Chapter 11

Over the weekend, Alex created rough outlines of plans to rob the casino. On Monday, he would sit down with Grace and Lyric to decide what they were doing this week.

Before going to the office, he rode his bike to the Aldrich farm to check everything out after the weekend’s excitement. When he arrived, Tanya was waiting for him.

“What’s up, Tigger?” Alex asked.

“Mom sent me to invite you in for breakfast,” she said, ignoring him teasing her.

He leaned his bike against the big oak tree, turned, and was surprised when Tanya fiercely hugged him.

“What’s that for?” Alex asked.

“You saved my sister.”

Alex gave her a warm smile.

“Let’s keep that between you and me. Your sister likes to make people think she can take care of herself, but sometimes, we all can use a little help. I’m sure that next time, she’ll save me. That’s what friends do for each other.”

“Boys need a lot of help,” little Tanya said sagely.

“That, we do. Now let’s go find out what your mom made for breakfast.”

Mrs. Aldrich had outdone herself. She’d made a great breakfast casserole with green-chili sausage and potatoes, topped with black beans and corn salsa. The green chili in the sausage gave the dish just enough heat.

While they ate, Mr. Aldrich updated everyone on what happened Friday night.

“I should’ve seen this coming. Carl wasn’t happy when we plowed under our pot in the woods. I explained to him that Sheriff Conly was law and order, but he didn’t want to hear it.

“I guess we were his principal supplier for marijuana. When the state awarded us the contract to grow, he assumed it would be business as usual.

“I told him we were now a hundred percent legit, and I wouldn’t risk our agreement with the state and Sheriff Conly. He thought we could sell him all the product that didn’t meet state guidelines,” Mr. Aldrich said.

“I hate that we have to destroy some of the crops for one reason or another, but it’s not worth the risk,” Decker chimed in.

He’d obviously heard his parents talking and agreed with what they decided. Alex’s upbringing might have led him to another outcome. Why leave money on the table?

“I’m guessing he didn’t take the news well,” Alex said.

“No, he didn’t, and Friday night was his play to force us into providing him with product,” Mr. Aldrich said.

“Why would he be so stupid and do it himself? I mean, he could have gotten a few teenagers to rip you off. It wouldn’t have been such a big deal if they got caught,” Alex said.

“In the past, it wouldn’t have come to much because former Sheriff Calhoun would’ve used his influence to reduce Carl’s charges, if not outright drop them. But since the Moondust debacle, the ex-sheriff’s been on the run himself.

“I know our family owes the ex-sheriff for helping us out of a financial hole, but after Maddie was dosed and got sick ... I was done. I reminded Carl of that, but even though his son also got sick, he wouldn’t hear it. For Carl, selling pot was better than getting a legitimate job and earning an honest living,” Mr. Aldrich said.

“So, what exactly happened Friday night?” Alex asked. “I don’t know what all occurred before I got involved.”

“I received a message telling me the fence sensors were going off, so I grabbed my shotgun and went to investigate,” Maddie said.

Alex shook his head in disbelief.

“You could’ve been seriously hurt.”

“That was on me,” Mr. Aldrich said. “Since the fence went up, we’ve received sensor warnings every night. I assumed it was just a possum or raccoon. Maddie scares them off with a blast of birdshot. I figured it would take a few more nights and the problem would be solved.”

“When I saw a man come over the fence and all the alarms went off, I shot him in the leg,” Maddie continued.

“You thought birdshot would stop them?” Alex asked.

“Dude, she shot me in the ass, and I didn’t want any part of her after that,” Decker said.

Alex could see how the Aldriches had miscalculated. A hardened criminal wouldn’t flinch if he got some birdshot in his leg. Maddie was lucky to be alive.

“What happened next?” Alex asked.

“I froze when I saw it was Mr. Cooper. He took the shotgun away from me and then hit me in the chest with the butt of the gun. Then you arrived and saved me,” Maddie said.

“Let’s give Grace the win. She had the .38 pointed at his head,” Alex said, attempting to nip any hero talk in the bud. “I was about to get my ass kicked.”

“I don’t care what you think. You saved my baby,” Mrs. Aldrich said.

Alex was uncomfortable with the praise and decided to change the subject.

“I know Janice was given the case and had to go to work on Saturday and Sunday,” Alex said. “I’ll be out this afternoon because it sounds like your fence sensors need adjusting. They can be set to ignore stuff like dogs, so I’m sure they can tell the difference between a raccoon and a man.”

“Maybe you could show Decker and me how to do that stuff. My wife has decided it’s too dangerous for Maddie to be alone when the fence needs to be checked,” Mr. Aldrich said.

“The security firm offers night watchmen. You could set up a tent to keep them out of the weather,” Alex suggested.

“We were thinking about getting a couple of dogs for the job,” Mr. Aldrich said.

Barking farm dogs were a good deterrent, and they would let the Aldriches know if anyone was around.

“You have dogs already,” Alex pointed out.

“Yes, but they’re not exactly intimidating. I was thinking more like a pit bull or German Shepherd. Not only will those sound the alarm, they’re likely to scare off any would-be thieves.”

“That might work,” Alex conceded. “Sorry, but I need to jet because we have a company meeting this morning. I’ll be back this afternoon.”

“Sounds good,” Mr. Aldrich said.

“I’ll walk you out,” Maddie said.

When Alex reached his bike, Maddie put her hand on his arm to stop him from leaving. Her look said something was in the air, tickling up and down his spine like he was full of static electricity.

Alex realized something profound: He might like Maddie as more than just a friend. Alex made his move to kiss her, but Maddie stepped back.

“We can’t. It would be inappropriate.”

“Welp ... ah ... I better go,” Alex awkwardly said.

He climbed on his bike and pedaled it toward town. He’d hoped the ride would clear his mind, but he was tied up in avoiding trying to figure out what had just happened. When Alex reached the outskirts of town, he stopped and called Dawn.

“Are you okay talking to me about another girl?” he asked.

“Of course you can.”

Alex wasn’t sure because he could hear the amusement in her voice, but he decided he could trust her.

“I uh ... well ... I think I have feelings for Maddie,” he finally got out in a rush.

“That’s great. You two would make a cute couple. Besides, she deserves to be happy.”

“Thanks, but things didn’t go quite as I planned.”

“Do tell.”

Alex took a deep breath.

“I thought we were having a moment and leaned in, and she pulled away in horror and said it was inappropriate.”