Renegade (Tin Star K9 Series Book 1) by Jodi Burnett (fastest ebook reader .txt) 📕

“I didn’t want him to know how bad it was. I thought I could regain the gap your inheritance caused by the end of the year. We had high hopes for the cattle sale last fall.” He rubbed his face with his hands and mumbled through them. “It really sucks that I’m going to be the one who loses the family ranch.”

Caitlyn reached for his arm. “No, Dylan. It isn’t you… it’s me. It’s my fault.” Caitlyn stood and walked around the room. Her thoughts crashing against the sickness swimming in her belly. Her rash decision—her longing for independence—had put her entire family’s future at risk. How could she have been so stupid? So selfish? She spun to face her brother. “We can fix this, I know we can. I’ll put this place on the market. I’ll move back home and work for free.”

“I appreciate that, Caitlyn. But there’s not time. Even if you found someone to buy your place tomorrow, which you wouldn’t, you’d still have to go through the closing process. The mortgage is due next week.”

“Have you talked to the bank? Maybe we can make a partial payment?”

“Yes, they’re willing to work with us, but that’s only going to buy us a couple months.”

“Have you talked to Logan?”

“He’s already disappointed in me enough.”

“He’s not disappointed. He’s just worried about you, that’s all.” Caitlyn tossed her chin in the air and stared hard at the ceiling. “I need to get a proper job.” But what could she do that would make enough money to pay the mortgage on her family’s ranch? There wasn’t a lot of work around here. “Maybe, I could find something in Gillette, or Sheridan?”

“Maybe.” Dylan looked past her, over her shoulder, at the murder wall. “What kind of work would you look for?”

“I don’t know.” The familiar emptiness spurred by her lack of direction weighed heavily upon her chest and shoulders.

Dylan leaned closer to the wall, reading some of the finer print Caitlyn had scratched in her notes. “What about law enforcement? Your degree is in criminal justice, and it seems like you’re doing a better job than the sheriff on Wendy’s murder case.” He turned around and pierced Caitlyn with dark brown eyes that matched hers.

Caitlyn’s gaze shifted from her brother to the wall behind him and back. “I don’t know about better…”

“It looks to me like you’re letting the evidence tell its own story, rather than jumping to conclusions. That’s more than the sheriff is doing.”

“He just wants a conviction. I think he sees being the sheriff as a political position instead of a law enforcement career.”

“Already you sound better than him.”

“Well, Colt has been a big help…”

Dylan offered her a rare grin. “You ever going to give that boy a chance?”

Hot self-consciousness bloomed in her cheeks. “I don’t know. There’s a lot of history there.”

“Yeah, everyone has history, Caitlyn. No one is perfect. But Colt has been pining after you since high school.” He chuckled. “He’s a good guy. Put the man out of his misery.”

Caitlyn’s lips curled, and she bit down on the smile. “Maybe. He’s been pretty great during all of this.” She tossed her empty beer bottle into the trashcan and spoke over her shoulder. “But I don’t know how I feel about him thinking I could have had something to do with Wendy’s murder.”

“Wait—he thinks what?”

25

The following morning, Caitlyn drove into town. She hadn’t heard from Dr. Moore yet, but it was still early. She couldn’t wait to see Renegade. When she paused at the first stop sign on Main Street, she noticed Dylan’s truck parked in front of the feed store. Her brother came out through the double doors followed by Jim, the owner of the shop. Dylan pushed his hands into his pockets and said a few words to him, then Jim gripped Dylan’s shoulder. By the look of things, her brother was probably asking to extend his credit.

Caitlyn choked on the wad of guilt that knotted itself inside her throat, knowing how hard it was for her brother to ask for help. She clicked on her signal and turned into the parking lot as the men shook hands and Jim returned to the store. Caitlyn parked next to Dylan’s rig and got out.

“Hey, Dyl. I didn’t expect to see you in town this morning.” Caitlyn rounded his truck and met him at the driver’s side door.

“Just asking for a little more time to make my credit payment. Jim agreed to give me a couple months. He’s a great guy.” Dylan’s color was high, and Caitlyn knew that his loss of pride cost him far more than a higher interest rate.

“I’m so sorry, Dylan. I have a charge card that Dad opened for me before I went to college. The credit limit isn’t very high, but it’s something.”

“Thanks Caitlyn, I’ll let you know if I need to take you up on that.” He shoved his hands into his jeans pockets. “What are you doing in town?”

“I came in to see Renegade. I’m hoping to take him home this morning.”

“Want me to go to the vet with you?”

“Sure.” Caitlyn’s chest flooded with love. It’d been a long time since she and Dylan had acted like siblings. Maybe he cared more than she thought? “If you’d like, we can leave your truck here and take mine.”

“That works. Jim has some bags of grain he still needs to load in the bed of my truck, anyway.”

They got into Caitlyn’s F-150 and drove to the veterinary clinic. The doctor arrived several minutes after they did. Caitlyn waved at him as she stepped out.

“Good morning, Caitlyn.” He shook Dylan’s hand. “I suppose you’re here to see Renegade?”

“Sure am. I’m hoping he’s ready to go home?” She and Dylan followed the vet into the building.

“I’m undecided about releasing him today. I did an MRI yesterday, and I think there may still be some bleeding inside your pup’s skull. I’ll look again this morning, but if it