Page 40 of Sheriff's City Girl

I nodded, making my way into the office before he could change his mind. “We’ve been best friends for a long time, and I ain’t ever seen you like this—not even when your dad passed.”

He shut the door, turning the lock and let out a sigh. “I’m in a mess.”

I blinked a couple of times. “With the missing cattle? I figure insurance would’ve paid you by now.”

Lucas ran his calloused hands over his fatigued, worn face. “Insurance ain’t paid me a dime, Mason. They ain’t going to, either.”

My stomach knotted up. “How come?”

“Well, in order for insurance to pay out, you gotta be paying in.”

My mouth dropped open, and his expression only grew wearier. “You mean to tell me that your cattle aren’t covered? You ain’t got any coverage at all on them?”

“I don’t have coverage,” he reiterated. “And there’s no use in giving me some speech about it, because it don’t help a thing about it. It’s got me in a bad spot. I’m trying to work out of it, but it’s an uphill battle. Those cattle were going to pay off some debt—and now I’m upside down.”

Wait, what? Debt?

“I thought you were anti-bank?” I narrowed my eyes at him, trying to remind myself to be understanding, regardless of how much he had been hiding from me.

“I am,” Lucas snapped, removing his cowboy hat. His blonde hair was matted with sweat and he ran his fingers through it, pulling at locks. “I did everything I could to avoid it, but when Dad died, he left some debt—well, not some, a lot. I had to put the land up in a lien to get the loan to pay it off, and now I can’t pay that.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I exasperated. “I could’ve helped you. We could’ve figured something out.”

“You know I don’t take help like that,” he grunted, plopping down in the desk chair. The longer I looked at him, taking in the dark circles under his eyes and the way his shoulders slumped, the more I realized just how broken down he was. “I got more cattle missing.”

I blinked a couple times, trying to process what he had just said. “What? More cattle?”

“Yeah, someone cut the south boundary. Took them right out of the weaning pasture. I don’t know how or why. It’s got me in a pinch. I ain’t reporting it because there ain’t nothing you can do.”

“We’re actively investigating,” I snapped at him. “You know we’re doing our damnedest to figure out who’s behind it.”

“Yeah, well, I’ll be selling off land before you get it figured out. I already got buyers lined up.” His words were sharp, but there was a hint of defeat behind it.

I shook my head. “I ain’t gonna let you sell anything.”

“I can guarantee that you can’t make the payment to ward off the bank,” Lucas snorted. “I gotta do what I gotta do or they’ll take the whole dang place.”

“I’m sure you can talk to them down there. I know they’ll understand.” I refused to think that they’d seriously take Lucas’s land away—it was the foundation of the town. “No one wants to see you hand over land, and I know them developers slinking around town would love to have a grab at it.” Lucas was silent, only shaking his head at me. “You can’t give up,” I added, feeling the desperation that must be drowning him.

“It’s not about giving up, Mason,” his voice was quiet, the wall coming down. “It’s just the facts of life. It ain’t easy—and if you wanna investigate the new fifty head of cattle missing, go for it. I’m not holding my breath. Feels like someone is trying to cripple me, but there was a string of rustling that happened in the nineties. It’s what led to the first round of debt because Dad never insured the cattle. Now, here we are again—only this time, the bank won’t loan a dime to cover the loss.”

I nodded, the weight of the situation making me nauseous. “I can’t believe it. I just don’t understand why you kept it from me.”

“You know I don’t air my dirty laundry, and these dang hands just talk their asses off every chance they get. I can’t stand it, but at the same time, I don’t know how much longer I can afford to pay them. It’s getting to be that bad.”

“We’ll figure this out,” I reassured him, though the leery look in his eye told me he didn’t believe a word I said.

“I don’t want your help.”

“Why?” I demanded, having misunderstood his reaction. “Why the hell wouldn’t you let me help you get this figured out? It could mean that we save you from having to sell.”

He opened his mouth to say something, but the sound of footsteps outside the door stopped us both. They weren’t heavy, the way a lot of the ranch hands stalked around. Instead, they were light, like a woman…

“Oh shit,” I muttered. “Emma.”

“What?” Lucas made a confused face.

I dismissed him. “I was gonna take her on a ride here, but I think we’ll just stay out of your hair tonight. I got another idea.”

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