Page 85 of Cherry Tree Ranch

We start down the hill and rocks slide under our feet. I fall to my butt and my hands scream with stinging pain as I catch myself. Cash’s dark hair is blown upward in wisps as he turns against the breeze to help me up. When we start again, a glinting light catches my eye across the basin. It goes in and out of view and twinkles like a star snaking through the scrub oak.

“What is that?” Cash asks.

“I don’t know.”

Down the hill, but still about a mile away from where we saw the light, our view of Blue and the light disappears. We walk through a meadow where the grass is so tall I lose sight of Cash for a few seconds at a time. We’ve got to be close now. I whistle to Blue – a whistle Grandpa trained him to come to when it’s time to eat.

“Who’s whistling over there?” a man’s voice yells.

Cash and I stop in our tracks and stare at each other. The man comes into view on his horse. He rides closer, the grass rustling against the sides of his legs. He has on a black ball cap with Drake Watson Beef Co. embroidered on the front. He stops and dismounts, swinging a leg over the horse’s back as though he’s been riding all day and his legs are sore. Another horse comes trotting to catch up, and that’s when I see it – the light. It bounces up and down.

It’s coming from the front of a cowgirl hat – a shimmering rodeo queen crown with a pear-shaped rhinestone in the middle – worn by Kaylee.

“Rhett.” Cash puts out his hand to shake. “Nice to see you.”

“Howdy, Cash.” The man’s handlebar moustache curls along with his smile. “How’ve you been?”

Rhett glances towards me and does a double take. He puts out a long arm. “You must be Dahlia.”

“That’s me,” I say, and shake his hand. “How’d you know?”

“You’re the spitting image of your mama.” Rhett tilts his head down and puts a heavy hand on my shoulder. “Kaylee told me about what happened at your ranch. I’m real sorry. When Cash texted to see if your horse had run to our place, Kaylee wanted to come out to help.”

“Oh. Cash texted you?”

Rhett’s gravelly voice rumbles, “Not me. Kaylee.”

“Oh. Well, thank you both for coming out here.”

“How are you holding up, Dahlia?” Kaylee asks, staying on her horse. When she looks towards me, the rhinestone on her hat catches the sunlight and shines the entirety of the sun into my face.

“Oh my gosh, I’m sorry,” she says, and takes off her hat. “This gaudy thing was my mom’s. It brings me luck.”

“We don’t need luck any more. Cash and I found him. He’s right through the junipers there.” I squint in Rhett’s direction. “What is this place anyhow?”

He unbuckles his saddle bag and pulls out a folded map. He opens it and lays it across his horse’s saddle, pointing to a rectanglar area.

“Best Kaylee and I can figure, we’re on part of our public land lease. See here…” Cash and I lean in. “Your place is here – sorry, my wife’s handwriting was always hard to read – and this is our ranch.” He points. “All this in between is the land lease. But it doesn’t make sense. Looks like it could be ours, but it’s connected to your back corner. Kaylee and I have never seen it before. Her mom handled the cattle business before she passed. Maybe I would have known if I’d ever taken interest, but I was happy as the bookkeeper.” He leans an elbow against his saddle.

“You didn’t know this was here?” I ask.

“Not at all,” Rhett says. “If we had, we would’ve been pushing cattle up here all along.”

Kaylee clears her throat. “Dad and I’ve always liked the horse side of things more than the cattle. We helped at branding and calving time, but Mom had the ranch hands move the cattle around.”

I study the map for a moment longer. Rhett’s right – it doesn’t make sense. If the ditch to my ranch comes through here, a place with plenty of water, then why don’t I have any?

When we find Blue, grazing merrily, I give him hugs and kisses. Cash strokes his face like he does with Luna.

“Blue, I thought I’d lost you,” I breathe. I scratch his neck and he leans into me. “Please don’t run off again. I can’t take losing anything else.”

Cash boosts me on to his back and finds a rock to get up himself. We ride him home bareback, almost falling asleep holding each other up.

As we’re feeding Blue, a white SUV pulls up to the house. The forensics investigator steps out holding a stack of papers. Mom greets her at the door and invites her in as we run past the barn. I take a deep breath and look at Cash before opening the mudroom door.

“Hi,” I say, suddenly unable to form the questions I’m so desperate to ask her.

“Hi, Dahlia. Cash.” She tips her head in hello. “I’ve got some information for you.”