Her husband had never said anything, but the look he’d given her had told her she’d disappointed him again.
Though she’d tried her best to forget Clay and be happy in her new marriage to Jeff, Siobhan had never quite made the transition as she’d hoped.
And now she never would have the chance.
WHEN THEY REACHED the first valley pasture, Clay took over, assigning each of them positions behind the herd.
“Let’s do this easylike,” he instructed. “Keep moving in big arcs, keep your eyes on the cows like you’re predators sizing up the herd. Don’t make any sharp movements or loud sounds. I don’t want the cows scared. I want them anxious, so they’ll bunch together.”
Cows that got too excited when driven would run wildly. That could cause stress and possible injuries to the animals, not to mention wear and tear on the fencing.
Clay kept his eyes on Siobhan, not just because he liked watching her, but because he was checking to see how well she was doing.
“Patience, Siobhan,” he called out when she let Warrior dance around several cows off to one side. “Keep it easy. Big, slow sweeps.”
To his satisfaction, she corrected immediately.
Within minutes, the cows and their calves began coming together. Cattle off to the sides of the pasture pulled in. Others hidden in brush rushed out, seeking the safety of the herd.
Once the cows in this pasture were loosely huddled together, Clay said, “Siobhan, Jacy—start applying pressure. Close in on them slowly, and when they start to move, fall back. Esai and Ben, keep your focus on any stragglers.”
They functioned like a well-oiled team. Despite her lack of experience, Siobhan was learning fast and working the herd as hard as anyone else. Clay scouted ahead to check on two other pastures where cows were grazing.
When the others caught up to him, Clay asked the women to keep the cows they already had moving. He and the men dipped into the other two low pastures to flush out the rest of the herd. Eventually they combined all three into one.
The team kept at it most of the morning, pushing cows through a series of small canyons, each higher than the next. Finally they reached rimrock. The way to the top was a long path maybe ten feet wide.
“We’ll need to split the herd again, take them up a couple dozen cows and calves at a time. Easy, so no one panics and hauls off over the edge. Esai, you go first.”
The process slowed down, with each of them taking a turn, leaving the cattle to graze, and then coming back down to the herd for another go. By the time they were on the flat above rimrock, more than half the day was gone. Then they had to start over, interrupting the grazing cows so they could get them to cluster together. Next they would move the herd into one of the fenced pastures where they would spend the next few months.
The team was working smoothly now, and the cows seemed to know what was expected of them. But before they could move off, a commotion of thundering hoof-beats coming at them scattered the herd once more.
“What the hell!” Clay growled, looking to the west. Four men were riding hell-bent-for-leather toward them, two blue heelers running alongside the pack.
Siobhan pulled up next to Clay. “What does Buck Hale think he’s doing?”
“Let’s find out.”
Buck was accompanied by his boys Ricky and Dave. And by a fourth man. Clay knew it was Paco Vargas before he was close enough to really see the other man’s face. He could tell from the way the ex-inmate sat in his saddle.
He and Siobhan rode out and cut off the men before they reached the herd.
“What are you doing on my land, scaring my cows?” Siobhan demanded. “Your cows?” Buck’s expression went all indignant. “I’m here looking for mine. A couple dozen went missing from my east pasture.”
Clay got that Buck’s east pasture must be butted up against one of Siobhan’s. “What makes you think we have them?”
“My fences are all up,” Siobhan countered, “so they didn’t just wander onto my property.”
“No, they went through a gate.”
“How would you know that?” Clay asked, immediately suspicious. He wouldn’t put it past Buck to salt the herd.
Buck ignored him as if he wasn’t even there. He squared his angry expression on Siobhan. “We tracked ’em to your spread, straight to that gate. Now me and my boys are here to get ’em back.”
“Are you accusing me of rustling your cattle, Buck?”
“If the boot fits…”
“Get off my land!” Siobhan ordered, her voice shrill. “All of you!”
“Not without my cows.” Buck signaled his men, and the three riders headed for the herd. “They’ll check for my brand.” He turned to Clay. “That would be a reverse B married to an H.”
“Let them look,” Clay told Siobhan.
Her expression tense, she locked gazes with him as if she thought he was crazy to cooperate. Clay didn’t back down. Finally, she must have remembered that she’d made him her cowboss and he was in charge. She nodded her agreement. He then signaled the others to stay put.
Buck’s men shoved through the herd, scattering it. Great. They were going to have to gather the cows together all over again when Buck’s men were through searching.
“Here’s a couple!” Ricky said and whistled for the dogs. He gave them hand signals, and the dogs cut several cows and their calves out of the herd and pushed them back.
“I’ll take a look,” Siobhan said, cutting free from him and Buck.
Clay remained where he was, offering a silent challenge to his nemesis. Buck said nothing, simply watched as his men undid Clay’s work.
Siobhan was in the midst of cows and dogs. She leaned sideways to check a brand, and Clay saw her body stiffen. She checked another and a third. When she straightened in the saddle, her shoulders were slumped in defeat.
“More here,” Dave said from the other side of the herd.
Clay turned to see Buck’s man cull them from the herd himself. He started driving them back, but Jacy got in his way and jumped down from her horse to inspect the brand. She went from cow to cow to cow and then kicked up a storm of dust in a fit of bad temper.
“So,” Buck said, getting Clay’s attention, “is this what Siobhan hired you to do, or was cutting into my herd and rustling cattle your idea, mestizo?”
“Or maybe it was yours,” Clay countered, fighting the urge to slam a fist in the other man’s face. Buck was looking real satisfied. Clay followed the direction of his gaze to find Vargas escorting several cows in their direction. “Maybe that’s why you hired Vargas,” he said, turning back to a scowling Buck.
“Think you can make a case with that? We’ll see what Sheriff Tannen has to say about it.”
“What’s this about Sheriff Tannen?” Siobhan asked as she rejoined them.
“I thought I’d have me a heart-to-heart with the good sheriff,” Buck said. “I know for a fact that he doesn’t like rustlers, thinks they’re low-down varmints.”
Siobhan urged Warrior forward and got in Buck’s face. “I’m no rustler, Buck. Lots of things have been going wrong on the Double JA lately, starting before Jeff died. Maybe his death was no accident. Maybe I ought to talk to Sheriff Tannen about that? Think he likes murderers, Buck?”
Even knowing her temper, Clay couldn’t believe she was angry enough to reveal her suspicions. “That’s enough, Siobhan!”
Whipping around in the saddle, she shot a furious expression at him. He imagined she had a lot she wanted to say to him, but she pressed her lips together in a hard, straight line.
“You’ve got your cows, Buck,” Clay said. “Now leave and take your dogs with you.” With that, he aimed a hard look at Vargas, who seemed amused at the encounter. “Especially that one.”
Rather than taking exception, Vargas grinned at him. “Hey, Salazar, ain’t you glad to see your old friend? You’re not surprised, are you? Remember, I told you I was getting work on a ranch.”
“Don’t worry, I rem
ember everything you said.”
Vargas actually had the audacity to throw back his head and laugh at that.
“C’mon, boys,” Buck said, turning his horse away from them. “Our work here is done.”
He led them back the way they’d come. Vargas caught up to him and the men exchanged something that made them both laugh.
And put a burr under Clay’s saddle.
“Do you think he’ll really go to the sheriff?” Siobhan asked, sounding worried.
“Maybe. Especially if he seeded the herd to make trouble for you. He’ll hedge his bets, make himself look innocent.”
“What if he gets me arrested? I might not have enough money for bail.”
Clay realized Siobhan looked scared. He’d seen her in a lot of moods, but never scared before. All his protective instincts rose, but he had to keep them in check. She wouldn’t appreciate the personal touch.
“Don’t worry, if you get put behind bars, one way or another, I’ll get you out. Let’s finish the job here.” He couldn’t help the sharp note to his voice when he added, “So you’re not late for your date tonight.”
The scared expression immediately disappeared. “I told you it’s not a date. It’s a meeting.” Spine straight, she rode off.
And Clay settled down inside. That was the Siobhan he knew…
The woman he’d never forgotten…
The one he’d come to realize he still loved.
Chapter Six
“I’m real glad we’re doing this,” Early Farnum said, glancing away from the two-lane road curving through the mountains to look at Siobhan.
She ignored the personal note in his tone and kept her gaze on the passing landscape—striated rock punctuated by stands of juniper and big piñon pine trees.
“Yes, whether or not new uranium mines are opened in this area is an important issue,” Siobhan agreed. “We should be on top of the situation.”
“I think you know that’s not what I meant.”
“But that’s why I’m here with you, Early—because of the meeting.”
“The meeting is simply a way for us to get to know each other better.” Siobhan thought she knew Early well enough as it was. He held no personal interest for her. The only man occupying her thoughts was Clay…
That morning, he’d taken charge as though he was her partner in the business, not hired help. Or maybe something more. The way she’d caught him looking at her more than once had made her stomach knot with unresolved tension. He’d changed, all right. Since leaving Soledad, Clay Salazar had matured into a real man, one who was sure of himself, one who set her nerves on edge.
She shook away his image.
Not wanting to be snide with Early, she simply said, “Yes, it’s good to know your neighbors.”
“Especially when they have so much in common.”
He simply wasn’t going to leave it alone, making Siobhan regret she hadn’t been more direct with him. She should have refused the ride.
“Really? What is it you think we have in common?”
“Well, we have neighboring ranches in canyon country. We have the same concerns for our cattle. We’re committed to our way of life.”
“I inherited the Double JA. It’s not something I sought out. It’s not my dream life.”
“Then why don’t you put the ranch up for sale?” he asked.
“It’s the source of income not only for me but also for Jeff’s family. Plus, it’s his sister’s home—Jacy has always lived there.”
She’d thought about signing the ranch over to Jacy—she’d seen the look of despair on her sister-in-law’s face the day the will had been probated—but she knew there were reasons Jeff hadn’t left the ranch to his sister, reasons he wouldn’t talk about. Plus, she knew he wanted a different life for his sister. If Jacy owned the ranch, she would never leave.
Siobhan went on. “And Jeff’s stepmother’s retirement depends on the checks I send her. That would be horrible if Helen had to go out and find some kind of job at her age. All she knows is ranch work.”
“But Jeff left the ranch to you—it’s your decision, Siobhan,” Early insisted. “You could invest the money and still provide incomes for all concerned. Then you could follow your own dream.”
A thought that had tempted her more than a few times. But with the economy in the toilet and the ranch in shaky straits because of all the problems she’d been having, Siobhan didn’t see how that was a viable option.
Not now, anyway.
She needed to get on better footing before making any kind of decision about her future.
But since he’d brought it up…
“Let’s be honest, Early,” she said. “My ranch is tiny compared to yours. So what is it about the Double JA that has you so interested?”
“Your spread is on quality pasture land with protection in the winter and plenty of water. You can run the same number of cows as I do on less land. And I have to admit I enjoy enlarging my little empire. My dream is someday to be the biggest cattleman in all of New Mexico.”
“We don’t seem to have much in common then, after all,” Siobhan concluded.
That seemed to discourage Early. He quit the conversation and concentrated on his driving.
And Siobhan sank into an uneasy silence punctuated with more thoughts of Clay.
What was he doing now?
After they’d moved the herd, he’d ridden off to his cabin without so much as a “See you in the morning.” Surely she would see him in the morning—then they would go check out the site of Jeff’s murder as Clay had suggested. The possibility that she might have put him off, that he might give up on her and not help her sort out what was going on, was the only reason she had to feel anxious.
Suddenly she realized where they were…within spitting distance of the place that she and Clay had called their own when wanting to be alone…
CURLED UP ON THE GRASS outside the shelter, Siobhan leaned into Clay, gathering his warmth, connecting at every level. Except that she was blocking some news he wouldn’t take well. But she knew she had to talk to him about it, to tell him now before he heard from someone else. She had to give him fair warning before she had to leave.
Her stomach fluttered as she said, “There’s a change in my plans, Clay.” She knew he would hate this. “Next month I’m going away to school. To Colorado State.”
Clay tightened his hold on her. “But you’ve already been in college for two whole years. Why make a change now? Why do you have to go away?”
The desperation in his voice nearly killed her. She couldn’t look at him. Though she didn’t want to leave him, she had to follow her dream before it was too late.
“The University of New Mexico doesn’t offer what I want to study,” she said. “Colorado State has a great equine science program that I can’t get here.”
His hold tightened on her. “But CSU is at the other end of the world.”
She’d fought her own wishes in the matter for two years because she hadn’t wanted to leave Clay, but it was now or never. She’d always dreamed of working with horses like her mother did, but also on a more advanced level. She could be even more effective with the right education. Horses had always been her passion. Either she made the change in schools or she gave up the dream.
“It’s only Fort Collins—less than five hundred miles,” she said, turning in Clay’s arms so she could look into his eyes. “I’ll be home plenty. I promise.”
“If you leave here, you’ll forget me. You’ll find someone else.”
“I won’t. I promise. I’ll never forget you. And I’ll be back sooner than you think.”
His worry made her ache inside. He was in pain and she couldn’t stand it. She kissed him and for a moment was suspended in time.
For a moment they were one…mind…heart…breath…
Not that she didn’t want more, but she’d heard the stories, stories that scared her for him. McKenna stories. She didn’t want Clay hurt because of her.
BLINKING BACK TO THE present, Siobhan realized they’d reached town limits. Recovering from the memory wasn’t easy. She could still feel Clay’s pain reverberating inside her. She steeled herself. She wasn’t a kid anymore and she wasn’t in love. A memory was just that…like a dream you once had but that you couldn’t grasp.
This was the real world with responsibility to the land and to the people who depended on it. She needed to refocus her thinking.
The feed store was at this end of town, the community center at the other, the church and bar across from each other in the middle. Small shops and businesses, mostly flat-roofed adobe structures, surrounded them, all lined up along County Road. There was a small plaza, a square with trees and flowers and benches and even a little gazebo where members of the high school band sometimes played on nice summer nights. The grammar school was set back off the road to the east, the high school on a big piece to the west. Several dozen houses were set back on side streets, but the majority of people who would be at this meeting were ranchers, not townspeople.
Checking her watch, she said, “I just have enough time to stop at the feed store and put in an order. You can let me off and I’ll catch up with you at the community center.”
“You’re the boss.”
Siobhan figured Early was being ironic, but he didn’t further challenge her, just did as she asked and let her off at the store.
“Catch you in a few.”
“I’ll be looking forward to that,” he said, his expression gone sour.
Siobhan forced a smile and let herself out of the vehicle. Early drove off in a fit of dust, making her think maybe he finally got the message.
MAKING A MULTIPURPOSE TRIP to the correctional center, Clay arranged to take time off first thing. Other than a curious look, the coordinator of the horse training program didn’t question him, just granted the three-week leave.
Brazen Page 6