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Caden awoke to an empty bed, missing the warm softness of Sydney’s body curled against him. One night, the only entire night he’d spent with a woman in his bed, and the longing to repeat it couldn’t be denied. A door opened and closed, followed by low voices echoing from down the hall. Glancing at the time, he couldn’t believe he’d slept past seven a.m. The only mornings he indulged in an extra hour of sleep were Sundays when the ranch chores consisted of feeding the livestock not already grazing in the pastures. Rolling out of bed, he dressed and padded into the kitchen to find Connor and the live-in hands already eating.
Sydney stood, picking up her empty plate and smiling at him. “Don’t worry, we saved you plenty.” She breezed by him as if nothing had changed between them, and that just pissed him off because everything had changed. By the time he discussed the day’s agenda with his brother and then ate, he was the last one to remain. He carried his plate into the kitchen where he found her at the sink, gazing with an expression of longing out the window.
“I didn’t want to ask in front of the hands,” he said, setting his plate down and wrapping one arm around her waist to pull her back against him, “but how are you this morning? Any problems?”
“Just a little sore.” She turned her head up to him, her look now teasing. “But I kind of like it, even if you were mean last night.”
He quirked an eyebrow. “Don’t keep things from me and I won’t have to be.”
A shadow crossed her face, but she smiled and drawled, “Really?”
“Yeah, okay, I still might be, but only for fun, not to pull answers from you.” He kissed her before pulling back. “I’ve got to run…” A shout from outside drew his frowning gaze out the window to see several of the younger hands riding in from the north pasture, their faces masked with anger and concern. “What the hell? Excuse me, darlin’.”
A cold knot of dread settled in Sydney’s abdomen as she followed Caden outside. The lingering pleasure and contentment she’d felt since returning to the ranch last night and waking with his massive body curled around her vanished in the time it took to hear Austin, one of the younger hands, tell Caden, “It looks like poison, boss. We’ve already lost three heifers, several more are showing signs of sickness.”
“Call the vet,” Caden snapped to Connor who had just pulled up. His blue eyes turned to ice as he scanned his employees’ faces that were gathering in the yard. “You guys bring in the sick as fast as possible. Connor and I will look for the source. Let’s hope whoever did this only messed with the water supply in one pasture.”
Sydney’s hand went to Spike’s scruff and she sank her fingers into the collie’s soft fur to anchor herself against the pain sweeping through her. This was her fault; she brought this trouble to Caden’s ranch, his livelihood and the ranch hands that had embraced her with such friendliness. Without a doubt, she knew the stranger sent by her uncle to threaten her was behind the vandalism. She’d never dreamed he would try to get her cooperation by harming the livestock. If she didn’t leave, would he go after Caden, Connor or one of the hands next? Oh God, she couldn’t bear it if anyone was harmed because of her. It was bad enough several cows had already suffered because she put her selfish reasons for staying a little longer first instead of doing the safe thing and leaving.
She reached out to snag Caden’s arm as he started toward the barn. “What can I do to help?” she asked, not realizing the need to be of assistance in her voice was also reflected in her eyes.
“We’ll need food when we get back, sandwiches if you can because we likely won’t have time to sit down to eat. And watch for Grayson. I’ll call him and report this and he’ll need to come out and investigate with us.” He strode off without another word, his face stiff with anger, his cobalt eyes swirling with frustration.
Sydney walked over to the mess hall on leaden feet, her heart heavy in her chest, praying she was wrong but knowing she wasn’t. She wouldn’t leave until she helped them through this crisis, which was the least she could do. But she refused to return home. Where she would go, she didn’t know. Caden had paid her a week’s wages, so she had enough money to last a few weeks if she stayed frugal. Despair threatened to overwhelm her as she entered the kitchen she’d grown to enjoy cooking in, memories of the hands teasing her about her penchant for getting lost and complimenting her cooking filling her head. She couldn’t believe how much she would miss everyone after such a short time.
As she put together thick sandwiches filled with ham, roast beef, turkey and cheese, she stewed over her circumstances. The more she thought about her uncle and his lackey, the faster her despondency changed to anger. How dare they interrupt the first peaceful weeks she’d been enjoying since fleeing Missouri. Damn it, wasn’t it bad enough Uncle Mike’s actions forced her from her home, a job she loved and far away from the rest of her family, whom she adored? She thought of Caden, the way his blue eyes lit with fondness even when he’d been exasperated with her behavior or how they would darken when arousal outweighed his determination to keep her at arm’s length. He’d introduced her to new sensations that had led to heights she’d never achieved before, never imagined were possible, and she didn’t want to give that up, or him. She wanted him more than she missed her family, and that acknowledgement shed a whole new light on what she needed to do next.
“I’ll show you, you son-of-a-bitch,” she muttered aloud as she got out ingredients to make brownies. “The sheriff just might be interested in hearing about what I know…”
“I wouldn’t advise that,” a cold voice said from behind her.
Sydney whirled to face the doorway, fear clogging her throat when she saw the same man who threatened her in town last week leaning with negligent nonchalance against the doorjamb. With a shaking hand, she reached for the large knife lying on the counter separating them and let him see she wouldn’t cower from him this time, even if her insides were jelling into a quivering ball of nerves. “Get out of here before…”
He cut her off with a slice of his hand, his eyes going to slits in his lean face. “Everyone’s out trying to save their precious cattle, I made sure of that. You can put that down; I’m not here to harm you, just to deliver one final warning. Your uncle needs you back in Missouri by the end of the week, and since you have a two-day drive ahead of you, I suggest you leave no later than Tuesday.”
“And if I don’t? You’d be a fool to try anything on this ranch again after I talk to the sheriff.” She didn’t know where her sudden bravado came from; she only knew she was tired of her uncle controlling her life.
He shrugged, as if unconcerned by her threat. “Maybe, maybe not. It’s your word against mine, and I assure you, I left no evidence that could be traced back to me. It’s a huge spread, a lot of places where one of those young cowboys or your rancher can meet with an untimely accident.”
The very softness of his voice chilled her to the bone. “You wouldn’t,” she whispered. Fear for the people she’d come to care so much for spread throughout her quaking body, turning her hands clammy and her throat dry. With those few words, anguish over her hopeless situation returned tenfold, demolishing her brave front.
“Tuesday, at the latest, or you’ll find out.” With a mock, two-fingered salute, he spun about and disappeared as quietly as he’d snuck in.
With a sob of defeat, Sydney slid to the floor, buried her face in her hands and wept. No way would she risk anything happening to Caden or anyone else on his ranch. Two days, that’s all she had with him, and then it was back to long days and lonely nights while she searched for a way to keep her plight from hurting her family.
She managed to pull herself together by the time the first riders returned with some of the sick cattle. The veterinarian team was waiting for them in the barn where they immediately started pumping stomachs to rid the poor animals of the toxins poisoning their bodies. From what she could gather, only the three cows had died so far, a small boon considering how many could have succumbed before help arrived. The other good news was that pasture held less than twenty head of cattle that hadn’t been driven closer to the ranch yet. To help keep the line for treatment moving steady, she brought the food out to the hands and the veterinarian staff, enabling everyone to continue administering first aid while eating. The guys mentioned they’d fenced off the two watering holes and samples were en route to a lab in Billings. By the time Caden returned with Connor and Grayson, the cattle had been treated and were resting quietly in the corral behind the barn.
“I don’t know about you two, but I’m beat,” Connor sighed as he, Caden and Grayson entered the house after the hands left for home. “I’m heading back to my place for a quiet night.”
Sydney looked at their tired faces and her heart ached for what she’d inadvertently put them through. “I made chili, since it turned so cold this afternoon.” The clouds that had rolled in with the increasing north wind dropped the temperature ten degrees in an hour and didn’t stop there as afternoon slipped into dusk. “Can you stay for dinner?” She included the sheriff in her invitation.
“You wouldn’t have to twist my arm, Syd. Thanks,” Connor accepted, squeezing her shoulder. She swiveled her face sideways to hide the tears pricking her eyes.
“Unless you want to open the doors tonight, Grayson, I say we close the club and warm up with Sydney’s cooking. I can send out a group text to members.” Caden gave her a grateful look as she turned back around. “You had me as soon as I came in and took a whiff, darlin’.”
Grayson nodded. “Chili and a quiet night works for me. Thanks, Sydney.”
The full-time hands started trickling in, and she didn’t question their early arrival for dinner. Their faces were etched with exhaustion, their eyes still conveying their anger over the senseless vandalism. Her stomach cramped when she thought of them turning on her if they discovered thei
