by Claire Adams
I stepped outside to face the chilly and wet afternoon. I huddled underneath the lip of the roof for protection against the cold rain as I answered.
“There’s a horse in my pasture,” Michael said. “The storm must’ve spooked it over here to my property. It doesn’t look like one of your horses though, Colt. That’s why I am calling.”
Relief surged through me.
“It’s Cheyenne’s rescue,” I said, leaning up against the side of the house with a sigh. “She has been keeping the horses here while her barn is being rebuilt. I’m glad it wandered onto your property—not Bill’s.”
“Bill would’ve shot it in a heartbeat,” Michael said grimly. “I never liked how he treated his horses, so tell Cheyenne that I have the horse in my barn for safekeeping. I managed to get it in the barn. It’s a bit spooked and anxious.”
I rubbed my face in aggravation. I didn’t want to get into the details of what was happening around my ranch, but if there was a prankster running around with fireworks, then Michael had a right to know. He treated all his horses and livestock with compassion and tender care.
“I’m not sure if there is a prankster running about,” I started, “but someone opened the barn doors here. They also lit a firework in the barn with the horses.”
“A firework in the barn?” Michael repeated skeptically. “Are you sure it was a firework, Colt?”
“I found the leftovers of the firework on the ground.”
“Well, shit. No wonder the poor horse is spooked out of his mind. The damn kids around Green Point these days keep getting into trouble.”
“What sort of trouble?” I asked.
“Anything you can imagine. They were on my property a few weeks ago shooting at my chickens for fun. An unruly group of spoiled little brats.”
“Let me guess,” I said darkly. “The sheriff hasn’t been able to find this group of pranksters.”
Michael laughed humorlessly into the phone. “Oh, your friend Peter has found them. I forgot to mention that one of the teenagers is Bill Coates’s nephew.”
“Peter’s hands are tied because Robert is his boss,” I remarked, staring across the wet pasture. Anger brewed inside of me. “This town has gone crooked, Michael. First Cheyenne’s barn, and now I’m dealing with kids spooking the horses with pranks. What else will happen?”
“I don’t know,” Michael said. “This town has been crooked for a while. I’d have that ranch hand of yours keep an eye out over your barn. Who knows what else could happen.”
“Thanks, Michael. We will be down there with a horse trailer.”
“I’ll keep the gate unlocked.”
Cheyenne rushed up to me the second that I stepped into the kitchen. She grasped the sleeve of my shirt tightly. Her eyes were wet with tears.
“Please tell me that you know where my horse is,” she said, voice quivering with emotion.
“He wandered over to Michael’s property,” I said.
A relieved breath escaped Cheyenne’s lips as she turned to look at Tiffany sitting on the edge of the couch. “He went to Michael’s property. Is he okay? Was Michael able to get close enough to look at him?”
“He managed to get him into the barn safely. That’s where he is right now. Michael’s leaving the gate open for us to bring the trailer.”
Cheyenne moved past me to grab her coat from the mudroom. I turned to look at Tiffany as she hobbled up onto her right leg. I started to shake my head in protest, but she cut me off quickly. “I’m going with you. We need to get to the bottom of what keeps happening around here.”
It was useless to try and convince Tiffany she couldn’t come. My sister was as strong and sharp as the barbed wire fence surrounding our property.
“Fine. Let me help you get in the truck while I call Rick.”
With Cheyenne’s help, we managed to get Tiffany into the front seat of my truck as quickly as possible right as Rick pulled up to the barn. I left them in the truck to jog across the muddy and gravel road as Rick hopped out. Rain pelted both our hats as he waited for me inside the barn.
“We found the horse on Michael’s property,” I told him. “I’m taking the trailer right now to get the horse. Keep an eye on everything around here. There’s a group of kids who have been causing hell for some of the ranchers.”
Rick shook his cowboy hat free of rain before placing it back on his head. “Maybe it would be a good idea, boss, if I took the apartment above the barn here. Until the sheriff figures out who is behind everything.”
“I wouldn’t hold my breath on that, but that would be a good idea.” I turned to look at Tiffany and Cheyenne as they talked in the truck. “We will be back in a little bit. Help yourself to some fresh blankets and sheets in the house.”
“Did Rick see anything?” Tiffany asked when I hopped back into the truck. She took my hat when I handed it to her, grimacing at the rain that dripped off of it.
I looked up in the rearview mirror to find Cheyenne’s eyes focused on mine intently. She looked away after a few seconds. I put the truck in drive and eased down the driveway slowly with the horse trailer behind me.
“Nothing,” I said. “I have an idea of what is going on though with the spiders and the fireworks.”
“It’s Bill,” Cheyenne said quietly. “I’m telling you, Colt. It has to be him. I’ve done everything to damage his reputation around Green Point, so he’s trying to damage me in return.”
It was a valid point because Bill Coates had an ego larger than Oregon. A respectful reputation was key to successful ranching because it attracted wealthier contracts from corporations. My father had been the best at it. Yet Michael had experienced problems with teenagers on his own ranch. I couldn’t look past that possibility that the firework and spiders were pranks gone too far.
Rain continued to pour down. I drove down the road slowly, mindful of the muddy road and the trailer behind me.
“I’m not sure if it was Bill this time,” I said slowly. “Michael told me he has been having troubles with teenagers messing with his livestock. He caught a group of kids shooting at his chickens.”
“Are the kids around here honestly that bored?” Tiffany asked in disbelief. “I have a hard time believing that, Colt. Maybe we should talk with the other ranchers to see if they are having the same issues?”
I shrugged my shoulders as we came up to the turnoff for Michael’s ranch. True to his word, the gate was pushed open for us to drive down the muddy road. I glanced up in the rearview mirror to see Cheyenne staring out the window with a cold look in her eye.
“Cheyenne?” She looked over at me in response. “I know you want to believe that this is Bill, but—”
“I know,” she said flatly. “There’s no evidence it’s him. I just don’t think this was a prank. It was deliberate. The two of you know it too.”
“Pranks can go too far,” Tiffany said, turning to look at Cheyenne with a frown. “There’s no need to be testy, Cheyenne. The both of us are on your side here.”
The anger in Cheyenne’s eyes vanished. She deflated visibly in the back seat with a tired sigh as she undid her seatbelt.
“I know,” she murmured. “I’m just worried that these pranks are going a bit too far now. Maybe we should call the sheriff?”
I parked in front of the barn. Michael appeared from inside the barn, waving to the three of us in the truck. While Tiffany scooted out with her crutches, I twisted around in the seat to look at Cheyenne.
“The sheriff knows about it,” I said, and she paused in getting out while Michael rushed up to help Tiffany out of the truck. “I’ll talk to a few other ranchers around here to see if they are having the same issue with these types of pranks.”
“My barn was not a prank that got out of control,” Cheyenne said flatly. “I bet there is one rancher here in Green Point that hasn’t had any problems.”
She pushed the door open to hop out into the downpour of rain. I turned the engine off with a sigh. There was no doubt in my
head either that Bill Coates had no problems on his ranch like the rest of us.
Chapter 19
Cheyenne
I followed Michael and Tiffany inside through the mud and straw mess in front of the barn. Just like the Smith ranch, the barn was spacious and kept tidy. The stalls were dry as a summer day, and it even felt warm when I brushed off my rain jacket to dry myself.
A line of horses poked their heads out over the stall doors to gaze at us curiously. I smiled despite the fear and anger bubbling in my stomach. They were obviously well loved as Michael walked slowly past them with Tiffany hobbling alongside him. He reached out occasionally to scratch their noses as they whinnied at him, searching for a treat by nosing his back pocket.
“Right here,” Michael said when we reached the last stall. He turned to look at me as I approached with tears stinging my eyes. “I hope you don’t mind. I got a blanket on him.”
I rested a hand on the barn stall to gaze at the brown stallion as he looked up from the bucket of oats he had been munching. His ears perked forward instantly but resumed his oat munching happily. I caught sight of bandages around the front of his legs.
“Thank you,” I whispered, looking up at Michael who nodded. “He looks happy here. Are those bandages on his legs from cuts?”
“I found him tangled up in the fence,” Michael explained as he unlatched the barn door.
The brown stallion didn’t bolt or startle. It took months of trust building before I could even enter his stall to place a bucket of oats in for him. He looked up when I reached forward to nuzzle his nose with the palm of my hand. I felt that warmth of connection when he rubbed his head against me before snorting.
Michael ran a hand along the front of the stallion’s legs. “Just some light cuts. Nothing that required me to call Jacob out here in the middle of this rainstorm.” He straightened to look at me with a frown. “Colt mentioned a firework was lit in the barn?”
My throat clenched up as an icy wave went over me. “Yes. We found the firework on the barn floor.”
“I’ve had problems with teenagers around here,” Michael said, rubbing at the stubble on his jaw. “I’ve called the sheriff many times over those damn hooligans shooting their guns at my chickens. My hens won’t lay any eggs if someone is shooting bullets at their hen house.”
“That’s awful,” Tiffany said, shaking her head. “Why would they do that?”
“Boredom. Rebellion,” Michael suggested. “You name it, Tiffany. That’s why they are terrorizing the ranchers.”
“Anybody else having issues?”
I jumped at the sound of Colt’s voice. Rain dripped off the rim of his cowboy hat as he rested his strong arms on top of the barn stall. Gloves covered his hands.
“Everyone is from what I gathered,” Michael said. “A few neighbors of ours have been having issues. Bill mentioned the other day that he heard firecrackers around his barn the other night to scare his horses.”
My stomach churned at the mention of Bill’s name. Michael swiveled his eyes over to where I stood.
“I’m just warning you that Bill has been accusing you of trying to startle his horses at night with firecrackers.”
“What?”
A gloved hand reached out to grasp me on the shoulder. I turned to look at Colt as he gave me a stern and pointed look.
“It doesn’t matter what he says at this point,” Colt said evenly. “We all know that you aren’t capable of being that devious. You care too damn much about horses to scare them as revenge.”
“Of course! Why would he say such things about me?” I twisted my hands in front of me to get the chill out of them. “Something is off about this entire situation. You all have to believe me when I say that.”
Irritation filled me when Colt sighed heavily. He pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation. “Let’s just pick the horse up and get back to the ranch. I don’t want to be far with troublemakers running around in the middle of the day.”
“Rick is there,” Tiffany said. “He won’t let anything happen to the ranch when we are gone.”
“I don’t know if we could even move him tonight,” I said, glancing at the cuts on the stallion’s legs. “He’s already been spooked enough. Putting him a trailer in the middle of a rain and thunderstorm would be overkill.”
“Why not keep him here permanently then?” Michael suggested. He smiled when I looked at him in surprise. “There’s something beautiful about this horse. I know your barn was burnt down, but is it possible to facilitate an adoption?”
I took one look around the barn with a small smile. Even if I was unsure of Michael personally, he seemed trustworthy. The horses gravitated to him, a sure sign of love and compassion. I firmly believed that horses could judge a man’s character, and from the way the stallion leaned up against Michael happily, he was a good man.
“I have back up adoption applications at home on my personal computer,” I said, beaming. “I can drop the papers off to you to make everything official. For now, though, it’s best if he stays here. I just wanted to make sure that he was okay.”
“Just a big teddy bear,” Michael said and reached underneath to scratch the stallion’s belly. “He’ll be happy here. I have plenty of room, and he has plenty of roommates obviously.”
I pecked a goodbye kiss on the stallion’s nose before stepping out of the stall with Colt holding the door open. We walked back out to the truck with Tiffany and Michael behind us at a slower pace. I glanced over my shoulder briefly to see the two of them in a deep conversation, but I didn’t miss that spark of interest in Michael’s eyes. He looked at Tiffany with avid interest, but the fair-haired woman was too busy looking at the horses they passed to even notice it.
Colt opened the passenger door for me. “I want you to know that I don’t doubt you, that I do believe you.”
The sentiment caught me off guard. I looked up at Colt as the rain drizzled around us. The overcast skies brought out that stormy blue color in his eyes, and it was hypnotizing. My lips tingled at the memory of what nearly happened back in the living room in the Smith house. The center of my cheeks flared as his lips curved up into a smile. An overwhelming desire to kiss him filled me again.
“Thank you,” I whispered as Colt leaned in to hear me over the roar of the rain. “I didn’t mean to bite your head off in there or seem obsessed with this. I really do appreciate everything that you are doing for me.”
Colt reached forward to play with the edge of my drenched braid that rested on my shoulder. He sucked in a deep breath, and appeared ready to speak, but was interrupted when Tiffany and Michael came out of the barn.
I caught Tiffany’s gaze lingering on us curiously, so I hopped into the back passenger seat to put distance between myself and Colt. I waved goodbye to Michael as he helped Tiffany up into the front passenger seat and handed Colt her crutches before the door shut.
“I saw that,” Tiffany said. She turned to give me a knowing smirk. “I saw you and my brother making googly eyes at one another.”
“That was nothing,” I replied, blushing. “You know that I’m not dating anyone right now, Tif. Don’t make a big deal out of it.”
“I think my brother would like to be the one to end that streak. Just saying.”
I didn’t get a chance to respond. Colt opened the driver’s side door, hopping up into the seat in front of me. He handed Tiffany his cowboy hat before starting the truck. He paused to give the both of us a weird look.
“What is it?” he asked.
“Nothing,” I said quickly. “Nothing. Just tired is all.”
He gave Tiffany a skeptical look but easily turned the truck and trailer around with ease from years of driving in the mud and rain. We drove along the road back to the ranch in silence. I tried my best to focus on Michael’s desire to adopt the stallion. At least I knew that the stallion would have a nice and loving home with other horses. He was already well cared for under Michael’s gentle and compassionate care.
> Rick greeted us in the barn when we pulled up a few minutes later. He patted the hilt of his .9mm with a smile when Colt double checked the locks on the barn doors.
“Nobody getting in here tonight,” Rick said. “And, well, if they do…”
“Please don’t shoot anyone on our property unless there really is a need to do it,” Tiffany said, leaning up against the barn stall with a grimace. “Maybe a warning shot would be a deterrent to scare them away if they do come back.”
I waited for Colt to nod at me before grasping Tiffany by the arm. Her face was pale and wet from rain and sweat. Pain glimmered in her eyes.
“We need to get you in the house to sit down,” I said. “Everything is going to be fine for the night.”
“And a pain pill,” Tiffany groaned out as she handed Rick a crutch. She leaned heavily on me while we walked up the pathway with Colt and Rick behind us to the front door.
“I’ll get you something to eat before you take the pill,” I said once I managed to get Tiffany seated in front of the fireplace. “A cup of soup?”
“I don’t care as long as I can take a pain pill.”
I slipped out of my rain jacket to hang it up in the mudroom. Colt did the same thing as well, running a hand through the damp strands of his sandy-blond hair. A hint of stubble covered his strong jaw, and there were dark bags underneath his eyes from the lack of sleep the past few days. I knew Colt wasn’t sleeping well since the Iron Stallion had to be closed because of plumbing issues. The financial hit was greater than he let on from what Tiffany told me.
And then adding the events of this morning, I’m sure it was adding up on Colt’s shoulders.
“I’m sorry for all this trouble,” I said. I grabbed a can of chicken noddle soup from the pantry for the three of us. “I really shouldn’t be here much longer. The construction crew is getting along quickly with the barn.”
Colt shook his head at me. “It’s not you that’s causing all of this, Cheyenne. Don’t take responsibility for something that you have no control over. It’s not you doing it.”