Page 100 of Meant for Her
“Not really. When he claimed to be dead, everything passed down to us. Legally, those are our cows.”
The sheriff stopped and got out. “You called in to report of some criminal activity?”
“We did.” Luke briefly explained what happened. “I know the shooting happened in Midvale, but the sheriff there is human.”
“One way to tell if your dad is telling the truth is to do an X-Ray of his shoulder to see if the bullet is still in his shoulder,” Malia said.
The new sheriff’s eyebrows rose. “Good idea. Let me speak to your father. You said his real name is Emory Lattimore?”
“Yes, and the sheriff in Midvale is Rich Hanson. I can give you his number.”
“Please.”
Once they exchanged information, they all returned to the house. When they walked in, their father looked from Ryan to Luke.“You really are doing this?”he telepathed.
Luke just shook his head. If his father didn’t know what he’d done was bad, he didn’t deserve an answer.
For the next hour, his father told what happened. Luke was actually a little impressed that he didn’t try to paint himself as some innocent victim.
“You were convinced that this gambling cartel would have killed you if you hadn’t left town?” the sheriff asked.
“Yes.”
“You said this cartel is led by werewolves?”
“Yes.”
“I can vouch for that, sheriff,” Malia said. “My family has had a run-in or two with them.”
The sheriff nodded and jotted down more notes. “You’ll have to come with me, Mr. Lattimore. We have a lot to straighten out. Yourfriend, Pete Rizolli, should not be convicted of your murder. It seems as if he was an accessory to a crime, along with a few other things, but the courts can deal with that.”
“Pete is a werewolf too,” Luke said.
“That may be, but I’m afraid I have no authority to have him moved to this district. As it is, it will be difficult to convince the Midvale sheriff that Mr. Lattimore should be tried up here. I believe I have a few misdemeanors we can hold him on. That might satisfy your sheriff. The court of his peers will know everything he’s done and judge him accordingly.”
“Before you take me in, I’d like to sign over this ranch to my sons. They can sell it and pay off any debts I accumulated back in Midvale.”
Luke was about to say he didn’t want anything else from his father, but they were the man’s debts.
“If it comes to that, I’ll see your sons get the property.”
“Thank you.”
Their father handed them a key to the house. “And here is the key to one of the semis that the men parked on the property. You can use it to take the cows back home.”
Luke chuckled. “Appreciate it, but I’m not ready to have those six come after me.”
Ryan and Luke then explained to this sheriff how some rustlers had stolen their cows. Half were still on their dad’s property.
“Give me the names of these rustlers, and we’ll see about bringing them to justice too. That could lighten your sentence, Emory.”
“I can do that.”
It was close to ten in the evening by the time the sheriff left with their father in cuffs. Luke thought he’d be happy to see the man taken down a peg, but his father actually seemed to have changed. When he explained everything again to the sheriff, his defenses appeared to be down. However, it would take a while before Luke truly forgave him.
With his father’s spare key, they locked up the house, and then the three of them climbed into the truck. “I hope you are up for some food and crashing in town for the night,” Luke said. “I’m not up for driving back tonight.”
“Absolutely,” Malia said.