Page 108 of Sheriff's City Girl

“Yes,” I said from behind Mason, holding out the calculator we had used with the total. “We definitely said that.”

“Holy…” Lucas’s voice trailed off as his eyes began to fill with moisture. “We’re not gonna lose it… We’re not gonna lose the ranch!” He burst into tears and Mason pulled him into a tight embrace.

I smiled at the sweet moment between old friends, and then turned back to the large amount of money, knowing that I needed to get it locked up tight. I placed all of the cash and checks back in the box and placed the lock back.

“What do you think we should do with this?” I asked as Mason and Lucas pulled away, both of them wiping their eyes. “I don’t know that we should leave it accessible.”

Lucas nodded. “Yeah, it probably should go in the safe up at the house. I’ll put it up there, right now. Everyone is pretty much gone now, anyway. It’s all wrapped up except for a few stragglers. I’ll have to put an article in the paper this week thanking everyone who donated.”

“We can make sure that happens,” Mason nodded, taking the box from me and handing it to Lucas. “Let’s get this put away. I think I’ll escort you though. Just to make sure that no one tries anything.”

“Good idea,” Lucas breathed out. “Damn, I didn’t even think about that.”

“Yeah, that’s okay. That’s my job to think about that kind of thing.”

“Right,” Lucas chuckled.

“Y’all go ahead,” I followed them out of the barn. “I’m gonna go help clean everything up.”

Lucas and Mason both nodded, and then headed to the house while I noticed Jess, cleaning the tables by herself.

“Where’s all the help?” I asked, furrowing my brow at her as I joined in, grabbing up trash and tossing it into the trash.

Jess shrugged. “I don’t know. They all went off to go and see everyone off. Did you guys get enough to save the ranch?”

I nodded, beaming. “Yeah, we did. We got more than enough to save the ranch.”

“Yes!” Jess pumped her fist into the air. “I can’t wait to tell Cody. He’s been super nervous all night. I think he wanted to find out…” her voice trailed off at the same time that the scent hit me…

Smoke.

“What the…” I spun around, my eyes taking in the dark plumes of smoke billowing into the air.

“Oh my gosh!” Jess screamed, before taking off toward the fire. I rushed after her, grabbing her hand and stopping her as I pulled out my phone. I called 9-1-1 and reported the fire, and then let Jess tug me toward the main barn—the same one that we had just been inside of.

Everything then turned into a blur…

Mason and Lucas sprinted past us while I held a crying Jess. The two men were soon joined by Ron and Jackson, who did their best to put out the hay loft fire while waiting for the fire department to get there. However, it was only a handful of moments later, that Jackson came out with Cody… in handcuffs.

“What… Why is he in handcuffs?” Jess demanded, sprinting toward Jackson, who had a blank expression on his face.

“Caught him with a gas can on the other side of the barn.”

Cody shook his head. “You don’t know what you’re talking about?—”

“Yeah, so what was with the gas can then?” Jackson demanded, shoving Cody forward.

“Cody…” Jess’s voice broke, tears streaming down her face. “Why… Why would you do it?”

“I-I don’t know,” Cody finally said, his head dropping.

Jackson shook his head, shooting both of us a sympathetic look as I wrapped Jess up in my arms to console her. She broke into sobs, just as Mason and Lucas appeared from inside the barn, which was now too much for them to take on. Sirens from the firetrucks filled the air around us, and Lucas and Mason joined the two of us.

“I can’t believe he did it…” Mason’s voice trailed off as Jess fell into his arms.

Lucas shook his head. “He didn’t fucking do it.”

“What?” I demanded, my brows furrowed, confused by the conflicting statement. “Jackson just said that he found him with a gas can on the other side of the barn.”

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