He shakes his head, chuckling. “Now, why wouldyouneed trail cams, Ms. Winchester? Mountain lion thefts on the rise?”
“What do you know about that?” she asks.
His eyes dart past her, sizing me up. Then, more coldly, he says, “I know unbranded calves are fair bait.”
“Are they now? Unbranded because of you,” she hisses, crossing the distance toward him before I can blink.
What the fuck is she doing?
Her hands ball at her sides as she squares up to him, leaning against the register counter. “If I were a man, we’d finish this properly.”
My stomach drops. For God’s sake.
Clyde’s eyes dart to me. “Well, the least you could do next time is bring a man with you.”
My jaw tightens, bale of Timothy straw tensing in my hands.
But no. He’s not worth it. And the last thing I can risk is breaking cover. Not now.
She steps an inch closer, voice thick with vitriol. “You’re a traitor and a thief. The worst kind. The kind they would’ve hung a couple of generations back.”
“That a threat?” he asks, with a thin smirk.
That’s when she shoves her finger into his chest, and my pulse quickens. “Tell your boss to stop trespassing and stop stealing my cattle. I know what he’s after. Ain’t gonna happen.”
“If you think you can come in here and treat me like I’m still your employee, you’ve got another thing coming. A woman ranching alone. Stupid as hell.”
He grabs her upper arm, and she tries to pull away.
That’s when my vision goes red. Before I can stop myself, he’s crumpled on the floor next to the dropped bale of grass, cowering with one hand over his face. And I’ve got the imprint of his front teeth on my knuckles.
“Arlo,” Leonora gasps.
But I’m ready to kill the motherfucker. “You ever lay another hand on her, and—” My voice sounds like it’s coming from somewhere distant, pulse raging through my temples.
Now I’ve done it. And I don’t give a damn about the consequences.
“Arlo,” I hear again, but it takes a moment for me to break the stare-down with Clyde. “Arlo, we should go.”
“No,” I grunt. “You need colostrum, selenium… some other—” I cut myself off before cussing. “Batteries.”
“We can get them in Hollister.”
My eyes slide to her face, anger still raging. But more controlled now. And sharpened like the tip of an arrow, not a sledgehammer.
“I don’t want to give them my money. Just wanted to pass that message.” She looks at Clyde.
He opens his mouth to speak, then thinks better of it, wiping blood from the side of his mouth. “Gonna call the sheriff. Press charges. Sue your ass for this.”
I chuckle. “Oh, yeah?” I’m a hair’s breadth away from telling him I can take his report.
But no, not yet.
Not until this job is done clean.
Back at the ranch, after a side trip to Hollister, more stall mucking than I’ve ever done in my life, and a thousand other chores, Leonora plops down next to me on the porch stairs, handing me a bottle of beer. In the gloaming, the sky streaks with shades of pink, raspberry, lavender, and blue. The prettiest sunset I’ve ever seen.
But it doesn’t hold a candle to the woman next to me.
