by Karen Rock
“Only the Crystal River.” Bitterness colored Heath’s voice a dark, heavy gray. The only access to it was across Cade land, through the old Loveland easement.
“Dude. Stop harassing Jewel.” Daryl shooed a fly from his horse’s neck. “She’s loyal to her family, just like us.”
Jewel studied the fragile cattle. How many more would she lose today? Three had succumbed yesterday and two the day before that. An ugly fear grew in her like a tumor; it was an idea she hadn’t wanted to contemplate until now. When she’d agreed to take this job, she did so with the same attitude she approached every task. Never do anything halfway. Always put the livestock first. She’d been charged with keeping them safe, and driving the beleaguered cattle up the mountain would be a flat-out dereliction of duty.
On the other hand, if she drove them onto Cade land, she’d betray her family. Her unreasonable family. At the arbitration hearing, they hadn’t budged when the Lovelands aired their valid grievances. But she had. They weren’t the bad guys. James would say Heath caused her change of heart.
And he’d be wrong.
Heath broke her heart, but fair was fair. She needed to stop wallowing like the cattle. No more thinking of herself or trying to prove she was the best, the toughest, most loyal Cade. She was done pledging allegiance to a father who never fully loved or appreciated her.
Heath preferred Kelsey just as her father had loved her brothers more, but neither her parent nor Heath defined her worth anymore. She did, along with her actions. One of the Brahmans lifted its head and let out a rattling breath before dropping it to the ground again. The various textures of Jewel’s fear sifted through her: shivery, visceral, tight, pounding, in turn or all at once. The time for talking was over.
“Heath’s right.” His gaze snapped to hers. “Our only choice is to drive them straight to the Crystal River. It’s two hours on a downward slope. We might not lose any head if we hurry.”
“What about your brothers?” Heath’s forehead bunched. “Your chances of being named range boss?”
“The herd comes first,” she said firmly.
Heath shot her an inscrutable look; approval, gratitude and something unidentifiable swirled in those blue depths. “Agreed. To the Crystal River.”
They wheeled their horses around and began working the cattle as a cohesive team, driving the animals to their feet, to move, to walk. Remaining motionless meant death. The sound of barking dogs, shouting cowboys and bellowing cattle filled the warming air. The bond between her and Heath, their connection, felt stronger than ever. With looks, nods and gestures, they drove the herd mercilessly, never letting them quit as they crossed onto Cade land.
When Jewel’s brothers and cousins appeared to block the way, her fingers tightened on the reins. Bear snorted and shook his head. He sensed her tension as she braced for a standoff.
“I’ll ride ahead and talk to them,” Heath said. “I’ll tell James we forced you to drive the herd here. You had no choice...”
“I’m no liar. And I’m not afraid.” She squeezed Bear into a trot, canter then gallop until she reached her family.
“What are you doing?” James’s eyebrows were so far up his face they disappeared under his hat. Disbelief and irritation fought to dominate his expression.
“Using the Loveland access.” She flipped up her brim and stared him dead in the eye. The tread of Destiny’s hooves striking bedrock signaled Heath’s approach.
“That ain’t been settled in court,” Justin growled. With his black hat, shirt and jeans, he resembled an outlaw, full of dark menace.
“Since when has your family ever worried about following the law?” Heath scoffed, his jaw hard.
“Heath’s right.” Jewel cast her eye around the group. She had everybody’s attention. “Our family killed Everett Loveland without the facts. We broke Cades out of jail and helped them hide out to ambush the Lovelands.” She paused, making sure her siblings were taking it all in. “And we rewarded a judge to take away their easement.”
James tore off his hat and scratched the back of his red neck. Patches of sweat had appeared under his armpits, staining his shirt. “That’s not proven.”
“Everett didn’t hang himself,” Heath said, grim. “And we didn’t rustle our own cattle, set fire to our buildings or bribe the judge to rule against us.”
“No arguing with that logic.” Jared squinted at Heath, then Jewel, his expression not exactly unfriendly. She took heart.
“Whose side are you on?” Frustration crackled in James’s voice.
Jared shrugged. “Just stating a fact.”
In the distance, the faint lowing of the straggling herd, driven by Daryl, reached her ear. She wanted to howl with fear, or to rage, but she did neither, because her hands shook and her stomach turned, threatening to upend the coffee she’d sipped earlier, the bites of jerky she’d forced herself to swallow. She had fifteen minutes, tops, to make her brothers give way before the cattle caught up to them.
In her mind’s eye, she pictured a wall-mounted fire-hose case and the words Do Not Break Unless Emergency.
She braced herself and mentally swung. The faint tinkling of glass reverberated in her ear. “Here’s another fact. Ma’s wish is for us to become a real family. She wants that more than anything. And family doesn’t stand in the way of one another.”
“Aunt Jewel is right!” Javi shouted. He was seated atop Milly, a horse her oldest brother Jack had brought home and Javi and James rehabilitated. Javi flicked the reins and crossed to Jewel’s side.
“Javi, get over here,” James ordered.
“Heroes stand on the side of justice,” Javi said stoutly.
Jewel patted the top of his helmet in approval. What a kid. Eight years old, and he was wiser than all the adults. “Also, when Cole returned Cora’s Tear, he did the right thing.” She blotted the perspiration dripping in her eyes. “We should, too.”
“Fair is fair, Pa!” Javi called.
“Our longhorns are miles away.” Jared plucked his shirt’s damp fabric from his chest. “No chance of the cattle mingling.” He tapped his horse and joined Jewel, Javi and Heath. When he shot her a smile, her lips wobbled up in return.
“And we demolished the old barns out here.” Justin inserted a toothpick in his mouth and chewed before adding, “No chance of the Brahmans doing any structural damage.” With a cluck, he hustled his horse across the space and lined up beside Jared.
Jewel blinked back the sting in her eyes. Her brothers’ support meant everything. She’d been so focused on competing with them for her father’s affection she’d failed to fully value the love they gave her. And the respect.
“You’ll have to go through me, then,” James declared, his jaw clamped, his features set.
“Good luck with that,” Jared scoffed. “I’ll try not to trample your hat.”
“I won’t be so careful,” Justin bit out. “Enough, James. Look at those cattle.”
Their collective gazes followed his arm sweep. The herd trudged closer, heads bowed, bloated guts bouncing, bones protruding, and eyes and noses running. James’s expression softened. No respectable rancher tolerated animal suffering.
“If they don’t drink in the next couple of hours, they’ll start dying.” Heath’s voice rang out, loud and clear. “We’re out of options, but if you want us gone, we’d better turn ’em now.”
“Don’t kill them, Pa!” Javi yelled.
“The heck we’ll turn them!” Jewel pounded her thigh with the side of her fist, willing James to hear her. “We’re coming through, so step aside or be run over.” Her cousins Hayden and Graham exchanged worried looks.
“I’ll call the sheriff.”
Heath chuckled at James’s threat. “You mean my brother Travis?”
There was absolute silence, as if the mountain range were holding its breath, then James’s eyes
flickered from Jewel to the nearing Brahmans. At last, his chest lowered in a long exhale. “Fine. We’ll grant them passage.”
“Forever.” Jewel jutted her chin, determined to settle this once and for all. “We’re drawing up a new map and returning the easement to the Lovelands.”
“That’s for the courts to—”
“We’re deciding!” Justin growled, cutting off James. “We don’t need fancy lawyers. We know what’s just and you do, too. Not wanting change ain’t any reason to deny what’s right.”
James’s lips twisted in a wry smile. “I think I’ve heard that before.”
“Only from Sofia a hundred times.” Jewel rolled her eyes. “Things can’t always stay the same. Accept it.” At his slow nod, euphoria nearly lifted her from the saddle.
“All right then,” James said. “We return the easement, and the Lovelands drop the restitution demand.”
Heath nodded. “If any of my brothers or Pa disagree, then the deal’s off the table.”
James rode close enough to shake Heath’s hand. “Let’s drive these cattle.” He turned to the cousins. “You boys and Javi head up to our herd and keep an eye on them. We’re not moving them until tomorrow.” Then, with a loud “yip” he tore off, galloping down the side of the stumbling herd to join Daryl. Jared and Justin lit out after him.
“Are they going to die, Aunt Jewel?” Javi’s large brown eyes swung between her and the cattle.
“We won’t let them,” she promised through an encouraging smile. “You go on with Hayden and Graham now. Okay?”
“Okay.”
She watched until Javi caught up to the young men, then gathered her reins.
“Hold up, Jewel.”
She steeled herself, then slowly raised her head to meet Heath’s eyes. Sweat rolled down his flushed, handsome face. His eyes were a clear blue, and his lips were parted in a smile so genuine it’d break her heart if he hadn’t already done so already. “I don’t deserve you siding with me, not after what happened at the gala, but thank you.”
She tipped her chin, torn between leaning closer and skirting away. Every muscle screamed to drag him off his horse and fall into him. Her brain told her to keep her distance. With a sigh, she followed her head. “It wasn’t for you.”
“Then who?” He lifted an inquiring eyebrow.
“Me.” She galloped off to join her brothers and Daryl.
As the Cades and Lovelands worked together to hustle the cattle to lifesaving water, dust clouds rose. The animals were on their last legs. Many stopped and knelt, preparing to lie down and quit until one of the dogs or riders came along, urging them to move. Move. Move. Too frightened to resist, they thankfully kept up the painstakingly slow pace.
An hour later, Jewel smelled the Crystal River before she saw it. The fresh scent of flowing water over moss-covered rocks brought tears to her eyes. As if sensing it, too, the cattle picked up their heads. Their bellows grew louder, urgent. Heath flashed by with a dehydrated calf secured across the front of his saddle. Justin harried a couple of drowsy heifers to pick up the pace while Daryl and James zoomed back and forth in the rear, applying steady pressure.
“Almost there,” Jared called as he cantered by, his faithful cattle dogs racing beside him.
“Almost,” she whispered to herself. Faintness made her head lurch and spin. They’d make it. They had to.
Gradually, the dirt gave way to grass and then grass to reeds. The herd practically stampeded to the water and splashed into its shallow end while others lined up along the bank to drink their fill.
James approached. He clamped his jaw so tight, she swore he’d break it himself.
She held up a hand. “Don’t even start. I’m in too much of a good mood.”
“I’ve made a decision about the range boss position.”
She groaned. “Forget it. I don’t even want it anymore.”
James’s serious expression relaxed, and a glint of humor lightened his dark eyes. “That’s too bad.”
“Why? I denied you the pleasure of telling me I didn’t get it? That I’m too soft on the Lovelands to be a tough Cade range boss?”
James shook his head, then wheeled his horse around. “You took away the pleasure of me offering it to you,” he called over his shoulder, then trotted away.
“Wait! What?” Giddiness bubbled in her veins like a New Year’s toast as she rode after him. “I—I’m Cade Ranch’s range boss?”
James slowed, then reined his horse to a stop beneath a weeping willow. It leaned over the bank, trailing leafy ropes into the swirling water. “You just said you didn’t want it.”
“Only a fool would say that.” She might not need the range boss position to prove herself anymore, but she’d worked for it her entire life. She wanted it with all her heart.
“And fool you’re not.” James grinned, then sobered. “You impressed me today. It took guts leading the herd over here. And heart. You need both to be good range boss. And I read your herd health report.”
She sucked in a quick, surprised breath. “You did?”
He nodded. “Heath was right. You have a lot of good ideas, ideas I’d like you to implement as range boss.”
“What about Justin?”
“I just told him. He wasn’t broken up about it. Seems they’re expanding the ranching skills program at Fresh Start so he’s got enough on his plate.”
“And I’ve got nothing else,” she murmured to herself once James moved off, her eyes on Heath as he encouraged the rescued calf to drink. Her earlier euphoria disappeared. It was a fizzled-out firework, a limp balloon.
She’d won the job of her dreams, but she’d lost the man she loved.
The old Jewel would have been content with her promotion and wouldn’t moon over a man. She’d followed her heart and failed. But she wouldn’t quit putting herself out there and letting others see her softer side, as Ma advised.
She hopped off Bear, tied him up and began checking the herd. Her vision blurred as she studied the drinking cattle.
It was her strength, not a weakness after all.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
HEATH TRUDGED UP the ranch’s porch steps in the deepening twilight, his body sore, but his spirits high. They’d saved the herd. No. Jewel—brave, bold, beautiful Jewel—saved the herd. The Brahmans now had access to the Crystal River, virtually guaranteeing a high enough head count going into the beef auctions to stave off bankruptcy. Better still, his family avoided a costly trial. In one simple, courageous act, Jewel resolved the last of their families’ differences and ended their 130-year feud.
Now he and Jewel needed to resolve their issues, too.
But that required talking and privacy, two things she’d avoided around him since the gala. She wanted her space, and he respected that. Respected her.
Loved her.
Yes, that, too.
He’d known his heart fully when she’d stood up to her brothers, a gutsy and selfless act. She’d jeopardized her dream of being Cade Ranch’s range boss by angering James, but she’d put the cattle first. It proved her strength and character. She was authentic, driven and independent. She didn’t want anything from anyone except their love and respect. And now he was free to give it, especially since Andrew Parsons never called back. He’d lost the opportunity of a lifetime, but if Jewel would forgive him, he might not regret it.
“Heath! Phone!” Sierra held out the receiver as he opened the screen door and plodded inside.
When he reached for the receiver, she clamped a hand over the mouthpiece and whispered, “What’d you do to Jewel?”
“Nothing.”
Everything. Guilt swamped him. Toying with her feelings before resolving things with Kelsey had been selfish and hurtful, everything he’d apologize for if she’d just let him.
“She’s upstairs packing her gear. Says
she’s leaving since Pa and Joy come home tomorrow and Cole got his cast off. What’s the rush?”
Heath squeezed his sister’s shoulder. “Will you stall her till I get off the phone?”
She brushed her blond bangs from her eyes and peered up at him. “Only if you promise not to hurt her. She’s not as tough as she looks.”
“I know.”
Sierra released the phone and stomped upstairs.
“Heath Loveland here,” he said, one eye on the stairwell.
“This is Andrew Parsons.”
Heath’s heart kicked up a gear. “Yes, sir.”
“Got your message. Have to say, I was surprised when you turned down my tryout invitation last month. And I don’t give second chances.”
Heath’s throat constricted. After clearing it, he said, “I understand, sir. Thank you for—”
“Don’t thank me. I haven’t heard your audition...yet.”
“Excuse me?”
“I’ve decided it’s worth giving you one more shot. After you left your message, I had one of my staffers share your video on our blog. It’s got over a hundred thousand likes so far. Those are mighty persuasive numbers.”
Heath’s breath quickened. “A hundred thousand?”
“And that’s just in the past week. You’ve got potential I’d like to explore. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. What do you say?”
Jewel’s voice caught his ear and grew louder, mingling with Sierra’s as their boots clattered down the stair treads.
“I—I’ll have to call you back, sir.”
“But—but—”
“Promise,” he vowed, then hung up on the sputtering music producer. A possible recording contract was his dream, but Jewel had become just as important. He needed to know where things stood before committing himself.
She stalked by, saddlebag slung over her shoulder.
“Wait!” Emma and Noah raced from the kitchen table, where they’d been coloring with Daryl and flung their arms around Jewel. “Ain’t you gonna say goodbye?”