AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Thomas’ shoulders dropped as he let out a breath. “Good. Has anyone heard from Travis or Ryder?” Of course they already had their cattle teams out and about, checking the rest of the property.
“Ryder checked in and said his group found about ten heads.” Gavin pulled out his phone. “Travis hasn’t checked in yet.”
“Ty and Scott were doing a head count. I don’t know how long that will take.” Gavin unclipped his satellite phone from his belt and dialed. He stepped aside to speak with whoever he just called, but we all stayed quiet to listen for an update.
“You’re guessing around forty?” Gavin cursed under his breath while he listened to more updates. “Okay, keep looking. I’ll let the scouts know and have them keep searching. We’ve found at least ten so far.”
Shit.Forty heads lost. That was not good.
Just then, Gavin’s cell rang, and Duke grabbed it from his belt clip to answer it. “Travis? Please have good news.” Duke’s face snapped up with whatever the reply was. “Okay. I’m on my way.”
He handed the cell to Gavin, and his jaw ticked.
“What did Travis say?” We were all on edge. Nothing like this had ever happened at King’s Ranch. This was why we had rotations to look out for the cattle and patrols riding the fences.
“Another mile down from the first breach is another. Plus, two downed heifers. Andrew is leaving his group now to ride to Travis.” Being one of King’s Ranch’s resident vets, Andrew would need to investigate the cause of death for the two heifers.
“Fuck,” Declan yelled and kicked the nearest trunk in the aisle. The longhorns were his babies. “We need to get out there now, Duke.”
“Did they say anything else?” Matt asked. I had to wonder why he’d stayed behind, but if everyone was out, then someone was needed with Gavin.
“No.” Duke turned to me. “I’m going to grab the SUV and head there with Dec. Can you take care of Mav?”
He’d taken his horse, Maverick, to check the fence this morning. I had no issue taking care of him so Duke could get out there quicker. I set a hand on his shoulder. “Go. I’ve got it covered here.”
“Do what you can to make sure the girls are none the wiser. At least until we have more details.”
I gave a firm nod. I hadn’t seen Victoria in the car with them, but I’d find out who was left and find some way to distract them.
I had no doubt in the next few days, the team would make sure the winter pastures were secure and start the winter drive sooner than planned. It wasn’t ideal, but with something like this happening, it was the best thing we could do. We couldn’t afford to lose any more cattle before the auction.
When I finished tucking Maverick into his stall, I made my way to the office in search of Gavin. I figured an extra pair of hands was an extra pair of hands. Whether I knew anything about cattle or fixing fences, I’d find some way to help. That’s how we did things at King’s Ranch. Everyone did what they could to lighten the load.
“Hey, Liam. Do you need something?” Gavin glanced up from his computer where Matt was pointing at the screen when I knocked.
I leaned against the doorframe and crossed my arms over my chest. “Just wondering what I can do to help. I know everyone else is out running around, but do you have anything here that needs some attention?”
“I can’t think of anything at the moment. Except the girls. Have you heard from them yet?”
“No, but I can reach out to them. They should be in town by now. I’ll see who went with them and what time they think they might be back.”
Wandering around the barn, I opened my text thread to Blake and thought about how I should start. I didn’t want to sound nosy, and I didn’t want to alert the girls that something was wrong. Otherwise, they might cut their trip short, and I wanted Abbey to have time to bond with them. The happier she was, the more likely we could convince her to stay.
The first stop was likely shopping, and I wanted to make sure Abbey got what she needed. I remembered looking through her sketchbook and noticing she only had a few blank pages left. Maybe Blake could help me look for something she liked while they were in town.
I didn’t bother opening with a greeting. We’d never made a point of doing that in the first place. Why start now?
Liam: See if you can find any sketchbooks while in town. If you can, will you grab one for me, please? Abbey needs another one.
Blake: Why don’t you tell her to get another one yourself?
Liam: Just do it for me. And be discreet. I want this to be a surprise. And if she needs anything else, let me know, and I’ll pay for it.
Blake: Okay, fine. Only because sweet things like this will help Abbs decide to stay here longer.
Liam: She wants to leave?
My heart thudded in my chest.
