Page 2 of The Cowboy’s Reckoning

Maybe he was out for a pleasure ride.

The clouds hugging the top of the ridge had darkened to a deep blue gray and wind whipped across the pasture, bending the new grass. According to the weather app, they would get snow at elevation that day despite it being early June. Not the best weather for a pleasure ride.

But what else could the guy have been doing? She and Meg were responsible for the fence along that stretch of the boundary between their property and Baxter grazing land, and there were no hunting seasons open.

The new mare whinnied again, the young gelding answered, and Lil blew out a breath that puffed her cheeks.

Let it go until you know more.

Easier said than done. They’d been walloped too many times during the past two years to not jump at the shadows. Would they ever feel normal again?

The normal they once knew was long gone, and all they could do was to make a new normal. So far, so good, despite the usual ranch problems and miniemergencies. The Willow Creek Ranch had a good vibe to it, one that Lil couldn’t explain, but felt deeply. After being forced out of the only home she’d ever known, she’d expected to feel a disconnect from new surroundings. Instead, she’d found herself bonding with her new home and, with a seven-year lease, she could finally breathe. Or so she kept reminding herself.

Betty White, the Pyrenees mix Meg had rescued when Shane, her overly possessive ex-boyfriend, had started harassing her, lumbered out of the open barn door, followed by a kitten batting at her tail and jumping at her back feet. The dog made a beeline for Lil and offered her rump for a good scratching. The kitten wrinkled his back, then sprang at Betty’s giant hind paw, wrapping around it and kicking violently with his hind feet.

“Nice disembowelment.” Lil gave Betty a final pat, then scooped up the kitten as a car came into sight at the tree line. Best to keep the babies out of the driveway. “Back to the barn for you.”

She tucked the squirming kitten into the front of her jacket. A paw shot up and smacked Lil in the chin. Lil closed the top button and headed to the barn, the kitten punching and rolling inside of her coat. Once inside, she extracted the tiny feline warrior, deposited him on a high hay bale, then headed back outside in time to see a familiar green Outback cross the cattleguard.

Her friend Aubrey Malone, whom she hadn’t seen in over month due to spring ranch work, climbed out of the Subaru. “Glad I don’t have to go looking for you.” She made a face in the direction of the mare who let out another ear-piercing whinny. “Is she homesick?”

“She’s in love.”

“Ah.” Aubrey hugged her arms around herself as a blast of wind hit them, lifting her long blond hair.

Aubrey’s hair reminded Lil of princess hair, silken with a gentle wave, unlike Lil’s unruly dark mane that needed a good braid to keep it under control.

“I just visited my grandmother and thought I’d swing in and deliver these.” Aubrey gestured with her head toward the back seat of her car.

“What are these?” Lil asked.

“Seed potatoes and onion sets. Grandma had more than she needed.” Aubrey opened the door and leaned inside to pull out a box that leaked dirt from the corner. “And she also sent some iris bulbs.”

Lil took the box from her friend. “I’ll need some guidance with the flowers.” They’d always planted a garden at the old ranch, but it was more of a lettuce, carrots, corn operation. No flowers except for the wild ones that invaded the lawns and fields. There hadn’t been much time for tending plants, and she had no reason to believe she’d have more time now, but the idea of having perennial flowers coming up year after year appealed to her.

“Happy to help,” Aubrey said. “We’ll need to get these into the ground ASAP. The spuds and onions should do fine even though it’s late. You won’t get flowers from the bulbs this year, but we’ll grab some annuals at Big Z’s. Class up the place.”

The place didn’t really need to be classed up, but Lil wanted to add her own personal touches. The last two years had been hell, losing her dad and the family ranch within months of one another, the latter very much the result of the former. The unpaid debts had proven insurmountable when coupled with the cost of the care facility where her dad had spent his last days. Insecurity was one of the realities of ranch life, but she’d always believed they’d find a way to pull through … until they hadn’t. And while Lil and Meg had moved forward, they were still dealing with the aftermath of the last two years. The insecurity. The sense that the rug might get pulled out from under them at any moment. Maybe that was why Lil wanted to add touches to the ranch that made it feel like her own. Or maybe she just liked flowers.

“You want to come in?” she asked Aubrey as dirt dribbled from the open corner of the box onto her boot.

Aubrey shook her head. “I have things to do before we meet up tonight.” She gave Lil a stern look. “We’re still on. Right? No animal emergencies on the horizon?” The usual reason Lil had for cancelling at the last minute.

“Hopefully no. I think Meg could use a night out.”

“Meg.” Aubrey made a face. “Right.”

Lil couldn’t help but smile. Aubrey knew that carrying the burdens of the past few years had changed Lil. It was like the vigilance never stopped and she’d forgotten how to relax. Aubrey was trying to remedy that. Turn her friend back into the person she’d been when they’d gone to school together in Dillon. Lil appreciated the effort but knew she was never going to be as naïve about things working out for the best as she’d once been.

“Meg ran into a guy on the mountain, and it spooked her.” She explained about the escaped cattle and the man on horseback. “She honestly could use a night out.”

Aubrey made an ah noise. “If he was all cowboyed up, he’s probably a local.”

“I know. And so does Meg. Now.” It was hard to explain how knee-jerk reactions overpowered logic to someone who hadn’t been through a similar situation, even a best friend who thought she understood. “We can’t stay out too late. Big meeting tomorrow.”

“The new owner?”

“The new owner,” Lil echoed.