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"Everything okay?" Tyler called out as I approached, his brow furrowed in concern—or was it suspicion?
"Yeah, just a lot on my mind," I managed to say, forcing a smile that felt more like a grimace.
"We missed you around here," he said, walking over to take Jasper's reins. His touch lingered slightly, a wordless question hanging between us.
I nodded, glancing back at the barn I'd just left, the secrets it held now heavy on my shoulders.
I headed inside, the weight of the paraphernalia I'd found pressing down on me. Inside the house, I went straight to the bathroom, washed my face, and stared at my reflection. Who was I in this tangled web? Was I the naive niece, blindsided by family secrets, or was I the new owner responsible for cleansing this place of its hidden poisons?
As the water ran cold, I turned off the tap and braced myself against the sink. "You can do this," I muttered to my reflection, a determination settling in. This ranch was mine now, and I had to protect it.
Clenching my fists, I dried off my face and walked to my office. I needed to document everything, prepare for the conversation with Tyler, and decide how much to tell Danny.
I sat down at my desk, the files from the hidden room spread out before me, and began to write everything down.
Chapter Twenty-One
Danny
Morning at the station was typically a slow starter, but today, my brain was already in overdrive. As I knocked back my third cup of coffee, the bitter taste barely registered. It wasn’t just the caffeine kicking in—it was the realization that my professional boundaries were starting to blur, tangled up with personal feelings for Heather that I hadn’t fully admitted to myself until now.
I sat at my desk, thumbing through the latest reports and evidence photos from the recent bust near Heather's ranch. The connections were there, albeit thin and tenuous. The suspects we'd picked up were small-time, unlikely to know the breadth of the operations they were involved in. Still, they were definitely part of something bigger, something that might just lead back to the ranch.
"Hey, Danny," Jake called out as he passed by my desk, snapping me out of my reverie. "You look like you’ve seen a ghost, man."
"Just sorting through this case," I muttered, shuffling the photos aside. "It’s a tangled mess."
"You’re really hammering on that ranch lead, huh?" Jake leaned against my desk, sipping his coffee.
"Yeah, it’s starting to solidify. But I need more before we can really act on it." I hesitated, then decided to confide a bit more. Jake wasn’t just a colleague; he had become a confidant. "It’s complicated. Heather—Ms. Kent, she's caught up in this somehow. Not directly, but through the ranch."
Jake raised an eyebrow. "And you’re getting caught up with her, aren’t you?"
I ran a hand down my face, feeling the weight of unspoken truth. "Maybe. I don’t know, man. She’s… different than I expected."
"Be careful, Danny. Don’t let your guard down. You know the job."
"I know," I sighed, the familiar pinch of duty tightening. "I’m keeping it professional."
But as the words left my mouth, I knew they carried a hint of dishonesty. Heather’s face, her sincere eyes, her laughter from our last meeting—it was all becoming a distraction I couldn’t afford.
"I need to talk to the chief," I declared, standing up with a resolve that felt both freeing and constricting.
Chief Miller’s office was at the end of the corridor, a walk I’d done a thousand times, but today felt like a tightrope walk. I knocked and entered on a crisp "Come in."
"Dan, what’s on your mind?" Chief Miller looked up, his expression a practiced mask of neutrality.
"I think we’re onto something with Horseshoe Lake Ranch. Some of the low-level guys we picked up are talking. They don’t know much, but it’s enough to suggest they were using the ranch for meet-ups. I want to set up surveillance, maybe bring in a couple of the ranch hands for questioning."
Chief Miller leaned back, his gaze hardening. "Danny, that’s a big step. Surveillance? On what basis? You need solid evidence, and hearsay from small fry isn't enough."
I paused, the weight of his words sinking in. "Sir, if we just had a closer look—"
"Danny," he interrupted, his voice firm, "I need more than just a hunch or a gut feeling before I authorize surveillance on a civilian property. It could backfire on us, legally and ethically. You need to bring me something concrete."
The finality in his tone was a cold splash of reality. "Yes, sir," I said quietly, the disappointment tightening my chest.
As I left his office, the clarity of my mission crystallized in my mind. I needed undeniable proof, something that would convince not only Chief Miller but also myself that pursuing Heather’s ranch was justified.
