had he been arrested? How long could they keep him in jail? 

Squire went back to the main highway and kept going north. When he got to the Texas state line, he pulled over. He texted his mother that he’d gone for a drive. He wasn’t going to leave anyone wondering where he was, and when he’d be back. Not again.

She responded that Daddy had told her, and that they had an appointment with a lawyer in Amarillo the next morning already. Squire said he wouldn’t be too late, and he looked over to the empty passenger seat at his side.

He missed Benson, who usually settled next to him in the truck. He missed Kelly, who he loved. His heart writhed and withered, and as he watched the sun continue its arc through the sky, the only thing he could do was hope and pray he hadn’t messed up too badly.

Then, like someone opening a door and turning on a light, Squire thought of Collin Reynolds. He’d served with Squire on his first deployment, and the man was an attorney in Amarillo.

He fumbled for his phone and searched frantically for the man’s contact information. Since they’d both hailed from the Texas Panhandle, they’d become fast friends, and they’d stayed in touch here and there over the past few years.

Relief shot through him when he found Collin’s name, and he tapped to call him, his heartbeat dancing in his chest.

“Major Ackerman,” Collin said with a laugh. “What are you doin’, calling me?”

Squire jammed the truck into gear, wondering if he could get a hotel in Amarillo and meet his parents in the morning. He wasn’t sure who they’d hired, but it wouldn’t be Collin. He worked at the DA’s office, not in private criminal practice.

“I have something major going on,” Squire said as he flipped the truck around. “I’m wondering if I can come over and we can go over it.”

“Oh.” Collin’s surprise came through the line. Squire wouldn’t take no for an answer, and he had a couple of stops to make before he could get to Amarillo. 

“I won’t be there until probably five or so,” Squire said. “My general controller has stolen almost two million dollars from my ranch, Collin. From my parents. I need help.”

He could admit that now. He also didn’t want to figure this out on his own. He couldn’t. It was impossible.

“Holy mackerel,” Collin said. “Yes, come by my house. I’ll text you my address, and you’ll be able to meet my girl.” He wore a smile in his voice, and surprisingly, Squire felt one form on his face.

“Five o’clock,” he said. Now, he needed clothes for a couple of days, to get the backup files from Kelly’s laptop, print everything he needed, and take what was already there.

Once the call ended with Collin, Squire called Kelly. The line simply rang and rang, and he wondered if her phone was off or damaged. Desperate, he did what he had to do. He called her cousin. 

“Crystal,” he said. “It’s Squire Ackerman. Is it possible—is Kelly around?”

“Yes, sir,” the woman said. “Let me get her.”

“Thank you,” Squire murmured.

“Squire, hey,” Kelly said several seconds later.

“Hey, darlin’,” he said, everything inside him turning soft at the sound of her voice. “Listen, I need everything you have. Everything we found. All of it. Is that even possible?”

“Yes,” she said. “Just a second.” Her breathing came through the line as she obviously moved into a better place to talk to him. “I put the CD in my personal laptop at home, Squire. All the files are there. I didn’t dare put them on the one at the ranch. I’m sorry.”

“Do not apologize,” he said somewhat harshly. “You’re amazing. I just need to be able to get to the files. I have a buddy in Amarillo who’s going to help me go through things. See if we can’t figure out where that money is.”

“How are you going to do that?”

“I have no idea.” The task in front of him seemed insurmountable. It felt like any number of missions he’d led in the desert. They didn’t work without every person doing their job.

This was no different. He could find the right people. Kelly could find the missing documents. Perhaps Collin could figure out where the money had gone.

“They arrested Clark,” Kelly whispered. “I pressed charges, so he couldn’t leave, get out to the ranch, and skip town.”

“Thank you,” Squire murmured.

“I don’t know how long they’ll keep him,” she said.

“I’ll find out,” Squire said. “I think my dad filed charges against him too.”

“Have you been able to search his cabin at all?”

“I didn’t,” Squire said. “I wasn’t sure it was legal.”

Kelly didn’t say anything for a few moments. “Squire, I know you probably won’t like this, but….”

“But what?” The turn for the ranch approached, and he planned to pack a bag and talk to his folks before heading to town to get Kelly’s computer. If he could kiss her before he left, there might be a light at the end of this horrific tunnel.

“The Fourth Amendment doesn’t apply to private parties,” she whispered. “I’m reading it right now. You don’t need a search warrant. It’s your cabin, on your ranch. You have a right to know what’s inside, and you’re not a cop.”

Her words hung there, and Squire’s hands kneaded the wheel. He swallowed, searched for the right thing to do, and said, “Okay, Kel. Thank you.”

“I’ll find out if I can get into the house and get my computer,” she said. “We’re still at Crystal’s.”

“I’d appreciate it.”

“I’ll let you know. I’ll use my momma’s phone.”

“‘Bye, darlin’.” The call ended, and as Squire turned onto the ranch, he wished he’d have told her he loved her. “You’ll have another chance,” he told himself.

Half an hour later, he and his father stood outside Clark’s front door. The man obviously wasn’t home; Squire’s bag sat on the front seat of his truck now; he and his father had agreed that they owned this cabin. It was rented to Clark as part of his room and board. They had a right to enter it and make sure their property was being taken care of.

His father reached for the doorknob and entered first, Squire right behind him. The blinds covered the windows, and the western sun was blocked by the barn in front of the house, making it appear gloomy and gray inside.

Squire flipped every switch he came to and looked around the cabin. “Looks normal to me,” his daddy said. “I’ve been here almost every day since we made him foreman.” He shook his head, and Squire wondered what he was thinking.

“Dad?” he asked as he opened the only drawer in the built-in desk in the living room. “What’s on your mind?”

“Mostly I just feel duped,” he said. “I’ve known Clark Paxton for fifteen years. Never once did I think he’d do this.”

“Why do you think he did?” Squire asked. “He doesn’t seem to be hurting for much. He doesn’t spend a lot of money.” He looked through the paperclips and expired credit cards in the drawer. There was nothing here he needed or could use. “He doesn’t take time off. He doesn’t have any family that we know of.”

“Maybe he has one we don’t know of.” His dad moved into the kitchen, but it held a table and chairs for two and not much else. Clark didn’t even have a cork board with any bills or notices stuck to it.

They went through every drawer and cupboard anyway, being careful to reach clear to the back of each one, open all the jars and coffee cans, and then replace everything.

Squire saw no point in ransacking the man’s things. Hopelessness filled him as he went down the hall, but he stopped short in the doorway of the first bedroom he came to.

It was Clark’s office, and clearly, every piece of paper had been put here. “Daddy,” he called, and his father came into the room with him.

They sighed at the same time, and then Squire said, “Let’s do this,” and moved over to the short, two-drawer filing cabinet in the corner. “I’ll start here. You tackle the desk.”

* * *

Kelly exited her parents’ house as Squire pulled into her driveway. He’d already texted Collin that he’d be late, but he was still on the way.

He flew from the pick-up and took her right into his arms. “I love you,” he whispered. “I’m so sorry about all of this.” He pressed his eyes closed and rested his forehead against hers as they swayed in the driveway.

“I have the computer.”

Squire took it from her, suddenly too shy to look her in the face. “You got back in the house?”

“About a half-hour ago,” she said. “It’s a mess, but we’re cleaning it up.” She tucked her hands in her back pockets. “I left Finn with Crystal. He doesn’t need to see…the house the way it is.”

Instant anger clenched through Squire’s whole body. “I wish I could come help you with it.”

“We’re fine.” She put one hand on his chest. “You found something in his cabin?”

Squire nodded. “Some statements at a bank that has some deposits that I think match some of the sales. My memory is good, but I need this to be sure.” He lifted the computer and finally met her eyes. “I’m going to talk to a friend of mine. Momma and Daddy are meeting me in the morning to talk to a lawyer. We’re going to find this money and figure out how to get it back.”

He felt the truth of those words ring way down in his soul. “And then, Miss Kelly, I have to plan a move to College Station, and I really want you and Finn to come with me.”

She searched his face, but Squire didn’t back down from this. “We’ll talk more about it when I get back,” he said. “Okay?”

“Okay,” she whispered, her eyes already falling closed.

Squire touched his mouth to hers, finally getting the final strength he needed to continue down this path. With her at his side, he could do anything, and that included moving across the state, supporting her while he finished his degree, and then coming home.

She was his home, and wherever she was, he wanted to be.

“I’ll call you tomorrow,” he promised, and then he returned to his truck and set his sights on Amarillo, where he hoped he’d get all the answers he needed so he could get the gorgeous Kelly Armstrong to tell him she loved him too.