Page 112 of The Cowboy and the Stray

“Sorry you got thrown,” I said. “You picked a rough week to do fieldwork.”

She shrugged. “Better than desk work. Besides, it’s the first time I’ve seen a wolf up close. Do you get a lot of them around here?”

I almost laughed. “Sometimes,” I said. “They keep the boars in check.”

She didn’t look convinced. “That one sure did. Thought he was going to eat me.”

“Nah,” I said. “He was probably just checking you out. Wolves don’t tend to attack humans, for the most part.”

She laughed, and I helped her stand. She winced but managed to hobble with me to Ghost. He stood perfectly still while I boosted her up, then swung into the saddle behind her.

“Thanks,” she said after a minute. “For stopping. Most men would’ve left me for the buzzards.”

“I don’t care for buzzards,” I said. “Bad table manners.”

She leaned back a little. “Are you cowboys all like this?”

I thought about Calder and Eli and nearly laughed out loud. “Not even close.”

We rode slowly, letting the breeze dry sweat and blood. I knew Coleman would lie about what happened, and Sloane would probably say I’d acted like a caveman, but I didn’t mind.

Ghost wasn’t built for two, but Jennie weighed next to nothing, and I could tell he liked her. Or maybe he just liked the way she smelled, like lime soap, sweat, and a little dust. She held tight to the horn, every bump and dip in the trail making her wince. I kept the pace slow, taking it easy on her.

We cleared the fence line and cut east along the dirt track that ran between Maddox and Coleman property. Most folks thought the families hated each other, and that was true. The real trouble was the land itself. Coleman’s side was all limestone and cactus, not worth a damn for cattle unless you spent a fortune seeding it. Our side was black prairie, rich and thick. Colemans had been trying to buy a few acres of the Maddox since the beginning.

Jennie broke the silence first. “You always patrol on horseback?”

“Usually,” I said. “Truck can’t get through half the terrain.”

“You ever use an ATV?”

I almost laughed. “Naw, horses have always done well for us.”

She twisted to look at me, one eyebrow up. “So, do you have siblings?”

“Sort of. I grew up with the Maddoxes. They feel like my brothers and sister.”

She nodded. “I’m an only child.”

“What’s your story?”

She shrugged. “Moved a lot. College in Austin. Grad school in Arizona. Now I do contract work for oil companies. Pays well, but it’s lonely.”

“Why geology?”

“I like dirt,” she said. “You can learn a lot about a place by what’s under your feet. Also, rocks don’t talk back.”

I gave her credit for that one. “You looking to drill?”

She nodded. “My company is from Dallas. Wants to put in test wells, see if there’s something worth pumping.”

“Probably isn’t,” I said.

She shrugged again. “That’s what I keep telling them. But my job’s not to tell them no. My job’s to collect samples and smile until they sign a check.”

It made sense. The Colemans liked the idea of oil money but hated the thought of actual work. “You think they’ll pull the trigger?”

“They’re desperate,” she said. “You know what ranchers are like. All debt and no cash. Oil is a last resort.”