Page 7 of Tom’s Chance (Broken Wheel Ranch #10)
CHAPTER 7
The next morning, Lorissa was enjoying her first cup of coffee of the day, contemplating what she would make for her breakfast when she looked up and saw her mother, Duane, and Nana standing there. She frowned at them and asked hesitantly, “What?”
“French toast for breakfast?” Lois asked as she immediately started getting out the ingredients while Laurie started pouring coffee for everyone. Lorissa remained silent until they had moved to the table in the breakfast nook to eat. After piling the toasted bread, bacon, and eggs on her plate, she refused to take a bite until she asked,
“What’s up?”
Laurie sighed heavily, and shook her head. “I don’t want to ruin the meal, but I thought I should tell you what happened when I was back east. ”
“I like that you didn’t say you were back home.”
“This is my home now.”
“What happened with the sperm donor?” Lorissa shrugged at her mother’s look, and started eating.
“The depositions had to stop for the time being.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know how to say this.”
“Mom, I don’t give a rat’s ass about Peter Stanton. I have never, ever considered him as my father. From an early age, ever since I knew what it meant, in my head I always referred to him as the sperm donor. When I was older and knew you wouldn’t yell at me, I vocalized it. There is absolutely no love lost between the two of us, and especially not his egg donor.”
Laurie looked at her daughter in shock, then started to giggle. “Okay then.” She smiled as she took a couple bites of food.
“First, Peter and Beatrice returned to the United States. They were at the celebration party, but when they were in the hospital they escaped. They left the country again, but returned a week later. As soon as they entered the terminal, the FBI took them into custody. They were rushed before a judge, and because they had stayed away for a long time, then disappeared again, and returned, they were deemed a flight risk and not only did they have to turn in their passports, but they were denied bail.”
“They’re both sitting in jail right now? ”
“Yes. This is where it might get complicated.”
“Not for me.”
“True, you’re right, and not for me either, but definitely for the FBI agents that took Griff Franklin down at the celebration reception.”
“How complicated?”
“Let me tell you what’s going on by person first.”
“I’m listening,” Lorissa said as she pushed her empty plate aside and leaned back with her cup of coffee in her hands.
“First, Beatrice. She’s proving to be extremely difficult. Agent Haller’s words, not mine. When I went to give my deposition, I saw it first-hand.”
“What’s she saying or doing that are lies about us?”
“Nothing. She hasn’t said one word to anyone since she was taken into custody at the airport. She doesn’t talk to her own lawyer, any of the agents that try to interview her, nor any cell mates. She is tight lipped about everything.” Laurie looked at her daughter with a grin. “He lips are pinched so tight that her mouth looks like an asshole. Literally.”
“Damn, I never thought that old bat would keep her trap shut. Let alone could. I remember she always had to flap her gums about something or other that she didn’t agree with in your lives.” Lorissa grinned when both Laurie and Lois spat out the sip of coffee they’d just taken at her words. She only shrugged. “Okay, what else? ”
“I don’t know exactly what happened, and I had to piece this together on my own. I don’t know if it’s true or not, so I’m speculating here. Peter was beaten up at least three times since going into custody.”
“Why? Sure, he’s probably in for attempted murder when he hit you with that baseball bat, and welding that gun at us at the celebration, but I’m sure there are other criminals in jail with worse charges against them. Why would he be beaten? Oh, wait, did he open his pie hole and spew crap?”
“Not that I’m aware of. Again, this is me piecing things together on my own. The three different men that beat him over the course of a week are men he cuckolded.”
“Huh?”
“They were the husbands of the women he screwed while he was still married to me.”
“Ah, got it. I take it he survived the beating, no internal injuries.?”
“Yes, a couple of black eyes, broken ribs, his lip is split in three different places. All cuts and bruises, nothing that needed surgery. Though I’m sure it’s painful, and looks awful, but as Agent Haller explained it to me, it’s basically surface damage.”
“Got it. What else? Is he talking?”
“Yes, but he’s blaming his affairs on me. He refuses to talk about anything about his attack on me, the divorce, or anything after he found out that I told him I was pregnant with you. ”
“Did the beatings scramble his brains?”
“Not that I know of,” Laurie sighed and shook her head as she pushed her own empty plate away, then turned to Duane.
Duane crossed his arms and placed them on the table before his empty plate. “I got a call from Agent Haller after your mother boarded her plane.”
“What happened?”
“Because Beatrice and Peter were gone for weeks without returning, the FBI went to a federal judge and got a warrant to go over the books to Stanton Enterprises.”
“What did they find?”
“Again, Beatrice isn’t talking, but from the paper trail, it seems that after her husband was called out for embezzlement and took his own life, their financial problems weren’t over. The only thing keeping Stanton Enterprises, and Beatrice and Peter personally afloat was the money your mother’s company paid them while she was still married to him.”
“Let me guess, with the divorce final, the money stopped, and they’re floundering.” She looked between her mother and Duane with a grin. “Professionally, as well as personally?”
“Yes, they are still investigating, but it looks like Griff Franklin might have been a mole in Gibson Associates to report back to Stanton Enterprises. Oh, I forgot to mention this, but he hasn’t been able to make bail since he was arrested the night of the celebration. The only good thing, but it would depend on how you look at it, but the only good thing is that he’s in a different part of the jail from Peter. They’re still looking into whether Griff ordered the hits on Peter or not.
“So far, in the course of the investigation, they uncovered a lot of unsavory business practices, and the FBI has shut them down. Also, Beatrice’s lawyer both personal and professional went to the judge and asked to be recused from her case. Since she’s not talking, they say they can’t help her. Along with the fact that her company is temporarily closed, there’s nothing they can do if she’s not talking. The FBI also froze all their assets, so her lawyer can’t be paid. The judge agreed, so both Beatrice and Peter now have public defenders.”
Lorissa couldn’t help it, it started out as a smirk, and a giggle, but turned into a full-blown belly laugh. She waved her hand in front of her face, and wiped her tears, shaking her head the entire time. “I’m sorry, I know it sucks for them, but I think it’s only fitting that all these years they both looked down their noses at us, and look where they are. It just proves that Karma really does come to those who deserve it.” She shook her head as she gathered their plates and took them to the sink. She turned and smiled.
“Thank you for updating me. You’ll keep me updated? ”
“I will.” Laurie nodded and helped clean up the kitchen. “What’s on your agenda for the day?”
“I have to run over to a ranch on the other side of Fool’s Gold to check on the progress of a stallion I worked on a couple of days ago. I told Mr. Coleman that I would return in a few days, and I want to go check on him.” She loaded the dishwasher as she talked, and raised a brow at her mother. “What about you? What are you going to do?”
“It’s going to be a while before I get called back east, and they might be able to talk to me over a Zoom call or whatever. I’m not going to sit around waiting for them, I’m going to go over and talk with Erin to see if there’s anything I can do to earn my keep.”
“What if it’s working with horses.”
“Then I’ll do it. I have to learn sometime. I might have a bum knee, but there are women working with missing limbs, so I can work right alongside them. Maybe I can curry comb them or something.”
“Good for you,” Lorissa said as she went over and hugged her mother. “I’m proud of you.”
“Thank you.” They hugged again, and Laurie said she’d finish up the dishes if Lorissa wanted to get on the road. Out in the barn, Lorissa made sure she packed up her bag with everything she thought she would need, and within thirty minutes she was tooting her horn to her mother as she drove down the driveway and settled into the two-hour drive to the Coleman ranch.
Hours later, Lorissa was washing up in the sink and as she dried her hands, she cocked her head to the side and looked at Jared Coleman with a frown. He had his hand extended toward her with an envelope in it.
“What’s that?”
“Payment for working on Thor. I also want to talk to you about something.”
“What?”
“Are you in an exclusive contract with Erin Riceman?”
“No.” Lorissa didn’t hesitate to answer as she took the envelope and stuck it in her back pocket without opening it. “Back East, I was, but I made sure I wasn’t with Erin. Yes, I’m her farrier for Erin’s Way, The Broken Wheel, and New Double, but I’m not exclusive to her. If I’m needed elsewhere, and I am free to go, I can.”
“Good, because I want you to draw up a contract, with a retainer fee, for us. I want to use you as my farrier. I had to make sure I wasn’t poaching on Erin’s turf first.”
Lorissa laughed. “No, I’m basically a free agent, but her horses come first. What exactly would you want me to do?”
“I have seventy-seven horses now. I definitely want you to do an annual check-up on all of them, then come when I have an emergency like you did with Thor. I thought if you charge a large enough retainer, that would be paid annually, and then if it’s an emergency, we can work something out.”
“Oh, wow, I never thought of something like that. Would you give me a few days to write something up?”
“Sure, just give me a call when you get it ready. Right now, my horses are still in the summer pasture, and I don’t plan on bringing them closer to the barns for another couple of months yet. Depending on the weather, I’m thinking around the end of October possibly the beginning of November. However, I would like them worked on and up to snuff before the first snow fall.”
“I agree,” Lorissa nodded and stuck her hand out. “I’ll see what I can come up with. I’m not doubting you, but I’m going to stop at the bank on the way home and deposit this check.” She patted her ass and grinned when he laughed. He left her alone and she packed up her tools and headed to her truck. On the drive back to Fool’s Gold, she thought of what Jared had asked, and decided to check in with Erin to double check that she wasn’t exclusive to her, and ask if she knew of a good lawyer .
After leaving the bank, she stood on the sidewalk and looked around. Her stomach growled and it was well past noon. The last time she ate was at breakfast that morning, and though she was hungry, she didn’t want to go to the diner and ruin her supper by eating a meal now. She spotted a bakery and with a grin, started across the street.
She entered the bakery, closed her eyes as she took a deep breath to hold in the wonderful smells. With a decisive nod, she strode forward and ordered a coffee and muffin. With them in each hand, she turned and ran smack into a solid wall. Before she could react, she felt arms wrap around her and hold her tight to the wall.
Lorissa looked up in shock, and before she could say anything, Tom Stolls took her face gently in his hands and whispered as he lowered his head to hers, “Forgive me, I’ll explain, I promise, please go along with me.”
Again, before she could react, his lips touched hers, and she lost herself in the feel of them. It wasn’t until someone screamed behind them that she realized what had happened.