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it to me.”
    “It’s real. I have fifteen boys showing up in two weeks to start getting on the road to rehabilitation. They’ve all been in different types of trouble. A couple of them are going to require the presence of their parole officers. Some of them haven’t made it that far down the road yet, and I aim to redirect them.”
    “Isn’t this a little bit like a sick person offering antibiotics to everyone but himself?” she asked.
    He arched a dark brow. “Maybe I’ve reformed.”
    She didn’t think so. The man exuded darkness. Danger. From his muscles to the ink on his skin, there was nothing safe or reformed about him.
    “I sort of doubt it,” she said.
    “Either way, I’m getting this ranch going, and then I’m leaving.”
    “Where are you going to go?”
    He shrugged. “Back to Texas, maybe.”
    “You don’t sound like you’re from Texas.”
    “Shucks,” he drawled. “I don’t?”
    “No.”
    “Well, I’m not, but it’s currently the place I call home.” A muscle ticked in his jaw. “I used to live on the road, but for some reason, I don’t seem to anymore. Could be because I can’t do my damned job anymore because a pissed-off injured jackass pointed his finger at the first person he could think of.”
    His words hit Lark hard, anger burning hotter in her. “Oh, really? Is that how you see it?”
    “Yeah, honey, that’s how I see it. If there’s one thing I know, it’s this. Cade will never be a hundred percent certain of who did this to him. Without a confession or video evidence, which there isn’t at this point, he’ll never know for sure. But I know for a fact what I did and didn’t do. I’m the only one who knows for sure if I’m guilty or innocent. And I’m innocent.” Something changed in his eyes, a cold hardness there she hadn’t seen before. “In this instance, anyway.”
    “Your word against Cade’s,” she said.
    “Or not, because he could be wrong. Granted, I could be lying, but again, I’m the only one with certainty. I’m also the one that’s either going to pay you thousands of dollars or fine you thousands of dollars, and trust me, I would love to watch Cade Mitchell have to write me a check to bail his baby sister out of trouble, so at this point, it’s up to you and I can’t lose. You can, though. So think about it real carefully.”
    Lark bit her lip, holding back an angry flood of words until she was sure she could speak without spitting. “Where are the computers?”
    ***
    Quinn walked in front of Lark on the narrow path that led to the building where the computers were housed. By and large, the boys would be doing online courses throughout the year, and they’d set up the entire classroom in a large building at the edge of the property.
    Longhorn Ranch was laid out a lot like a camp. There was a lake on the property, and Quinn was having docks installed. He’d also ordered canoes, of all things. By the woods they had an obstacle course. Something to run off any excess energy. And something to make them do for hours at a time if the little bastards copped too much attitude.
    Lord knew he wished someone would have done it for him.
    It had surprised him how much he’d enjoyed getting the place ready. No one could ever accuse him of being nurturing. But when it came to knowing what a bunch of punks needed to get their asses in shape—that he knew.
    Because he’d been there. He’d been that kid that might have gone off the rails if he hadn’t been given focus. When he’d been forced to work for his food, well, then he’d learned real quick that he had to focus. That he had to stop being so amused with his own badassedness and get his act together or he’d damn well starve.
    And then he’d found the rodeo. He’d had incentive to do right for real then. He’d started as one of the guys who opened the gates, doing hard labor for no glory. But eventually, he’d saved up, purchased his permit and won the required events to become a card