“I promise,” I say, and I mean it, even if I have no idea how I’m going to keep that promise.
The sound of another truck approaching makes us both tense, but it’s just Devlin returning from his trip to the northeast pasture. His face is grim as he walks into the barn.
“Noah was just here,” I tell him before he can speak.
“Shit. What did he want?”
“To let us know that he’s watching. And to suggest that we might want to stay close to town in case there are questions.”
Devlin’s jaw tightens. “Questions about what?”
“About three trailers that someone saw with cattle on them late last night,” I say. “About those trucks and trailers moving around in the middle of the night. About Truett’s convenient accident.”
“How much does he know?”
“Enough to be dangerous. Not enough to arrest us. Yet.”
We stand there in silence for a moment, the weight of our situation settling over us like a heavy blanket. Everything we’ve worked for, everything we’ve built, could come crashing down around us. And there’s not a damn thing we can do about it except wait and see what Noah’s next move will be.
“What do we do now?” Aubree asks quietly.
I look at my brother, then at the woman I love, and I feel the familiar weight of responsibility settling on my shoulders. It’s up to me to figure this out, to find a way to protect my family and the ranch that’s been in our blood for generations.
“Now we act normal,” I say finally. “We take care of Truett, we run the ranch, and we don’t give Noah Sanchez any reason to think we’re anything other than what we appear to be.”
But even as I say it, I know it’s going to be harder than it sounds. Because Noah isn’t going to let this go. He’s going to keep digging until he finds what he’s looking for, and when he does, we’re all going to pay the price.
The question is: will we be ready for him when that time comes?
As Aubree slips her hand into mine, her fingers intertwining with mine, I realize that ready or not, we’re about to find out. And this time, there might not be a way out of the situation we’ve gotten ourselves into.
The ranch has always been worth fighting for. Now I just hope it won’t cost us everything to keep it.
TWENTY-ONE
NORA
I pullinto the driveway of the Grizzly River Ranch and slowly take the gravel road down to the big house. I should be at work, but I called in because I can’t concentrate knowing that Truett is injured.
Leaving him last night was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. I’ve loved him since I was a teenager, and he was just my best friend’s older brother. I’ve sat back and watched as he’s done what he’s had to do in order to keep their ranch afloat.
I’ve listened to him worry about when Aubree was living in Chicago.
I’ve seen him date other women.
But through it all, my stupid heart has clenched every single time I’ve gotten a glimpse of him in a crowd.
Parking my truck, I get out and then take the steps quickly, before knocking on the door. Cookie answers, a smile on his face.
“Hey girl, come on in. Heard you saved our boy last night.”
My cheeks heat with embarrassment. I hate being the center of attention. “Yeah, can’t take much credit because he did most of it himself. I’m just glad I gave him a fighting chance.”
“That you did.”
“Has he been awake yet today?” I ask, following him to the kitchen.
“Off and on, here and there. I’ve been keeping up with his pain medication, but it’s almost time for it again, so he might be more lucid.”
