Chapter Twenty-Two
Colton
"The cattle are finally settling down," Brett said to me with a sigh of relief. "Last night's fire sure had upset them, but I think they're going to be okay now."
"Last night's fire upset us all," I joked, but all Brett could muster was a wry smile. Normally he was first to laugh, but right now he was too exhausted. We all were.
It had been one hell of a long night. Even after the firefighters had left in the early hours of the morning, I couldn't sleep. I kept tossing and turning in bed, worried that the flames might start up again.
When my mind finally settled from that, all I could hear were Bethany's words of anger echoing back at me over and over. How could she think I would sabotage her artwork by committing arson? The barn was destroyed, and the fire could have easily spread to burn down the entire ranch if it hadn't been caught in time. It was true that I would do almost anything to get Bethany to stay, but I sure as hell wouldn't destroy everything I held dear to do it.
Finally, I gave up trying to sleep and got out of bed. The sun was up, and there was a lot of work to do. Fire Marshal Pete Renner was performing an investigation to determine the cause of the fire. The horses needed to be moved back to the stable, fed, watered, and soothed from their anxiety.
The cattle were highly agitated, and I had to cancel my plans to take them to the slaughterhouse. It would take a while for the toxins caused by fear to work their way out of their systems, and the last thing I wanted to do was sell beef whose flavor was tainted. It would ruin my reputation with my buyers for years.
A reporter from the Riverbend Gazette came out to do a story on the fire, which took up a lot of my time. Once word got out, neighbors were stopping by to make sure we were all right and to deliver casseroles. What was it that made people think a casserole could cure any tragedy?
It was late in the afternoon before I finally had a chance to get back to the barn where Travis and Pete had been working all day.
"It was definitely arson," Pete said grimly. "Look at this."
He led me into the center of the pile of ash that used to be my barn and pointed out the tell-tale signs of evidence dictating how the fire had started from a single point and grown to engulf the old wooden structure filled with hay.
"I understand the ranch has been struggling financially this past year." Pete didn't pull any punches. "Did you start this fire as a means of cashing in on an insurance policy?"
"No." I was adamant. "This is my home. I would never burn it down. Besides, the sheriff is conducting an investigation of cattle rustling. If we can get the missing cattle back, that will take care of our debt."
"The sheriff that is also your brother?"
"Yes, but he runs a clean investigation, and don't you doubt it. He suspects that the reason the ranch is losing money is because someone is steeling cattle."
"I heard two men were arrested for that." Pete nodded.
"Yes, well, there's reason to believe there is still a thief on the property," I stated. Travis showed his surprise.
"Why didn't you tell us?" He was pissed off at me now.
Squaring off to my middle brother, I said, "Because if we're going to flush him out, he needs to think everything is fine. If you were running around acting all suspicious, chances are he'd run and we'd never get our cattle back."
Pete cut in the middle of us and said, "It's possible whoever stole your cattle started the fire, or they could be completely unrelated. Tell me, do you recognize this?"
He reached into his pocket and pulled out plastic bag with a lighter inside. It was unique, with a bird etched into the metal case.
"Yeah, I recognize that," I said.
"Me, too. One of the employees was lighting cigarettes with it out in the field one day." Travis' eyes lit up.
"Yeah, but who was it? I can't remember." My head was throbbing from stress and lack of sleep, and I just couldn't focus.
"Who smokes?" Travis asked, trying to be logical about it.
"Everybody." I clenched my hands into fists and longed to punch something, I was so frustrated. "All the guys who work on this ranch, except for us Hutchinson brothers, all smoke cigarettes."
"Well, one of them had that lighter. When you remember who it was, call me immediately." Pete handed me his card. "Chances are when we find the owner of that lighter, you've found your arsonist – and maybe even your cattle rustler."'
"Thank you." I shook Pete's hand and watched as he and Travis left to share their findings with Will down at the Sheriff's office and file a report.
I went to tell Brett he could call it a day, and caught of glimpse of him walking off hand in hand with Emma Fields. They made a sweet couple and she was good for him; I just hoped he didn't blow it with her like I seemed to have done with Bethany.
I realized for the first time that I hadn't seen her all day. Things had been so crazy all day I'd been too busy to pay her any attention. In fact, they'd been that way for the past couple of days. No wonder she felt like I didn't pay enough attention to her and was just using her for a plaything.
In a way, she was right: I didn't treat her like she deserved. I had been taking for granted that she would just be there for me without my having to put any effort into the relationship. Even though I hadn't burned down her paintings, Bethany was right: I had wronged her, and she deserved better. Now I just had to find her to tell her.
Her car was still parked in front of the house so I knew she hadn't left yet, but where was she? I checked all the usual places, but in the end, she was nowhere to be found.
"Looking for someone?" Mama asked with a knowing smile when I finally gave up and returned to the kitchen in defeat.
"No. Just checking around the ranch to make sure everything is okay," I lied, knowing full well that I could never put anything past her.
"I see. Your brothers already ate dinner while you were walking around. I was just packing up the leftovers into this picnic basket."
"That's an odd thing to do."
"No more odd than walking around in circles for no reason," she pointed out.
"Okay, I was looking for Bethany," I confessed.
"I thought as much. She sure seemed pretty upset with you. I would have thought you'd be avoiding her."
"I was at first, but I realize now that's exactly what she was mad about to begin with. I put everything else in my life above her: the business dealings for the ranch, my brothers, everything. She was always last on my list of priorities; it was no wonder she wanted to leave.
“Then, the night she tells me she's going home, mysteriously the barn catches on fire with all her hard work inside. I can see why she'd think maybe I had something to do with it; but I've got to convince her of the truth."
"And what exactly is that?" Mama asked.
"That I took her for granted because she feels like as much a part of me as my hand or my foot. It's like we're already one, and I didn't think I needed to tell her how much I cared for her because to me it seemed obvious.
“But I realize now that I need to tell her every day just how much I love her. I would never destroy her paintings because they're a part of her, and I value her more than anything.
“It's true I do want her to stay. The moment she stood up and said she was leaving, I should have begged her to stay – and that's what I'm going to do right now, if I can just find where she's gone."
Mama didn't say a word. She just smiled at me as she handed me the large picnic basket.
"What's this for?" I asked.
"She took Whiskey on the path leading down to the river. I convinced her to stay one more day and make me a sketch. She's going to be hungry and thirsty after being gone all day, so there's food and wine in the basket. There's a blanket, too, in case she's cold."
"Mama, I thought you said people should mind their own business and not interfere in matters of the heart."
"I'm not interfering. I just packed the leftovers from dinner; that's all."
I wrapped her into my arms and hugged her tight. "Thanks, Mama."