“Elliott,” Aidan said in a hushed command.
The little boy looked up at his big brother. “It’s true. Maybe he’ll be nicer to them.” He studied me carefully. “Are you nice?”
My insides twisted violently. “To animals, I am.”
The boy frowned. “But not to people?”
“People and I don’t get on that well.”
He nodded, seeming to accept that. “You should take them.”
Aidan shook his head. “He’ll never let you.”
“I’m willing to offer good money.”
His shoulders slumped. “It might work, but I doubt it.” He glanced towards the paddock. “And I’m not sure they can come back from this.”
I studied the kid in front of me, taking in his hollow cheeks and the circles under his eyes. I had a fiery need to deck his asshole of a father. “You’d be surprised what a horse can come back from. What we canallcome back from.”
“You don’t—”
The sound of a truck that clearly needed its muffler replaced cut off his words. The vehicle bounced over the cattle guard and came to a stop in front of our group. The man who climbed out had bloodshot eyes and scruff around his jaw. The paunch at his middle told me only his horses and sons were going without around here.
“Who the hell are you?”
I kept my blank mask firmly in place but didn’t miss how Aidan shifted in front of his little brother. “Mr. Chambers, I came by to see if you’d be interested in selling your horses and cattle. I have a horse ranch outside of town and a friend looking for cattle.”
The lie slipped out easily. The only friend I had was Lor, and she’d shoot me if I dumped a bunch of cows on her spread.
The man’s mouth opened and closed a few times before he answered. “You take my animals, and I got nothing.”
“You’ll have money in the bank.”
“And that’ll only last me so long. I need what the animals provide.”
By looking at them, that wasn’t much.
“Could give you time to look for a new job. I hear the feed store is hiring.”
Kenny Chambers sneered at me. “I’m not working for some other asshole. I’m my own boss here. Now, get the hell off my property.”
“Mr. Chambers—”
“I said, get the hell off my property!”
Elliott jumped at his father’s bellow, and I had the burning desire to end Kenny right there. I pulled a card out of my back pocket and placed it on the hood of Kenny’s truck. “You can reach me there if you reconsider. I’m willing to pay top dollar.” Anything to get these beautiful creatures out from under his control.
Kenny grabbed the card and ripped it into tiny pieces, scattering them on the ground. “Get out of here before I use my right to shoot your trespassing ass.”
I dipped my head. As I did, I caught sight of Aidan. He had his jaw clenched as he glared at his father. Nausea swept through me at the idea of leaving him and his brother here. But I had no choice.
I climbed into my truck and started the engine. My hands locked on the wheel as I pulled onto the dirt road. It took me ten minutes to loosen them enough to hit the hands-free button for my phone. “Call Lor.”
It rang twice before she picked up. “How’d it go?”
“He’s an abusive asshole who has no business around animals or children.”
“Shit. He has two kids, doesn’t he?”