Page 83 of Roaring Fork Wrangler

I was way ahead of my brother.

“How is this relevant?” I asked, pulling out the last empty chair in the kitchen and leaving Gray to lean against the counter.

Uncle Pete shook his head. “I always said you should’ve been a lawyer.”

I rolled my eyes. “Seriously, though.”

“The person arrested for attempting to murder Cord was Joseph Wilkins Jr., Joe and Brianna’s son.”

“Are you saying you think he tried to kill him because Cord is the son of his father’s ex-girlfriend?” The idea of it seemed ridiculous. “How does he even know Cord?”

“According to the man himself, Joe Junior was one of the cowboys at the Lilacs.”

“But—”

My uncle held up his hand. “Instead of asking a question after everything I say, why don’t you pipe down and listen, brat?”

I stuck my tongue out at him and made a motion with my hand. “Go on.”

“To answer the question I didn’t let you ask, Cord picked him out of a photo array. He was the only person he recognized out of the twenty cards we had him look at. He said the kid’s name—get this—was Buck.”

I bit my tongue to stop myself from asking how that, too, was relevant.

“Your next question is how is it that someone who worked on the property missed getting his profile added to the security system. That’s still a bit of a mystery, but every cowboy we asked couldn’t place him, except Cord, who said he didn’t remember ever seeing himinsidethe perimeter.”

I sat back in my chair and folded my arms.

“What?” asked my uncle.

“Nothing. Go ahead.”

“The kid—who is only seventeen, by the way—has both lawyered up and clammed up. Neither is a surprise. However, I don’t believe he acted alone. I think someone pushed him to do it.”

“Any idea who?” my dad asked.

“Here’s the thing. According to Ashford, Brianna and Patricia were the best of friends. Patricia hightails it out of town, and Brianna marries her ex.”

I probably would’ve scoffed, but in just the limited time I’d been around Decker, it became obvious the man was brilliant. He was the one who’d pieced together that Sam was Miss Cena’s great-granddaughter. He’d never make the connection between the guy who’d tried to kill Cord, his mother, plus the kid’s parents if he didn’t think it was relevant.

“Given you’re not supposed to talk about an active investigation, I’m assuming you aren’t here just to gossip,” I said.

Pete laughed, shook his head, and looked at my dad. “It isn’t too late to send her to law school. She’d probably make DA by the time she turned thirty.”

My dad smirked. “You could also try to talk her into going to the police academy.”

“While this is all very amusing, I’m serious. Why were you talking to my mom and dad about it?”

“To see if we remembered them,” my mom answered for him. Of all of us, she was the only one I hadn’t seen crack a smile. Not that the subject matter was at all funny, but she usually chimed in when Pete and I were trash-talking each other.

“Do you?” I asked her.

She nodded.

“Well?” I pressed.

“I don’t remember Patricia per se, but I do Brianna. She and Joe used to come into the Goat.”

My dad raised his head. “That’s right, but damn, how long has it been?”

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