Page 59 of The Moments You Were Mine
I used Fallon’s laptop and plugged each name into Dad’s background-checking software, searching for criminal records and gathering information from various sources, including social media platforms. While Dad’s app didn’t contain the same level of information the top-secret databases we used in the teams did, it was enough to weed people out.
I’d planned on sending any names with red flags to Cranky, but not a single one of the former employees had any. No one had unusually large debts that would insinuate a drug or gambling problem. No one had ties to known gangs or drug cartels. And only one of the employees had left on anything close to bad terms after repeated complaints from guests that he was too “handsy.”
The truth was, most people liked working at the Harrington Ranch—not only because they paid their staff far more than most employers in the area but also because they treated their employees like family.
With the former staff a dead end, we moved on to the list of current employees with almost as little luck. A teen named Chuck had been arrested for stealing a hat from the local convenience store and been suspended from school for three days after pulling the fire alarm. Normal, troubled-teen sort of incidents, but nothing that would put him on my radar for killing cows and burning down buildings. A couple of the ranch hands, including Teddy, had been charged with driving under the influence, but nothing recent. Teddy’s last charge had been fifteen years ago, long before the ranch had even been in trouble when Fallon’s stepdad had been alive.
Pushing aside the computer, I stretched my arms over my head and twisted from side to side. My body was screaming for activity, for a workout.
Across the table, Fallon’s brows were furrowed, her shoulders hunched.
“What’s put that look on your face?”
She straightened, face turning into a blank mask. “What look?”
“The one you give me when I say country is the lamest form of music.”
She huffed. “I’ve proven you wrong too many times to count. Your ears are dead from listening to that acid metal you call music.”
Instead of defending my genre of choice, I prompted, “What’s going through your oversized brain, Ducky?”
“The only time we’ve ever had these kinds of problems on the ranch was when Uncle Adam hooked up with Theresa Puzo.”
“Adam is in jail. Theresa is dead,” I reminded her, but I felt that tug at the back of my neck that told me not to discount what she was saying. It was the same tug that had saved my life a few times. An instinct that couldn’t and shouldn’t be ignored.
“I know Dad and Lorenzo tolerate each other now for Sadie’s sake, but Ike and Theresa’s side of the Puzo family still loathes my father.” She twirled a finger around her thumb.
“It’s been ten years since that all went down,” I said, but it wasn’t with the same confidence I wanted it to be, and she read it.
“Lorenzo was in San Diego the day I was arrested.”
“Dad mentioned it.” I told her what we’d learned about Puzo’s cousin who’d gotten out of jail in March and was working for a construction company out there.
Fallon frowned. “Dad went all Dad-like on Lorenzo and demanded to know if someone in his family had come after me, which only made me wonder, have there been other attempts by Theresa and Ike’s side of the family in the last ten years that your dad or mine hasn’t told us about?”
I could easily see Rafe keeping things from Fallon that he didn’t want her to know, but they wouldn’t have kept any of itfrom me. Not when I was in San Diego and could protect her. They’d have wanted me to keep my eyes wide open if there was even the slightest chance the Puzos were still coming for Rafe and his family.
“It’s worth looking into, right?” she asked. “Because I seriously don’t have any other ideas. And if my only options are JJ and that drug addict Ace or the Puzos, the Puzos would have way more resources at their disposal than two beach bums. That security video was modified, and the cow… Can you seriously see JJ killing a cow?”
Fallon was right. If I had to weigh JJ on one side and the Puzo family on the other, the Puzos were just the type to burn people’s worlds down.
“It’s a good lead,” I told her. “I’ll see what else Dad can dig up. Maybe have Sheriff Wylee investigate it too. Ten years seems an awfully long time to wait to come after any of you for revenge though.”
“Theresa waited almost as long to come after Dad,” she said before turning back to her laptop.
I didn’t mention it, but she hadn’t brought up her mother’s brother sitting in jail in Tennessee. Adam Hurly had just as much reason, if not more, to come after Rafe, Lauren, and the ranch. But he’d been arrested, tried, and sentenced for first-degree murder, kidnapping, and embezzlement. He was stuck in prison for life with all the money he’d stolen from the ranch accounted for. And as far as I knew, Lauren hadn’t once interacted with her brother since he’d taken Fallon and Sadie hostage at gunpoint, killed his partner, and then been thwarted by Sadie’s and Fallon’s bravery.
My gaze settled on Fallon, taking in every nuance and change since I’d seen her last. Dark shadows hung beneath her eyes, and the vibrant light that normally shifted around her like some goddamn halo was dimmer today. She needed a break. She needed to get her mind off all her responsibilities and the violence that had once again shown up at her door.
I pushed away from the table. “Let’s go.”
“What?” she glanced up, startled.
“We’re done dealing with this for today. We need food.” I waved at the barely touched sandwiches her staff had brought inearlier. “And we need some physical activity before our bodies congeal.” Her eyes flared, and as much as I hated myself for it, I was happy to know her thoughts had gone to where mine always did when it came to her—the one type of activity we couldn’t engage in. “I know I’m damn irresistible, but get your mind out of the gutter, Ducky. I simply meant, let’s pick up some food and Theo and drag some inner tubes down to the falls.”
“You want to go tubing?” Surprise filled her voice. “We haven’t done that in…” She trailed off. I couldn’t remember how long either. Years.
She shook her head. “I can’t. Not only do we still have files to get through”—she waved at the paper and computers—“but it wouldn’t look right to the staff. I can’t just go gallivanting off to play in the water while everything is falling apart.”
