Page 35

I explained about shooting one of the rustlers on my land and she listened without interrupting. “Rustlers? I can’t believethat.”

“They retreated onto your ranch, Hannah, and I’m asking if you would mind if I checked the boys in your bunkhouse to see if any of them has a gunshot wound?”

“No, I don’t mind. I’ll take you down there and you can see for yourself that it isn’t any of my boys.”

She showed me into the bunkhouse, and I talked to her hired hands and none of them were hurt. What I didn’t know was how many hired hands she had, so I couldn’t tell if any of them were missing.

She walked me back to the squad with a friendly smile on her face.

“Thanks, Hannah. Appreciate your cooperation.”

“Whoever it was, Travis, could have ridden right through the back of my ranch and kept on going.”

“Yeah, they could, Hannah. I’ll be checking all the ranches on this road. Thanks again.”

We got back into the squad and Harlan said, “She knew he wasn’t there and that’s why she didn’t care if we looked in the bunkhouse. He’s probably at the fuckin clinic and she knew it.”

“Yeah, you could be right.”

“Or” said Savanna, who had stayed in the squad, “the injured guy could’ve been in the house. The way she slipped out onto the porch and closed the door kind of gave that away.”

“It did? I didn’t notice that.”

“She didn’t ask you in, Travis, and I know for sure she has the hots for you.”

I laughed. “You donotknow that.”

“Who was the first woman on your porch with a casserole in her hand?” Savanna giggled.

“Was it Hannah, Travis?” Harlan laughed.

“A casserole is just a neighbor thing,” I said. “Like when somebody moves in. Don’t mean anything.”

“Nothin says lovin’ like a casserole from the oven,” said Savanna.

Harlan chuckled.

“Have a good time making fun of me. I ain’t listening to y’all.”

Wild Stallion Ranch.

“Aw, goddammit, look at that.”

Big grizzly bear on the porch when we got home, and he was scratching up my front door wanting inside. I drove around behind the house and parked.

“Get the horses into the barn, Harlan. I’ll run in and get the shotgun and scare him away. Savanna, stay in the house with the dogs. I don’t want them running at the bear.”

I ran in and got the shotgun from under my bed. Savanna stayed inside with Max and Sarge.

There was no going out the front door, so I had to go out through the back and run around the house to fire a warning shot or two.

Blam. Blam.

The bear didn’t like the loud noise and ran off through the field heading west.

“Is he gone?” asked Savanna.

“Yep. Scared off easier than some in the past.”