Chapter Four
Wilder drove home for the weekend. The farm was a twenty-four-hour, three hundred sixty-five days operation, but the men rotated weekends off. He needed to get the hell away for a while. Rory was driving him insane, and if he didn’t leave, he’d end up begging her to take him back to her bed.
“Damn it,” he swore as he pulled into his driveway.
The men had moved three cows up to the pasture four days ago, and they were still there.
He just didn’t know what to make of it. He hated thinking any of the men could be in on it since he genuinely liked them, but he had a job to do, and if it came down to arresting one or more of them, he’d do it.
When he stopped beside the porch, his cellphone buzzed. He pulled it from his T-shirt pocket and saw his boss’s number. HittingAnswer, he put it to his ear.
“Hey, Dave.”
“Wilder, how’s that job coming along?”
He sighed. “Not as well as I’d hoped. No one has taken any cows in a couple of weeks now.”
“I see. I’m pulling you off that case to go on one with Reece. I’ll send Sanchez to the Heston farm.”
Wilder gritted his teeth. “Dave, I can’t just up and disappear. The men think Rory hired me. How the hell will it look if I’m suddenly gone?”
“Have her fire you, and she’ll hire someone new. Look, this case with Reece needs two of my best on it. Don’t let it go to your head, but you and Reece are the best I have in this division.”
He removed his hat, raked his fingers through his hair, and set the hat on the seat.
“You know Sanchez is good too—”
“He’s too new at this, Wilder.”
“Then he needs the experience. I’m sorry, Dave, but taking me away from this case and having someone else show up will cause suspicion.” He waited a few seconds for Dave to answer. “Dave—”
“All right. I’ll send Sanchez with Reece. Keep me posted on your case. Do you have anything other than them stealing the cameras?”
Wilder could hear the laughter in Dave’s voice.
“Only that they like wearing ski masks in the summer and sunglasses at night.”
Dave’s chuckle came over the line.
“Not the best you can work with, is it?”
“No, but I’m doing what I can.”
“I know you are. Talk soon, and be damn careful,” Dave said, then disconnected.
Picking up his hat, he exited the truck and entered the house. He pulled a chair out from the table, toed off his boots, sat back, and sighed.
He was glad he’d talked Dave into letting him stay at the farm. Even though Rory didn’t want the same thing, he wanted to be close to her.
“Well, hell, Richards. If you had let her fire you, you could see her. Dumbass,” he murmured.
He got to his feet, picked up his boots, placed them in the mudroom, and headed for the living room to relax. He took a seat on the sofa, swung his legs onto it, picked up the remote, then flipped through channels to find something to watch.
It was Friday, and he had the entire weekend in front of him to do nothing. Still, he also knew that he’d keep checking the cameras and probably drive out there to check for new tire tracks.
“You’re supposed to be relaxing,” he said aloud.
He wanted to solve this case for Rory because he could pursue her once he did, and he wanted that more than anything.