Courtney changed her story immediately once she saw me talking to the deputy. “Well, we rented it through a private reservation and everything was legal,” she claimed.
“Who did you rent it from?” the officer asked her. “I rented it from the manager and he can confirm it,” she said.
“He is coming this way right now,” I told them while putting my hands in my pockets. I saw a small crack of fear appear on Courtney’s face.
“It does not matter because I paid him and I have a receipt,” she added quickly. “Then we will clear it up when he gets here,” the deputy replied.
Twenty minutes later, Miller Higgins’ truck appeared in the driveway. He got out and stood motionless when he saw the patrol cars and the guests covered in cake.
Courtney ran toward him like he was a lifeline. “Finally! Tell them I paid you for the rent and tell them this event was legitimate!” she cried.
Miller swallowed hard and said, “I cannot do that.” Courtney stopped dead in her tracks and asked what he meant.
“I am not authorized to rent this ranch because it is not mine,” Miller admitted. The silence that followed was so heavy that even the music seemed to die out.
Courtney turned slowly toward me with no arrogance left in her eyes. “Are you the owner?” she whispered.
“I have been for eighteen years,” I answered. “But he told me he was going to sell it to me and showed me documents,” she stammered.
“Those documents were fakes,” I told her. The deputy approached Miller and asked if he had impersonated the owner.
“He took my money and sold me something that wasn’t his,” Courtney whispered as she began to tremble. Then the deputy looked at me and asked what I wanted to do.
I thought about the way she spat at my feet and how she treated me like trash on my own land. The worst part was knowing someone had turned our sanctuary into a shady business.
“I want everyone off my ranch, but I will not report the guests since they were lied to as well,” I said. I looked at Miller and told the deputy that I definitely wanted to press charges against him.
Courtney took a step toward me with eyes filled with real shame. “I thought that…” she started to say, but I just nodded because I already knew.
When the police opened Miller’s truck, the full truth finally shattered everything.
