"Are you a cattle dog?" she asked.
Her only answer was a wagging tail as she set off at a lope up the long drive.
Cord's truck was throwing up gravel dust. He'd gone south. At least three cows had gone north. He must've gone for the biggest payoff first.
She took the dog and went north. Skirted the first two cows easily, as they'd stopped to graze along the roadside. A lone critter had managed to hightail it down the road, and she urged the dog into a jog to go after it.
There was another drive a half-mile down the road, and a truck was exiting it.
Molly didn't even think about it. She whistled and yelled, waving her arms over her head.
And the driver must've seen her, because the truck headed her direction.
Thank goodness.
Molly kept one eye on the dog as the truck rolled slowly toward her. He gave a friendly wag as the window rolled down.
It was a woman.
Tension whooshed out of Molly.
"Howdy," she said. "Cord's cattle busted the fence. Any chance you can help us round them up?"
The woman's eyes cut behind Molly. Looking at the ranch house? She smiled, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. "I suppose it'd be the neighborly thing to do. I'm Iris. A friend of Cord's from a long time ago."
Molly extended her hand for a quick shake. "Molly. New friend. Very new."
At least she hoped he'd count her as a friend after this.
"That dog know anything about cattle?"
Molly shrugged. "I guess I'm going to find out."
The other woman nodded toward the cow meandering even further up the road. "I'll fetch your runaway."
"Thanks."
Molly left Iris to pull a three-point turn and focused on rounding up the two heifers. They were laid back, if a little skittish.
The two cows were mildly cooperative, and it didn't take long to drive them back through the gate.
There was no sign of Cord or more of his cattle. And with the fence knocked down, chances were good that the animals would just escape again.
She wasn't much use rounding up the cattle without a vehicle, but she did know how to mend fence. She headed for the barn, hoping he had the right tools.
