I was fairly sure Uncle Perry and Gramps would let me transfer from working the rest of the year to getting a degree.
That was why I’d taken the morning off. My inheritance meant I didn’t have to work another day in my life past that twelve-month mark, but after working with Kara and seeing the difference a hard day’s work made, I knew I couldn’t go back. I needed purpose.
And it was nice to be needed. The look of delight on the client’s face when we turned up to fix their problem was rewarding. I wanted more of that.
As I walked out to my truck to head to the appointment I’d made for the morning, my phone rang.
Gramps. “Morning,” I said cheerily.
“Congratulations, my boy!” Gramps sounded excited. “You made it.”
“I did. It was much easier than I thought it would be.”
He chuckled. “I hoped once you started down the path of righteousness, you’d see it’s the best way.”
Righteousness. Only Gramps. “You got it.” I smiled and unlocked my truck.
“Rico, I put a little something extra in your account with your first allowance payment. A gift from me to you for finding your mate. I’m so happy for you.”
“Thanks,” I said with real appreciation. “I might just spend it on her.”
His laughter made me warm. He was truly happy for me. I’d made him proud.
It was as if I’d read his mind. “You’ve made me so incredibly proud, Rico.”
When we hung up, I logged in and checked my bank balance before pulling out of the barn. Damn. He had been serious. It was a nice bonus from Gramps. My first instinct was to blow it on something stupid, but after a moment’s hesitation, I decided to save it all.
Maybe Kara would like a nice engagement ring eventually. I’d want to get her a good one. We were still so early, but I knew, deep in my heart, she was it for me. I was already head over heels in love with her.
My appointment was at the community college the next town over. Jury had gotten his associates there, and Maddox had started off there as well. They had several technical programs that I was interested in, and I’d made an appointment with a counselor to narrow down my focus and pick one.
The counselor was very helpful, and by the end of the appointment, I felt really good about my decision to go with welding.
It was a great skill. I could use it for a job, or if I wanted, I could use it for art.
Hey, I could be artistic.
I didn’t officially sign up, but I left with brochures and the certainty that I wanted to do it. On the way back to the office, my optimism rose. Valor hummed within me, finally content that I’d gotten my life on the track he wanted.
Only now, it was the track I wanted as well.
When I pulled into the office parking lot, only an hour later than normal, I knew something was wrong before I got out of the car. Kara was inside the office, but she was projecting enough anxiety to put Valor on edge.
I slammed my truck door shut and sprinted to the office. When I walked in, my jaw dropped. The place was completely wrecked.
The scent of the person that did it filled my nose. I knew who it was without a doubt. It was Tye, along with someone whose scent I didn’t recognize. The question was, why?
Kara stood in the middle of the room with the stun gun I’d gotten her out and pointed aimlessly at the floor. “There’s nobody here now,” she said dully. “I just got here.”
By the scent, they’d done it in the night. I stepped forward, over a pile of ruined office supplies, and gathered her in my arms. Tears rolled down her cheeks. “Why would anyone do this?”
I soothed her and tried to keep Valor under control. Of course, he wanted to find Tye and disembowel him.
That sure did sound like fun, but we had to play the game the human way since Tye was wholly unremarkable and human, even if he was a prick.
“It had to be personal,” she whispered into my chest. “I don’t keep money here. And I don’t think anything was stolen, just destroyed.”
The tools had oil poured all over them. They’d clean, but it would be a bitch. Anything that could be broken was destroyed. Glass on the floor, plastic bins smashed, papers everywhere. I pulled out my phone without letting go of Kara and texted our family group chat. I wasn’t sure who was on duty at the police station, but everyone except Maddox worked for them. One of them would come.
It was James and Maverick, luckily. They replied they’d be here soon.
In the meantime, I bundled Kara up in my truck and stood beside her with the door open and my arms around her. “Does someone hate me that much?”
“No,” I admonished her gently. “This isn’t somebody hating you for being a woman in this field. This was personal.”
She sniffed and nodded as James and Maverick pulled into the lot in the cruiser. “Be right back,” I whispered. “You start messaging the people we were supposed to work for today and let them know we can’t come.” She started to protest, but I raised my eyebrows. She was in no condition to work.
Finally, she nodded. “Okay. Yeah, I think that’s probably best.”
When my uncle and cousin stepped out of the cruiser, I pulled them to the side. “I told you about Tye,” I whispered, shooting my eyes toward Kara to make sure she was okay. They both nodded. “I smell him all over the place in there, along with another smell I don’t recognize.”
“We’ll figure it out,” James said. “Does she have a statement to give us? Anything that could help us nail this bastard?”
I shook my head. “No, and she didn’t touch anything but the front door.”
“Good.” Maverick nodded at Kara. “Get her out of
