Page 2 of Toxic

“I don’t know,” I answered. “I found him like this.” But I knew it wasn’t a fall. When our ranch hands started ghosting us, I began looking into what was happening. It wasn’t until after Beady left that we’d gotten the first clue. I thought the phone call was a joke.

Some man had called, offering a staggering amount of money to buy Cholla Summit Ranch. When my dad died the ranch had gone into my name, but the person had called asking for Gramps. He’d told them in no uncertain terms that we would not be selling our family ranch to them.

After that, the only word I could use to describe these people was determined. They called. They sent letters. Over and over they contacted us, trying to get us to sell. I suspected that theywere responsible for driving off our ranch hands, though I had no proof of it. They were trying to force us into selling, I just knew it. The one thing I didn’t know was why.

I watched, hugging myself as the EMTs loaded Gramps up onto a stretcher and into the ambulance. “I can go with him…right?”

“Yes, Ma’am,” one of the men said, giving me an empathetic look.

Looking over at Eris, I told her, “Watch the place, Girl.”

She wagged her tail, but whined a little as I climbed into the ambulance. I didn’t know what I was going to do, but I wasn’t about to let Gramps wake up somewhere alone. I needed help.

I made the trip in the ambulance in silence, watching as they took Gramps’s blood pressure and worked on him. They kept reassuring me that he was going to be okay, but it was so hard to see the man I knew was so vibrant and full of life lying there so still and quiet. He was eighty years old and ran circles around most people, but I worried about him every day.

Everything passed in a blur as we got to the hospital and nurses got Gramps settled into a room. He still hadn’t woken up, but the doctor who came in said that was normal for this kind of injury. He had bruises all over his body. I’d been horrified to see them when they’d changed him into one of those blue gowns.

I didn’t know how much time had passed, but everyone had cleared out and I was sitting there next to my grandfather in the quiet room, only the beeps of the machines making any noise.

Taking a deep breath, I pulled my phone out of my pocket again and hit a contact number. I didn’t want to have to call her, but I was running out of ideas. My best friend from high school was always there when I needed her. And I did the same for her. We talked at least twice a week, but often every day and tried to meet up as much as possible. She wasn’t in town right now, so Iwasn’t sure what she could do to help, but I had no one else to talk to. She and Gramps were the only family I had left.

“Keely?” I said when she answered.

She must have heard the sob I was fighting back. “Billie. What’s wrong?”

No one was there to see me, so I let go. I broke down sobbing as I explained what had happened. What had been happening over the last five months. I’d made sure not to tell her because she had her own things to worry about. She was off in Washington D.C. helping with an FBI taskforce and didn’t need to be thinking about my ranch. But she would if I’d told her there was trouble. That was just the kind of friend she was.

I was exhausted. I was scared to death for my grandpa. “I have nowhere else to turn,” I told her, hiccupping a little. “I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

She’d listened, asking a few questions here and there, but as I fell silent she started speaking. “Billie. Listen to me. We’re not going to let this happen. I promise you.”

“What can I do?” I whispered. “I have no proof of…anything.”

“Do you trust me?”

I smiled and knuckled away some of the tears. I hated crying, and the inevitable headache that came with the tears. “With my life.”

“I have some friends who can help.”

“What friends?” I asked. As far as I could remember she hadn’t mentioned any new friends to me. But then again, I’d been a bit preoccupied.

“They’re sort of new in my life, but I know they can help you. Can I call them?”

“I-” Breaking off, I closed my eyes. I didn’t want Keely to worry about me. She was busy working in another state. The last thing she needed was to be thinking about what was going wrongin my life. But, I really did need the help. “Yes. Please. I really appreciate it, Keels.”

“Dani is engaged to one of these…friends,” she told me.

“Is that who she had her baby with?” I asked. I loved Danica like she was my own little sister. I’d grown up with her and Keely and had always been just as close with Dani. Keely had mentioned that Dani had divorced Eli and fallen in love with another man. I always made sure to ask about her, even though Dani and I didn’t talk as often as Keely and I did.

“Yeah. They’re getting married soon, too.”

“Oh that’s so awesome!” I exclaimed, momentarily forgetting about my sorrows. “I’d love to see her. To meet the baby.”

“She’d like that, too,” Keely said with a laugh. “But first let me give my friends a call. See what they can do to help you out.”

“I don’t know what they’ll be able to do, Keels. I need ranch hands. I need someone who can help me look into this company. I need someone who can help keep them away from my place if that’s who’s doing all of this. You know?” It was all so overwhelming and I wasn’t even sure who could help with the majority of the things on my list.

“Yeah. I know. They can at least help with the second and third part, maybe even the first.”

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