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I dragged ass to the kitchen and was third man in. Billy and Harlan were already up, dressed and drinking coffee. “Why do you guys make me feel like I’m over the hill and not cutting it anymore?”

Harlan chuckled. “I woke up because I heard girls talking and laughing and I wondered where the fuck I was.”

“Yeah, we’ll have to get used to having two teenage girls living with us.” I poured myself a mug of coffee and sat down. “Billy, Harlan and I heard something last night at the Hubbard trailer, and we have to get ready for the horse thieves today.”

“Oh, yeah. What did you hear?”

“Hargrove. Chris Hubbard called his wife while Harlan and I were there, and Amanda repeated the nameHargrove. Those fuckers are going to hit Hannah’s ranch and take her horses.”

“We should get her out of there,” said Billy. “Keep her away until it’s safe.”

“Exactly. Right after breakfast, I’m going to drive you and Harlan over there to keep watch, and I’ll bring her back here to stay with the girls. I’ll go get Ted at the station, and we’ll wait for them together.”

“Okay,” said Billy. “That sounds sensible. Let’s get breakfast and get moving on it. You never know how early those fuckers are going to come. They might want to catch Hannah at the barn doing chores like they did Randy Quade.”

“Who’s coming?” asked Tammy as she and Lucy ran into the kitchen looking a lot fresher than I felt.

“We need breakfast in a hurry this morning, girls. We have to get to work.”

“What’s happening, Travis?” asked Tammy. She opened the door of the fridge and started yanking out packages of bacon and a carton of eggs.

“On our surveillance last night, we heard Mrs. Hubbard say Chris was going to rob the Hargrove ranch.” I hooked a thumb over my shoulder. “That ranch is next to ours, so I’m going to drop Billy and Harlan over there and I’m going to bring Hannah back here to stay with you girls until the robbers are caught.”

“Okay,” said Tammy. “If they come here, I have my gun. I’ll shoot them just like I shot Tyrone Reading. Well, that was by mistake, but I won’t miss this time.”

Harlan smirked.

“I can shoot really good, Travis,” said Lucy. “Mommy and Mick trained me and Jacks on the range. Do you have a gun I can use?”

“Umm…I’m not in favor of my two teen girls having guns. The robbers won’t come here.”

“You don’twantthem to come here,” said Tammy, “but that don’t mean they won’t. You can’t know for sure.”

“I know for sure. We’ll be right next door and if they are headed over here for any reason, I’ll be right behind them and I’ll kill their asses.”

“This is gonna be good,” said Harlan with a grin on his face.

“As soon as we eat, we’re leaving, girls, so y’all are in charge of the barn chores this morning.”

“Yep. We can handle it,” said Lucy. “No sweat, Travis. We’ll muck them all out, nice and pretty.”

“We’ll brush all of them too,” said Tammy. “I love having four horses instead of just two. The barn feels cozier.”

“Good. One less thing for me to worry about. I’ve got a new guy starting this morning and I haven’t had time to train him.”

Hargrove Ranch.

Hannah Hargrove had a stubborn streak I wasn’t aware of until I tried to talk her into leaving her ranch for the sake of safety. She was at the barn when I got there with Billy and Harlan, and she politely leaned on her pitchfork and listened to my story. Then she gave me a flatno.

“I’m not leaving my ranch. I’ll stay and face the horse thieves myself. I’ve been waiting for them to come since I read the stories in the Cut Bank Tribune.”

I stood my ground and shook my head. “Nope. I can’t let you stay, Hannah. I’m sorry, but you are going with me to my ranch to stay with my girls where you’ll be safe until this is over.”

“This is my property, Travis. My horses are in this barn and the corral outside, and I want to be here to defend my place.”

“Hannah, please. I don’t want you to end up like Randy Quade. Please, do it my way.”

“My chores aren’t finished.”