CHAPTER 12
KENDRICK
As I stop the truck at the end of the driveway next to the mailbox, I sit for a moment and lean back in the seat. My head hits the headrest, and I close my eyes for just a moment. Just a moment. I need it.
We’ve been working all day to get the last of the herd checked. Having more nails show up in hooves would be a huge problem. Taking the time to look over every cow is better than finding out too late and then needing to rehab them.
All I wanted to do today was pull my woman back into our room so I could have some more of her sweetness.
But I couldn’t, even though I swear I could taste her on my tongue all day.
It was taunting me along with the memory of her little moans and the glimpses I would get of her on the ranch, right where she belongs.
Lunch wasn’t nearly long enough. Not when I wanted to pull her into a room and get lost in her. But I couldn’t do that.
I swear my dad found the whole thing hilarious as hell. And he looked far too smug about being able to spend time with Eliza, who he clearly likes, instead of being out working on the ranch.
Thankfully, I wasn’t worried about him trying to escape the house, put on some boots, and show up in the barn to do something he shouldn’t be doing.
My eyes open when I hear an approaching truck. It pulls past me and then stops at the mailbox at the end of the entrance to the ranch next door. I put the truck in drive and gun it without really thinking about it.
I skid to a stop just as Ford, who I instantly recognize, gets out of his truck. The look he shoots me is curious with a side of hostility. I’m out of the truck and stalking toward him, my vision clouding over with rage as I move closer.
“You’ve been fucking with my ranch,” I accuse him right out of the gate.
Who needs to say hello when righteous indignation, without any proof or anyone backing you up, is fueling you?
Ford’s face twists in confusion. “Kendrick?” He shakes his head slightly as he takes me in. “I haven’t seen you in years. How have you been?”
I step closer to him, close enough for it to easily be seen as a challenge.
“I’m not here to play nice or have some little ranch reunion,” I grit the words out through my teeth. “I want to know why you’ve been fucking with my ranch.”
“Your ranch?” Ford arches an eyebrow as he looks at me. “Last I heard it was still Harold’s ranch.”
I clench my fists at my sides and barely stop myself from punching him. Even though I didn’t come over here to start a fight, I’m not opposed to it. Maybe it would help get some of this rage to ebb because right now it’s sitting in my gut without an outlet.
“Look,” I bark out, “the last time someone was cutting on of my fences, he was on your land. He ran off toward your house. Who are you letting traipse all over your land if you’re not the one behind the shit going wrong around here?”
Ford crosses his arms across his chest and looks toward where his house sits. He shakes his head slowly before looking back at me.
“I don’t know what has been happening on your ranch.
The last time I spoke with Cliff or Harold, they told me everything was fine.
I had stopped by to ask them if anything strange had been happening over there because I found some tire tracks where there shouldn’t have been any.
They told me they hadn’t noticed anything,” he informs me with a shrug of his shoulders.
I stare at the man, trying to figure out whether he’s selling me bullshit or not. My gut is screaming at me that he’s telling the truth. If he is then he’s not behind the sabotage we’ve been dealing with. So, if he’s not behind it, who is?
If it’s not Ford, I have no fucking leads and no idea where to look next.
“Seems convenient,” I bite out the words, but there’s no real heat behind them.
“Believe me,” he levels me with a look that speaks volumes, “or don’t. I don’t really care. I know I haven’t fucked with your ranch and neither have any of my guys. If you want to call Sheriff Gaines out here to see what’s what, go right ahead.”
The way one side of Ford’s mouth twitches like he’s fighting a smirk tells me he knows I won’t be calling Gaines out. Not only is the man useless, but he’s already let me know there isn’t enough to go on and he’s not investigating anything when there’s no proof of any crimes being committed.
The man is lucky he can cower behind his uniform and badge.
“Why would I even want to fuck with your ranch?” His tone is baffled as he asks the question. He mutters, “I have more than enough to deal with already.”
That has me straightening my spine. “What the fuck does that mean, Conners?”
He narrows his eyes at me but doesn’t answer. Instead, he turns his attention toward the mailbox where he pulls out a few envelopes. One of them clearly catches his eye. I lean forward to get a better look, but he clutches it against his chest like he’s just been given a treasure.
“What’s that?”
“It’s a letter,” Ford snaps. Then he heaves out a breath and forces his shoulders to relax. “Look, I don’t now a damn thing about what is going on, but it’s no secret that things haven’t been good.”
“And wouldn’t you like things to go even worse? If we fail, you’d be able to expand your land,” I point out with an edge of steel in my voice.
Ford drops his head back on his shoulders and laughs. He actually fucking laughs. It takes him a moment, but once he gets himself under control, he levels me with a look.
“I’m not interested in expanding my family’s land.
We have plenty to deal with as it is.” He glances down at the letter and shifts from one foot to the other, like he’s anxious to open it.
“We’re good. We have healthy cattle and get a fair price at market.
We have some grazing land we haven’t been using for the last few years, and I could open it back up if I wanted to add a few more heads to the herd. I don’t need your land.”
My eyes narrow at him as I study his face. He’s not lying. And fuck me, it only pisses me off more.
Because if its not Ford fucking with my ranch, I have no idea who it could be.
Sure, Dad isn’t exactly the most popular or well-liked guy in Seneca Falls, but he doesn’t have any outright enemies. At least, none I know about.
If the sabotage isn’t about the ranch or the land, then I’ve got fucking nothing. It pisses me off and makes it even more tempting to punch Ford just for the chance to blow off some steam.
Ford absently hits the envelope against the outside of his leg and blows out a long breath like he’s trying to keep himself in check. It only makes me more curious about what is in the letter. He’s acting like it’s a letter from some long-distance love.
I want to snatch it from him, but maybe I’ve fucked with the hornet’s nest enough for one day.
“Fine,” I bite out while taking off my hat and running my fingers through my hair.
“Kendrick,” he grumbles. When I look back at him, he offers me a small smile. “I really hope you figure out who is behind whatever is going on over there.”
“Sure,” I scoff.
“Really,” he assures me. “Your land has been in your family for as many generations as my land has been. It’s a legacy I understand and it’s an important one. If we’re not the ones out here working the land and raising cattle, who do it? It’s important work.”
“Yeah,” I grunt in agreement.
It is important and I’ve always been really fucking proud of it. Now, someone is threatening that, and I feel like I’m coming undone at the edges. I want to fix the problem, but I’m already behind.
All because Dad didn’t call me when things started to go wrong. It’s not like I can even fully blame the man. I left three years ago and didn’t come back. Other than making sure he had my number, I never even checked on him.
That’s on me and I have to own it.
Or else there’s no way I’ll be able to give Eliza the family she deserves, the one she should have had in her own parents but clearly doesn’t.
“Working this land matters,” Ford says, pulling my thoughts away from Eliza and back to the present. “If you need help, I’m right here. I’ll do whatever I can, not just as neighbors, but as stewards of the land. I hope you’d do the same for me.”
Words get stuck in my throat as emotion washes over me. If I didn’t believe he wasn’t involved in the shit going down at Watts Ranch before, I’m convinced now. His words are too sincere, too earnest. Working on this land is too important to him.
It’s important to me too.
“Yeah,” I grunt, “if you need anything, I’m right next door.”
He gives a chin lift and taps the envelope on his thigh again, his impatience shining through. I eye the letter in his hand, my curiosity almost getting the better of me. But I keep the questions to myself.
“Once I figure out who is fucking with my ranch, you’ll have to come over for a beer to celebrate,” I offer.
Until the words leave my mouth, I don’t even realize how much I mean them. It would be nice to have a friend around here, someone who understands what it means to put the work first and the amount of pressure it puts on a man’s shoulders.
Ford gets it. He’s been running his family’s ranch for a few years now, and Cliff filled me in on how well it’s been going for him.
I guess my old man was right when he insisted that Ford didn’t have anything to do with the things going wrong for us. Still, I’m glad I let my anger boil over enough to come over here and confront him. Even if I’m not any closer to figuring out who is behind the sabotage.
“Everything has a way of coming to light,” he offers, easily reading the worry still clinging to me, “and I’ll gladly come over for a beer after it does.
” He eyes me for a moment before flashing a teasing grin.
“I heard you roared into town on your bike, took your old man’s place on the ranch, and managed to sweet talk a certain good girl, all in the span of a week. That’s not easy to do.”
“Don’t talk shit about Eliza,” I bark the words, bristling the entire time.
Ford holds up his hands, the envelope still tucked between his fingers, in surrender. “I didn’t mean anything bad. I know how this town can talk; they have a way about them for sure. I never believed all the shit they said about you, but I do know Eliza Phelps is as good as they come.”
“Yeah,” I grunt, “she’s good and she’s mine.”
He lets out a low whistle; the sound filled with surprise. “I’ll be damned. She really is yours, huh?”
“That’s what I said,” I growl, the warning clear in my voice.
“Good.” He nods absently, his eyes getting a distant look in them as he looks down at the letter in his hand. “It’s hard working this land. Having somewhere soft to land at the end of the day could make it all worth it.”
I have to wonder if he’s talking about me and Eliza or himself. I can’t help but ask, “You talking from experience?”
“No,” he snaps back to reality and shakes his head, “nothing like that. I don’t have a woman.”
He glances at the letter again, a touch of yearning in his gaze. I almost ask, but I know he won’t tell me anything anyway. I don’t blame him. We aren’t exactly friends. Yet.
Not to mention how I ambushed him with the express intention of accusing him of fucking with my ranch. I’m pretty lucky that no blood has been spilled and should leave it at that.
“I need to get back,” I mumble and head toward my truck.
I don’t offer him an apology for coming in hot and screeching onto his land with a chip on my shoulder. When I glance back at him, he’s nodding, seemingly not bothered by my lack of apology.
He gives me a chin lift, one I return, as I hop behind the wheel of my father’s truck. As I pull away, I glance in my rearview mirror and find him looking down at the envelope in his hand.
Maybe he’s closer to finding a soft place to land for himself than he thinks. Right now, I’m looking forward to going home to Eliza. I need to put eyes on my woman and make sure she’s okay.
I won’t allow Eliza to get caught in the middle of whatever is happening at Watts Ranch. No fucking way.