Page 9 of Booker

“So, I guess you aren’t in charge of the hamburgers anymore?” Lexi asked, chuckling.

“Nope, they wanted to, and frankly, I didn’t care. You know I only grill if I have to. Do I need to do anything else?”

Lexi shook her head. “Nope, Booker helped me and the guys set up chairs and the other table. So, I’m telling them everything. Are you okay with that?”

Her mom sniffed a little, then nodded. “Yes, I’ve done all I can. It has to be stopped. You and I shouldn’t have to live like this, in fear.”

“Burgers and dogs are done. If they’re dry, it’s because Compass erroneously pressed all the good stuff out of the burgers while cooking,” Bootstrap groused.

Lexi smiled, and they all grabbed food and seats. The guys waited, and she and her mom were seated with food before they started eating.

Lexi picked at her hamburger. It was delicious, but her stomach was churning about having to share what she and her mom were going through. She was a strong, adult woman and hated having to ask for help. Once the guys saw she and her mom didn’t want any more, they demolished the leftovers. Compass got up and walked around for a little bit because his back was aching. He’d rolled his eyes and told her and her mom about his accident and mentioned they might as well know since the busybodies did.

They’d all helped clean up and then settled back into chairs with drinks.

“I’ll mention the elephant in the room. Booker said you guys need to share what’s going on with you and why your mom is traveling with you. I’ll just warn you. We’ve heard it all. I can guarantee that most likely we’ve dealt with something similar. And if you’re on the run from something, you’re the victim. We’re never going to blame the victim,” Compass said.

Lexi gazed around the room. Each man wore a look on his face that told her everything she needed to know. They were resolute in helping her in whatever situation she was in. These men were protective and willing to do whatever was needed.

“Yeah, Booker’s claimed you’re his and hands off, so you’re all of ours now to protect,” Twist said.

“This is so hard, but I’ll try. I have a brother, Cliff. Growing up, my brother was great. He’s seven years older, and I don’t remember anything bad. We weren’t close, but he didn’t do anything to scare me. He chose college instead of the military because he hated everything about how we grew up. But he didn’t want to do the work at college. He flunked out the second semester of his freshman year. Dad and Mom said he could come home, but he either had to get a job, attend a junior college, or join the military. He couldn’t just come home and live off them. He was angry and basically left.”

Lexi paused because it was so hard. Her mom nodded.

“Even though we tried to contact him, he disappeared for years. Every so often, Clive would pay an investigator to try to find him because we worried. About three years after Clive passed, Cliff appeared looking as if he’d been living on the streets. His teeth were horrible. His clothes looked threadbare. He asked if he could stay. I’m his mom. I hadn’t seen him in years. Of course, I said yes. But I didn’t know he’d been selling and using drugs for years. I just assumed he was down on his luck.”

Her mom paused. Lexi wasn’t going to make her mom say what was done.

“I came home for the winter. Cliff seemed to not like me being around. I tried to be friendly, but something was off.” Lexi paused as Booker reached to hold her hand. “One night I couldn’t sleep. I just couldn’t figure out why. I decided I’d head to the kitchen for a drink. Cliff was in the kitchen, doing something with Mom’s looseleaf tea canister. I stayed quiet because, honestly, he scared me. I went back upstairs and waited until I heard him heading out. I took the can and called a friend on the police department. He had me bring the canister in. Hisdrug dog alerted, so he tested it with his kit. It was positive for cocaine. I’m not sure what he had planned, but I was worried. I mean why was he trying to give Mom drugs?”

Booker kept quiet because he didn’t want to stop Lexi or her mom from speaking, but he was worried that this wasn’t the worst.

“Alex returned along with the officer and his drug dog. She had him check the property. Not only were drugs found in the tea tin but also in two other items that I ate or drank every day. The dog alerted that there had been drugs stored in the barn. I went to the hospital for tests. Because it was either his first time putting drugs in my tea or I hadn’t ingested enough, nothing showed up.”

Lexi patted her mom’s hand when she paused. “Mom was upset but at first couldn’t believe he could do that. I had all the locks changed and the code on our main gate changed. I thoughthe’d probably run off, especially if he saw the K9 unit at the ranch.

“I headed toward my signings, but then things started happening. A couple animals were found dead. They were a couple days apart, but still, it was strange. Then, two dead animals were tacked to the front door with a knife.

“My mom lives on the ranch with some ranch hands, but at any given time, they could be on the other side of the ranch. Dad wanted a huge ranch because he loved to hunt. He even added a couple small cabins in other parts of the ranch. With over 6,400 acres, my brother could be hiding anywhere. The land is relatively flat, but there are trees and a couple of streams. I wanted her to come on the road with me after the dead animals on the front porch, but she didn’t want to leave her home.”

“What changed or escalated?” Compass asked.

“Mom’s pickup was run off the road in a hit-and-run on the way back from town. She called me, and I headed that way, and she’s been with me ever since. I just don’t know what to do.”

Booker couldn’t imagine how scared they had both been. He slipped his arm around Lexi. He was going to figure out how to fix this.

“Where’s the ranch?” Booker asked.

“Outside of Logan Falls, South Dakota.”

“And when is the next signing you need to be at?” Booker asked.

Lexi snuggled closer to him. He could tell she needed the contact. Talking about the incidents had brought up all the fear again.

“Not until the end of April. I was going to talk to Mom to see what she wanted to do.”

Booker glanced at his brothers. Twist nodded because he knew exactly what Booker was thinking.

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