We just needed to get out of this alive.

“It’ll solve everything. If you’re dead, then Claire’s mine. She inherits everything. All your Manning money.”

I heard more footsteps and knew she might see me. There was a deep farmer’s ditch on the side of the road. I crawled over to it, then slid down the steep bank. Glancing up, I couldn’t see the road. As long as I leaned against the berm, I wouldn’t be seen. I’d stay here, safe, and pray I didn’t lose Huck before I ever really had him again.

HUCK

Mandy was a fucking disaster. I hadn’t seen her in five years, and they hadn’t been good to her. Her long hair was bleached but had three-inch dark roots. Her skin was pale, and she had a hideous cold sore at the corner of her mouth. It was her eyes that told me everything. She was on something. Hooked. Desperate. How she’d found an attorney to represent her was impressive, or she’d spiraled down since then.

She’d climbed from a beat-up sedan and must have been coming to the ranch. She had lady balls to stop a police car like that unless someone was having a baby or dying. She must’ve figured I’d be the only person driving this way in such a vehicle. The road wasn’t well traveled, and she was amped. The location of the Manning ranch wasn’t a secret. Anyone in the county could have given her directions.

The way she was acting, she hadn’t seen Sarah. Thank fuck her focus was squarely on me. After all that Sarah had been through, she didn’t need this shit. It was mine to deal with, mine to handle.

Besides, I wouldn’t be able to concentrate on dealing with Mandy if Sarah was in harm’s way. It was Mandy’s erratic behavior and the gun she held that made her a threat. She had to be a hundred pounds soaking wet, but the gun… it fired bullets no matter who pulled the trigger. I guessed I’d have backup in about six minutes, but that was a long time.

“You think I’d leave my portion of the ranch to a five-year-old?” I called out.

Her eyes widened, and she took a step closer. Her hand wasn’t steady, and that first shot had gone wide.

“She’s your heir. You might not be the sperm donor, but you’re on the birth certificate.”

“That’s right, I am. I was smart enough five years ago to get you to sign over your rights to Claire. I’ve been smart since, ensuring that she can’t touch any of the money until she’s twenty-five, and that’s just a small portion.”

“You’d fuck over your own daughter?” she asked, waving her arms.

“I’m saving her. She’s going to know the value of hard work. Something you’ll never understand.”

I wasn’t raising entitled children. They’d know the land. Respect it. If there was money, it would come second to what was important. Family. Fulfillment. Love.