Page 90 of Cherry Tree Ranch

Drake Watson Beef Co. The company name circles inside my mind. I type it in next and tap on the website, and my eyes widen. Kaylee and Rhett sit side by side on their horses with a herd of cattle behind them. That’s the name of their company – Drake Watson Beef.

Chills race down my back. Earl is one of Kaylee’s ancestors, and he killed Joaquin.

I spread everything out, my mind racing over each letter, each article, what I know and still want to know. Then a piece of paper tied with lavender ribbon catches my eye. I swipe it from the ground and toss the ribbon to the side.

Dot,

Everything here reminds me of Joaquin, and the pain has become too great. I have the blue-sage seeds you gave me in my pocket. It may be my imagination, but I do feel they’ve helped me find some peace in this madness.

Still, I have to leave. I’m going to push what’s left of the sheep to the east mesa. It will take Earl a while to find them there. When he does, I’ll be there.

Love you and Charlie to the stars and back,

Daisy

The blue sage. It only grows below the cliffs. The cliffs where she died.

Chapter Thirty-Six

I pace the barn floor, smacking Daisy’s journal against my leg. I want to tell Cash about Earl killing Joaquin, but it’s not exactly something I can explain over text. I open the journal to the page about Joaquin’s death. I could send Cash a photo. What will he think when he finds out about the lasso around Joaquin’s neck, the birthmark round his?

“No,” I say aloud. I need to find Kaylee first. If what Daisy said is true, maybe her family knows about Earl. I need to know what really happened to Daisy.

I text Mom and get Blue tacked up faster than ever. I know the way to her ranch on horseback but not by the roads.

The fog only allows me to see ten feet in front of us. I let Blue canter but not gallop. My heart beats in rhythm with his hooves. It hammers into the tips of my fingers, into my throat, even into my eyes.

Blue takes us to the back corner of the ranch. The ground is slick with mud. I sit back in the saddle to slow Blue down, not wanting him to slip and fall like he did many years ago when I was hurt. We get closer and closer, almost to the rocky land between our ranches. The drizzle stops, but the fog is thick again. It floats all around us, billowing and pulsating as Blue carries me through it.

After getting through the rocky land between our ranches, and just as I think we’re getting close to Kaylee’s gate, I hear, “Dahlia!”

Someone is riding towards me at a gallop. Her hair falls behind her like a river and she and her horse are a dark silhouette.

“Dahlia!” she screams.

She leans over the horse’s neck and then I see her blonde hair. I shake my head. This can’t be happening. Why is she out here?

“Dahlia!” she screams, louder now as she and her horse gain on me.

“What are you doing?”

“Trying to apologize.” She huffs a big sigh.

“For what?”

She rolls her lips together and her cheeks turn pink. “For the orchard.”

She doesn’t have to say any more. Misery is written all over her face.

“I was on my way to your place. Dahlia, I didn’t ever want to hurt you. I’m so sorry for what happened. It’s unforgivable, I know.” Her face is red and splotchy from crying. “Please forgive me.”

I circle Blue around, pointing him towards home. I can’t look at her. Scenes from the fire play out in my head. Kaylee brought that guy away from the bonfire. She was there first, asking if Cash and I were OK. It adds up. I become light-headed, feeling as though I may topple off Blue. My injured hand finds the saddle horn as everything becomes fuzzy.

“I promise it was an accident. The biggest mistake I’ve ever made. I’d been so stressed and that guy I was with convinced me to smoke a cigarette. I’ve never smoked, not ever. It was so disgusting. I accidentally dropped it when he tried to kiss me.”

She’s quiet for a moment, and I play it out in my mind.

“I’ve been tormented by it,” she says, pulling back on her horse’s reins to keep him still. “You don’t have to forgive me, but please don’t turn me in. I’ll do whatever it takes to make it up to you.”