“Nope, same bags it’s always been. They load them in the back of the truck like they always have.”
“What about the hay?”
“Same fields. I had someone out to check the soil, thought maybe we were getting run off from somewhere, but it all came out good.”
“Why didn’t you tell me that a few seconds ago? Why were you worried about runoff? Someone buy the Tackett property?” I ask, referring to the fifty acres to the north of the ranch. It’s the only one that has gone up for sale recently.
“No, we’ve had some developers in town snooping. They were trying to buy Tackett out, but he didn’t sell. A nice family from Oklahoma purchased it instead. Rumor has it that the developer plays a little dirty.”
“What’s the name of the company?”
“Shit. I don’t remember. You’re asking me too many questions and I don’t have time for this. I have too much to do.”
“Dad, you asked me to come help you figure this out, and that’s why I’m here. I’m asking questions so that I can get answers and stop whatever is happening. If you don’t want to answer them, then I’ll make use of my time at the other ranches where they don’t mind answering.”
He glares back at me. “Might should ask around town. Someone else would know. I have everything I’ve done on the desk in the den. You can look through the invoices on the feed,health checks, whatever your highfalutin degree tells you that you should do.”
I breathe in and out again, slowly.
“Has the development company reached out to you about selling?”
“They haven’t come out to me yet, but they’d meet the end of my Smith and Wesson if they did. They’re not welcome here.”
“I’ll do some digging. Do you have any trail cams or anything up around the property, in case they have been tainting the soil or water or something?”
“Nah. Just out on the back forty where I last seen the skunk ape.”
I nod slowly and resist the urge to roll my eyes. My dad has sworn more than once that he saw a skunk ape on the property. It’s an old folklore for the area—he’s a big, hairy, ape-looking thing that smells atrocious. It’s said that he loves the swamp and delta areas, but he’s not a real thing, just like his supposed cousin, Bigfoot. No one else has seen it, of course, and it’s most likely a wayward black bear that’s looking to mate or for food. It’s rare that there are bear sightings, but it does happen. Although, you can’t tell a stubborn old man anything of the sort.
“Maybe I should get someone out here to set some up. Might be interesting to see if it’s an outside source. Could be as simple as deer carrying something, or any animal for that matter. If they defecate and…”
“I don’t got the money to set up surveillance. I would have done that already if I had.”
“I can take care of it.”
“I’m not a charity.”
“It’s not charity when it’s family,” I groan. “It’s an investment.”
“I don’t need it.”
I could sit here and argue with him, but it’s pointless.
“Dad,” I say, my voice softer than I intended. “Is there anything else you haven’t told me? Anything at all?”
He turns to look at me, his eyes hard but not unkind. “No, dagnabit. I’ve told you everything. What good is that degree of yours if you ain’t doing nothing I ain’t already done.”
I close my eyes and try to rein my emotions back in. “All right. I’ll let you know as soon as I find anything.”
He grumbles something incoherent before tipping his hat and walking back toward the house.
I watch him go, a mix of emotions swirling in my chest. This ranch, this land, it’s been a part of me for as long as I can remember. And despite everything, despite the distance and the hurt, I can’t help but want to save it.
I do what checks I can do alone and then pack up my stuff to head back over to the Callahan Ranch. There are certain things that have to be a two-person job, like loading cattle into the chute. I’ll come back later with Caleb so we can make some headway.
As I climb into the truck and steer back toward the Callahans’, Wade’s gorgeous face pops into my head. I can feel my entire body heat up with the thought of his mouth on mine.
I close my eyes and shake my head. I cannot slip up like that with Wade again. My dad and the entire town are counting on me to save these cattle and I can’t let them down.
