“We checked all of it already,” Jared interjects.
“Well, we still got sick cattle, so we’re going to figure this out, ya hear?” Dad snaps back.
“Benny and Tommy will be checking the herds, fixing fences, making sure this place doesn’t fall apart. Jared, Caleb, and me will be going through the protocols with a fine-toothed comb.”
“Speaking of the herds,” Tommy pipes up, “What are your thoughts on the fancy doctor?”
Dad raises an eyebrow. “Fancy doctor?”
“Yeah,” Caleb says, leaning back in his chair. “Sutton Bishop. She’s staying in the guest house.”
My kid has the same set of brass balls I did as a teenager. He knows how Dad feels about the Bishop name, and he says it loud and proudly like it wasn’t anything. He’s testing the old man.
“You let a Bishop on this property?” He growls.
It hangs in the air like a thundercloud. I glance at Dad, watching his eyes narrow and his jaw tighten. But before he can say anything, Mom steps in, her hand resting lightly on his shoulder.
“Sutton’s here?” she says, her voice soft and full of something I can’t quite place. “Oh, that sweet girl. I’ll have to bring her some food.”
“You won’t bring her nothing. That damn Frank—”
“You will not curse in my kitchen,” Mama says quickly.
Daddy’s eyes go wide before they narrow and he sits down.
“That Frank Bishop is trying to steal from us again, no doubt. Sending his daughter over here to spy.”
“That girl is one of the best bovine research veterinarians in the world, and she has the awards to prove it,” Mama says back to him.
“Doc Lucy asked her to help the other ranches,” Caleb added quickly. “And she and Mr. Frank haven’t spoken in five years or more.”
I cock my head and glance back at my son. How does he know that? Seems like Sutton is more like us than I realized. Daddy and Frank haven’t spoken in fifteen years; he and Sutton could at least agree on that.
“Sweet girl?” Jared says, grinning. “You mean the one who used to outshoot all of us at target practice?”
Mom chuckles, brushing off his comment. “She’d run circles around everyone when it came to bailing hay, too. Feisty one, she is. I hope everyone’s being welcoming to her. And if anyone can figure out what’s going on with the cattle, it’s her. That child has always had a sixth sense when it came to animals. Could diagnose a cattle or a horse before the vet even made it out to the farm. Ol’ Doc Henry used to say she was gifted.”
Before Doc Lucy took over the veterinary care of Hicks Creek, her dad was the trusted vet in town.
Dad doesn’t say anything; he just grunts and takes another sip of his coffee. The tension in his shoulders is obvious, but Mom keeps her hand there reassuringly.
The conversation shifts to other topics—talk about the weather and if it could be the culprit for the outbreak, and whatever crazy conspiracy theory Jared comes up with as to why the cattle are sick, and soon, everyone’s finishing up their plates and getting ready to head out. Too stressed to actually eat anything, I barely touched the food on my plate. Chairs scrape against the floor as we all stand, the clatter of dishes being cleared away adding to the morning symphony.
Outside, the sun is just starting to climb higher, casting long shadows across the yard. I’m heading toward the barn when I hear Dad’s voice behind me.
“Wade.”
I turn to see him walking toward me, his hat pulled low over his eyes.
“Yeah?” I ask, slowing my pace.
He falls into step beside me, his hands tucked into his pockets. “Do you trust her?”
I know what he means without asking. I shrug, keeping my eyes on the path ahead.
“If you’d have asked me this yesterday when she first got here, I’d have told ya no. Trusting someone who could turn their back on their family and their duty… that’s a tough sell. I don’t know, Pops. Did you know that old coot turned his back on her? Disowned her? I have to believe that’s why she left and stayed away this long.”
He chuffs, a sound that’s half laugh, half scoff. “I didn’t know, but I ain’t surprised. That man ain’t nothing but a cantankerous asshole.”
