Chapter 36

Kashi was pacing back and forth in Sierra's room, chewing her nails nearly obsessively. Her fingers hurt awfully, bleeding and peeling. But her mind wasn't focused on the pain.

"Sierra, it's been four days and my uncle hasn't done anything. How long is Hughes going to wait before he takes matters into his own hands? Is he going to shoot me like he did dad?"

"Kashi, I know you're scared, and you have a right to be, but—"

"But nothing. You know as well as I do that we cannot say for certain that Hughes won't shoot me. He tried to shoot Carr or dad. Whoever." She looked at her phone. No notifications. "Speaking of Carr, where is he? We've been meeting late enough that he doesn't have to rush from work smelling like dirt."

Sierra shrugged. "He could be working late or something. Don't worry about him Kashi."

Kashi was about to protest and list off a number of bad things that could happen to Carr when her phone rang. "I'm gonna take it." Kashi said, stepping out of the room for a moment, spying Sierra flop backwards onto her bed.

"Kashi?"

"Hey Scott." Kashi answered, smiling a little. "It's good to hear from you so often. We shouldn't have lost touch."

"Tell me about it." her brother answered. Kashi could hear his smile through the phone. It made something inside her ease a little bit.

Kashi traced a finger along the edge of the windowsill outside Sierra's bedroom. "So what's up?"

"I can't just call my little sister? I just want to chat. How's work? How's life? How are Sierra and Carr?"

Kashi laughed. "Oh well Carr and I are dating now. That was pretty recent. We haven't been able to spend any time together recently, life has been crazy. I'm hanging out with Sierra now. She seems to be alright. A little stressed out maybe, but that's all. Work has been hard, but fulfilling I guess…" Kashi trailed off.

"Sis, we may not see each other very often, but I can tell there's something bothering you." Scott said, coaxing her to tell him.

"Yeah, I know." Kashi sighed. "Well I was out in the field and stumbled upon a gun that may have been the weapon used to shoot dad. It fit the description Carr and dad gave the officers. They were able to see a little silhouette of it that night. Plus the bullets are a match."

"Isn't that good?" Scott asked. "You're closer to catching him, right?"

"Well that's true but—"

"Then there's gotta be something else. Don't hide it from me Kashi. I'm your brother. I'm here to listen and to help you." Scott said, something sweet and gentle in his tone. "It's probably better to talk to someone too. Sharing worries with friends and family is healthy."

Kashi wasn't sure she wanted to tell Scott that she was threatened. He'd tell her to pull out of the case. But then again… "I overheard a conversation between Uncle Hudson and Jeremy Hughes. Hughes threatened to take care of me if uncle Hudson didn't, and Uncle Hudson hasn't done anything about me yet." Kashi said, the words tumbling out before she could think about it. "But I found the gun by accident. I tripped and quite literally fell upon it. I haven't been investigating ever since someone left me a threatening note." lies. But maybe it would make her brother feel better.

"I'm sorry you feel that way Kashi. I'm glad you decided to drop the investigation. The police can handle it. You were pretty good. Maybe you should become a detective instead of a ranch hand." He chuckled a little, trying to lighten the mood up, but Kashi could only let out a half-hearted laugh in response. "Look, I know it's scary, and that finding the gun was an accident, but perhaps if you make no further investigations into the case Hughes will realize that you have indeed dropped off the case. Maybe even tell Uncle Hudson that you found the gun accidentally."

"Yeah, I guess so. He'd probably tell Hughes that it was accidental. Do you think Uncle Hudson even knows that I'm investigating? Or has Hughes kept it from him?" Kashi bit a nail again, wincing as she pinched herself, the nails all bitten to stubs. "I'm just scared, Scott. I'm nineteen. I'm supposed to be working my shift, going out with my boyfriend, and hanging with Sierra. I shouldn't be worried about getting shot."

"What do you say I come for a visit?" Scott asked after a moment of hesitation. "Uncle Hudson and I occasionally talk. I'll ask him if I can come stay for a bit. I worked on a ranch most of my life so I'll offer to help him out. Maybe it will be better if I'm here for a time."

"I'd like that, Scott." Kashi said, happy.

"Well I have to get going. I have dinner with an important client and I still need to shower and figure out how to tie a tie." He joked.

They hung up just as Carr shot both Kashi and Sierra a message. "Just pulled up in the driveway."

"Let's go meet him outside." Sierra said when Kashi came back to the room. "It's nice out, plus I want to get to him before mom talks him to death. He's too polite to tell her to shut up."

Kashi shook her head. "Are you and your mom doing okay right now?" She knew that Sierra and her mom never saw eye to eye. Her mother wanted Sierra to be a singer, a model, and an actress just like she was. Sierra had the talent and looks for it. Kashi loved it when Sierra sang along to the radio, she had an amazing voice. But it was a secret that Sierra forbade her to tell. She wanted her mother to think that she couldn't sing to save her life. To at least keep her mom from asking her to be a singer.

"No better than normal. I blew an audition for some commercial a few weeks ago and she was so pissed that I behaved for a modeling gig just to appease her anger. I hate her so much, but she controls all of my bank accounts and gives me allowances from the money I earned so I can't leave. Trust me, I have enough money from them to get myself an apartment, but I can't get it."

Kashi nodded. Sierra had told her this before. It wasn't news, though it made her sad to see Sierra struggling so much with her mom. She was sure Sierra might actually enjoy performing and singing, but her mother would exploit it if she knew. "Well, I have some bad news. This investigation officially has to become as secret as possible. Nobody can know. I'm going to try and throw off Matthias, and you and Carr can't let anything slip about it. As far as we're concerned, we got nervous because my dad got shot and decided to quit, got it?"

"Got it." Sierra said.