Page 70 of Meant for Her

“I wish I knew,” Luke said.

When they finally made it home, Ryan wanted to talk to Malia and tell her what happened. He was hoping she could help them learn a bit more about Pete.

“I’m calling Malia,” Ryan said as soon as he took off his jacket and grabbed a beer.

“Have fun.”

Sometimes his brother could be frustrating. If Luke could open up some more, Ryan truly believed he’d enjoy life a bit more.

Malia answered on the first ring. “How did it go?”

With his beer in hand, he dropped down onto the sofa. Luke was in the kitchen, probably making something to eat. “We spoke with Pete, but there were some things that didn’t add up exactly.”

“What do you mean?”

Ryan told her that Pete was in the process of moving. Two werewolves were there, but after they carried out a box, they left. “Pete said his landlord wanted to tear down the house and build a new one, but all the houses in the neighborhood were in bad shape. Why build there?”

“Are you thinking Pete was lying?”

Is that what he thought? “I don’t know what to think. When Luke asked him where he buried Dad, he claimed he didn’t remember. When Luke pressed him on it, he gave us a vague location.”

“What can I do to help?”

“I’m not sure, but maybe ask Mason to see who owns the house Pete lives in. I don’t know how he’d find out where Pete works, but see what your cousin can find out. I can’t put my finger on it, but I think Pete might be involved.”

“In stealing your cows?”

“Maybe indirectly. He could still be mad that Dad didn’t leave him anything.”

“Let me see what I can find out, okay?”

“Thanks. I miss you.”

“I miss you, too, but it will be nice to soak in the tub with a glass of wine, and then get a good night’s sleep.”

“Do you have to work tomorrow?” he asked.

“Yes, but then I have the next two days off.”

“We’ll have to celebrate.”

He could almost see her smile. “I’m game.”

CHAPTERTWENTY-ONE

The next morning, Ryan was walking all around the area where Pete said he’d buried their father, while Luke was sitting in the tractor, waiting for his brother to say he found something.

Ryan seemed to think Pete was hiding something, only he didn’t know what. Luke would keep an open mind depending on whether they found the grave or not. Why he wanted to dig up their dad, Luke wasn’t sure, but there was something about his father’s death that had always bothered him.

His father might have been a werewolf, but he was smart enough to realize that he wasn’t the best fighter. Luke had seen his dad engage in a few skirmishes and always ended up on the short end. If wolves had attacked him, it hadn’t been his father’s idea to do battle.

Luke recalled Pete showing him and Ryan their dad’s fake death certificate that Pete had somehow procured. It claimed their father had died of natural causes. Saying a wolf or wolves had ripped out his throat would have raised too many questions.

The falsified death certificate was why Sheriff Hanson hadn’t investigated their dad’s death. While a very old werewolf might die of a heart condition, their father wasn’t old. To die at fifty-four, he would have either had to have been in some kind of horrendous car accident, had his throat torn out by other wolves, or been shot in the heart. Being human, Hanson wouldn’t know that about their dad.

His truck was intact, eliminating the car accident possibility. Pete said that his father had been in a fight with a few wolves and was killed. That made sense. Their dad probably owed a lot of people money. But what good would it do to kill their father? That would ensure these people would never get their money back. They should have put a lien on the property if they wanted to be paid.

Ryan ran up to the tractor. “I’ve been waving at you.”

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