“Last year, had a situation with my trees. Had to cut down and burn a quarter of my orchard.” He took in a breath, clearly still pissed about this then kept speaking. “They were diseased. Shit happens in my business, you roll with it. I was expanding operations anyway seein’ as I had a bank loan to pay, planted a f**kload of trees two years before. Still, it’ll take time for those to produce. But this disease hit the mature trees.”
When he stopped, Lash said softly, “Sorry that happened, Cody,” and Cody’s eyes focused on him.
“Yeah, me too. Sucked. My Granddad planted those trees.”
Lash nodded.
Cody kept going.
“Weird part of that is, no other orchard had this problem and when I say this not only no other orchard around Mustang but no other orchard in the entire f**kin’ state of Colorado. That shit isn’t unusual. It’s impossible.”
Fucking hell. This information ratcheted the danger level up about seven f**king notches.
Knowing it, Freddie pushed away from the wall and Lash leaned forward to put his elbows on his knees.
Cody kept speaking.
“There’s an origin to that kinda shit and that kinda shit spreads. No origin could be traced because there was no other outbreak in the entire western half of the United States. And I caught it quick so it didn’t spread.”
“Someone diseased your trees,” Lash guessed.
“Yeah,” Cody answered. “And that’s not all.”
Fuck.
“What?” Lash prompted.
“Had a mare go down, sick, had to destroy her,” Cody answered.
“Jesus Christ,” Lash whispered, sitting back.
“Right,” Cody replied. “That’s tough. Again, shit happens and it’s happened to me. Rare but it has. Two months later, had a stallion go down.”
“Fuck me,” Freddie muttered.
“Right,” Cody repeated. “Now that shit has never happened to me. Talked to the vet, he investigated, stallion was poisoned. Stallion had the same symptoms as the mare. Fair guess, they both got slipped the same shit.”
“God damn it,” Lash clipped.
Killing horses, living beings.
Now the danger level ratcheted up about fourteen notches.
Fuck.
Cody kept on with his story. “No way I can afford a security system so I rigged the doors to the barn with a shotgun, the blast aimed to wake me not take anyone out. Month later, that shotgun blasted.”
“You see anyone?” Freddie asked.
“They got outta there quick so no. And I have not had any more problems with my horses,” Cody answered.
“Well, you sorted that,” Lash muttered and Cody’s eyes cut to him.
“No, I didn’t. That shit stopped but this situation is not over. Can’t patrol my land twenty-four seven, don’t got eyes in the back of my head and it is clear someone is gunnin’ for me and I don’t have to reach real far to know who. And now, Ivey’s movin’ in.”
“Fuckin’ shit!” Freddie bit out and Cody looked to him.
“And she’s movin’ in,” he stated firmly. “He’s not gonna take more of her away from me. I don’t know how but I been chewing on it now since Ivey and I had our thing yesterday but it’s not a stretch to get that Buddy Sharp somehow found Casey Bailey and paid him to take Ivey away from me. I’m not an idiot. My trees, my horses, I reported it. Len and the Mustang Police Department know what’s goin’ down. They sniffed around and found nothin’. They’re on the alert though.” Cody looked at Lash. “But I want Casey.”
Lash’s brows went up. “You want Casey?”
Cody looked back to Lash. “He loves his sister. He’s f**ked up but he loves his sister. It isn’t healthy but it’s there. Sayin’ that, these last years, she bailed on him, left him behind, took his car, he might be pissed and that love might have died. I do not give one f**k about that. He’s gonna talk. He’s gonna say who paid him, how much and what the play was. He owes that to Ivey and Ivey and I need to know, not only because we deserve to know but because to fight the fight I got on my hands, I need all the information I can get. And you’re gonna find him.”
“Yes, I am,” Lash whispered.
Cody nodded. “Get on my feet, you keep track of what it costs, I’ll pay.”
“No, you won’t,” Lash told him.
“Man, this is my shit. Shits me but I need you. And I’ll pay,” Cody returned.
“Cody, this is your shit and it’s also Ivey’s. Do you not get by now we have her back and when I say that, I say that with everything?” Lash replied.
Cody held his eyes and reminded him quietly of something Ivey announced excitedly at breakfast, “She’s movin’ to Mustang.”
“She told us that at breakfast, Cody, I remember,” Lash said quietly back.
Cody explained his point, “She comes here, you lose her and all she is to you, your life, your club.”
Lash shook his head and stood before he said softly, “You’ve been apart awhile but you know Ivey. You know her. She might be moving to Mustang but I’m not losing her and I never will.”
Cody held his eyes then he tipped up his chin.
“I’ll find Casey and I’ll find out what went down,” Lash told him.
“Right,” Cody muttered and continued to hold Lash’s eyes in order to communicate further without words being said.
Gratitude.
Lash took it then asked, “This private chat, this mean you want us to keep this shit from Ivey?”
Cody nodded again. “Yeah, but temporarily.” Then he grinned. “She’s all fired up to prove she’s a badass, hard as nails ex-showgirl and do that by takin’ on Buddy. She knows this shit, she’d lose her mind. She needs to sort her life with you, feel good about that, have time with you both.” His eyes swept through Freddie then went back to Lash. “I want her to have that. She knows this, she’ll hightail her ass to Mustang and let loose. I’ll wait, give her this information when the time is right. She won’t be kept in the dark forever, just for now.”
“Understood and thank you,” Lash said quietly.
Another chin jerk then Cody looked at Freddie and back to Lash. “Shit to do.”
“Of course, see you at dinner,” Lash muttered.
Another glance through both of them, another chin jerk then Grayson Cody strode to and out the door.