Dad shakes his head as he walks away. If Bishop disowned his own daughter, the fact that she came back here to help him and Hicks Creek speaks volumes about her and her character. She was focused and worked really hard to get answers for us. And most people, especially one that’s supposed to have a rivalry with my family, wouldn’t have done that. She could have told Doc Lucy she wouldn’t come to our ranch, but she didn’t.
Maybe I’ve been looking at Sutton Bishop all wrong.
I’m still distracted by thoughts of her when I reach the barn. The familiar smell of hay and leather greets me, grounding me for a moment. But then I catch movement out of the corner of my eye.
It’s Sutton. She’s jogging down the trail that runs along the edge of the property, her ponytail swinging with each step. She’s wearing a fitted tank top and running shorts, her skin glistening with sweat in the morning sun.
I chuckle to myself. This girl used to despise running, but it seems she’s enjoying it now. Her strides are so smooth, so purposeful. The determination in her expression is like she’s running toward something, or maybe away from it. There’s something different about her.
I lean against the barn door, watching her without meaning to. There’s a grace to her movements, a confidence that’s hard to ignore. My chest tightens, and I tell myself it’s just the sight of someone so familiar in a place that’s been full of nothing but problems lately.
But deep down, I know that’s not it. Not entirely.
She slows as she nears the barn, her breathing heavy but even. When she glances up and sees me, her steps falter for just a second before she recovers.
“Morning,” she says, her voice a little breathless.
“Morning,” I reply, pushing off the doorframe. “Someone chasing you?”
She shakes her head and brushes a stray strand of hair from her face. “Needed to clear my head.”
I nod, not sure what to say. The air is charged with something I can’t quite name. Finally, she gives me a small smile and continues on her way, her pace picking up as she disappears down the trail.
I watch her until she’s out of sight, the image of her burned into my mind. With a sigh, I turn back to the barn, trying to shake the image out of my head. Momentary distraction of something good, but I need to go back into the quarantine area to check if we’ve lost any more cattle.
I can only afford a few minutes off from the bigger problem here. I let out a sigh as I turn around to head into the barn.
Benny throws a handkerchief at me. “Maybe you should clean that drool up there, boss,” he roars with laughter.
I roll my eyes and keep moving. Caleb is saddling up a horse.
“Caleb, what are you doing? The bus will be here in twenty minutes.”
“I told Jared I’d saddle up Johnny. For whatever reason, he does better for me.”
“That’s because Jared doesn’t know how to saddle them up right and won’t listen to anyone about it,” Tommy interjects as he shakes his head. “He gets thrown off one too many times, maybe he’ll listen.”
“Maybe,” I chuckle. “Don’t be late for that bus, Caleb.”
“I still think I could be homeschooled.”
“We’ve been through this. I don’t have the time.”
“It’s all online, pops. I could be done with classes before noon and then be helping on the farm.”
With the cattle dying off, we can’t afford another ranch hand. We’re struggling to pay the ones we got as it is. We’ve had to cut into our savings a lot with all the medical expenses we’ve incurred. Fifteen dead cows mean we lost at least fifteen thousand dollars in sales. We’re a diversified farm, which means we have dairy and beef cattle, and our milk production and sales have also taken a hit. Unless Sutton can figure this out, we’ll probably lose way more than we could ever make this year.
I had stayed home to work the ranch, but I also took classes in order to help the ranch move into the next century. I’d been able to use that to do some consulting and bring in a little extra cash for expenses. But even that isn’t paying the bills in the ways I would like.
Without cattle to sell, it’s going to be a rough winter.
I can only keep the bank at bay for so long, but I also know that we’re not the only ranch having the same issues.
“Did you check on your guest and make sure she had everything she needed?”
“Yes, sir, she’s all taken care of. She has my phone number to text me, too. Grandma said she’d check on her throughout the day. Doc Sutton told me that I can do some checks with her today after school if you’re okay with it.”
“Checks?”
