Unstoppable - Sia
Cassidy
The morning was cool with a pale sun in the sky as the gentle noise of the cattle, interspersed with the shouts of ranch hands herding them into pens, could be heard on the breeze. It was a hive of activity as Rosie, the vet, started the annual check of the herd.
“Damn he’s magnificent.”
“Yeah,” I sighed, dreamily.
Lily and I turned to each other, and both barked out a laugh, clearly spellbound by two different Miller brothers as they stood on the bottom bar of the examination pen, one each side, maneuvering cows in, muscles hard and toned as they worked in unison with each other.
“Wow.”
We swung around to see Tally. Her hat clutched against her chest, her mouth open, she stared out toward the boys. I followed her gaze, and it was pinned to Wilder and Glenn, one ofthe younger ranch hands, wrangling a calf between them. Wilder was roping its front legs while Glenn was at the back.
“You okay?” I asked her with a smirk.
She didn’t answer but simply nodded, entranced by one of the boys.
“Think she’s been bitten by the Miller bug?” Lily whispered from the side of her mouth.
“Maybe or could be Glenn.”
We turned back to the boys and watched for a few seconds, when Wilder whipped off his hat and wiped his brow with the back of his hand, I heard a little gasp.
“Wilder,” Lily and I said at the same time with a giggle.
Tally inhaled and blew out her cheeks. “Anyway, sorry to bother you, but there’s someone here to see the guys. Ruth asked me to let them know as I was coming over here. She didn’t want to leave him alone in the office.”
“Did she give a name?” Lily asked.
“Yes.” She grabbed one of her braids and started to run it through her hands, looking nervous, clearly affected by the youngest Miller man. “Nate Jenkins.”
My eyes went wide as Lily turned to the activity with the herd. “I should let them know.” Immediately her fingers went to her mouth, and she gave a shrill whistle. Nash’s head shot around and when he set eyes on his wife a smile lit up his face.
“What’s up?” he yelled over the noise.
She cupped her mouth with her hands. “Nate Jenkins is here.”
The smile slipped from her husband’s face as he tapped Gunner’s shoulder to alert him. He said something to him, and both jumped down from the side of the pen, heading toward Wilder.
Within seconds all three brothers were heading our way having been replaced by other ranch hands.
“Hey, sweetheart.” Gunner leaned in and gave me a quick kiss before turning to Tally. “Where is he?”
Tally startled her attention away from Wilder. “Oh, yeah, sorry. He’s in your office.” Ruth didn’t want to leave him there alone so asked me to divert here on the way to the pool.”
“Thanks, Tally. We’ll get over there,” Gunner replied, turning to his brothers. “Wonder what he wants.”
“No idea, but I guess we’ll soon find out.” The jut of his jaw told me he was ready for a fight. “And if I get any inkling that he knows about the fire you better hold me back.”
“Try and keep it cool, Wild,” Gunner warned. “We don’t need you on a murder charge.”
“He’s right,” Nash said, his hand reaching for Lily’s. “Now let’s go. You too, Cassidy. It’s your project, too.”
When we walked through the door of the office, the atmosphere immediately turned icy. Wilder’s eyes were dark and narrowed on the man sitting in the visitor chair drinking a mug of coffee. Dressed in a suit with a crisp white shirt, he looked entirely out of place in the office with its half wood walls and wooden floors, the rancher coats hanging on the door and the smell of hard work and muddy boots that the boys had brought in with them.
“What are you doing here?” Wilder asked, immediately on the attack.
