“You’re the boss. I’ll follow you.”
Rory nudged her horse and headed for the north pasture. She decided they’d head back through the west field.
As they rode along the fence, she saw a rider on the other side and reined her horse to a stop when she realized it was Trent.
“Hi, Trent.”
“Hey, Rory. How are you doing?”
“I think I’m being boiled alive.”
Trent chuckled. “Yeah, it’s hot today.”
“Are you riding the fence?”
“No, just out to take a break. Delaney is with me.” Trent pointed with his thumb toward the dirt road along the fence behind him, and Rory saw Lanie riding toward them.
“Hi, Rory,” Lanie said when she stopped beside Trent.
“Lanie, are you crazy? As hot as it is, and you two are out in the heat for no reason,” Rory said and laughed.
“I’ll do just about anything to spend the day with my man,” Lanie said, then winked at Trent, who winked back.
Rory missed that. The powerful feelings between a man and a woman. She’d love to have that with Wilder, but she didn’t know how he felt about her. She knew she was on the verge of falling in love with him. She missed him so much. It was only a couple of days since they’d agreed not to be together, and it felt like a damn eternity already.
“I’m sure Trent appreciates that,” Rory said, then laughed when Trent grinned.
“Yes, ma’am,” he said.
“Well, we’ll let you get on with your ride. After we check the fence here, we’re going to head to the west pasture. Have a nice day. Try to stay cool.”
“You too. We’re heading back to the house now,” Lanie said.
Rory smiled, kneed her horse, and walked along the fence with Hal behind her.
“Why are we checking the west pasture?” Hal asked her.
“I just thought we’d check it since we’re out. Since some cows are there, I’d like to make sure the fence is good.”
“We checked the fence when we put the cows there, Rory.”
Reining her horse to a stop, she turned in the saddle to look at him.
“I know that Hal, but it’s my decision. If you don’t want to ride there, head back and have Buster put you to work.”
“That’s all right. I’m fine with it. I was just curious.”
“I know, but I can do it alone. You can head back if you want.”
“No, ma’am, I’m fine,” he repeated.
“Good. Now, let’s go over there.” She nudged her horse into a run, and she could hear Hal behind her.
Why would he question her? They were to do whatever she told them, and if she wanted to go to the west pasture, then that’s where they’d go. The more she thought about it, the angrier she got. No one was to question her orders, and this was the first time she’d had to answer for herself. The only other time was when Wilder questioned her about putting more cows in the pasture the others had been taken from, but that had just been a ruse.
Rory decided just to keep quiet, but something kept nagging at her. Bernie and Wilder talked in low voices as if they didn’t want anyone to hear them. She gasped as she thought Bernie was in on the rustling, and Wilder was getting him to work with him. What else bothered her was that Bernie and Hal were close friends.Son of a bitch!She could be riding with one of the rustlers.
When they reached the cows, she was happy to see that all five were still here. They seemed to love munching on the legumes. She dismounted, led the horse by the reins, and walked along the fence. She noticed Hal stayed in the saddle and followed behind her. It was the way she had it done. One person led, and the other followed in case someone missed something.