The Twisted Oak

Once the waitress left, Lance cocked his head. “I didn’t know you liked tea.”

“Just recently started drinking it. Lorna has always liked tea, but I never really had the taste for it. But a couple of months ago she made some green tea with blueberries and it was great. I’ve been trying different teas ever since. So far, I pretty much only like green tea and I definitely add sugar.”

“I’ve never tried blueberry tea, but I’ve had it with raspberries. It was pretty good.”

“We’ll have to make some, then.”

His heart beat harder in his chest. It was silly, but Wade’s words spoke of the future, like they were making some plans together. Yes, it was only about a beverage, but it was the way he’d said it.

Over lunch, they chatted about their day and what to expect tonight when they decorated the tree. Apparently they had large plastic tubs of ornaments that had barely seen the light of day since Wade’s mother had passed on.

“I’ll help you carry them to the living room. Wait—where are we setting up the tree?”

“I heard Casey talking with Allyson yesterday and I think they decided on the great room. We’ve changed it over the years.”

“I think the great room is perfect,” Lance exclaimed. “That fireplace, the large windows. It’s cozier than the living room. Do you still hang up stockings?”

“We tried to keep that up for Landon, but kind of let it slide a few years back. My father…he just didn’t care enough about the holiday to put any effort into it. Casey and I tried to do what we could to ensure Landon still had a good Christmas.”

Lance grasped Wade’s hand. “I’m sure you two did a great job. I know Casey always worried about Landon, but he seems to be doing great.” Read this novel at novelceo dot com for the best experience.

“As I mentioned once, he wants us to come out to see his band in a couple of weeks. You want to go?”

“Definitely.”

Wade’s phone rang and he answered. “Hey, Casey.” A moment later, his face screwed up in anger. “What the hell? Yeah, on my way.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Fuck, Lance.” He raked his hand through his hair, leaving it somewhat disheveled. “A grass fire at the ranch. And apparently it was started on purpose, near a lot of grazing cattle.”

“Shit! Is the fire department there?”

He nodded as he gestured for the waitress to give them the bill. “Charlie called them immediately. They were able to put it out, but Sheriff Hunter’s on the way. Casey is sure it was Milton and he’s about to beat the shit out of him.”

Lance was up and ready to leave in seconds. They paid the bill, then hurried to their vehicles parked at Lance’s office. Wade took off first and Lance promised he’d be right behind him once he had a final word with Ash.

Five minutes later, he was on the road, rushing to get home. He couldn’t believe someone would start a fire. But then again, he wouldn’t have thought someone would kill cattle like they’d done either. Milton Randle was angry, but was he angry enough to do these things? Hate had a way of twisting a person. Lance knew, more likely than not, the old man had to be behind all the incidents at Dwyer Ranch.

Sheriff Hunter had beat him there and Lance parked next to his SUV. He saw Wade, Casey, Charlie, and several ranch hands talking to the sheriff just outside the barn.

Wade gestured for him to join him. Lance moved to stand next to him, finding his hand and lacing their fingers.

“I’m going to talk to Mr. Randle,” the sheriff said, “but again, we don’t have proof.”

“How the hell are we supposed to get proof?” Casey asked, practically seething. “We can’t have someone follow the bastard.” Read this novel at novel​ceo.com for the best experience.

“No, but we couldput cameras out there.”

Everybody turned to Lance.

“We’d need to make sure the Wi-Fi signal reaches that far, but we could purchase a bunch of those small cameras that can be attached pretty much anywhere.”

“You mean the kind that record only when someone or something activates it?” Casey asked.

“Exactly!”

“I tried for years to get Dad to do something with security, but he wouldn’t budge. I admit I finally just dropped the idea because I’m not technologically savvy. But we really should have security for an operation as big as ours.”

“I’m pretty good with technology,” Lance said. “How about I research it? Maybe we can get something with cameras set up pretty quickly.”

Sheriff Hunter nodded. “If you can get him on video, it would be great.”