Page 36 of Claimed by the Lawman

He blew out a long breath. “I’m not taking sides, but from what I remember Susy was making some terrible choices.” He leaned against the edge of the counter.

“She was, but he was partly to blame.” She gave her head a small shake as if she could force the thoughts out of her head. “Thank you for letting me stay here tonight. I don’t want to talk about my dad though. Okay?”

“Sure, but what about Rogue?”

“What about him?”

“You weren’t the only one who lost a sister. He loved her, and he loves you. He’s brought his life around and doing good. I remember him saying many times he wanted you to come home and help with the ranch. It’s your legacy too. Tell me you don’t want to be home again. Really home.”

His words must have reached somewhere inside her because she stayed quiet.

Not wanting to pressure her, he pushed off the counter and rubbed his jaw. “Sorry. That’s not right of me to push you tonight, not after what you’ve been through. I’m just tired.”

“It’s okay. You’ve been through a lot too. We’ll figure out who’s doing this.”

“Let’s go sit back down on the couch.” He took her hand and together they stepped over to the sofa. “I’ll start a fire. It’s a little chilly in here.”

She dropped down onto the edge of the sofa, clasping her hands tight in her lap. “Although I said I didn’t want to talk about Dad, I owe you an explanation. I know you’re friends with him, but I’m sure he hasn’t told you about the argument he had with Susy several weeks before her death.”

“We don’t talk about that,” he admitted. Once the fire was started, he took a seat on the coffee table, his knees brushing hers, but he liked the closeness.

“She had been concerned about something, scared, and she wanted to stay at the ranch, but Dad had told her that she couldn’t.” Her eyes turned glossy. “He turned away his child because he thought she deserved tough love.”

“I know it’s hard, Tyler, but he’d been through a lot with your sister. He’d bailed her out of jail a dozen or more times. Tolerated her stealing for drugs.”

“Yes, but she was afraid.” She swiped away the moisture in her eyes. “It’s something else also.”

Seeing her hesitancy, he reached out and took her hand. “You can tell me.”

She met his gaze. “I-I invited him to come to New York, to see my play, and he refused. It was as if he didn’t want to see me either because I left.”

“Your dad’s a stubborn man, but he loves you.”

“And he sometimes has a screwed-up way of showing his love.”

“Hell, sometimes we all fall into that category.” He rubbed his forehead. He brought his chin back up, looking at her. “Some new things have come to light. I haven’t had the time to speak to you about it, but maybe you can clear something up for me. Did you know that Susy had a brand on her shoulder, right here?” He patted a spot on the back of his shoulder.

“A brand? Like they do for cattle?”

“Yeah. Just like that.”

“How did you know?”

“I saw it in the autopsy pictures. They weren’t in the file and not in the report. I visited the pathologist and he gladly handed the pictures over.”

“What are you not telling me?” She scooted further to the edge of the cushion.

“I don’t like to speculate, but we’ve seen brands like this in human trafficking.” He immediately saw the irritation in Tyler’s expression. “I’m only saying.” He knew any talk about Susy would be sensitive.

“I know my sister. She wasn’t a prostitute.”

“I’m not saying that she was, just suggesting that I’ve seen brands like this before.”

“What was the brand on her?”

“An M.” He reached over, grabbed a piece of paper and pen and drew the M and held it up for her to see. “Look familiar?”

She gave her head a shake. “No.”

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