At Long Last; Book 4 of the Long Ranch Series Read online

  “Hey, guys,” Walt said as he approached them. “We just got a message from your mom, MeMaw is set to be released. She’s gonna need dad and I to help get her in the house. We’re heading out now, then I’m going to talk to the bank about Mel and Doc Carlisle’s practice.”

  “When are we talking to DEC again?” Miles asked.

  “Two days. The man is coming out for our decision. They have a bank in Dallas they work with who understands the market and we can use for a loan if we go that way. Tomorrow is the final vote. We get this settled by then and both you and Sunny will have free electrical by the time you get in your houses.”

  “I don’t know about Sunny,” Miles said and the whole group let out a little laugh. “My dad doesn’t have a nail gun right now, does he?”

  By the time Miles and Monty came through the door of their house, they were fighting over who got the shower first.

  Miles was looking forward to being the only kid in the house soon. Monty and Melody couldn’t leave fast enough right now. “My point is I was working, free of charge, for well past the legal limit by any work standard, for you today.” Miles kept his arm blocking the bathroom.

  “But I have a new wife waiting for me to not smell like shit and ass, so I might get a conjugal visit. Trust me, soon enough you’ll be wanting those conjugals.”

  “Harper passed out about two hours ago,” their mother called out from the kitchen. “And I have dinner. Monty, let Miles go first because he was helping you.”

  Miles stepped in the moment the spray was on, he needed the cool to drop his temperature before he even thought about heat. Slowly, the water heated up and as if it knew the point when Miles needed a deep penetrating massage to his sore muscles. When he lathered himself up and scrubbed down his leg, he remembered he wasn’t really a free man. Crazy, how all day long, he didn’t think about the trial. Monty’s one comment was all he got as a reminder. Maybe building Monty and Sunny’s houses was just what he needed to get him through. He knew Sunny would be doing all the intricate detailing on the cabinets and building shelving units. Even with all that was going on, Sunny had been able to get a few jobs locally and began branching out to El Paso and Las Cruces, thanks to his website. All this time, he’d used a novel to tune out the real world. Maybe he needed manual labor for a little bit.

  After his shower, he got a shoulder nudge as he passed his brother and found his way into the kitchen.

  His mother looked as exhausted as he felt. She’d been practically living at the hospital since the incident. A big bowl of chili was set out for him with all the fixings and cornbread.

  “Mama head to bed.”

  “Not until all my babies are tucked in. I only have a few months before I’m going to be all alone here. Let me treasure them.”

  “I’m not going anywhere.” Miles scooped a big bite of chili into his mouth.

  “That’s not what I hear.”

  Swallowing the beans and meat, he turned his head down. “I was defending my family. Mr. Whitmore—”

  “It’s not jail I’ve been hearing about.”

  Miles glanced at the bathroom. “Why else would I move?”

  “A certain blonde?”

  “Sunny? Not really my type,” Miles deflected. “Plus, I wouldn’t ever steal a man from my sister.”

  His mother’s fingers drummed on her arms after she crossed them. “That woman is trying to put you away for life. What are you thinking?”

  “I’m thinking she makes me happy in more than one way. It doesn’t matter anyway, there are bad boys, then there are the ones that are set for a long jail sentence. She already has herself locked into one with her sister.”

  “What’s wrong with her sister again?”

  “Nothing really, she has Down’s syndrome, that’s all. I didn’t say I thought she had a sentence, she does, she sees her sister as a responsibility instead of as her sister. That would be like me seeing Monty as the burden he is. Silly really.”

  “She has challenges doesn’t she?”

  “So does Monty,” Miles reasoned. “And Mel, and everyone. Sure, she has a handful more, but Sierra is capable of more than Ashleigh lets her be. I saw it all the time when I was in college.”

  “I forgot you worked with special needs kids. Have you ever thought of doing that around here?”

  “In Tender Root? I don’t think there are any. Most move to bigger cities where they have resources.”

  “You should check at the school. I bet they’d love to have an English teacher with a PhD and training with special needs kids.”

  “Don’t forget the ankle bracelet. I bet that will be the selling point. I can’t reach the youth with my hard living lifestyle and how I crawled from the bottom to get where I needed to be in life.”

  “When the trial is over and those damn things are gone.”

  “I love your optimism mama, but this town doesn’t forget.”

  “No,” she said as she pulled out the local newspaper and pointed to an article. “They don’t forget, but they know you.”

  Miles scanned the article and saw glowing comments about him and his family. How they should be getting medals not charges. The family had tried to keep people employed even when the ranch was hemorrhaging from the illegal fracking done by Federated Gas. He knew an article had been published in the bigger papers, but this one made him happy. The Longs built Tender Root. The first saloon, the Hard Root, was the only thing that had survived over the generations. Both had been through changes, but they were the centers of the town. His family helped build the first permanent school house, funded the incorporation paperwork and even helped elect multiple officials that wouldn’t have had a chance anywhere else in the world. Tender Root was his home and the quotes in the paper proved something they rarely saw, the connection they’d made with the people in the town.

  “I do like the blonde, and if I get through this—”

  “When. Long’s don’t say if. They say when.”

  “When I get through this I want to prove to Ashleigh her sister isn’t a burden. She’s a blessing. More importantly, I want to share that blessing with her and lessen any burden she feels.

  * * * *

  Ashleigh needed an escape from the crap load of shit Hamilton had dropped on her that day. Getting her book from the top drawer of her nightstand, she glanced at the innocent cover and dropped her head back. Sure, the cover said it was a romance and the title called her out on her interest in a little bit spicier read. It wasn’t like she actually wanted a Dom, but it got her through the long breaks in her sex life. Why should she be ashamed of reading a Jenna Jacob book? Romance, love, trust, protection…

  The word made Miles pop into her mind. Today, she’d been stuck reviewing courthouse and street cameras. All to prove Miles and his family should have stayed put. She’d seen his instant reaction to block the bystanders and his family. His personal safety didn’t seem of importance. A woman he’d shoved to the ground as he rounded the corner said she looked up and saw the bullet that would have hit her in her chest. Hamilton tried to get her to testify to the frantic nature and out of control behavior of Miles.

  “If he wouldn’t have been there, you would be tracking down those men for my murder. Put me on the stand and I promise you, you’re going to wish you hadn’t. I hope you aren’t planning to run for District Attorney because you won’t have my family’s support. Why is this even in question? Right outside a courthouse and police, weren’t Johnny on the spot. I thank God every day for the Longs. In fact, why don’t you tell me who their attorney is, so we can help pay for the defense, he shouldn’t have to be mounting.”

  She knew the next few months would be hard. Not only would she be helping Hamilton the douche, but there would be a new DA and Harper wouldn’t be there as a release valve. Flipping to her bookmarked page, she settled into a read that didn’t involve legal precedence the word terrorism or vigilante. Well… vigilante might show up, but not in the same way, they described Miles and
his family. Their court date was set for mid-June. Still, she couldn’t see how they could get away from the Federated Gas tie in. Harper’s case was solid with criminal charges that could tie every member of the board to the conspiracy.

  Although, Harper would be a prosecutor, the civil case would be drawn out forever. The initial payouts to the local farms didn’t have a settlement of future claims clause. Both she and Harper had made sure of that. This was the problem with walking a line. Pulling out her phone, she sent a text to her best friend that cut her deeper than she ever could imagine.

  Harp, until this is done I can’t speak to you. The job sounds amazing, but I’m scared of change. No matter how good it looks right now, I can’t. I’ll always be on your side, but I have to protect what I’ve earned.

  After sending the message, she turned off her phone and put the book back in the nightstand. Tonight, she knew she was giving up opportunities and a future because she was afraid. Afraid of failing at a job she’d mastered at her current place of employment. Afraid of taking a chance on a man who may be locked away for the rest of his life. Not because she couldn’t love him, but she feared she might never find another.

  In the morning, her eyes were bloodshot from lack of sleep and being tired. There wasn’t enough concealer in her makeup kit to hide the bags under her eyes. As she stared at herself in the mirror, trying to find the woman who’d woken up refreshed and had a flash of what should have been a crushing blow not be.

  “Morning Ash,” her sister greeted her at the door with a bowl of cereal in her hands. The balancing act of holding it in one hand and scooping out the little Os from the milk had Ashleigh holding her breath, then marveling at her sister’s control. Sierra was capable of so much more than Ashleigh could ever appreciate. “Morning Sierra, you didn’t put too much sugar on top of your cereal today, have you?”

  “I don’t think so.” Her sister eyed her waiting for the inevitable taking of the cereal bowl. “But then again, I’m retarded and don’t know better.”

  Another challenge. The sisters stared each other down.

  Ashleigh never allowed anyone to call her sister a retard. Even fighting her mother over the moniker a time or two. Sierra pulled the word out when she needed to get her point across about something. Ashleigh crossed her arms and tapped her right foot. “My sister is smart enough to know what’s right and what’s wrong. The only retards I see are the dumbasses that think she can’t do something.”

  “Then I guess you’re a retard.” Her sister giggled as a little bit of milk spilled from the side of her bowl.

  “Guess I am,” Ashleigh conceded and returned to doing her makeup.

  “I can keep eating the cereal then?”

  “Yep, but you better clean up that milk you spilled.” Ashleigh used the reflection of the mirror to give her sister a wink. “That’s what I do when I spill and we’re practically twins.”

  “Gideon was in my dream last night.”

  “He came all the way from Heaven to hang out with you?”

  “Yep, we rode all over the ranch.” Her sister sipped the milk from the bowl and must have hit a large chunk of sugar because she shivered a bit. “It was beautiful. He showed me everything. Can we go back to the Long Ranch, Ash?”

  Taking a sharp inhale of breath Ashleigh steadied herself. “Maybe, you know Harper’s having a baby at the end of summer.”

  “That’s a long time away.”

  “I know, but right now, there are lots of things going on there.”

  “Is everything dying there? Is that why we can’t go?”

  “There are other reasons.”

  “What?” her sister insisted.

  “Nothing you should be worried about.”

  “Because I’m a retard,” she spat.

  “Sierra, I’m not in the mood to play games with you. You know very well, I can’t talk to you about work.”

  “That’s because you deal with bad men. What does that have to do with the Longs? They’re good people. That’s why Gideon liked them, just like he liked me.”

  “Some people think they aren’t.”

  “Do you?”

  “No, but…Sierra you know my job is complicated.”

  “I could work there, you said so,” she bemoaned. “I can file and I know my alphabet well enough.”

  They had been watching a TV show once and Ashleigh had fallen asleep during it. She woke to Sierra crying out and jumping up and down. A rerun of L.A. Law had come on after the show. “Ash that’s like where you work right? I could work with you.” Benny had been her hero for the next few weeks. Ashleigh lied and told her sister there wasn’t currently a job open, but as soon as one came up, she would help her apply. They had some clerk positions come up, but she was too embarrassed to have her sister working with her. Now there was no need to hide her. What did she care what people thought about her sister? With the office in turmoil now, she had to protect her sister from the mess there. “We’ll see what’s happening today. I’m getting a new boss soon.”

  “What about Harper?”

  “She’s going to another job.”

  “Why don’t you go with her?”

  Chapter Nine

  Looking down at his hands, Miles couldn’t believe how destroyed they’d become. Callouses, that had blisters underneath them. His knuckles were cut and bruised. So much for using work gloves to protect them. Two months had passed since Miles had seen Ashleigh and as another wedding was a few days away, he couldn’t help but think of her.

  “Hold still,” Melody admonished as she cradled his left hand in hers and used a small scalpel to slice through the hardened skin, so she could get to his blister and drain it.

  Miles hissed and tried to retract his hand.

  “I swear, it’s dead skin there are no nerves,” she chided.

  “It’s my dead skin, so how about you let me tell you when you hit the painful part.”

  With a pair of nail clippers, she cleared away the rest of the callous and he had a big gouge in his hand. “I’m going to give you a full manicure. Do you think you could possibly not beat up your hands anymore before my wedding? I’d like to pretend I have gentlemen in my family.” She picked up both of his hands and dropped them in a soapy mixture. “Sit.”

  “Why isn’t Monty here?”

  “Because Harper is cleaning him up. Plus, he’s not the one who spends eighteen hours a day going from one project to another.”

  “I can’t help it, he’s lazy.”

  “Why aren’t you helping with the instillation of the solar panels?” she asked as she sat back in her chair at the kitchen table.

  Miles extended his leg and tugged at his jeans. “Where they’re at is a dead zone.”

  “Oh.” His sister’s eyes turned down. “Why did they have to start the trial the Monday after my wedding?”

  “I put in a call to the judge. Said you know what would ruin my sister’s honeymoon?”

  She smacked his arm and he hated to admit it, but his baby sister’s hand treatment was feeling really good. The warm water eased his sore joints that he’d just gotten used to having. Then there was his rough, skin she treated as gently as she did a newborn kitten. A tenderness he’d been avoiding. He knew his mother needed hugs from him, especially when Harper had updated them on his case, but he wanted to pull away further. Hurting his family with his absence could only be compounded if they were used to him being around.

  “What are you reading now?” his sister asked as she took his hands out of the water and patted them with a towel.

  He had a flashback to when she was five and got her first set of nail polish colors. Big brother duty was never harder than the little girl who wanted to practice painting nails on someone and he was the only one around. It was his own fault for starting a Tolkien novel. You don’t just put those down and head out on the ranch. She’d trapped him in his room and there had never been a time when Melody had asked him to do something where he couldn’t say yes.

&
nbsp; “Are we playing salon again?” he asked with a crooked smile.

  “Yes, and I know it’s something good. So tell me, so I don’t have to read it.”

  “You’ll laugh.”

  “Will I?” Her face lit up. “Then you’ll have to tell me.”

  “The whole Hunger Games trilogy.”

  “Why would that make me laugh?” she questioned.

  “It’s a kid’s book.”

  “It’s a good book, that’s all that matters. Now if it was See Spot or something, then we’d have words.”

  “You thought that was a page turner.”

  “Only because I had to. I’ve always been a Seuss fan.”

  “Everyone is a Seuss fan.”

  “True.” His sister’s eyes were focused on his cuticle as she pushed back on the skin and then she took a stick and started to clean under his nails.

  “You gonna do this again the day of, because we know I’m not good at staying out of dirt.”

  “Harper said you have to go to Las Cruces tomorrow and then you have to pick up your tux. It’s wedding time and there will be no playing at my new house or Monty’s.”

  “Monty’s is done and you might want me to play at yours.”

  “Why? Sunshine won’t let me go out there. What’s wrong?”

  “There are tools everywhere. We’re supposed to clean up and get it perfect for you.”

  “Do it while I’m on my honeymoon,” she reasoned then bit down on her lips. “Sorry, I forgot.”

  “It’s not a bad idea. I might need the distraction in the evening.”

  “Then it’s set. You do that and I’ll try to get mom another grandbaby.”

  “Something tells me you’ve already been working on that.”

  She pushed a bit harder under his nail and he pulled back with a yelp. “Bamboo shoots under the nails? Really?” He sucked on the injured finger and gave her a glare.

  “I heard Ashleigh and Sierra are coming to the wedding?”