“Morning,” Steven called out, his voice steady despite the uncertainty that lay ahead.
“Good morning,” Elaina replied. “Did you sleep?”
“Enough,” he said, though his mind had wrestled with strategies and contingencies well into the night. The foreman’s deceit was a tangled web they would have to unravel.
They walked side by side toward the barn. Steven knew that each cowboy under the foreman’s influence could be a spy, every shadow a hiding place for treachery.
“Beau and Nathaniel will be here soon,” Elaina mentioned, her tone carrying a hint of gratitude for the two allies they had found among her staff. “They agree with your plan to implement the new tracking system.”
“Good.” Steven felt a glimmer of hope at that. If they could secure the loyalty of a few, perhaps others would follow.
“George won’t make this easy,” Elaina cautioned, her gaze lingering on the bunkhouse where George reigned supreme. “He has the others’ ears.”
“Then we’ll speak louder with our actions,” Steven resolved. “We’ll show them what this ranch can be, what they’ve lost under his leadership.”
