Page 81 of Resisting His Charm
“Okay.” Jaxson starts moving boxes around.
I walk towards the back of the attic and stop. “Jaxson!” I call out, my eyes landing on the box I was looking for. It’s in pieces on the floor.
Jaxson stops next to me. He juts his chin forward. “That the box?”
“Yeah. But who? Why?” I shake my head. I can’t get my thoughts straight.
Jaxson bends down, picking up the wood. Then I see something.
“Wait.” Dropping to my knees, I brush the broken pieces out of the way.
There’s a floorboard with the Kestral Valley Ranch branding burned into it. I used to watch my dad brand the cattle. I asked him if it hurt them when I was seven. I didn’t like how they sounded like they were crying out in pain.
About a month after that, the ranch switched to ear tagging the cattle and I never saw the branding iron used again. My fingers run over the mark in the wood.
“Why would my dad put this here?” I ask Jaxson.
“My guess? He wanted you to see it.” Jaxson stands. He looks around the room and then finds a crowbar against the wall. “Move. Let me lift this board.”
I push to my feet and shift backwards. It doesn’t take much for Jaxson to pry the piece of flooring up. He drops the crowbar and sticks his arm into the gap. When he pulls it out again, he’s holding a plastic bag.
He tips the bag out, and I slump down on my ass. “My mother’s journals. Why would he hide them like that?”
“I don’t know, but I think this is what you’re looking for.” Jaxson hands me an envelope with my name on it. It’s my dad’s handwriting. I would know that sloppy print anywhere.
My hands shake as I take the envelope. “I looked all over the house for a letter from him.” I tear it open, unfold the paper, and then pass it to Jaxson. “You read it. I can’t.”
“Okay.” He looks down at the paper. “Poppy, if you’re finding this, then I’m no longer with you. I’m sorry. I didn’t want this foryou. I need you to know how much you are loved. Your mother and I… we love you more than life itself.”
I choke back the sob that wants to escape. Jaxson stops and looks at me. “Keep going,” I tell him.
Clearing his throat, he continues reading. “There are things beyond our control. Things we’ve done our best to protect you from. I knew I’d failed when they got your mom. I’m sorry I couldn’t protect her. I will never forgive myself for that. But I still have you, and I will continue fighting until I can no longer fight. I will never leave you, Poppy.”
I wipe a silent tear from my eye and try to hold back the sob climbing up my throat.
“If I fail, then they’ve gotten to me too. You are safe, though. The people who killed your mom, they’re not going to come for you because you don’t know anything. Me? I know everything, which is why I know they’re coming for me. The report said it was a cartel house. It wasn’t. I’m not going to burden you with the truth, because I don’t want you to be put in that kind of danger. Just know your mother was trying to bring justice down on a very corrupt organization. She was doing what she believed in. Know that you were loved. Always will be loved. If you’ve read this, burn it, Poppy. Do not let the sheriff’s office know you have this letter. Do not trust anyone. Love always, Dad.”
“What? What does he mean? Don’t let the sheriff’s office know?” I peer over at my cousin.
“I think we need to do what he says, Poppy. We need to burn this, and we need to pretend like you never read it,” Jaxson tells me.
“I don’t understand. Who killed my mom?”
“My guess? The very people she worked with.”
“I have to tell Sammie.” I pull my phone out of my pocket and call his number.
“Hey, miss me already?” he answers on the first ring.
“Sammie, I found something,” I whisper into the phone, as if I’m afraid someone might hear me.
“Where are you?”
“My parents’ house. On the ranch.”
“Are you alone?” he asks.
“No, Jaxson’s here.”
