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I shrug my shoulders. “Suit yourself.”

I pull out my phone and call Buck.

“Bring the wagon to Jolene’s. I want to make sure this is done right.”

“Be there in ten.”

I take a seat next to Wilder. He slides a wad of cash toward Jolene. I nod in recognition. Those boys are going to be in for a world of surprise when they get hauled in and Wilder walks. I drink the ice water Jolene put in place of the empty beer mug.

True to his word, Buck arrives ten minutes later. I hear the sirens. Lucky bastard. Not that I wouldn’t use them in case of emergency. Buck walks in with deputies Boyd and Jeffries. I point to the booth.

Buck walks over. “Gentlemen, please stand up, place your hands behind your back.”

“You’re really going to arrest us?” First punch says.

“Yep,” Buck says, then reads them their rights.

“Hey, what about him?” One of the guys points to Wilder.

I smile. “He paid his share of damages and is free to go. The same deal I offered each of you.”

“We’ll pay!” First punch cries out.

“Too late. Deputies are here. Now you can pay the damages, court fees, and fines.”

I wait until they leave before returning my attention to Wilder.

“You ready to go home?”

“I can drive.”

“I know you can, but I’m taking you.”

He nods and stands up, putting his hat on his head. He knows there’s no use arguing with me. Wilder is two years older than my oldest boy, Dalton, but still young enough to be mine. Hell, his parents are my age and Wilder has two older brothers. Seven boys in all. Cece Bennett has her hands full.

We walk in silence to the truck. I notice his limp is still overly pronounced. He finished physical therapy less than a week ago and still had a long road to recovery. Says something. He whipped those three boys asses as banged up as he is.

“Wanna talk about it?”

He shakes his head. “Not much to say. He got mouthy. I ignored him. He decided the best way to get my attention was to throw a punch. He started it. I finished it.”

I nod my head. “If you ever want to talk about anything, I’m a good listener and I’m not your parent. Allows me to see things without all the family drama attached.”

He nods his head. “Appreciate it, Effrem.”

We make the rest of the ride out to the ranch in companionable silence. I won’t force the boy to talk. He’s got a lot on his plate.

Chapter 9

Ruby

After Dutch left, I got busy baking. Imagine my surprise when I found a handwritten recipe for the cherry pies in the basket's bottom.

After I put the pinwheels in the oven, I cook the cherries. I taste the cherry blossom infused honey for this batch and decide to add cracked black pepper to the mix to make the cherry flavor pop, then decide to go another step and make a honey mascarpone mix for some of the fried pies. I’ll make two different versions. The mascarpone will be in the middle enrobed in the black pepper cherry mixture.

I spent the next few hours baking. Besides the three cookies and the fried pies, I make banana bread blondies with dark chocolate chunks, magic cookie bars, and double dark chocolate espresso brownies. After everything is cool, I make up the boxes. I’m taking them to Calico Gypsy, the police station, Dustin’s realty office, the Bennett ranch and one for the McGraws. And last, a small box just for Dustin containing two dozen of the cookies he loves. I only hope he likes them as much as Dutch did.

I take care to bundle up before making the walk. I can reach everyone but the McGraws with a quick walk. I love the bakery’s location on main street. After walking a block, I turn and look at the bakery, imagining the new sign hanging over the blue and cream striped awning. Soon it will say ‘Sweet Serenade’ in cerulean blue cursive. With a large sign on the building with the name printed on it. Since not everyone reads cursive these days.