My Rowdy Cowboy. (3B Ranch Series) Book 2

13

Brett, Nico, Bear and Deputy Dan (Small Bear) sat in the ranch office poring over the files Brett Sr. had hidden in East Cabin Number Two.

Brett sat back and rubbed his hands down his face, "I...I had no idea he was doin' any of this that long ago, or even that this was goin' on way back then. He must have felt like a Lone Ranger, fighting and protecting us all by himself. How many people has this Rodriguez shoved under the bus?"

Nico nodded, "Very similar crimes have been reported in a number of states. That lowlife has obviously had his roots deep in this entire area for years. It looks like he an' his gang had been watchin' your ranch an' your père for some time."

"Do you think he planned on marrying mom all along....or was that just a matter of convenience?"

"Maybe we'll find out when we catch 'im. That would certainly lead a person to believe your father's death was premeditated. I'm confused as to when law enforcement officially became involved."

Nico added, his Cajon accent deepening every time he spoke in his native tongue. "Your père was an amazin' man."

"I didn't think the FBI would put all this on one individual. Seems like an awful lot of responsibility and burden for one man to take on." Deputy Dan mentioned. "Why would they do that?"

"That's a good question. The Agency has gone through a lot of changes since then. I hope we find an answer to that." Nico answered.

Brett took a long, slow breath."Yes, I hope we do. He was the finest man I've ever known, although Yancy and my brother are runnin' a close second. I'm sorry I missed out on some of the years seein' him develop and mature. When I joined the Navy, Beau was only 15 and kind of your basic... uhh..."

Nico grinned, "Rodeo bum?"

The men all chuckled. "Funny, but no. Even as a kid he was responsible... dependable and motivated. He loved the ranch. He was so much like dad. Dad instilled a love of God, family, country and ranch in all of us. Although, I think we would have grown up feeling that way just because of the example he set. He was an incredible role model. Taught us what we owe our country and countrymen, how to treat a woman...Beau wanted to do his stint in the service then come back to the ranch." He was quiet a moment.

"Anyway, mom told me that after Beau was discharged, she thinks he slipped into a depression and sort of lost his way for a while. Had a hard time settling down to ranching. Bobbi said you could tell he was glad to be home, but he wasn't able to sit and concentrate."

"Must have been especially difficult for him, to not be able to just jump right back into ranchin'. I can see how he might have felt that he was lettin' your dad down." The young deputy mentioned.

"Yeah," Bear commented, "I remember that. He spent a lot of time talking to my grandmother and Yancy. I'm no therapist, but I think he suffered from PTSD."

Brett nodded and looked out the window to watch Beau helping his daughters practice their roping. "That makes perfect sense. I think he probably did believe he let dad down when he couldn't step right into his boots and ranch full time. That's no doubt why he jumped back into the rodeo circuit along with Rowdy, and became one of the best."

He smiled at his friends. "I guess you could say it kept him sane. I think doin' that during the season and comin' back to the ranch in between, he was able to find himself again. I'm sure dad's real proud of 'im. I know I am."

Bear nodded. "Your father would be proud of both of you, Lillie and Yancy certainly are. I remember my grandmother sayin' something," Bear looked at nothing in particular as he thought back.