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I know my younger brother well enough to know it’s not over. I’ll have to talk to him later, without Davis around. I don’t have time to referee that fight. Wyatt will bitch and Davis will lay down the law and everyone will yell and it’s not the time or place.
“She okay?” Ford asks, his brown eyes following Ruby up the path.
“I don’t know,” I say, rubbing my jaw. I need to go to Ruby, but my oldest brother’s eyes on me stop me.
“We focus on the ranch,” Davis orders. “Fixing things.”
Hands fisting at my side, I nod and put Ruby out of my head.
The ranch is my priority. That and nothing else.
Ismile as I read the comments on the Runaway Ranch Instagram page, hearting them as I scroll through. Today’s most recent post is a photo of Meadow Mountain, lit up by a stunning sunrise. The simple caption readsMornings on the ranch.
How do I get dropped off and stay there forever?
Can’t beat that view!
Visiting soon! Cannot wait.
This is what I’ve wanted for Runaway Ranch ever since I got here.
Love.
Sending myself a mental high five, I stretch out in my seat at the kitchen table. A cool breeze passes through the screen door. This town could convince me to stay here. The warm drench of sunshine. Crisp alpine scent. The rush of wild.
A ping on my phone signals a new comment.
I pull it up and read.
Many people won’t wake up this morning at all, but I’m glad you’re able to enjoy your mornings on your stolen land.
I shake my head at the nasty comment. Trolls. They come for anything good and happy.
My eyes drift to the user handle.Lassomamav76.
I recognize that name.
On a whim, I click on the Instagram handle, which leads me to a private account. The avatar image is a blonde woman sitting on a horse. Adorned in expensive looking western wear, she lifts a hand to the camera. I download the photo and save it to my desktop.
Next, in a new tab, I open up the TikTok website and find the video of Ford barking at the city woman.
Bingo.
The woman in the TikTok video is the same person behind the user handle trolling Runaway Ranch. Their avatars and names match.
Alarms go off inside of me, so I switch tabs and comb through previous Runaway Ranch posts.Lassomamav76has commented on every one of them.
Runaway Ranch is a scam.
Real cowboys don’t work there.
How often do you screw over your guests?
Guess you’re not letting people know about the dead bodies on your ranch, huh?
My jaw drops.How does she know about that? It’s the last comment that sets a puzzle piece turning inside of me.
Squaring my shoulders, I sit back in my chair and contemplate what to do. Right as I’m about to dive into more research, my attention’s diverted by the hard stomp of boots.
