Kyle

by Jennifer Ashley

  “Hey.” Anna gave the guys a shy smile and a nod. She had no idea what to say to them when she didn’t see them in the context of work.

  Hal and friends didn’t seem to mind, just went back to talking after she slid past them and into the bar.

  The interior was dark, but not so dark no one could see each other. Anna quickly spotted Ray at the bar nursing a beer and gazing indulgently at his sister Lucy, who was halfway across the room at Kyle’s side. She and Kyle laughed and talked with townsfolk who seemed excited to see her.

  Lucy’s smile was too brittle, her gestures too animated. Something had happened, something not good. Anna remembered Lucy’s eagerness to shake the dust of Riverbend from her feet and knew she wouldn’t have come home on a whim.

  She lingered on the outskirts of the conversation, hearing Lucy saying things like, “Oh, I needed a break from the never-ending traffic.” Or, “There’s really no place to get a better steak than Mrs. Ward’s. I’d dream of her food.”

  Kyle stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Lucy, and Ray looked on protectively. Kyle fielded questions that were tough, such as, Weren’t you dating that rich guy you were working for?

  Anna understood the gist. Whatever relationship Lucy’d had with her billionaire boss was over, and she’d retreated to Riverbend to lick her wounds.

  Kyle hadn’t noticed Anna in the shadows yet, Anna holding a beer she’d barely sipped. He was solidly with his sister, shielding her from too much prying, too much heartache.

  Anna’s heart warmed. He was that kind of guy.

  “Um, Dr. Anna?”

  Anna turned at the sugary voice and found herself face-to-face with Tina.

  Tina bathed Anna in a perfect smile. She topped Anna by six inches and had a chest that thoroughly filled out her T-shirt. But in spite of the smile, Tina looked troubled.

  “What’s up?” Anna asked, hoping she didn’t have to give buckle-bunny relationship counseling. And she did not want to think about whether this young woman and Kyle had ever—

  “Virgil dumped me,” Tina broke her thoughts by saying. Anna braced herself to explain, in detail, why Tina was better off, but Tina continued, “And that’s fine, because he can be kind of an asshole, but I won’t get my calf.”

  Anna blinked. “I’m sorry. Your what?”

  “My baby calf. He’s so adorable, and Virgil promised I could have him. But now he won’t call me back, and I heard all his cows are gone. Do you think you can talk to him? He listens to you.”

  Virgil didn’t listen to anyone, but that wasn’t the point. “When did he tell you could have the calf?”

  “When I was helping him feed it. It needed a bottle and it was so cute. He was going to kill it—it wasn’t calving season and it would be too much trouble, he said—but I talked him out of it, or thought I did. It came in with some others he got, but I guess it couldn’t find its mother.”

  “Tina.” Anna faced her, holding her gaze. “This is important. Where did Virgil feed this calf? And were there other cattle there with it?”

  “Sure. There’s a sort of big field between steep hills. He has a feeding area there, where cows could come in and get hay at night if there wasn’t enough on the range. He kept the calf there, but it’s hard to get to, and Virgil won’t answer the phone. I’m so worried.” Her eyes filled with tears. “I don’t want him to kill it.”

  Anna caught Tina’s hands, squeezing them in excitement. “Tina, I’ll take you there. Can you tell me exactly where it is?”

  “I think so. Thank you, Dr. Anna,” Tina gushed. “You’re so nice.”

  “Hang on, just a sec.” Anna hurried to Kyle’s side, giving a quick nod to Lucy’s startled, “Oh, Anna. Hi.”

  Anna clutched Kyle’s sleeve. “Can you come with me? And we should call Ross, and … everybody. And bring Ray along. And Hal and Jack—they’re outside. I think I might know where to find the stolen cattle.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  The long twilight stretched overhead as Kyle drove down the ranch roads Tina pointed out.

  Anna sat next to him, Tina in the back, the young woman leaning forward to give directions. Tina couldn’t remember exactly so they’d backtracked a couple of times, but after she’d peered around in silence for a few turns, she gave a little hop on the seat.

  “This is right. I remember now.”

  Kyle had been down the lanes off this road before, but not for years, and the last time had been on horseback. They might need horses if Virgil hid the cattle too far down this canyon.

  The river that ran through it, Welk’s Creek, was an offshoot of the Colorado, and was alternately dry or flowing, depending on the rains. Welk’s Canyon curved through land that could look flat, but was full of sudden drops, washed out gullies, and arroyos that could hide all manner of things. Kyle had done climbing here before, with Ray, though it had been a while.

  The sun had firmly set by the time Kyle reached the end of the ranch road. A makeshift gate ran across where it petered out, the area to either side fenced off by two rows of barbed wire between evenly spaced wooden posts.

  Several vehicles pulled up with him. Ray was behind the wheel of one, with Hal as his passenger. Behind them came Carter Sullivan and Tyler Campbell, followed by Ross and Harrison in a sheriff department’s SUV. Deputy Sanchez brought up the rear, pulling a horse trailer with four horses ready to go.

  All was quiet. A few rabbits scampered away from the lights, and in the distance coyotes yipped. Wind stirred the grasses on the side of the road, but Kyle saw no sign of cattle.

  “It’s farther on,” Tina said. “We had to hike to get to it.”

  Kyle and Anna had already discussed the idea that Tina might be leading them into an ambush with the Haynes brothers, but they’d dismissed it. First, Tina had always been honest and forthright, and Kyle doubted Virgil would trust her to do any luring. Second, he and Anna hadn’t come alone, in the gathering darkness, without backup or anyone knowing where they were.

  “I’ll take a look,” Kyle said. When Tina started to open the door, Kyle held up a hand. “You stay put. You too.” He pointed at Anna. “If I find anything, I’ll let you know.”

  Anna nodded, not happy with sitting still, but she also wasn’t about to run headlong into danger. Let the sheriff with his gun go ahead of them.

  “Don’t hurt the calf,” Tina pleaded.

  “I won’t,” Kyle promised her.

  Tina was just a kid, he reminded himself, barely into her twenties. He hoped for her sake that Virgil hadn’t simply brought the animals out here and slaughtered them all.

  Ray met him at the gate, which Kyle unlatched. Ray said nothing, but his face was grim. Hal joined them, and Ross led the way, shotgun held ready.

  Kyle and Ray shared a look, then they walked forward together.

  “Damn, cowboys are hot,” Tina observed as they watched the guys in jeans and cowboy boots walk past them. “So are deputies,” she added as Joe Harrison strode by in his crisp uniform. “Joe is the cutest ever, isn’t he? Think he’d go out with a white girl?”

  Harrison wasn’t all that much older than Tina in years, but he had smarts and far more life experience. “Maybe,” Anna said diplomatically.

  “Kyle is super-hot too. I drooled over him for a long time. Oh. Sorry.” Tina shot Anna a guilt-stricken look. “I forgot. You’re into him. Well, don’t worry, Kyle never went out with me, not in the sex way. Treats me like a little sister or something. Says I’m too young for him. I don’t think I am, but whatever. I’m glad now we never did it, because it would be so cool for you and Kyle to be together.”

  Something inside Anna untwisted. She hadn’t wanted to come out and ask Kyle if he’d ever had Tina in his bed, but deep down she’d wanted to know.

  But she should have realized there’d been nothing going on. Kyle was a guy who liked women, yes, but he wasn’t a total man-whore, grabbing any female who walked by.

  “I was going to wait a few years and try again with him,” Ti
na said. “Though I don’t know. Once I’m old enough, in his opinion, he’ll be something like thirty-five.” Anna heard the implied Ewww. “But anyway, he’s with you now.” She ended on a happy note, glad everything had worked out.

  So everyone said.

  Kyle came out of the dark to stand by Anna’s door. Anna didn’t see him at first and jumped, letting out a yelp.

  “Easy there,” Kyle said through the window. “Come on. We need your expertise.”

  Anna’s pulse, which had finally calmed, sped again. She hoped Kyle hadn’t returned to lead her to sick, wounded, or dying animals. She knew the reality of putting down animals to ease them from pain and fear, but she hated doing it—hated the necessity of it.

  Kyle didn’t look morose or angry, which gave her hope. She fell into step behind him as they moved from the road to a narrow and dusty path, which grew darker as they went. Kyle flicked on a flashlight, the beam slicing through the night.

  Tina trotted behind them, uninvited, but Anna didn’t have the heart tell her to go back to the truck. Anna wouldn’t have been comfortable in Tina’s tiny skirt, cropped shirt, and cowboy boots that were more for show than use, but Tina seemed unbothered.

  Anna followed Kyle over humps in the muddy path and around boulders, deeper into the canyon. They walked for about a mile, and Anna’s respect for Tina rose as she kept up without fuss or hesitation.

  Anna’s feet were growing sore by the time Kyle halted them. More flashlights cast shadows up the canyon walls as Ross and the others explored.

  The path ended at a fall of white rocks that climbed to a flat plain above. Makeshift feeding bins and pens had been built here, but they were empty, no cattle in sight.

  “What did you want me to see?” Anna asked.

  “Well.” Kyle looked embarrassed. “We were hoping you could tell us what cattle had been here, how long ago, and where they went.”

  “Seriously?” Anna looked at the cowboys she’d known most of her life, and they looked back at her without blinking. Expecting her to know. “I’m not a tracker. I can’t glance at a clump of feces and tell you they’re six miles west in a pasture eating clover.”

  “I know, but you can tell us something,” Kyle said.

  He gazed at her in complete trust. So did the others. When she’d first started her practice here, most of the ranchers hadn’t believed she could be any good. Except Kyle, she realized. He’d trusted her judgement every time she’d come to look at their animals—she just hadn’t seen it.

  Anna shrugged at the same time her heart warmed. “All right. Let me look around.”

  Kyle handed her his flashlight, which she shone around the ground. The land had been trampled, making it obvious cattle had been here. The feed bins contained the remains of hay, some of it still green. And she found feces all right. All over the place, much of it fresh.

  “I’d say they were here earlier today,” Anna said. “And went that way.” She pointed and gave a faint laugh. “West.”

  “Can you tell if any were hurt or weak?” Kyle asked.

  Anna flashed the light around. “No, this all looks like healthy poop. And I don’t see any hoof prints that are odd or skewed, like the animal was hurt. Doesn’t mean one or two weren’t, but I think they were all driven out of here—driven as in let out and chased off. Is there any evidence of trucks picking them up?”

  Ray shook his head. “We didn’t find any, no.”

  Anna handed Kyle his flashlight. “Virgil hid the stolen cattle back here,” she summed up. “And when he feared Kyle and I might stumble on the truth, he and his brothers drove them out onto open range, off their property.”

  “Letting the evidence wander away,” Kyle said, scowling. “Oh, well. We need to find the cattle, no matter whose property they’re on, and return them to their owners.”

  Ross nodded and lifted his radio. “Come join us, Sanchez. Bring your friends.”

  A clatter of hooves followed his words, Sanchez leading the now-saddled horses. Ray silently mounted one, Hal following. Ross scrambled aboard another.

  “Just like an old-timey sheriff,” Tina said, laughing at Ross. “Aren’t you going to ride, Deputy Harrison?”

  Harrison shook his head, his face tight as he gazed at the tall horses. “Not really my thing.”

  “Well, you can do just as good on the ground.” Tina sidled closer to him, her smile admiring.

  Harrison looked down at her with alarm. “Um. Let me go back and call this in. We’ll need more riders.”

  He swung around, out of Tina’s reach, and escaped, striding off into the darkness alone. Anna stifled a grin.

  Sanchez mounted the last horse and the riders headed out, leaving Anna, Kyle, and Tina, who shivered as she looked around. “I think I’ll wait in the truck,” Tina said in a small voice.

  Kyle nodded at her. “That’s probably best.”

  Anna opened her mouth to say she’d take Tina back when the silence was broken by a terrified yell. Not from one of the men, but from an animal, the long “Maaaa!” of a frightened baby.

  “My calf!” Tina spun around, wildly searching the darkness. “That’s my calf! I know it.”

  “Could be.” Anna stood still and scanned the rocks. The calf went quiet, and Anna made kissing noises. “Where are you, little guy?” she crooned.

  Rocks clacked one on another, and the cry sounded again. But no calf appeared. Kyle flashed his light up the side of a wall.

  “Oh, great,” he breathed.

  Anna was already rushing to the rock wall, having seen the flash of eyes too far up. “Do you have ropes?”

  “Think so. Tina—can you run back to the truck? Ropes are in the bed.”

  “Yes. Yes.” Gravel crunched as Tina hurried away in her shining boots. “Just rescue my calf!”

  “This won’t be easy.” Anna took a running start at the rock wall and scrambled up it a few feet, but the gravel was too slippery and she slid back down.

  Kyle tugged on gloves and approached the rocks more cautiously, feeling above him for handholds. He turned to Anna, passing her his flashlight. “Can you give me a boost?”

  Anna set the flashlight on the ground and cupped her hands around his boot. “You can get up there, maybe, but how will you bring the calf down?”

  “One problem at a time.” Kyle grunted as Anna shoved him upward. He caught a handhold and wedged one boot into the rocks. “Oh, and by the way. Will you marry me?”

  Chapter Twenty

  “What?” Anna’s mouth went dry, and her ears rang. She couldn’t have heard Kyle Malory just propose to her.

  “I said, will you marry me?” Kyle struggled up another few feet, and the calf bawled pathetically. “I wanted to ask, in case I don’t make it down.”

  “But then … We … I …” Anna ran out of words. Pebbles trickled down the wall.

  “You don’t have to answer right now.” Kyle’s words grew fainter. “But think about it.” He grunted. “Damn.”

  “What?” Anna yelled. “What damn?”

  “Nothing. I’m gonna need the ropes.”

  “All right, I …”

  Anna went speechless again, her mouth ceasing working as Kyle inched his way up. She heard him slip, and curse, and catch himself, and her heart thumped in fear.

  Tina dashed back, ropes draped over her arms. She also dragged a large metal box behind her, bump-bumping it over the rocks and dirt.

  “I found this too,” she panted. “I thought it might help.”

  Anna struggled with the lid of the box and wrenched it open to find tools—screwdrivers and wrenches, but also thick nails and metal wedges and bolts.

  “Yes!” Anna grabbed the ropes Tina began uncoiling with competence. “If I wasn’t in such a rush, I’d hug you.”

  Tina’s eyes gleamed in the growing moonlight. “I’ve done three-ways before. Those can be fun.”

  Anna gaped at her a split second, then started to laugh. “You are awesome, Tina. Help me.”

&n
bsp; She began to cram wedges into the rocks. Tina gave Anna a boost, again competently, and Anna slowly climbed up toward Kyle.

  He waited, having made it as far as he could by free climbing. Anna knew only rudimentary rock climbing, but Kyle confidently drove in wedges she handed him and tied the ropes to create an anchor. The slope was nowhere near as sheer as boulders Anna had practiced on in college and had plenty of nooks and crannies, but anchors and ropes would help them, especially in the dark.

  Together they ascended, Tina’s voice echoing from below for them to be careful but hurry.

  The calf was trapped on a ledge just under the top of the canyon. It couldn’t scramble upward to safety, and it couldn’t go down without falling. It would never survive the steep drop.

  Kyle kept climbing. After a moment, Anna saw what he would try—to go to the very top and haul the calf upward to solid ground.

  Anna skimmed up after him, making sure she had a firm hold of the grips that Kyle had driven in and the anchors he’d tied.

  Anna had almost reached him, when Kyle slipped. She stifled her shriek as he slid down the rock face, trying to stop himself with boots and hands, until he finally thumped to a halt a few feet above her.

  “Damn,” he growled. “I’m out of practice. Now I gotta do that stretch all over again.”

  Anna gave him a weak smile. She could tell him they should give up—she could try to shoot a tranq dart into the calf, a dose large enough to ease him into death.

  But there was nothing to say she would succeed with the tranq dart, in the dark, from the base of the cliff. Plus, she’d have to drive back to her office to get the dart gun which she rarely used, and hope that it worked.

  The calf’s cries wouldn’t let her simply abandon him. It was not Anna’s way to give up on animals.

  Kyle continued to climb, no slipping now, as though determination gave him a better grip. He reached the top of the wall, thirty or so feet from the ground.

  “Come on.” He held his hand down to Anna.