Free McCullen's Secret Son (The Heroes Of Horseshoe Creek Book 2) by Rita Herron Page A

eat your breakfast,” Brett said. “I’m sure Mama Mary left something for lunch.”
    Willow paused to watch a quarter horse galloping in the pasture. “I’m not really hungry, Brett.”
    “I know, but you have to keep up your strength. I’ll get us something if you want to relax in the office.”
    She mumbled okay, then he ushered her to the corner table in the gigantic office their father shared with Maddox, while Brett hurried to the kitchen and found meat loaf sandwiches already prepared, as if Mama Mary remembered their high school days when the boys had worked the ranch and come in starved.
    He poured two glasses of tea and carried them and the sandwiches to the office. Willow nibbled on hers, while he consumed his in three bites. Their father’s computer was ancient, but Maddox had installed a new one for the ranch business, one he also used for work when he was out of the office.
    He attempted to access police databases, but doing so required a password. He tried Maddox’s birthday, then the name of Maddox’s first pony and their first dog. None fit.
    He stewed over it for a minute, then plugged in their father’s birthday. Bingo.
    Determined to find answers for Willow, he punched Leo’s name into the system. DMV records showed he had a current driver’s license, then Brett ran a background check.
    “Willow, listen to this. Leo Howard was born to Janie and Hicks Howard thirty-two years ago, although Janie died when Leo was five. His father, Hicks, worked in a factory that made farm equipment, but he suffered debilitating injuries from a freak tractor accident on his own farm six years ago.”
    Willow nearly choked on the sandwich, and sipped her tea. “I still don’t understand why he wouldn’t tell me his father was alive.”
    “It’s worth paying his father a visit to find out.”
    She wiped her mouth on a napkin and peered at the screen over his shoulder.
    He ran a search for police records and watched as a photo of a man named Leo Stromberg, then Leo Hammerstein, popped up, both bearing Leo Howard’s photo—both aliases.
    Willow gasped. “Oh, my goodness. Leo had a police record.”
    “For stealing from his boss, a rancher named Boyle Gates, but apparently Gates dropped the charges.” He scrolled farther. “But it says here he was implicated in a cattle-rustling operation. One of the men, Dale Franklin, was killed during the arrest. The other, Gus Garcia, is in prison serving time for the crime.”
    “How did Leo escape prison time?”
    “Apparently Garcia copped to the crime. Although the police suspected a large cattle rustling operation, Garcia insisted that no one else except Franklin was involved. Franklin died in the arrest. Garcia is still in prison.”
    “You think he has something to do with Leo and Sam’s disappearance?”
    “That’s what we’re going to find out.” Brett jotted down Garcia’s full name, then the address for Leo’s father. “First we’ll pay a visit to Hicks Howard, then we’ll go see Garcia.”
    An engine rumbled outside, then quieted, and Brett heard the front door open and slam. He flipped off the computer, ushered Willow over to the table and picked up his tea.
    The door to the office screeched open, and Maddox filled the doorway, his broad shoulders squared, that air of superiority and disapproval radiating from him.
    “What’s going on here?”
    Brett shrugged. “Willow stopped by to pay her condolences about Dad.”
    Maddox tipped his Stetson toward Willow in a polite greeting. “Hey, Willow. Nice to see you. How’s your boy?”
    Willow’s eyes darkened with pain, but she quickly covered her emotions. “He’s growing up fast.”
    Maddox smiled at her, but looked back at Brett. “You’re having lunch in Dad’s office?”
    Brett shrugged and said the first thing that entered his head. “Thought I’d feel closer to Dad this way.”
    Maddox’s brows quirked as if he didn’t believe him, but Brett had spoken a half-truth. He did feel