Page 32 of Ride 'Em Hard
I turn to Lexi, who looks shell-shocked, and take her by the hand. Shane and Ryder flank us. I can tell neither of them knows what the hell is going on with me and Lexi, but I love that they back me up just the same. Hell, I wasn’t one hundred percent sure about telling the whole world how I felt about Lexi until sixty seconds ago. But she belongs with me just as sure as I’m standing here.
“Pftt.” Maeve’s beady eyes narrow and zoom in on me. “I have zero interest in your current paramour, Hollywood. We’ve had a major theft. A serious one. That is my concern here, and I’m guessing your chickee there had something to do with it.”
“I’m not sure I like your tone, Maeve.” Shane elbows me with a look that saysAre we going to kick some shit now?
Ryder steps in. “What was stolen?”
“Although it’s none of your goddamn business,” she snaps, throwing spittle, “one hundred pounds of our finest medicinal marijuana went missing a few days ago.”
Ryder doesn’t flinch, or do anything except give Maeve a long, easy once-over. He’s always been cool like that. “I think I know where it is.” He steps down off the porch and saunters to the Fiesta.
“Oh, you do, do ya? Ha!” Maeve snickers. “I’ll bet you do.”
“If you’ll just follow me,” Ryder calls over his shoulder.
Maeve shakes her head, gesturing to Cletus and Buck to follow her. Shane, Lexi and I trail behind them.
Ryder leans on the trunk and waits for us to get there. “I haven’t weighed it,” he says, popping open the trunk, which unleashes a God-awful skunk odor. “But that looks about right, doesn’t it?”
Grimacing, Maeve sniffs and peeks inside. “Well, what in tarnation do we have here?”
Lexi has her arm around my waist and nudges me. We both look over Maeve’s shoulder. The trunk is packed tight with bales of weed. “This might explain why Cletus and Butthea—Buck were so intent on pinning the blame on Lexi.”
Maeve pivots to me, her beady eyes as big as the moon now. “You can’t be serious.”
I tighten my grip around Lexi’s waist. “If thisstrangerwas the one stealing pot from you, Maeve, do you think she’s big enough to load all that dope into the trunk by herself? How would she get through all your booby traps, or even know where the stash is? Think she wouldn’t drive with a full tank of gas, or have a back-up for when or if she ran out? Why would she leave the car on your property and not even drive away with the goods? Now what kind of thief is that?”
Maeve narrows her eyes at her sons and shakes her head. “I’m not sure I like what you’re implying,” she says hesitantly.
“Buck and Cletus have been driving the Fiesta, Maeve. Everyone around here knows how tight you are with your money. Ever stop to think your sons might want a little pocket change? To sell some of that shit on their own? They sure have access to it.”
I can tell Maeve’s wheels are spinning as the thought begins to register. When it does, she turns beet red, practically blowing steam out of her ears, and swings around to her inbreds. “Buck, Cletus, get in the van!”
Bingo.
Those guilty idiots jump at their mama’s words, and I watch them trip over themselves as they hightail it to their vehicle. I wonder if they pissed their clean pants. “Billy, Jeb,” Maeve shouts out to the trees next to my barn, where her other sons no doubt had a bead on us. “Put your guns away and come out. Unload that pot from the Ford and get it into the van.”
I hear rustling in the trees as Shane nods at me. I can tell he’s fighting back a laugh. Ryder doesn’t bother to hide how he feels. He’s wearing a shit-eating grin from one ear to the other.
“May I have a word?” Maeve beckons us away from the Fiesta, and we follow her to the bottom porch steps. She heaves a weary sigh and looks up at the moon. For a second, I almost feel sorry for the old broad. It can’t be easy giving birth to idiots who end up stealing from you. “I think we’re settled here, Chase, Ryder, Shane.”
“Not quite,” I correct her. “You forgot to apologize to Lexi.” Honeypot shoots me a look. I detect a trace of a smile before she turns back to Maeve.
“Lexi, I’m sorry for any inconvenience. Ryder, thanks for the help. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have family business to attend to.”
Her apology leaves a lot to be desired, but I decide to let it go. Happy to be rid of her, I watch Maeve waddle to the Fiesta and bark orders at Jeb and Billy.
I grin down at Lexi. “See? Didn’t I tell you I’d take care of you? It all worked out, didn’t it, honeypot?” I don’t tell her I was ready to take a bullet for her. I reach for her hand and hold it as we all head back to the house.
Lexi gives my hand a squeeze. “Did you mean what you said?”
“What I said to Maeve?” I’m playing with her. I know exactly what she’s asking.
“Hey, I’ve got to run,” Shane suddenly blurts. I forgot he was still here.
“Good idea.” Ryder nods. “We’ll give you two a little privacy. Lexi.” Ryder extends his hand and she shakes it. “It was nice meeting you.”
Shane steps up and shakes her hand too. Since when are my brothers so formal? “I hope we get to see more of you.”
