They parted ways. Scotty grabbed Wyatt’s hand and skipped beside him. “You aren’t afraid of the bad man, are you?” the boy asked. “Why can’t you stay?”
“What I’m afraid of is that they’re picking on your mom because I’m here, Scotty. However, I promise to stay until Manny’s knee is better.”
“I guess it’s not nice to hope he gets worse,” Scotty said, blocking Mr. Bones from jumping out as Wyatt opened the back door of the SUV.
Wyatt stifled a grin and did his best to look stern as he said, “Definitely not nice.” Still, he couldn’t keep from tweaking the kid’s ear to show he wasn’t mad at the thought.
Chapter Eight
Forty minutes later Tandy rushed into the house to ready the spare bedroom, leaving Wyatt to get the injured cowboy and Scotty and his pet inside.
Scotty ran to open the door, which his mom had closed, because Wyatt had to carry the older man inside.
“Bring him on into the guest room,” Tandy called. “The bed is made up. I had to move a few things so he won’t trip going to the bathroom.”
“Loosey-goosey as he is, he shouldn’t get out of bed on his own. I hope it’s a result of the pain shot they administered and not the prescription we picked up.” Wyatt set Manny on the turned-down bed, removed his jacket and boots and helped him lie back against pillows Tandy had fluffed.
“I don’t know if I can care for him by myself,” she said worriedly. “I realize you’ve gone above and beyond. I hate to ask, but could you bunk here tonight? I’ll give you my room and take the couch.” Her gaze rested on the man in the bed, who rambled unintelligibly.
Wyatt checked his watch. “I promised Manny I’d check something out on the range. Since the weather’s improved, if I borrow a horse and go soon, I can get it done and report my findings.”
“He asked you to track whoever let my bull out, didn’t he?”
Scotty raced up, all smiles. “If you’re tracking, can I go? I’d help. You said I did real good.”
“That’s not what he asked me to do, but it’s not a bad idea. Scotty, stick to tracking by the barn a while yet. It’s way harder in the wilderness.” Again focused on Tandy, he added, “I’d have time for coffee while we wait to see if Manny settles down. I’ll go change clothes while it brews. And I will stay the night, but I’m taking the couch.”
“Coffee coming up. We’ll fight about who takes the couch later.”
On returning shortly, Wyatt dropped a pack on the porch that he’d readied for his outing and went in without knocking.
Tandy met him with a steaming mug. “He’s asleep. Since you’re so secretive about what he wants you to do, any idea how long it’ll take? I’m fixing a pot roast.”
“I don’t know why he didn’t tell you. He asked me to see if you’re getting a full complement of water down your stream. He thought there was less flow than normal. I’ll be back before dark and we’ll all discuss what I find. Can I ride Bandito?” He drained his mug. “By the way, I’ll feed all the barn stock when I return so you don’t have to go out again tonight.”
“Yes, take Bandito. And thanks. Truly, with all the rain I can’t imagine why Manny thought something was amiss.” Taking his mug, she stepped out on the porch behind Wyatt and lowered her voice. “This is a huge imposition. You’re anxious to move on, aren’t you?”
“Anxious? No. I need to. Your neighbors will continue to harass you as long as I hang around.”
“The other night you asked if I was proposing. What if I do? Would that keep you here?” She clutched his jacket lapel with her free hand.
He issued a little snort. “Unless I’m wrong, asking someone to marry you shouldn’t be a last resort, Tandy.”
“If you can’t tell I’ve gone and fallen for you, what more can I say?”
Studying her earnest features, Wyatt tipped up her chin and swept both thumbs over her lips. “I have to go.” Releasing her, he snatched his pack and fled.
Tandy wasn’t sure if he meant go on his errand, or go for good. Her heart sank.
* * *
WYATT RODE BANDITO HARD, hoping to have time to check for boot tracks leading to and from the pasture gate as well as take a gander at Manny’s concerns for the stream. The morning rain had made a muddy mess by the gate. Out a ways it was plain the bull went down the hill, but boot tracks peeled off the opposite way. Two sets. One had a chink out of one heel. Something else cropped up to clog Wyatt’s throat. Tracks of an animal resembling those of a wolf, but larger. Twins to ones he’d photographed around Rollie’s dead heifer. Unless his tracking ability had abandoned him, he was looking at two pairs of boots and two lobo wolves. He dug out his phone and took pictures.
At the top of the rise all prints disappeared in rock. From there they could have gone any direction. His current mission was to climb higher and more westerly where Manny said he’d find the headwaters feeding Cedar Creek.
The terrain rose sharply. Wyatt was out of breath by the time he found the spot. It didn’t take a genius to see the wide expanse of fresh water bubbling up out of granite had been partially dammed up and diverted. An avalanche? Or cleverly done with boulders? Wyatt couldn’t tell if it’d been man-made or due to nature’s erosion. He took photos to show Manny and Tandy.
If he followed the water split from the main creek, it’d take him farther from where he’d tied Bandito. Also, he’d promised to be back to the ranch before dark. Hiking a tad higher he took out his binoculars and traced the silver ribbon in the fading light. A number of cattle drank along it, at least to a point where the ribbon disappeared in a copse of aspen. He wished he had time to check the animals’ ear tags.
Because it’d been a stormy day, he was quickly losing daylight. While he’d love to follow the route of the bisected stream, it’d be twice as dicey returning to his horse at dusk. Why press his luck? In his pickup at the ranch he had detailed maps of this area. Hopefully Manny’s meds would’ve worn off so they could all talk.
Sooty shadows settled over the ranch before Wyatt reached the barn. He smelled Tandy’s roast on the heavy air. It made his mouth water. Shoving his hunger aside, he unsaddled Bandito then checked and fed the other horses and Scotty’s mule.
He almost forgot to stop for the map because he saw Tandy’s lovely face pressed against the living room window. The fact she looked for him both warmed his heart and weighed heavily, considering how she’d admitted wanting him to stay. The notion of seeing her waiting for him at the end of hard days was tantalizing. Yet, his job wouldn’t allow that. And suspecting she and Scotty might be in actual danger if he stayed too long carved a hole the size of Mount Vesuvius in his belly.
* * *
TANDY HEARD WYATT’S steps on the porch. She didn’t know why she was so relieved. He was, after all, an adult who’d trekked the wilderness years before she knew him. Still, she couldn’t stop herself from throwing open the door and exclaiming, “I’m so glad you’re back.”
“I took longer because I washed up in the barn after feeding the animals. Is Manny worse? I hope you haven’t had trouble caring for him.”
She shook her head but grasped his hand and tugged him into the warm living room. “Nothing like that. He’s either feeling better or is stubborn. He insisted on taking himself to the bathroom and refuses any more doses of the pain medication. I’m just glad to see you back. It’s getting dark and I worried. Plus supper’s beyond ready. In spite of Scotty and Manny wanting to eat, I made them wait for you.”
Wyatt hung his hat and jacket on the coatrack by the door. “Now I feel extra bad about being so pokey. Can I help get food on the table?”
Scotty and Mr. Bones emerged from the kitchen, and Manny hobbled out from the guest bedroom.
“Manny,” Wyatt exclaimed, hurriedly squeezing Tandy’s shoulder as he passed. “Should you be walking on your bad leg, man?”
>
“Stop fussin’, everyone. I’ve been hurt worse plenty of times gettin’ thrown from a horse. Let’s eat. You can tell us what you found.”
Tandy urged them all to sit so she could bring hot food to the table.
“I smelled this all the way to the barn. It looks even better than it smells.”
“Did you find out who let out our bull?” Scotty asked, handing his mom a plate to fill.
“No, but there were two involved. Both wore boots. What concerned me more is along with boot tracks were prints of two animals identical to tracks I found around Rollie’s dead heifer.” He took out his phone and brought up both photos.
Tandy leaned over Manny’s shoulder to see what Wyatt displayed. “I’m far from knowledgeable, but those look like footprints of a big dog.” She sat and gave Manny the plate with the roast.
Scotty climbed to his knees to peer over Manny’s arm. “Those look like the wolf tracks on the pamphlet you gave me, Wyatt. ’Cept they’re bigger.”
“That’s true, Scotty.” Wyatt set his phone down. “Not my wolves, though.”
“How do you know that?” the boy asked.
“My wolves are high on their home range. And way east of these tracks.”
“What did you find at the headwaters?” Manny inquired, passing Wyatt the roast.
“I have those photos, too.” He brought them up for Manny, but motioned Tandy to look, as well.
“Blast it all. I was right. There’s only half the flow running into Cedar Creek.” The old man’s dark gaze shifted to Tandy. “I didn’t want to alarm you until I knew if it was my imagination or if something really was hokey.”
Wyatt filled them in on his observations. “I didn’t have daylight enough to go see whose cattle were strung along that diverted stream.” He pulled out his detailed map and opened it. “This is the route. Who owns that land?”
Manny frowned. “Lonnie Wright did. He passed away shortly after Tandy’s dad. He willed his three sections to the county for a bow hunting range. About the time Tandy took over here I heard a relative of Lonnie’s had contested his will.”
“I knew Lonnie. He and Dad were friends. He did love archery. Question, guys, can I afford to lose half of Cedar Creek?”
“In a year like this one with heavy rains and a good snowpack in the mountains, yeah. Not if we experience a drought like neighboring states,” Manny said, pausing to slice his pot roast.
“My friend Loki said his area’s suffering more than one season’s drought. He’s considering cutting his herd.” Wyatt took carrots and potatoes.
Tandy stirred the gravy. “If Lonnie’s relative won his battle, I don’t want to fight a new neighbor over water. I’ve got enough trouble without inviting more.”
“Trouble heightened by my being here,” Wyatt reminded her.
Her mouth opened and closed, then she dropped her gaze.
“Does the new guy own those dogs with the big feet, Wyatt?” Scotty gestured with his fork. “We sometimes take Mr. Bones when we go check Mama’s cows. Will those big dogs hurt him?”
“I honestly have no idea,” Wyatt said. “We don’t know anything about them.”
Talk stalled and they finished the meal in silence. After the apple cobbler had been consumed, Tandy sent Scotty off to take a bath.
Wyatt began gathering empty plates.
“I’ll get the dishes,” Tandy said, straightening from filling Mr. Bones’s bowl with kibble. “You make sure Manny doesn’t fall on the way to his room.”
Giving a nod, Wyatt left the kitchen.
Tandy gripped the back of a chair as her brain wrestled with how to explain her muddled feelings more clearly to Wyatt. It was true that neighboring ranchers had been nasty to her at the association meeting because she’d rented him a cabin. But, she could handle that. Now things had grown more serious. Add someone turning out her bull with a threatening message, to a twice-downed fence, plus now seeing her stream sidetracked all went beyond posturing.
She finished in the kitchen. Horrible as she felt, she had to be square with Wyatt. It didn’t make her feel better to hear him reading the wolf book to Scotty. He came out and down the hall as she peeked in on Manny and realized he was already snoring. Knowing Wyatt would follow her into the living room, she went there.
He spoke first. “Manny insists by tomorrow he’ll be able to putter around the barn. And I need to find my last wolf cub and close out this assignment.”
Tandy crossed her arms, rubbing at goose bumps. The supper she’d eaten curdled in her stomach. “If it was just me, and you asked, I’d sell the damned ranch to Preston Hicks and go along on your next project. You haven’t asked, plus I have Scotty. I owe him a place with roots.” Her voice broke. She resorted to waving an aimless hand.
“I know.” Wyatt closed the gap she’d placed between them. “If I didn’t, I’d get down on bended knee and beg you to join me in repatriating wolves. We both see the impossibility. I’ll pack up and be gone by daylight unless you want me to stay and explain to Scotty.”
Near tears, an unusual occurrence for her, Tandy barely managed to shake her head. “He’d take it harder if you did that.”
“I understand. It’ll be easier if you and Manny tell him I’m done so I have to return to my department.” Running his hands from her shoulders to her elbows, he bent toward her lips.
“D-don’t.” She wrenched away. She turned her back and hunched her shoulders and stood that way, knees quaking and icy hands trembling, until she heard the front door open and shut. She almost broke and ran after him. But that wasn’t the kind of woman she was. She turned out the lights and went to bed. But sleep evaded her. She hadn’t felt this inconsolable even after learning of Dan’s betrayal. Her heart hadn’t hurt then like it did now. How had she let this happen?
* * *
VERY EARLY THE next morning, Tandy looked out and saw that Wyatt’s pickup was gone. She noticed an envelope tucked under her front door. Inside was a check for a full month’s rent even though two weeks were left. His brief note suggested she pass the word he’d left, making sure Hicks and others knew.
Before Scotty woke up, Tandy shared the news with Manny.
“When my knee heals I’ll ride over and have a talk with Pres Hicks. He’s the ringleader in everything going on. I bet he bullied the others.”
“I don’t care, Manny. Why should I ever forgive any of them?”
Scotty and Mr. Bones showed up wanting breakfast. “Where’s Wyatt?” he asked, rubbing sleep from his eyes.
“He has his own job, honey. We’ve taken far too much of his time. Listen,” she said, setting waffles and eggs on his and Manny’s plates, “Mama needs you to be a big boy and help Manny in the barn today. I’ll take Mr. Bones and make one turn around the pasture to see the fences are fine and that our bull is secure. I’ll be back to fix lunch.”
“Wyatt, too? Maybe he’ll bring pizza.”
Tandy sat and toyed with her waffle. She couldn’t string Scotty along. “If Wyatt finds the last wolf pup, he’s moving to his next project. We’ll handle the ranch alone. Like we did before he showed up.”
The boy started sobbing. “I wanna be just like Wyatt. He’s teaching me how to follow tracks. Call and ask him to come back, Mama. Please.”
“Sweetheart, I can’t.” Appealing to Manny with her eyes, she rose and scooped up Mr. Bones. “The sooner I leave to check the herd, the quicker I’ll be back. Scotty, you mind Manny. Help in the barn and see he doesn’t fall again.” Feeling more cowardly than she’d ever felt in her life, she fled.
* * *
IT STARTED TO mist before Tandy reached the herd. The mist turned to rain and the rain to sleet by the time she checked half the fence. Passing the gate, she spied the bull in with a group of heifers and let out a relieved sigh.
She decided to inspect the part of the fence she shared with Preston Hicks from inside the pasture. She dismounted, led her mare in and relocked the gate. As seemed typical of the storms lately, the sleet stopped. She freed Mr. Bones from a canvas carryall in which he’d been riding and climbed on Butterscotch again.
Nearing where Wyatt had repaired her fence, she spotted Hicks sauntering along his side. He appeared to be on foot, but three dogs trailed him. One was a Labrador retriever; the other two were taller, broader and from a distance resembled wolves.
Tandy’s throat closed. Were those the hybrids Wyatt spoke about?
Mr. Bones ran forward, barking. Then when the two biggest dogs lunged at the fence, he sat and howled.
Afraid the wolf dogs would leap over, Tandy swung out of her saddle. She slipped and slid toward Mr. Bones. “Preston, call off your dogs. What are you doing by my fence anyway? I don’t see any of your cattle around.”
“Shut that howler up or I’ll sic my dogs on him.”
“I wouldn’t if I were you. I’m packing heat. And I earned my army sharpshooter’s badge every year.” She pulled her dad’s revolver out of her jacket pocket. She’d planned to store it in her firearms lockbox in the barn but hadn’t as of yet. The darned thing wasn’t even loaded, but Hicks didn’t know that.
“I heard Vasquez has a bum knee. Where’s your other buddy, Hunt?”
“He finished his work and left.” She shouldn’t tell such a lie, but Wyatt had said to spread the word.
“That’s the best news I’ve had in months. Time to rid our range of his damned predators.” He chortled nastily.
“That’s illegal. Two of your dogs look part wolf. Can you prove they didn’t kill Rollie’s heifer? If any of my cows end up dead from perceived wolf attacks, I’ll send the sheriff to see you.”
“Mind your own business. I’ve applied for a new lease. One up near Eagle Crest.”
She watched him stride across his empty pasture before she tucked the useless revolver away. She probably should have kept quiet. But his tone bugged her. Quail Creek crossed his ranchland. Why would he want to take his cattle farther afield? And hadn’t Wyatt mentioned yesterday finding his wolves near Eagle Crest?
Marrying the Rancher Page 13
