17. Beast
BEAST
Gerald had made a mistake.
A very large mistake.
The kind that got men hurt.
I stood on Sadie's porch before sunrise.
Coffee in one hand.
Rifle leaning against the railing.
Watching.
Listening.
Waiting.
The ranch was quiet.
Too quiet.
The kind of quiet that made every instinct I possessed start growling.
Behind me, the screen door opened.
Sadie stepped outside.
Still half asleep.
Wearing jeans.
Boots.
And one of those oversized sweatshirts that somehow made her look cuter than she had any right looking.
Not that I noticed.
Much.
She stopped beside me.
"You've been out here all night."
I took a drink of coffee.
"Yep."
"Beast."
"Yep."
"You need sleep."
"I'll sleep later."
She crossed her arms.
"You're impossible."
"Been told that before."
"By everyone?"
"Pretty much."
A smile tugged at her lips.
Mission accomplished.
The smile disappeared too often lately.
I wasn't a fan of that.
Neither was the part of me that wanted to hunt Gerald through the mountains and teach him several valuable life lessons.
Painfully.
The screen door opened again.
One of the ranch hands stepped outside.
Kyle.
Seventeen.
Skinny.
Always hungry.
Usually confused.
Today wasn't any different.
He looked at me.
Looked at the rifle.
Looked at Sadie.
Then wisely turned around.
"Never mind."
The door slammed.
Sadie laughed.
The sound hit me square in the chest.
Damn.
That laugh was becoming a problem.
A serious problem.
I liked hearing it.
Too much.
The porch creaked behind us.
Hank emerged.
Moving slower than usual.
His gout was acting up again.
He looked at me.
Then the rifle.
Then the yard.
"See anything?"
"No."
"Good."
We both knew what he really meant.
No Gerald.
Not yet.
Hank nodded.
Satisfied.
Because he knew if Gerald showed up?
He wouldn't get anywhere near Sadie.
Not while I was breathing.
A truck engine sounded in the distance.
Every muscle in my body tightened.
Sadie felt it.
So did Hank.
The truck appeared around the bend.
Not Gerald.
Feed delivery.
I relaxed.
Barely.
Sadie noticed.
Of course she did.
"You don't have to do this."
I looked at her.
Really looked at her.
The woman who had somehow gotten under my skin.
The woman who smiled at me.
Argued with me.
Made me laugh when I didn't want to.
The woman I'd spent years avoiding because getting close felt dangerous. Especially since her Dad told me she was off limits when we were in school together.
Now danger had found her anyway.
"Yeah."
My voice came out rough.
"I do."
Something changed in her eyes.
Something soft.
Something hopeful.
And suddenly it was getting hard to breathe.
The door exploded open.
Kyle came sprinting out of the house.
"WE GOT A PROBLEM!"
The entire porch froze.
"What?"
The teenager pointed toward the barn.
Wild-eyed.
Panicked.
"There's somebody in there! I saw them from the window upstairs."
Every protective instinct I possessed came alive.
I shoved Sadie behind me.
Pulled my sidearm.
And started running.
Because if Gerald had stepped onto this ranch...
He was about to discover exactly why Army Rangers had a reputation.