Stetson

by Danielle Norman

“I don’t think that we need to discuss that.”

  “But he was hot,” Paris added.

  “How would you know?” I turned on her.

  Holland giggled. “He sounded hot. Plus, he’s a sheriff’s deputy.”

  “Yeah, he must be a speeding ticket because he had fine written all over him,” Paris said and then doubled over laughing at her own stupid joke.

  “You two are idiots. Ryan, here’s your paycheck.” I handed him his envelope. “When y’all are ready, I’ll be in the stables saddling up Madam Mim.” I headed off, ready to see my baby, who was probably pissed since I didn’t ride her this morning. Mim was a Bay Quarter horse, and her mom had been my very first horse. God, how I had loved her too.

  “London, wait up.” Ryan’s callused fingers wrapped around my wrist, and I turned my gaze down to his hand.

  “Is there something you needed, Ryan?”

  He released his hold but not immediately, which pissed me off.

  Idiot.

  “So, when are you going to go out with me?”

  “I’m not. You work for me.”

  “Oh, come on, let’s be honest, you write the paychecks. I’ve been running this ranch for years.”

  I took several deep breaths, counted to five, and then glared at him.

  “I think that my signing your check means that I’m your boss.”

  At that, I strode into the stable. Something about the stables was soothing. I figured it was the combination of leather, hay, and horses that seemed to encase me. When I was little and got mad, I used to run away from home. I never got much farther than the barn, where I’d curl up on a bale of hay until my temper calmed or whatever was bothering me faded. I needed to remember that, especially whenever I had to deal with Ryan, maybe I should just make all meetings with Ryan in the barn.

  I stopped and grabbed two apples out of the bag on my way to see Mim. With the exception of taking care of her, I didn’t really get out to the stables much anymore, which was such a shame.

  “Hello, darling, did you miss me?” Her energy was wild, and she was neighing and ready to let go of some steam. “Here, take this.” I handed her the apple and turned to the gorgeous black stallion that had stuck his head out of his stall next to Mim’s. “Hello, Balthazar, don’t worry, I brought one for you too.” I handed him the second apple.

  “You know that all the other horses realize that you only give your horse and Dad’s horse apples? That’s probably why none of them listen to you.” Holland picked up the bag and handed an apple to each horse as she walked down the middle aisle of our barn.

  “That’s your job. I don’t have to deal with them. Remember, it was you who convinced Dad that we needed more than six horses and that he should build an entire stable so you could run it and teach riding lessons and board horses. I was fine just having my ranch.”

  “He did it for all of us. He wanted it to be all three of ours. If it was just mine, he would have named it Holland Stables and not Iron Horse.”

  “But he thought that he was being cheeky when he came up with that name since the symbol for Iron is Fe and it was going to be a female-run stable. Hey, if you want to take over all the financial shit, you and I can switch jobs. Remember that my job is more than just the books, which includes payroll and budgets. I also have to keep track of the monthly forage balance sheets to make sure that we are yielding enough for the cattle and the horses.”

  I held out my hand ready to shake on a deal.

  “Not on your life, these are my babies. I’ll keep my job, and you can keep yours.”

  “Fine. Then stop bitching.” I gave Balthazar one last rub and then stepped inside Mim’s stall to brush her coat and then saddle her up as Holland did the same for her own horse.

  When we were done, we led them out to where Paris and Wally were waiting astride their horses. Ryan and Jack—our other field hand—were standing off to the side, clearly listening to what Paris and Wally were talking about as they saddled up horses for each of them to ride.

  The ranch was four hundred acres, two-thirds a mile in all directions. We had just over one hundred beef cows, and twice a day, we moved them from one pasture to the other. Each pasture had different grass that offered different nutrients as well as variety. We’d ride out together and then split up so we could each take point to drive the cattle from one field to the next. We only had to get a few going, and then the rest would follow, but if one strayed, the rest would follow, so we had to pay attention.

  When we got to the edge of the field, I broke off and Ryan followed, ugh.

  “So, who was he?” Ryan rode up alongside me.

  “Umm, none ya. As in none of ya business.”

  “I’ve never heard your sisters tease you about a guy, he must be something more. But why him and not me?”

  Damn it. Christ on a cracker, here we go again.

  I couldn’t imagine myself getting involved with him romantically because he does absolutely nothing for my libido, but telling him that would probably just hurt his fragile male ego, so I kept it to myself.

  Ryan’s eyes were still focused on me as he pulled the horse he was riding in front of Mim and forced her to stop.

  “I’m not getting into this with you again. I’ve told you that I’m not interested. My dad valued you and all that you did on the farm, and I know that Wally thinks the world of you. So please don’t put me in this position again.”

  Ryan was quiet as I dug my heels into Mim, urging her to back up so that we could ride around him. I was probably the first woman who had refused him, and that was why he was so determined to have me say yes.

  4

  Braden

  One month later...

  “Dude! You’ve been spacing out all morning.”

  I looked down at my watch to find that it was two a.m., so I guessed it was technically morning. David, a fellow deputy, was several years younger than I was and part of my East District division. There were only a few of us, so we used a room in the old school building as our main office. The other rooms in the building were used by the community for Boy Scouts, Brownie Troops, and playgroups, but it was a lot more convenient than having to drive all the way across town to the main office. Plus, it was always nice seeing kids and families.

  I sighed.

  It was Monday. I wanted to be home. No, scratch that, I wanted to go by the Kelly Ranch, which was what I’d wanted to do for the past month.

  I hadn’t been able to get her off my mind. I knew skipping out on her was horrid, but damn, the moment I had woken up and looked at her, I hadn’t known what else to do. She was all innocent, and I was Dick Dastardly and Muttley combined. I’d taken advantage of her when she was vulnerable and intoxicated all because I allowed the wrong head to do the thinking.

  “Got something on your mind?”

  “Obviously, but it’s none of your business.” Nope. I was not talking about personal shit with a coworker.

  “Looks like you’ve got girl problems. I just hate seeing my lieutenant floundering. Let me know if you need some pointers. I’m always willing to help the less fortunate.” David grinned.

  “Fuck you—”

  “Seminole County, signal twenty-five, reported in field off State Road 46 near Lake Harney.” The radio crackled as dispatch rattled off information. “Caller was not sure of address. FD in route. All units responding twelve Charlie, 02:13 hours.”

  “This is eleven-eighteen,” I gave dispatch my call sign, then told them that I was on my way along with David. “I’m ten fifty-one from East District substation, with fourteen-twelve.”

  “Seminole County copies, 02:14 hours, copy.”

  London lived right off Lake Harney road and State Road 46.

  After jumping into my Ford Explorer, I cranked the ignition and hit my lights before pulling out of the parking lot at full speed. I didn’t want to turn the sirens on unless I had to since it was the middle of the night and noises carried in the country. As I got close, I could see l
ights up ahead. David was behind me, but I needed to know if this was London’s property and if they were awake and safe, so I reached for my radio.

  “This is Seminole County, Braden McManus, do we have an ID on the address or property owner?”

  “Hey, Braden, this is Ben Stinson, we are working to get it contained. No homes appear to be in danger, but from the fence, I’m guessing that this is part of the Kelly Ranch.”

  My heart picked up speed at those words. “What do you mean by the fence?”

  “The Kelly Ranch has iron horses on the top of their fence posts.”

  “Has anyone notified the family of the fire yet?”

  “Not yet, we’re trying to take care of this, I’d guess this is their back pasture.”

  “No worries, I’ll go there now.”

  “Thanks, man.”

  As I turned onto the side road, a pit grew in my stomach. On top of delivering the bad news to London, this would also be the first time I would see her since that night.

  She had every right to hate me, and that wasn’t going to get any better after I told her what I was here to tell her.

  Each footstep I took up the steps felt like a thousand pounds and echoed like a clap of thunder. Taking my Stetson off, I held it under one arm and then rang the bell. Law enforcement visits in the early morning hours weren’t a good thing, ever. Whether it was the accident of a loved one or just delivering bad news like I was about to do no one ever answered the door with a smile on their face.

  I stood a little straighter when I saw a shadow move behind the curtains to my left. I squinted preparing for the flip of the porch light so that whoever was there could see me. When it came on, I heard the rustling and hollering.

  “London, Holland, wake up. London, Holland!”

  The door opened, and I was face to face with who had to be Paris.

  “What’s wrong?” Paris reached for my hand and pulled me inside. I glanced toward where the sound of running footsteps was coming from and found London, hair disheveled, eyes wide, running to me.

  “What’s wrong?” London asked, repeating her sister’s earlier question.

  “Ladies, there’s been a fire in your back pasture, and the fire department is already there and has it under control.”

  “Which pasture?” London stood stock still, and she seemed to be staring through me.

  “Your field that is closest to the State Road, the farthest east section.”

  “Oh shit, that’s our hybrid field.” London turned to face her sisters and said something to them that I couldn’t hear.

  “Thank you for telling us, Deputy. We’ll head down there now.”

  “You can stay here and someone from the fire department will come up and talk to you once they have it contained.”

  “Fuck that, we’re going over there.” The one I was guessing to be Holland since I knew it wasn’t London and she wasn’t who answered the door was the first one to race off.

  “I can escort you over there if you want to go, but it is cordoned off for safety reasons. You’ll have to stay back.”

  London didn’t say a word before she turned and ran back down the hallway that I knew all too well led to her bedroom. Paris ran off as well. Less than five minutes later, all three women were ready.

  “Here.” I held open the door to my cruiser.

  “We’ve got it,” London snapped, and the three of them piled into her truck ready to follow me.

  Arriving on scene, I jumped out before London could get her door open. “You three need to wait here until someone gives the all-clear.”

  I looked at London, but she wasn’t meeting my eyes.

  “Let me find out some info.” I walked back toward my truck and then spoke into my radio. “Ben, this is Braden, I have the owners of the Iron Horse Stables with me.”

  The radio crackled. “Where are you?”

  “We’re parked behind truck thirty-seven.”

  “I’ll be over as soon as I can.”

  By the time I headed back, David was already talking to the girls. “They have the fire under control. They called in a helicopter, it just left. Our biggest fear is it spreading, and we just need to watch it. This is prime burn area, and with the Lake Harney subdivision so close, we couldn’t take any chances of the fire getting out of hand.”

  Trying to offer some information, I added, “The helicopter bucket drops about eighteen-hundred gallons.”

  “Is that true?” What the fuck? Of course it was true. I didn’t just make that shit up. I just said it, why would I lie? But London directed her question to David so I turned to him too, raising my eyebrow as I waited for his answer.

  David looked at me a little apprehensively. “Yes.”

  “Ladies, it’s going to be a while, so if you want to go home, I can come get you or call you when they are done here?” I offered. “Like I mentioned, someone from the fire department will come and talk to you.”

  “No, we’ll stay. Is that okay with you, David?”

  “Yes?” David looked at me for confirmation, so I nodded.

  “Then why don’t you let me turn your truck around so you three can sit on the tailgate while you wait?” I held out my hand. I could see London warring with her thoughts on whether she was going to ignore me on this as well or not. I wanted to smirk, but I knew that would only make things worse.

  “I’ll turn the truck around, be right back,” London said to Paris, and Holland, as she strode off. When she got back, I moved to stand next to her and fought to hold back a laugh when she took a step sideways.

  “Hey, Braden.” I looked up to see Ben.

  “Hey, Ben, have you met London, Paris, and Holland Kelly?”

  “You don’t need to make introductions,” London murmured under her breath as if she were annoyed.

  “We know each other.” Ben nodded to each of the sisters. “My daughter takes riding lessons from Holland.”

  I felt stupid, she was right I didn’t need to do introductions, but she could have said they knew each other. “I’m sorry about all of this, but the fire is out. Right now, we are just watching for any hot spots. As soon as we feel that the area is secure, we will be able to examine the extent of the damage.”

  “I don’t get it. We aren’t in a drought or having wildfires, do you have an idea of what caused this?” London held a sister’s hand in each of hers.

  “Honestly? Our temperature gauge was going off,” Ben explained. “It was telling us that the fire was hotter than normal.”

  Paris let out a gasp. “Chemical?” We all looked at her in shock that she knew this. “I watch Chicago Fire.”

  “Yes, that’s a possibility, but we won’t know until we test the area. Let me get back over there and check on everything. I’ll be back as soon as I have new info.”

  Ben walked off, and I turned to London. “What do you want to do now? You want to go up to the house and wait for me to call you? It could take a few more hours before they clear all the hot spots.”

  “Yeah, we better. I need to figure out about the cattle.” London shoved one hand through her hair.

  “I’ll call Asher, he’ll tell us what we need to do,” Paris assured her.

  “Just have Ben come up and give us any info when he’s done.” London held out one hand to shake mine as if we were done.

  I didn’t think so. We were not going to leave it there. I unclipped my cellphone from my belt and handed it to London. “Why don’t you enter your number so I can call you if anything changes.” I tilted my head, silently daring her to refuse the phone.

  When she snagged the device from my hand, I fought back my grin. Even in all of this shit going on, London was a bright spot. After she handed it back, I immediately pressed call. When her phone rang, I grinned. “Now you have mine as well.”

  I waited until they drove off, then headed over to David.

  “Wow, she’s pissed at you.”

  “You think?”

  “What did you do to her?”
>
  “I’m not discussing this with you.” I lifted my Stetson so I could wipe the sweat from my brow and gave me an excuse to not meet David’s stare. What the fuck? I was his boss, and for some reason, I was the one who felt like I was about ready to get reprimanded. “I’m going to go see if Ben has any new information, he’s standing near the edge.”

  I took my time walking over there, and when I came to a stop next to him, I asked, “Any thoughts?”

  “I’d bet my next paycheck that someone started this fire.”

  “It’s next to the main road, is there a chance it was some random driver who happened to throw out their lit cigarette?” God knows we’d had plenty of those start fires over the years, but only when it was an extreme drought.

  “That’s always a possibility, but it wouldn’t raise the temperature. You need an accelerant to do that. The fire investigator will be here at eight. We’ll get a better idea then.”

  “Any clue on damage?”

  “I’m not sure how their pastures are divided, but this one is wiped out, the fire jumped the northwest fence line and started on the next field, but we caught it, I would say less than an acre of that field is gone.” Ben pointed toward the area he was referring to.

  Nearly twenty-five years ago most of this area was ravaged by fires that swept across the state. I understood why Ben and his crew weren’t taking any chances, with our lack of rain lately, keeping all of the nearby pastures and woods heavily soaked would be vital to help prevent this from tuning into an all hands on deck catastrophe.

  It was just past five, when Ben gave me the word that he felt confident that the fire was truly controlled. My shift was over in an hour, but I didn’t want to go home, I didn’t want to leave London.

  “I’m heading up to the house now to relay the news. Holler if you need me.”

  “Will do.” Ben gave me a mock salute and headed back off in full turnout gear to check on his team.

  After waving goodbye to David, I jumped into my Sheriff’s Department Explorer and drove off. Driving down the gravel road to their house and hearing all of my equipment rattle, I made a mental note to help them grade this road. I had no clue when the last time they’d had dragged a tractor across it, but the ruts were so bad that I’d be shocked if their vehicles were still in alignment.