Page 110 of Sheriff's City Girl

Maybe Cody wasn’t on such bad terms with his stepmom. I took a deep breath, standing back as I watched Brittany take in the sight of the barn. She looked… confused?

“What the hell happened here?” she asked, looking to Frank and Lucas, ignoring my presence in its entirety—which was fine with me.

“The barn caught on fire,” Lucas said, his voice flat. “But neither of you have a reason to be here, and you both can leave.”

“Now Lucas,” Frank said with a sigh, running his fingers through his white beard. “You know that today is the cut off, and Brittany is the buyer… So I have to show her the damage that was done last night in the fire.”

“I didn’t realize it was this bad,” Brittany gasped, and I couldn’t tell if she was feigning it or if it was genuine. “This is going to take money off the price, right? Because there’s no way that I’m paying full price for this eyesore.”

“You don’t get to buy my ranch. I have the money,” Lucas said through gritted teeth to Frank. “The fundraiser was a success, and it’ll pay it almost in full.”

Frank’s face filled with surprise. “You have the money?”

“Yeah, I told you that I would bring it first thing in the morning.”

“This is true, but you weren’t here first thing this morning, so I didn’t think that you had the money.”

“Well, I have it, and I will happily go get it for you,” he grunted, shaking his head.

“Not with her present,” I stepped up, finally interjecting. “Her stepson was arrested for committing arson last night. There’s no way I’m letting you hand him any large sum of money with her here.”

“Wait, what?” Brittany demanded, and for the first time since her arrival, I realized this reaction was genuine. She looked… pissed. “Does that mean we’ll have to pay restitution for the fire? You have to be fucking kidding me!”

“Easy now,” Frank turned to her. “I think you’re done here… It’d probably be best if you just went ahead and went back to town. I think Sheriff Hewitt can give me a ride.”

“Um, that’s fine, but I’m calling a lawyer, I guess. Oh my god, I am so done with this family. I just want to finalize the divorce and go on.” Her heels dug into the ground as she made her way to the driver’s side of the SUV, shaking her head and cursing the entire time.

I watched her carefully, and couldn’t help but wonder…

Did she know about the fire? Did Cody act alone? Or… is Lucas right?

“I have a hundred grand,” Lucas said to Frank as Brittany’s SUV disappeared down the driveway, her taillights fading. “And I think that will be more than enough.”

“Oh…” Frank’s voice trailed off. “I think that’s plenty to catch you up.”

“Perfect, I’ll go get it,” Lucas said, glaring at me as he made his way to the house. “Y’all can just wait out here.”

Frank let out a sigh as soon as Lucas was out of earshot. “You know, I know that I’m seen as the bad guy, but I’m just doing my job.”

“Yeah, I know,” I gave Frank a half-hearted smile. “I know Lucas is in a mood, but he’s just been through the ringer. It’s like the moment things get made right, it all goes sideways again.”

Frank nodded, looking past me to the fire. “I think you’re right, and I feel for him. His dad went through some similar incidents like this as well. You know there was an old family rivalry going on? I’m sure it’s got nothing to do with all this,” he motioned to the wreckage. “But it sure makes me wonder.”

I furrowed my brow. “I’ve lived in this area and grew up on this ranch, and I don’t ever remember hearing nothing about something like that.”

“That’s because it started well before your time. Lucas’s father only got a big dose of it back when he was about your age. You and Lucas would’ve just been too young. I was just starting as a bank officer.”

I nodded, shifting my weight into the heels of my boots. “So, what kind of family rivalry are you talking about? Who was it? A family here in town? Or was it within the Lowe family?”

Frank chuckled. “You might not want to hold me to the information I’m going to give you, because my memory sure does fail me sometimes, but I think it started within the family. Lucas’s great grandpa was one of the founders of the town and ranch—or maybe it was his great-great grandpa—hell, I’m not sure.” Frank wiped the sweat from his forehead.

“Anyway, he had a sister who had gone off and married a man with the last name of Frederickson, and they thought they needed a portion of the ranch. Of course, Lowe agreed. It was her right to some of the land.”

I nodded, pulling out my notepad. Everything that Frank was saying felt brand-new, and I wanted to do some digging into it. If there was any validity, could someone still be holding a grudge? Emma had mentioned that it all felt personal…

And maybe that’s because it was.

“So anyway,” Frank continued. “Lowe gave her the land, but she passed before they had any kids. He let her husband stay there—even after he got remarried and had kids. However, he told them no when they asked for more land to use. I don’t know whether that was right or wrong, but I think there were some other problems.”

---