Total pages in book: 41
Estimated words: 37728 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 189(@200wpm)___ 151(@250wpm)___ 126(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 37728 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 189(@200wpm)___ 151(@250wpm)___ 126(@300wpm)
“I know.” I finish my bite, grab my drink, take a quick swallow, and say, “Birdie’s the shit. Don’t try and finagle the price either. She already gave us a discount. She thought she was being slick, but I got a peek at the paperwork, took a quick look at her website, and saw the starting price. There were other companies that were a lot steeper and didn’t have a call center for customer service. Let’s just say the price compared to others is a fuck of a lot better.”
“Watch your damn mouth,” Dad says as I take another bite of food, nodding my head in response. Russell Johnson will listen to us say a lot, but you start dropping F-bombs and more lewd shit, he’ll put you in your place.
“I was already going to accept it either way. It was Birdie who was adamant we all take a look first. She didn’t want to be underhanded.” Mom rolls her eyes in exasperation.
“Speaking of, why does Case smell like Birdie?” Ryland has his son in the crook of his arm while woofing down his own lunch.
“Obviously, Birdie was here. Of course she’s going to spend time with Case. You should have seen the way she was with him. It was the cutest damn thing. Makes me want more grandbabies, Lane William Johnson.” Mom points at me since I’m the only one in the bunch with a woman. I don’t tell her that we’re not using anything to stand in the way of preventing a pregnancy.
My phone starts going off in my pocket. The amount of vibrating it’s doing means it’s a call. I pull it out and see Fletch’s name. “Excuse me, I gotta take this call.” I push myself out of the barstool and make my way to the door. My family knows enough about the situation. Lawson, more than the others since he and Fletch are close. There was no avoiding the conversation of Hey, I heard you talked to Fletcher. What’s up? I gave Lawson a quick rundown, and he told me he’d be there for whatever, no questions asked. Which is why Law gives me a look when I walk by him.
I’ve got my thumb on the accept button and hit it the minute I reach the back porch. “Hey, Fletch,” I answer.
“Hey, Lane, you got a minute?” Well fuck, this must be serious.
“Yep, sure do.” I walk toward the barn. We still have a lot of shit left to do in our day, or I’d get in my truck and drive home to Birdie.
“I got the information you were after, pulled some strings. My guy delivered, and you’re not going to like this. Fuck, I don’t like it either. Kind of wish I were still up there to go after him like I know you will.” I keep walking while my stomach sinks to my booted feet.
“Son of a bitch, alright. I’m away from any prying ears. Tell me what you got.” My quarter horse, Flash, whinnies when he sees me coming. He probably thinks I’ve got a treat for him. This morning, I rode him to check along the fence line, and because he thinks he’s always got to work along with the others we have here at the ranch, we stalled him for the time being. As soon as the cows are moved to the north pasture, we’ll let the horses out to graze.
“Well, Paul Sherman Junior has had several police reports filed against him. Not a single one of them has stuck. Either his victims pull out and go quiet, or they pull a fast one, offer a shit ton of money and sweep it under the rug. I’m willing to bet it’s the latter. These people have an in with the higher-ups in the food chain.” Flash nuzzles into my chest, begging for attention. My hand brushes his nose, and I scratch while trying to figure out what my next plan of action will be.
“Goddamn it, and with Birdie here in Wyoming, he’s thinking she’ll just be another victim swept under the rug.” I take off my hat, place it on the hook next to Flash’s stall, and run my fingers through my hair. I already know what I want to do. I’m ready to hop into my truck, drive to Colorado, and beat the fucking shit out of the little dirtbag cocksucker motherfucker.
“That’s about the size of it. I’m going to email you what I can. I know you know this without me saying it, but if something comes up and you’re arrested or taken in, my name stays out of it. That being said, I hope you give this piece of shit what he deserves,” Fletch tells me.
“You don’t have to worry about that. I’ll be sure nothing blows back on you. I appreciate it, brother.” Flash gets annoyed when I quit rubbing his nose and starts stomping his feet. I swear this boy is an attention whore today.