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“Crap.” I turn, dragging my fingers through my hair. “They’re going to try and stop the insurance payout. They’re going—”
“They aren’t going to do anything.” Shane gently grabs my arms, pulling me closer. “We’ll figure it out.”
“This isn’t your problem to figure out. I should have known Zander wasn’t going to just let everything go. Virgil isn’t this smart. There’s no way he came up with this. If I had to guess, Zander is the one who wants me to hurt for what I did to him. My family is going to lose the bar. It’s all my fault.”
“It’s not. And you aren’t going to lose anything. There has to be a security camera or traffic cam that caught something that night. We’ll figure it out.”
“Did you know?” My face drains as I look up at him. “Clearly Will did. I can’t believe he didn’t tell me.”
“I didn’t know a thing. And Will probably didn’t say anything because he knows they have no case. They’re grasping at straws, Harloe. And Zander is just doing everything in his power to get to you.”
“Well it’s working.” I glance across the street, spotting the trucks outside Ransack. “They start demolition today. I can’t watch that. Not after what Virgil said. What if we tear the bar apart and can’t put it back together?”
“Then take the day off.” Shane shrugs.
“I can’t just take the day off.”
“You can and you will.” He slips his hand in mine, leading me to the truck. “I insist.”
“Where are you taking me?”
He pops my door open, smirking as I climb inside. “For a ride. Buckle up.”
27
SHANE
The truck jolts as I make a turn down another dirt road. Harloe grabs the armrest like she’s hanging on for dear life. Her nails dig into the leather seat, and the cutest little gasp slips out.
I chuckle, and she narrows her pretty blue eyes on me.
“When you offered to distract me, I pictured something better than a near-death experience.”
“No one’s dying today,” I assure her. “Act like you’ve spent some time off-roading in your life.”
“For your information”—she grabs my arm when the tire hits a rock, and everything bounces—“I was the queen of off-roading. Never got stuck once. The same can’t be said for my brothers. One time, they high-centered Asher’s truck on a piece of farming equipment.”
“How the hell did they manage that?”
She shrugs. “Depends which brother you ask.”
We reach our destination, and I throw the truck in reverse, backing up to our view and pulling to a stop. We’re at the far north end of Ironside Ridge, where there isn’t a pasture for at least a few miles. The main house, barn, bunkhouse, and any other buildings are lost in the distance.
I hop out of the truck to get Harloe’s door, but she’s already out by the time I reach it.
“I didn’t know this was out here.” Her eyes wander the horizon, taking it all in.
“Kincaid and I stopped here for lunch the first time he gave me a tour of the ranch.” I shut the door, watching her walk toward the back of the truck. “Thought you might like it.”
Her breath catches when the view hits her. Out here, the plains are empty and endless. Flat, apart from a small canyon that marks the end of Ironside Ridge. Desert brush grows on either side, with blooming prickly pears adding splashes of color.
The past few days have been sweltering. Humidity so thick it’s hard to breathe. But today, clouds hang low with the promise of rain, and a gentle breeze sweeps away the stifling heat.
I pop the tailgate and grab Harloe by the hips, lifting her up. She giggles—it’s fucking adorable. She’s fucking adorable in her summer dress and boots and hat.
Even when she’s having the worst day because Virgil put her in a shit mood, she manages to smile so big my insides twist in knots.
I’m still wrapping my mind around what she said at the diner as I sit beside her.
