Fool's Gold by Jenna Byrnes Page B

front door. They glanced up and saw his partner, Ryan, with another man. “Must be official sheriffing business.” Nate crossed the room and opened the door. “Hey, there.” He smiled at his man.
    “Hey, Nate.” Ryan Blackfeather looked past him to Addie and nodded. “Addie. This is Taylor Adams. Could we come in for a minute, please?”
    “Of course.” She moved closer as the men entered.
    Nate looked Adams up and down. “You’re Vernie’s father, aren’t you?”
    “Yes,” the man replied.
    He was portly and appeared tightly stuffed into his business suit. Not the typical Cattle Valley resident, as far as Addie could tell. She watched and waited for Ryan to speak.
    “Mr. Adams is gone on business several nights a week. His wife passed away a while back, which leaves Vernie alone more than is probably prudent.”

    The man took a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his brow. “I assumed, since the boy was seventeen, he could look out for himself. I wasn’t aware of the type of people he socialised with in Sheridan. Everyone in Cattle Valley is so pleasant and open-minded. It’s hard to realise, just a few miles down the road, there are people who still don’t like gays and think causing them trouble is a fun evening’s activity.”
    Addie blinked. “This was a hate crime?”
    Ryan shrugged. “Mainly, this was a group of kids with too much time on their hands and not enough supervision.”
    “I’d say it was pretty hateful,” Nate spoke up.
    Ryan raised a hand. “I agree, but I don’t think the kids were out to hurt anyone.
    Apparently, they hung out here a few nights, and the last time, they filmed themselves trashing the place. Still have the video, right here on Vernie’s confiscated cell phone.” He held it up.
    “Let me see that!” Nate stood next to Ryan as he played the short video.
    Addie looked over Nate’s shoulder for a second, but when the action started, she realised she didn’t want to see it. The whole thing turned her stomach, and she looked away.
    “Fool kids!” Nate exclaimed. “I can’t believe they filmed it. Makes denying it tough.”
    Ryan snapped the phone shut. “Vernie isn’t naming anyone else, yet. But I suspect he will be after his father is through with him. You see, Mr. Adams has offered to pay for the damages. And Vernie is going to work this summer to pay it back. So, if he doesn’t want to be the only one paying, it’d be in his best interest to spill some names.”
    Addie saw Adams pull out his chequebook.
    Ryan looked at her. “He’ll cover your insurance deductible, plus a few thousand for lost income and inconvenience. So, if you’ll come up with a number, please…”
    She raised her eyebrows in surprise. “I, uh, gee. I don’t know.”
    Nate leaned over and whispered, “The kid’s going to pay for it. Make it a high enough number to teach him a lesson.”
    She did some quick figuring in her head.
    “Ten thousand?” Nate suggested.

    The number shocked her. A chunk of it would be eaten up by her insurance deductible, but she hadn’t expected to get anything, let alone that much, extra. “Oh, I couldn’t. Seven or eight, maybe?”
    “Eight thousand,” Ryan said firmly, nodding.
    Adams wrote the cheque while Addie stared. “Payable to?” he asked without looking up.
    “Addie Murphy. Adeline Murphy,” she corrected quickly.
    “Sweet Adeline.” Nate sang quietly to the tune of the old barbershop quartet melody.
    She rolled her eyes at him then glanced back at Adams. He tore off the cheque and handed it to her. “I assume this brings us square? I don’t want to hear later that more money is due.”
    “Of course not.” She frowned, accepting the payment. As she looked at the paper, her frown slowly faded.
Eight thousand dollars
. She finally had money again. Better yet, now that she had the deductible, she could collect the insurance payment and replace the stove and mattresses. “Thank you, Mr. Adams. I appreciate your taking