Page 70 of Christmas with Three Cowboys

“I cannot thank you enough for this.”

“Don’t you worry,” she says. “Somebody needs to show those drug lords this ain’t Miami.”

“It’ll certainly help,” Ethan says. “Thank you. All of you.”

Mitch and Ethan start dividing the patrol tasks among our fellow ranchers, fetching a map from my truck to show them which sections of the property fence may be more vulnerable to abreach than others. Marty and his sons join the gathering while I stay behind with Kavanaugh. In the meantime, Kyle and Jason finish assessing the security system damages and send me their notes.

“Fucking hell,” I mutter as I gloss over their observations. “They were prepared and familiar with the system.”

“Jake Miller was over here twice,” Kavanaugh reminds me.

“He must’ve surveyed the gate and the security measures,” I reply with a slow nod. “I really need to get that fucker out of the picture before he does something worse.”

“It’s safe to assume Jake’s helping the cartel with the whole scheme,” Kavanaugh says. “But without any proof against him, she does get the short end of the stick here.”

“He lied to the cartel because he was the one delivering for them,” I reply. “My guess is they squeezed the door on him. He has no choice but to hound Melissa, even though he is responsible. Speaks to his character aplenty.”

I look forward to smashing his face. It should be me, anyway, because if Ethan gets first dibs on the guy, Jake won’t survive.

“He saw the ranch, Colt,” Kavanaugh says. “All these acres, all this land. He thinks you’re loaded. Speaking of, would you be able to pay him off if push came to shove?”

“I could pay the cartel off, yes,” I tell the sheriff. “But it won’t stop them from killing Melissa the first chance they get. I spoke about this with my brothers as well. And they agree. The Esparzas will never let Melissa walk away from this, not while they consider her responsible for the bust. Our best way forward is to find evidence on Jake that would clear Melissa’s name.”

“And in the meantime, you gotta keep their goons at bay,” Kavanaugh sighs. “You’ve got your work cut out for yourselves, huh? I wish we could do more.”

“I get it, I really do. We’re stretched thin enough as it is,” I say.

“I’ll keep trying them, Colt. We’ve got that DEA fella coming; maybe I’ll get him to apply some pressure on his bosses, get us a few more boots on the ground. It’s gonna be worse otherwise.”

I nod slowly, fully aware of the implications. And he’s right. Each and every one of these ranchers, Marty and his sons, Mrs. Ramsay, all of them, are putting their lives at risk to help keep us safe. I’ve lost so many friends already in my life; I don’t want to see more fall, especially not while they’re voluntarily protecting us.

“Let’s just pray this will do until we find a way to bring Jake Miller to justice,” I tell the sheriff.

He’s inclined to pray with me, judging by the sour look on his face.

23

Melissa

It’s close to midnight and I hear rustling in the kitchen.

“Darla’s getting us more champagne,” Mitch says as he sits on the couch, closer to my chair, while I let the fireplace glaze me with its golden warmth. “You haven’t touched yours, though.”

“I don’t really feel like drinking tonight,” I say, offering a faint smile.

“We’ve got people guarding the ranch,” Mitch replies. “They’re not coming back tonight. They’ve sent their message. They’re done for the day.”

“Doesn’t make me feel any better.”

Ethan and Colton come downstairs, both smiling broadly.

I give them a curious look. “What’s up?”

“It’s almost midnight,” Colton says. “We’re gonna head out and get the fireworks ready,” Colton adds. “I’ll text you to come out when we’re set.”

“That sounds great,” I mumble, but even I have a hard time believing my own words.

Nothing sounds great at this point. Nothing except anything along the lines of “we caught the cartel” or “we found evidence that’ll put Jake in prison and vacate your sentence.” Anything else falls short.

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