Page 96

Worry pressed against his chest, then settled into his stomach where it sloshed around, making him queasy.

“What happened here, Maggie?” he muttered to himself. “And why’d you trust Johnny to do the right thing?” It was a good thing the so-called rancher hadn’t shown up for the drive. Bennett had the urge to share a piece of his mind with the man for his carelessness on land Maggie’d worked too hard for.

“Hey, Hector?”

His ranch hand turned around in his saddle but kept moving along at a trot. “Yeah, boss?”

“I know a back way into the canyon. Mind if I meet you at the entrance? I wanna follow this ash line to see how far it goes.”

“Sure thing. I got it covered here.”

“Thanks. Radio the guys and tell them you’re the trail boss till we meet up again, would you?”

“Yep.”

“C’mon, boys. Let’s see what’s going on.”

Bennett whipped the reins on either side of Jove’s neck to send him into a cantor and once again, Gander stayed at his side. He followed the fence line and for a while the burn scar kept to the six inches on either side of the posts. When he crested the hill leading into the canyon through a tributary stream, however, the ashy black char spread wider. Only a foot or two, but with lines that were erratic and uneven.

This hadn’t happened under a watchful eye. This was left to burn.

Bennett’s heart stuttered as it sped up and he kicked Jove in the ribs, urging the horse to match pace with his own pulse.

C’mon. Not this. Not now.

A breeze picked up, blowing in from the south and coming in hot and dry. Instinct told Bennett Maggie never would’ve condoned burning, even for an invasive species like clover. God, if he ever got ahold of Johnny, he’d make sure the man knew to stay off ranches forever. The only good news was the fire seemed to have spread toward the canyon, not in the direction of the miles of ranchland and town behind them.

Small mercies. He’d take ’em.

The scorched grasses spread down the hill, finally giving way to the edge of the flames.

It was a full-fledged fire.

The cliffside kept it cornered on one end, but the blaze was at least a story tall and angry from the looks of it.

No, no, no!

Bennett snatched his radio from the saddle bag and turned it to the team’s frequency.

“Hector, come in.” Crackling static met him, but no reply came. “Hector, can you hear me? This is Bennett.”

Still, nothing.

A warning tugged at Bennett’s chest. He tweaked the frequency a few times then reset it. Gander whined at his feet.

“Cattle One, can anyone hear me? This is Bennett and I’m staring down a wildfire. Come in if you can hear this.”

A loud crackle raised his nerves up, but then it evaporated into silence. He tried his cell, but a short round of beeps said that was a dead end, too.

He was out of signal range.

A glance over his shoulder said he’d missed the herd. Not even their dust was visible any longer. If he risked riding back to the team, they could get caught by the blaze before he reached them.

He could race back to Newman Ranch, but everyone who worked there was with his team, save for Maggie, who’d driven off with a suitcase. It was a ten-minute ride to town from there and little hope he’d be able to flag down someone to call DCFD.

He needed to do something, though. This was Maggie’s land, her legacy, her livelihood. And he’d gone and added the men who trusted him to the mix. Not to mention Bill’s herd.

This was up to him to fix.