Landon’s breaths were coming too fast. His gaze returned to Kitty, and his voice went low. “Is he here because he has money?” It was a petty accusation. He didn’t actually expect her to admit to being a gold digger.
She shrugged, unoffended. “I’ve had unexpected expenses.”
He nearly didn’t know what to say to her. “This is how you deal with unexpected expenses?”
He’d spoken too loudly. She shushed him. “He’ll hear you.”
Landon didn’t care. Blood pounded in his ears. As the man ambled up to Kitty, Landon said, “You move pretty fast for someone your age. Are you trying to rush her into this so she doesn’t have a chance to change her mind?”
“Landon!” Kitty coughed out. Her eyes went wide.
Landon didn’t even slow down. “Do you just come to a place and start throwing money around to buy people? Because anyone who buys people this fast will discard them just as quickly.”
The man stared at Landon in bewilderment. “I was not throwing money.” He had a German accent. “What do you mean ‘buying people’? I did not come to your country for that sort of thing.” He turned to Kitty, alarmed. “What does he mean, ‘buying people?’”
“Nothing,” Kitty chirped. “He doesn’t mean anything.”
Landon was about to enlighten the guy about what he meant when Kitty took a firm hold of his arm. “Landon, this is my houseguest, Mr. Gunther. He and his wife are staying here while they visit Tombstone, and then they’re going to the Grand Canyon. Mr. Gunther, this is Mr. Wyle from the ranch next door.”
He and his wife. Oh. That changed things considerably. And meant Landon had just yelled at a stranger. He cleared his throat uncomfortably. “I’m sorry. I thought that…I misunderstood why you were here.” The apology didn’t seem to be enough, and Landon wasn’t sure how good the man’s English was, so he stepped over and shook his hand. “I’m very sorry, sir,” he annunciated. “Enjoy your time in our country.”
The man still stared at him warily. Landon pointed to his cowboy hat. “I’ve been chasing cattle rustlers today. It’s made me a mite ornery. Sorry again.”
Mr. Gunther edged his way closer to Kitty. “If you are done with your photos, I will ask for the wifi password.”
“It’s coyoteguest,” she said. “One word. All lowercase.”
He nodded, shot a parting glance at Landon, and turned back to the house. His boots made quick scuffing noises as he walked, most likely because he was trying to get away from Landon as fast as possible.
“I really did fight cattle rustlers today,” Landon called after him. “That’s why the police were here.”
Mr. Gunther glanced over his shoulder but didn’t respond.
Kitty watched him go with a wilting sigh on her lips. “They’re my first AirBnB guests, and now they’ll probably leave me a horrible review.”
“When did you start taking in guests?” Knowing that detail would have saved Landon from just making a fool of himself. “And why are you traipsing around in a wedding dress?”
She looked down at herself as though she’d forgotten she wore it. “I was taking pictures for my website. I’m going to start offering Coyote Glen as a wedding venue, so I need some advertising shots.”
And now he could completely relax. No fiancé lurked around. The wedding dress was a business venture. Kitty wasn’t about to walk out of his life forever.
She tilted her head, a motion that made loose ringlets lay against her throat. “Did you actually think I was going to marry Mr. Gunther?”
Landon waved his hand at her outfit. “You’re wearing a wedding dress. It wasn’t a wild assumption.”
Her eyebrows cocked up. “So you figured I’d marry the first guy who blew through town with a European accent and fake leather boots?”
“You said you had expenses.”
She folded her arms. “I’m not sure how insulted I should be by that implication, but I’m pretty sure I should be at least midrange insulted.”
This conversation was suddenly headed the wrong way. He put his hand to his chest. “I tackled a criminal for you today.”
“That’s true.” Her expression softened with appreciation and her arms unfolded. “Thank you.” She looked beautiful when she smiled at him like that.
“Did I mention I scraped up my knuckles?”
She stepped closer, took hold of his hand, and examined it. The swelling had gone down, leaving just a few red patches. Her fingers made soft gliding motions over his skin. Made it hard to think straight.
“Do you want some antibiotic ointment?” she asked.
“No, just a little more gratitude.” He’d missed the feel of her hand on his.
She let go of his hand and hugged him, surrounding him in silk, lace, and perfume. He wrapped his arms around her. Her body against his was warm and familiar. Right. She not only looked good in a wedding dress but she felt good in one too. It made all sorts of thoughts go off in his head.
“I’m so grateful,” she said, “I could kiss you.” She pulled away, and her smile turned teasing. “Although technically, I suppose I’ve already done that.”
“There’s not a limit.” He would’ve drawn her back to him if Samantha and Gary hadn’t stood in the pasture, getting water for the cattle. Instead Landon let his hands fall to his sides. His gaze kept traveling over Kitty. He couldn’t help himself. As an excuse for staring, he said, “Shouldn’t wedding photos be of a couple?”
Her eyes brightened. “You have a suit. Do you want to be my groom?”
A tempting idea. One that could come with all sorts of benefits. “Are you proposing?”
“Wait, no.” She bit her lip. “Never mind. I can’t use you.”
“I might not mind so much.” He was still thinking of the benefits. Turned out he had a vivid imagination.
She shook her head. “My parents are bound to check the website, and they might come unglued if they see wedding pictures of us.”
“In that case, I accept.”
She laughed, a sound that was light and airy. He’d forgotten how her laugh wrapped around his heart.
“Hopefully, bridal shots are enough,” she said. “I already spent half the day dragging my tripod around.” She let her eyes linger on him, still smiling. “You really thought Mr. Gunther was my type?”
“Just promise me you’ll never do something as impulsive as up and marrying someone without a proper engagement period.”
“Impulsive doesn’t always mean wrong.” She brushed off a piece of straw that had found its way onto her skirt. “I might be impulsive if the right guy asked.”
She was clearly torturing him as payback for the way he’d broken up with her. And it was working. “The right guy can be patient,” he said flatly.
The pasture gate clanged shut. Samantha was heading over to them. The time for personal conversations was over.
Kitty touched Landon’s arm, drawing his attention back to her. “Thanks for everything you did.” Her sincerity almost pained him. She used to talk to him like this when they’d been dating—her voice soft and intimate and full of promises of tomorrow.
Samantha appeared at Landon’s side. “Ready to go?” Her gaze bounced between him and Kitty, trying to read the situation. Landon wished his cousin luck in that regard. He was having a hard time reading Kitty himself. She flirted with him and in the next breath told him her parents couldn’t abide the thought of them being together.
“Yeah, I’m ready to go.” Landon held out his hand for the keys.
“Thanks for your help,” Kitty told Samantha, “It was nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too.” Samantha tossed Landon the keys and headed to his truck.
Landon stayed for another moment, delaying his goodbye. “If you don’t find a hole in your fence, you’d better figure out how many people have your gate code. Change it anyway to be on the safe side.” Probably unnecessary instruction, but he’d missed talking to her. He missed hearing those tomorrows
in her voice.
“I will. Thanks, Landon. Really.”
Landon didn’t have a reason to say more, so he said his goodbyes and headed to his truck, replaying her comments on eloping. He’d always taken it for granted that she would still be single come next September, that he would have a chance to set things right between them. Now he wasn’t so sure.
Chapter Twenty-Five
“So you roughed up a German tourist in a fit of jealous rage?” Jaxon asked.
Landon, Jaxon, and Preston were moving irrigation pipe from a pile in front of their barn onto a trailer.
“I didn’t rough him up,” Landon clarified. “I just yelled at him and inadvertently accused him of human trafficking. But that’s not the point of the story.”
Preston took hold of the ends of two pipes and waited for Landon to pick up the other sides. “Yeah, the point of the story is that you can start the day being so cool you take down cattle rustlers, but if you’re in love with the wrong woman, you’ll end up making a fool of yourself.”
“That,” Landon said, “is also not the point of the story.” He hefted the pipes up.
“That’s the point I took from it,” Preston said.
Jaxon had just finished hitching the trailer to the back of the truck. “So what were we supposed to learn from the story?”
Preston and Landon carried the pipes to the trailer and dropped them into it with a clank. “When I saw Kitty in that dress, I was willing to do just about anything to stop her from marrying the wrong man.”
Preston headed back to the pile. “You mean the forty-year-old, already married German tourist?”
“I mean anyone who isn’t me.” Landon adjusted his gloves and joined Preston in carrying the next set. “The next time she wears that dress, I want her to be walking down an aisle toward me. Can’t stop thinking about it, in fact. And that means, despite what everyone thinks, I don’t have commitment issues. At least not since Kitty moved back.”
Jaxon wiped his hands on his jeans. “That would be good news if the two of you were actually dating, and her parents didn’t hate you, and she wanted to stay in Arizona.” He headed over to help with the pipe. “But congratulations on getting over your commitment issues.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Kate rode Marigold next to the fence line in the front section, searching for any sort of break. She’d changed into her jeans and boots. The only remnants of her photo shoot were the loose curls in her ponytail and her smoky eyeshadow. Gary was riding the ATV, checking a different section.
She imagined a stream of cattle making their way out of a gaping hole in a bid for freedom. If they wandered onto the freeway, they could be hit and killed. Or worse, they could cause an accident that injured others.
Each cow was worth over a thousand dollars. Some were worth several thousand. If more of her herd was missing, she would have to make a police report and file an insurance claim.
Once while Kate lived in Seattle, she’d had her purse stolen at an outdoor cafe. A guy strolled by her chair and snatched her purse. By the time Kate processed what had happened, he was sprinting down the block. She’d felt violated and powerless.
This theft felt so much worse. She couldn’t help but wonder if the accomplice was someone she knew in the community. She was an easy target: the outsider, the woman who was only ranching because she had to, the woman who would cut off the Wyle Away’s water supply. Or maybe Dewayne had done it as revenge for firing him. This theft might be personal.
She was so focused on considering suspects that she almost missed the spot where the barbed wire had been cut. She’d been expecting a trailer-sized hole. Instead, the fence almost looked normal. This was because someone had taken the trouble to bend the barbed wire back into place and had even duct taped the cut pieces together.
The good news was that Kate wouldn’t have to search I-80 for wandering cattle. The bad news was she could think of only one reason thieves would take the trouble to camouflage their cut. They meant to come back and steal from her again in this same spot. Perhaps they’d already done it many times.
She wouldn’t know until the cattle were counted. Spread across different sections of thirty-eight thousand acres, that wasn’t going to be a quick and easy task.
The next morning, Kate, Gary, and a few hired hands set out to roundup the cattle into the front and back corrals. Kate didn’t have much confidence in her ability to motivate cows to run anywhere, let alone in the right direction, but Missy proved that she was worth the large amounts of dog food she consumed every day. She trotted behind the cattle, happily nipping at their heels despite their attempts to kick her. If any veered the wrong direction, she flew toward their flanks to steer them toward the corral. The dog seemed to think it was all a great game.
Marigold also knew what to do without being told. Every time a cow considered sneaking away, she cut off its path—thus the term cutter. Sitting atop Marigold made Kate feel rather authoritative, like she actually knew what she was doing and belonged out here rounding up cattle. Maybe the trick to successful ranching was having a good horse and dog.
Gathering the cattle took most of the day. Then Kate stood by the front corral gate with a clipboard and recorded the ear tags of each animal as it was let go. Gary was stationed at the back corral doing the same thing.
When Kate had released about two thirds, her chest began a painful, disbelieving clench. Gary had already called her with his headcount and was riding her way so they could compare lists. She’d expected that the thieves had taken more than just the six that Landon had recovered. She’d feared as many as a dozen could be gone. But the quantity of remaining slots on her printout and the dwindling number of cows in the coral told her the number was more than two dozen. Selling branded cattle was supposed to be risky and difficult. Obviously not difficult enough.
With each ear tag number Kate checked off, her mind turned to other calculations. The insurance company would reimburse her for the price of cattle, but she would incur expenses buying them. Gary would have to take time off work to evaluate, purchase, and transport them. They’d need to be vaccinated, dewormed, de-liced, and de-anything else.
New cattle couldn’t graze with the rest of the herd until she was sure they were disease-free, so they’d have to be penned and given feed for their first month. Time and money she couldn’t afford.
The last cow trotted through the gate. Kate counted up the slots on her printout. Twenty-six. More than ten percent of her herd. Was that number a coincidence or was it proof someone in the community disliked her enough to try and ensure she didn’t succeed? The thought made her feel nauseous. Whatever the motivation, the number of stolen head was doubly damaging because her cows were all pregnant. She’d not only lost them, but twenty-six calves as well.
Unless the thief had taken some bulls. Kate brought up Gary’s text to check his list. If any bulls were gone, along with everything else on her plate, she’d have to research breeding bulls to make sure Gary didn’t ruin her herd by purchasing subpar animals. He was bound to buy whatever replacements were easiest because he knew she couldn’t tell the difference.
It took her several moments to remember she didn’t have to worry about next year’s breeding. She’d be gone. That thought brought a pang to her chest she hadn’t felt before.
After a half hour, Gary arrived. He got out of his truck and sauntered up to her, his hands tucked underneath his armpits. He looked at the empty corral, not at her. He seemed to already know the news was bad. “How many did we lose?”
The cattle weren’t lost. They’d been stolen. “Twenty-six.” Her voice sounded strange, detached. “I only have one hundred and thirty-six pregnant cows left. So even after calving season, I’ll only have two-hundred and seventy-two head, plus the bulls, but that’s only if all the calves survive, which they won’t. I’ve either got to replace the stolen ones with cow-calf pairs or buy about forty head to ensure I have a buffer for any who die.”
“This
is why you’ve got insurance.” Gary cut a glance to her. “You won’t lose the ranch.”
“How do we make sure others don’t get stolen?” She couldn’t afford any more losses.
“I’ll spend extra time patrolling the fences.”
That wouldn’t be enough. One person couldn’t keep an eye on miles and miles of fences. And what was to keep a thief from coming in the dead of night? “Can we set up cameras?”
Gary took off his hat and ran his fingers through his mussed hair. “Covering the entire fence line would take a lot of cameras—probably run thousands of dollars.”
More money she didn’t have. “I know I can’t afford it, but I can’t afford to have my cattle stolen either.” A theft right before September second would be especially disastrous. “I need cameras. I’ll have to figure out how to get the money.”
He put his hat back on. “Don’t worry. Once the insurance reimburses you, I’ll find some cheap cattle. I bet I can even talk some sellers into waiting for half their payment until after September.”
She automatically shook her head. “I can’t have outstanding debts on the books.”
He raised a hand to quiet her protests. “We’ll do it off the books. No one needs to know.”
Very few legal activities included the phrase, “No one needs to know.” So yeah, that idea wasn’t going to work.
One of Gary’s men made his way over. “Anything else for us, boss?”
“Nothing today.” Gary pulled a wad of money from his pocket and counted out bills. The sight of them was a reminder that this roundup was another additional expense she hadn’t budgeted for. “I’ve got to drive my men back to town,” Gary said. “We’ll talk about this later.”
Kate nodded. She’d already texted her parents the results of the roundup. Hopefully, her father would have suggestions for safeguarding the cattle. She thanked Gary’s men and trudged to the house to finish the paperwork. Once that was done, she scanned the forms into the computer and sent them to both her insurance agent and the police.
The Cowboy and the Girl Next Door: (A Clean, Enemies to Lovers Romance) Wyle Away Ranch Book 1 Page 20