No. No explanation, no reasons.
Mona Grainger moved up a notch in Reeds esteem. He didnt care for Sheriff Parker Lee. Okay, if not the sheriff, why not the DPS?
An unladylike snort escaped her. Public Safety referred me to local law enforcement. As she neared the top of the small rise, she knelt in the grass and dropped to her hands and knees, inching toward the ridgeline.
Following her lead, Reed did the same until hed crawled up beside her in the grass. A moonless night had settled in, with a million stars lighting the heavens. On the other side of the hill, a dark ribbon of road stretched for miles, disappearing in the blackness.
As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, Reed made out tiny red dots in the distance just as they disappeared over the horizon. Possibly the blink of brake lights on a tractor-trailer rig.
Did you see that? Mona asked.
Yeah.
Hundred bucks says thats a truck full of Rancho Linda cattle. She stood and fired a shot at the retreating vehicle, not that her rifle had that kind of distance.
An answering shot echoed through the darkness.
Reed grabbed Mona and pulled her to the ground.
Some of them are still down there. Id like to keep my job for longer than a day, if you dont mind.
The sound of a small engine revving carried across the hill.
Come on! Mona leaped to her feet and scrambled back down the slope to the truck.
Right behind her, Reed climbed into the truck and switched it to four-wheel drive. They topped the hill doing thirty and plunged downward to the field below.
Taillights glowed red on the road over a mile away. The rustlers had a head start on them. If they had any kind of horsepower in their vehicle, theyd be gone before Reed and Mona made the highway.
Damn. Mona held on to the handle above the door as the truck bounced over uneven terrain, small bushes and rocks on its descent to the bottom of the hill.
Meanwhile, the taillights disappeared into the night.
Reed eased across the cut barbed-wire fence, careful not to get wire wrapped around the axles. When he pulled up onto the pavement, he turned to Mona. Want me to follow?
Hell, yeah. Mona slammed her palm against the armrest. They cant get away with this. Those are my cattle.
With the lead the rustlers had, Reed didnt think they had a chance, but he gunned the truck and flew down the road, gaining speed until the pickup traveled at over one hundred miles per hour. For the next thirty minutes, they raced over deserted highways and back roads, but the truck and tractor-trailer rig had disappeared.
When he came to a crossroad where the county road T-junctioned onto a state highway, Reed pulled to a stop and turned to his new boss. Which way?
Instead of looking at the highway stretching to the left or right, she stared straight ahead across an open field in front of them. The lights from the dash glinted off the moisture in her eyes. Once again, her hair had escaped the confines of the elastic band shed worn earlier and laid across her shoulders in shiny waves of ebony.
Tempted to reach out and touch the strands, Reed gripped the steering wheel tighter. He wanted to comfort her, give her reason to hang on. Something told him she wouldnt appreciate any sympathy from him or any other man.
She sat there, her jaw firmed, her lips thinning into a straight line. In case you havent gotten the hint, this is the reason why I hired you. Tomorrow we come up with a plan to stop these thieves. Do you still want the job?
More than ever. The challenge excited him, almost as much as his new boss. Yes.
Good. Now, if youll excuse me. She opened the door, climbed down from the truck and threw up in the ditch.
Chapter Three
Just like you said, the fences were cut and there were tire tracks in the dirt by the road. Other than that, we didnt find any other evidence. Sheriff Parker Lee stood with his hat still firmly planted on his head, despite being indoors. A smug look barely hid beneath the surface of his painted-on concern.
Monas stomach burbled, the acid churning nonstop since Parker Lee stepped through her door. She swore shed never let him set foot on her property in her lifetime. But then tough times called for compromises. You cant tell me youre still clueless. Thats three hits in the past month. Mona stopped midway across the living room to face the one man she hated more than any other. Whats it gonna take to get you to do something about this problem?
The sheriff stepped forward and laid his hands on her shoulders. Now, Mona, if youd just let me take care of you like I promised, none of this would be happening.
Her anger turned to deep dark rage. If her eyes could shoot venom, shed have poisoned Parker Lee with one look. Get your hands off me.
Mona His fingers tightened on her arms until they hurt.
Mona cocked her knee, ready to plant it square in his groin.
The lady told you to get your hands off her. Reed pushed through the screen door and entered the room. He stood with his feet braced apart, his cowboy hat in one hand.
Bryson. Sheriff Lees eyes narrowed. I didnt expect you to be out here. I thought you headed back to Chicago.
Hardly.
Mona shot a look at Reed. Shed hired him on the spot without so much as an interview. She knew nothing else about this man. Hes with me.
You do know Bryson here was a deputy for all of five months before I fired him. Cant have a deputy who refuses to follow orders. Lees brows rose. Aint that right?
Reeds lips thinned, but he refused to answer, although his gaze remained on Sheriff Lee.
Mona liked him all the more for not rising to Parker Lees bait. She couldnt claim the same amount of restraint. Too often shed come close to scratching the mans eyes out. A purely female reaction to a lying, deceiving man. Thank God she was over him.
Mona? Whats goin on here? A booming voice sounded outside on the porch before her uncle Arty pushed through the doorway. Whats the sheriff doin here?
Her two ranch hands, Dusty Gaither and Jesse Lopez, followed him in.
Pardon, Miss Mona, Jesse said. He insisted on coming in.
Oh great. Now they could have one happy hoedown. The dry cereal shed forced herself to eat that morning threatened to come up. Someone made off with thirty head of Rancho Linda cattle.
Told your daddy to leave this place to me. Aint right to saddle a girl with this much responsibility.
Monas head hurt and she didnt want to take anything for the pain, but the pain was making her stomach act up.
Rosa Garcia, her housekeeper and surrogate mother, appeared by her side with a tray of lemonade and crackers. Eat this, she whispered.
The thought of putting anything past her lips made her even more nauseous, but if she didnt, shed be sick in front of all three men. Mona lifted a cracker and a glass of lemonade. Thank you.
Ive tried to tell her the same. She needs a man around here. The sheriffs chest puffed out as if to say he was the one who should fill that role.
Mona swallowed her cracker in two bites, choking on what Parker Lee implied. I can manage the ranch on my own.
Uncle Arty snorted. Do you call losing thirty cattle managing? How many did you lose last week? Twenty more? You cant manage a six-thousand-acre ranch with just a few Mexicans. For all you know, theyre the ones stealing from you.