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Sadie wasn't afraid of much.

She rode horses nobody else would touch.

Worked cattle.

Fixed fences.

Argued with me every time we saw each other.

Fear wasn't something I associated with her.

Which meant Gerald mattered.

More than I liked.

More than she was telling us.

Wolf leaned back against the bar.

"You gonna ask her?"

"No."

He snorted.

"You're absolutely going to ask her."

I took a drink of beer.

Wolf smiled.

The irritating kind.

The kind that meant he already knew he was right.

I hated when that happened.

"So what's the plan?"

I stared toward the window.

Darkness had settled outside.

The ranch sat several miles away.

Too far.

Farther than I liked.

Especially now.

Especially with Gerald in town.

My jaw tightened.

"I'll figure it out."

Wolf's smile grew.