Page 77 of Rough Ride

“And so you paid him money for the ashes,” she said. She understood.

He nodded. “They sit on the mantle in that fucking house and I want them. I should have taken them when I left, but he probably would have had me arrested. If there is anything else, St. John, you can just call next time. And, don’t show up on my property unannounced again.”

Crysta wanted to say something, but she didn’t know what. How did you tell a man you were sorry his stepfather was an ass? And the words wouldn’t mean that much to him, she was sure of that.

They walked out to the car, all of them in deep thought. They were already driving down the street before she responded.

“That’s so sad. He’s so sad,” she said.

Eli shrugged. “I don’t think he seems that sad.”

“But he has the same problem as a switch. Not excepted by some people,” Dillon said.

“Do you have a problem with it?” Crysta asked, irritated that the man was judging Sean for being who he was. Intolerance was something she couldn’t stand.

He shared a smile with Eli, then looked at Crysta. “No. My business partner is bi and is in a committed relationship with a man and my sister. So, I think I’m cool with it.”

“Oh, okay. Well, it’s stupid. I mean, why would you pick your own idiot son over someone like Sean?”

“You don’t know how dangerous he is,” Eli said.

“But I’m sure this is all going to check out,” Dillon said. “Which means we’re back to square one.”

“Dammit,” Eli said as he came to a stop at the light. “What about Sam?”

“He’s too old,” Crysta said.

Eli made a face. “The other one is too stupid. He’d never pull this off and the people he hangs around with are as stupid as he is. And lazy.”

“Could it be someone from your past, Eli?” Dillon asked.

“I told you before that wouldn’t fly.”

“You worked Special Forces, so I would think that you might have a few enemies.”

“I operated under a different name then. You know that. I told you there was one person who knew and she died in prison.”

And she had been the woman who had marred his back with scars. So, she had not only sold him out, but she had gained his trust enough to know his real name. If she wasn’t already dead, Crysta would like to shoot the woman.

“I’ll double check for you,” Dillon said. “And both of you need to consider this might have to do with Joe.”

“Joe? That makes no sense. Wouldn’t they have come after him when he was alive?” Crysta asked. “And why would they come after us?”

“If they knew who he was. If not, they might have found him with the announcement of his death. They could see you as a way to get back at Joe.”

“And this is grasping at straws,” Eli said, the frustration was easy to hear in his voice.

“Well, sometimes all you have is straws. I thought there might be something with Sean.”

“Okay. So, you’re right. We don’t have crap,” Eli said.

“And the longer we don’t know, the more dangerous it could get,” Dillon said as he pulled out on the highway to the ranch.

Crysta hoped he was wrong because she didn’t want to think about things getting any worse.

twenty-four

After Dillon left, they went to the hospital. Eli wanted to see how Jerry was faring, and he knew Crysta wanted to see him too. As they walked side by side down the hall, he realized how much he needed her there. She was steady. Rock solid. She’d been shot at the day before and handled him when he had been ready to kill Kaheaku. Not once had she lost her composure.

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