“When our little brothers decided to become ranchers, we had our doubts.” Rick Benedict and Maggie were enjoying an evening out, just the two of them. Last week, on her first day back to work, Maggie had been with Kevin for the same thing. Until she herself took on a pair of lovers named Benedict, Michaela hadn’t truly paid attention to the dynamics of the ménage relationships. But she was paying attention now, and she could say one thing for certain. Other than being based on mutual respect and love, there was no one true way to structure such a relationship.
“You all did,” Maggie reminded him. “The only one in the family who thought they could make a go of it was Steven. And Grandma Kate, of course.”
“That’s right. But look at them now. They’ve more than paid back their initial investment in the business, and they’re all happy in that conglomerate they’ve formed.” Rick looked at Michaela. “I’ve learned that lesson. Never question the power of a person’s dream.”
“Wise words, Rick.”
Michaela grinned and turned because that had been Lewis’s voice. She met his gaze and tilted her head. He wore a smile, but she knew it was mostly for show. I’ve really come to know him and Randy in the last month.
“What’s wrong?”
“Just a petty annoyance, baby girl. We got to the house about twenty minutes ago. The electricity was out. So we got in touch with Jake, because we didn’t know who to contact to get it restored. He’s sending over a team, and Randy’s stayed behind to be there while they get it fixed up.”
“There’s more, cowboy.” She stretched up and put a quick kiss on his lips. “Tell me all of it, please.”
“All right. Adam’s there, too. Michaela, the wires from the road to the house had been severed.”
“Severed?”
“Yep. As in deliberately cut. Someone wanted you to be in the dark.”
Chapter Fifteen
By the time he’d returned to the house with Michaela, the electric company crew had come and gone. The house was lit up and so, too, was the outside yard.
Jake Kendall had arrived with a couple of the portable floodlights kept on hand by the town, so the area that Adam referred to as the crime scene was well illuminated. They’d spent quite a bit of time outside. The repair crew from the electric company had given Adam the pieces of the line that showed the break. He and his brother had just come inside. Their search hadn’t turned up any kind of evidence on the ground.
Adam held up a piece of wire. “Look at this. No fraying—sometimes the lines don’t weather well, and a strong gust of wind will finally bring them down. But the end of this wire looks smooth, with just a bit of melting here—as if from friction. With no sign of any kind of lift truck or ladder in the vicinity of the pole, the only thing I can think of is it’s been shot through. Not too many marksmen in the area but it’s a clue.”
“We have no way of knowing when the electricity went off,” Randy said. “Everything with a clock component was flashing zeroes when the power came back on.”
Michaela had made coffee and was sitting between him and his cousin, silent, as the Kendalls took in some caffeine.
“So this would have happened sometime after you went to work,” Adam said to Michaela.
“I left here about two this afternoon,” Michaela said. “And everything was working fine.”
“I’m not buying that pissed-off teens would have done this,” Lewis said.
“I’m not, either,” Adam agreed. “What gets me is, this is petty stuff—first the fuel tank and now this. Either of you two guys piss someone off lately?”
“No,” Lewis answered. He met Adam’s gaze and understood that question had been asked for form’s sake or even possibly to redirect Michaela’s attention.
The more he thought about it, the more Lewis believed that it was the latter and not the former. If Adam had believed that kids had poked those holes in the fuel tank, he didn’t believe it any longer.
Michaela waved her hand. “This has nothing to do with the guys. If it did, whoever did this would have gone after their truck, or them. These two incidents happened on my property, affecting me. The thing is, I have no idea why. As far as I know, I haven’t made any enemies since I’ve been home—nor had I made any before I left.”
“Well, sweetheart, you might have ticked off one person recently,” Randy said.
“You have,” Lewis said. “What I can’t wrap my head around is how that asshole would think these two petty attacks would scare you off—or make you want to sell your home.”
Adam sat forward. “Who are we talking about, here?”
Jake cocked his head to the side. “Terry Gowan?”
“Yes. From what we saw the other day, the man doesn’t seem too interested in taking ‘no’ for an answer.” Lewis said.
“He’s a real estate agent from Waco,” Jake said to Adam.
“I sure as hell didn’t like his attitude,” Randy said to his Adam. “He seemed pretty dismissive of Michaela’s assertion that she wasn’t interested in selling.”
“He was dismissive of my ability to care for my land, period.” Michaela said. “But then my own father felt that way.” She shrugged. “I know you guys were offended by him. But honestly, how could anyone think that a bit of petty vandalism would scare me off? Especially since he knows the two of you are with me. Not that I particularly like the man. He’s a little off-putting. But I just can’t see him having done this.”
Jake pulled his cell phone out, and from the focus on his face, Lewis guessed he was looking the turd up.
Michaela’s statement had been partway right. They’d been offended by him, but more, they’d been suspicious of him. Terry Gowan had rubbed him wrong too, and Lewis couldn’t really say why. He might be willing to
