Chapter 4
Ripplan
I spread the map across the desk, marking routes with a pencil. The cattle drive to the high pastures was two weeks out. Fifty-two ranch hands total, but I'd need at least thirty for the drive itself. The rest would stay behind to manage the lower pastures and daily operations.
I marked the route with my finger. Three days up, following the old mining roads until they gave out, then another day on the trails. We'd rotate crews every two weeks. Twenty of our best ranch hands would split into shifts: ten staying with the herd, ten coming back down for supplies and rest.
The door opened without a knock. Brylan.
I didn't look up from the map. "I'm thinking we push out in fourteen days. Give the hands time to prep their gear."
"That works." Brylan crossed to the desk and leaned against it, studying the marked route. "You're taking the northern pass?"
"Yeah. It's longer, but the cattle handle it better than the eastern ridge. Less steep grades." I traced the line with my finger. "We'll move about five thousand head up. Leave the rest in the lower pastures, rotate out as the summer goes."
"Who are you thinking for the drive?"
I pulled out the roster I'd been working on.
"Khaden, obviously. He'll scout ahead, make sure we don't hit any surprises.
Maclan stays with the horses. We'll need all three of the Percherons and at least eight of the Appaloosas.
Carter, Dutton, Seth's replacement when we hire one...
" I paused, jaw tightening at the thought of Seth.
"I'm looking at maybe twenty-five to thirty hands total.
Enough to manage the herd, rotate night watch.
Xrylen's bringing his portable forge in case we need any farrier work on the trail. "
"What about Cookie?"
"Chuck wagon's already prepped. He's been stocking supplies for the last week.
" I leaned back in my chair. "Eight days total.
Three days up, a couple of days to settle the herd, then three days back.
After that, the rotation starts. First crew comes back down after fourteen days, fresh crew goes up. "
Brylan nodded, studying the map. "Water sources?"
"Marked them here." I pointed to three locations along the route. "River camp on day two, the spring near Copper Ridge on day three, and the creek at the high pasture. Should be fine even with the herd."
"Weather?"
"Could be an issue. Late spring storms roll through the mountains fast. But it's better than waiting another month. The lower pastures are already getting overgrazed." I set the pencil down. "We'll manage it."
Brylan was quiet for a moment, then said, "You're taking Tammy on the drive."
I didn't look up. "No."
"Yes." He shifted his weight, his voice taking on that edge it got when he'd already made a decision. "Most of the hands are going. She's the medical provider. She goes."
"It's rough terrain. She's not ready."
"She's been here a week and already reorganized the entire clinic, treated four injuries, and taught Thurlee to make a biscuit that can't be used as a weapon." Brylan's voice was mild, but I heard the steel underneath. "She's tougher than you think."
I had to agree the biscuits had never been better. Whatever Tammy had done, some trick with the butter or the way she folded the dough, had transformed breakfast into something worth waking up for. Even Xrylen had commented on it, and that orc noticed nothing that didn't involve metal or fire.
But I wasn't about to admit that out loud.
I set the pencil down harder than necessary. "She's human."
"So are fifty-two of our employees."
"That's different."
"How?"
I couldn't answer that. Didn't want to examine why the thought of Tammy on the trail, sleeping in a tent, riding for hours, exposed to weather and wildlife, made my chest feel like someone had wrapped a fist around my lungs.
Brylan watched me with that knowing look he got sometimes. The one that said he saw straight through my bullshit.
"She's going," he said. "Make the arrangements."
He left before I could argue.
I stared at the map. Tried to focus on the route, the logistics, the rotation schedule. But all I could think about was her scent. Sweetness and spice. The way she'd looked at me in the pharmacy, guilt flashing across her face when she realized I'd heard her dismiss my kind.
The way she'd defended us to Brylan later, looking me straight in the eye.
I didn't trust her.
But I couldn't stop thinking about her either.
I grabbed my hat and headed for the clinic.
The clinic door was propped open, letting in the afternoon breeze. I heard voices inside. Tammy's, low and professional, and a man's laugh.
I knew that laugh. Dutton.
I stepped through the doorway. Tammy stood at the exam table, bent over Dutton's arm.
She wore black scrubs with a design of grinning cats across the chest, silly and playful, the kind of thing that didn't belong in a medical setting, but on her managed to look adorable.
But the fabric clung to her curves in a way that made it impossible to look away.
Dutton sat on the edge of the table, grinning at her like she'd just told him the funniest joke he'd ever heard.
"Hold still," she said, but she was smiling.
"Can't help it. You're making me nervous, Doc."
"I'm not a doctor. And you're not nervous. You're fidgeting."
"Same thing." Dutton's grin widened. He was twenty-two, maybe twenty-three. Handsome in that easy, careless way young men were. All charm and no substance. "You got real gentle hands, you know that?"
"Flattery won't make this hurt less."
"Worth a shot."
She laughed. Actually laughed.
Something hot and sharp twisted in my chest.
I'd been avoiding her all week. Deliberately.
Her scent was a constant distraction, and I didn't have time for that.
Didn't have time for the way my body responded when she was near, the way my thoughts scattered like startled birds.
I'd managed to keep my distance, kept things professional and brief. It was working. I was handling it.
But watching Dutton make her smile, watching her lean close to him, her hands gentle on his arm, it shattered that careful distance I'd built.
She was going to be on the cattle drive. Sleeping in a tent fifty yards from mine. Riding beside me for hours.
I watched her work. Her hands were steady, precise. She'd cleaned the gash on Dutton's forearm, barbed wire from the look of it, and was stitching it closed with small, even sutures. I'd stitched up plenty of injuries over the years. Mine were functional. Hers were art.
"There." She tied off the last stitch, snipped the thread and covered it with a bandage. "Keep it clean and dry. Come back in a week so I can check it."
"I'll come back tomorrow if you want."
"The stitches won't be ready to come out tomorrow."
"Didn't say anything about stitches." Dutton's voice dropped, turned playful. "Maybe I just want to see you again."
She rolled her eyes, but she was still smiling. "Out. I have actual work to do."
"That's cold, Doc."
"Nurse practitioner. And you're bleeding on my exam table."
I'd heard enough.
"Dutton." My voice came out harder than I intended.
Both of them jumped. Dutton's grin vanished when he saw me in the doorway.
"Boss."
"North pasture fence needs repair. Take Carter and get it done before dark."
"I was just—"
"Now."
Dutton slid off the table, cradling his bandaged arm. He shot Tammy an apologetic look. "Thanks, Doc."
She nodded, already turning to clean up her supplies.
Dutton edged past me, careful not to make eye contact. Smart kid.
The door closed behind him. Tammy kept her back to me, dropping used gauze into the trash, organizing her instruments on a metal tray. The silence stretched between us, thick with something I didn't want to name.
"You know," she said finally, not turning around, "that was a little harsh."
"He had work to do."
"He was injured."
"And you fixed him. Now he can get back to it."
She turned then, one eyebrow raised. Her eyes were sharp, assessing. "Is there something you need, Ripplan? Or did you just come by to terrorize my patients?"
The challenge in her voice made the heat in my chest flare hotter. She wasn't intimidated. Wasn't backing down.
"You're coming on the cattle drive," I said.
She went completely still. Her hands froze mid-motion over the instrument tray. Something flickered across her face. Surprise, then something else. Something that looked almost like fear.
"What?" She turned slowly, like she wasn't sure she'd heard right. Her eyes were wide, vulnerable in a way I hadn't seen before. "When?"
"Two weeks. We're moving the herd to the high mountain pastures for summer."
I watched her process it. Watched the shock give way to something else, something that looked like pleasure, like she was genuinely happy about this. Her whole face changed. Softened. A smile started at the corners of her mouth.
"Really?" There was a note of wonder in her voice. "I'll be going?"
"Yeah." I'd opened my mouth to tell her it was Brylan's idea, that my brother had insisted. That I'd argued against it. But then she smiled, a real smile, not the professional one she wore for the ranch hands, and something in my chest tightened.
I couldn't do it. Couldn't take that look off her face.
"You'll need to order extra supplies," I continued instead.
"How long will we be gone?" She'd gone back to her cleanup, but I could see the calculation behind her sky blue eyes. The excitement she was trying to contain.
"Eight days. Three days up, a couple of days to settle the herd and three days back, but you'll need to fix up some medical supplies to leave at the cabin with the rotating crews."
She nodded, already making mental lists. "I can take the side-by-side, right? Load it with medical supplies?"
"No."
Her hands stilled. "No?"
"We're going into the high pastures. The roads give out after the first day. We're taking horses."
Her face went carefully blank. "Horses."
"That a problem?"