Page 30 of The Cowboy’s Reckoning

“Stay in the house until they get there. I’m heading over too.”

“Good.” The word was barely audible.

“Lil—”

She ended the call as Wade came in through the mudroom.

“Trouble on the Willow Creek. A cow got shot. I’m heading over.”

“See if Hayes or Trev will go with you,” Wade said.

“I don’t think so.” His brothers were in the barn putting the baler back together.

Jordan had been invited to join in the fun but had passed in favor of a shower. He’d torn the thing down for them earlier that day and identified the problem and figured they could put it back together.

“Maybe I should go with you,” Wade said with sudden determination.

Estelle, who’d come into the kitchen, put a hand on Wade’s arm. “Let the boys take care of this.”

Boys.

Wade frowned down at her then grudgingly said, “Fine.”

At another time, Jordan would have been astounded at Wade’s easy acquiescence. Right now, he needed to find out what was happening on his ranch.

“I’ll keep you updated.” He brushed past Wade and Estelle, headed out the door and down the walk.

What the fuck was going on?

He shoved open the man door of the barn, and two heads came up from where they’d been hunched over the haying equipment. He explained the situation and his brothers dropped tools and started wiping grime off their hands. Obviously, he had backup.

Less than two minutes later, they were tearing down the driveway. His brothers remained silent, as he headed toward the gravel, their expressions as grim as his own. The truck bounced over the ruts he wasn’t even trying to miss. Trev grabbed the oh-shit handle but didn’t so much as look Jordan’s way.

It wasn’t hard to guess why Lil had called him on the landline instead of on his cell. It was the best way to ascertain that he was on the Tree Fork where he was supposed to be and not escaping the scene of the shooting with a rifle in his hand. He couldn’t help but applaud her caution even as a part of him hated that she still didn’t trust him.

But trust was earned and he had basically marched into their lives and announced that he wanted things to change.

When they arrived at the ranch, Jordan was glad to see the sheriff’s office SUV, a blue pickup that he recognized as the brand inspector’s rig, and a white panel vet truck parked at various angles near the grain sheds. It was going on ten o’clock, but they could easily make out the group of people standing in the pasture near what had to be the injured cow.

Lil broke away from the group as they approached, her expression so taut that Jordan had to stop himself from touching her, reassuring her that friends were there.

“We had to put her down.” She pushed hair back from her forehead as she spoke in the same matter-of-fact tone of voice that doctors used when they explained to family and friends what was happening in the ER. “The deputy knows a guy with a rendering truck. He’s on his way so that the animal doesn’t go to waste.” She drew in a shaky breath. “I think we’re going to donate it to the food bank. I can’t—” She broke off and swallowed, and Jordan gave up trying not to touch her.

He pulled her against him, running his hand over her back as she let out a shuddering breath and melted into him. An overwhelming need to protect this woman gripped him. Hard.

“I’m sorry,” he murmured against her hair, and felt another hitch of her breath.

Then Lil seemed to remember herself and pulled out of his embrace, meeting his gaze briefly before turning and heading back to the small group. Jordan watched her for a moment, then he and his brothers followed.

He kept his eyes on Lil as she strode ahead of them. Had he brought this upon the McAllens by challenging Connery? The thought chilled him in addition to pissing him off.

Jordan didn’t know the young vet who’d already packed his equipment and was about to leave, but he did know the deputy, Dane Webster, in passing, having rodeoed with his older brother, and he knew the brand inspector who was walking toward them.

“I can’t see any disturbed areas,” he said, stopping a few feet from the cow. “Maybe tomorrow in daylight.”

“Any idea what happened?” Jordan asked.

“Someone might have been target shooting or hunting coyotes,” the brand inspector said. “But if so, they were trespassing.”