Page 15 of Sweet Surprise (Honeysuckle, Texas #2)

Carson guided the Jeep over a rough patch of terrain, glancing in the rearview mirror at Mason, who bounced excitedly in the back seat. The boy had his backpack clutched to his chest, the binoculars and his prized telescope handed down from Carson safely at his side.

“How much farther?” Mason asked for at least the fifth time.

“About ten minutes,” Carson answered with the same patience he’d shown the previous four times. “If the mustangs are still around, we might find them grazing just past that ridge.”

“If they’re not,” Mason watched the horizon carefully, “can we go back to the canyon where we found them last time?”

“Maybe,” Carson said. “But no promises. Fixing fence lines can go quickly or take a while. We’ll have to play it by ear.”

The kid stared at him through the rearview mirror as if Carson had spoken in Greek.

“Playing by ear means you wait to see what happens and then make a decision.”

An expression of understanding took over his son’s face, and Mason nodded, his attention returning to the land in the distance. No doubt scanning for those wild horses.

They crossed into the northwestern section of the ranch, the landscape as flat and dusty ahead as it had been behind them.

Carson pulled the Jeep to a stop near a fallen tree.

“We’ll park here. There’s a section of fence several yards ahead that needs fixing.

From there, we’ll set up the telescope.”

“You can draw or look for the horses. Whichever you prefer.” Jess hopped out of the Jeep. “I’m going to help Carson with the fence. Or at least try to.”

“You’ll do fine. Mom used to work with Dad before any of us were born. The trick is to learn how to string barbed wire without losing a finger.”

Jess gave him a look.

“Kidding,” Carson said with a laugh. “Mostly.”

They gathered their supplies—Carson’s tools, a small cooler with lunch, and Mason’s all-important optical equipment. The walk was pleasant, with Mason charging ahead then doubling back every few minutes to report on interesting rocks or lizards he’d spotted.

“There’s the fence.” Carson pointed to where a section had fallen, they suspected all of this recent damage was thanks to the newly migrated horses.

Mason immediately set up his position, unzipping his backpack, the binoculars around his neck, the telescope nearby. A deep frown for a young boy formed between his brows. “I don’t see them.”

“You keep watching.” Carson smiled. “Give us a heads-up when you spot them.”

For the next half hour, Carson showed Jess how to remove the damaged wire and string a new section.

She was a quick learner, and he found himself enjoying her determination to master each task, but more than that, he simply enjoyed her company.

Anyone would think that having to spend all day, every day, with a person would begin to wear thin, but so far, every minute of time with Jess had become very special to him.

“Out of curiosity,” Jess pulled her hand out of the glove and sucked on a pricked finger, “what happens if a ranch hand gets hurt out here in the middle of nowhere?”

“All ranch vehicles are a bit of a combination of tool shed and first aid station. Usually we have enough supplies nearby for a minor incident.” He pulled her hand away from her mouth and looked at her finger. “Give me a second.”

She stuck the finger back in her mouth.

“Here we go.” From one of his sacks, he pulled out some antiseptic ointment and a Band-aid. “This will fix it up.”

Her gaze softened as he tended to her finger. “Not bad for a real estate developer.”

Carson smiled at her, wishing he didn’t have to let go of her hand. “Once a rancher, always a rancher. We all keep our hands in the family business, and deep down, we all love it at least a little.”

Staring at her bandaged finger, she frowned. “What happens if someone is really hurt?”

His mind scurried back to when they’d found their mother trapped in the barbed wire not that many months ago. “We thank God for cell phones. Alert fellow hands. But in a pinch, there are line shacks scattered all over the property.”

“Line shack?”

“Small cabins, really. The hands use them when they’re working far out and need shelter from an unexpected turn of bad weather. Sometimes a small injury might require holding up for a bit until help can come.”

“Like ranger stations?” Jess wiped her forehead with her forearm.

“Exactly. There’s one not far from here. When we finish up, I’ll show you. Not that we expect to put you to work, but it doesn’t hurt to know where they are in case of emergency.”

The rest of the repair job went quickly.

To Mason’s chagrin, no horses appeared, but he had a great time drawing a bird that seemed to be delighted to stay perfectly still and pose for him.

After a simple lunch of sandwiches and fruit, Carson drove them to a small, weathered cabin standing lonely in the middle of nowhere.

“This is one of the oldest ones.” He shoved the door open wide.

The cabin was simple—one room with a small wood stove, a basic twin bed hewn from ancient two by fours, some shelves with canned goods, an ancient table with two chairs, and a large mound dead center of the cabin with a dirty sheet tossed over it. “What the heck?”

“I’m guessing this is not part of the standard stock?” Jess moved to stand beside him.

“No.” Pulling back the old sheet, he froze. “That son of a—” he caught himself, glancing at Mason. “This is impossible.”

“What is it?” Jess grabbed hold of his arm.

“A hay baler. And not just any hay baler.” Carson pulled the tarp away completely, revealing a gleaming piece of machinery. “This is one of the custom balers Dad ordered right before he died. We thought Ray had sold it off with the other equipment he stole.”

“Could there have been a mistake?” Her hand on his arm, her voice came out very low.

Shaking his head, Carson’s jaw tightened.

“I don’t have an explanation, but I’ll come back with my brothers and the right transportation.

We’ll take this where it belongs.” Heaving out a deep breath, he tried to wipe his concerns from his face and turned to his wife and son.

“Come on. Let’s go home and tell everyone what we’ve found. ”

The three left the shed, locking it up again, but something was definitely off, and whatever it was, Carson didn’t like it one bit.

Since leaving Dallas, Jess didn’t get very many texts, and almost forgot what her phone buzzing meant.

Retrieving it from her pocket, she glanced down: In thirty minutes, family meeting in dad’s study.

Jess blinked. It took her a moment to realize she was now part of the Sweet family and hence, included in a group text about a family meeting.

Checking her watch, the phone buzzed again.

Don’t tell Mom. Okay, now she had to wonder what the heck was going on that Alice couldn’t be included but she was.

The least Jess could do was help make sure that Alice didn’t stumble into the study.

Waiting ten minutes, she went to the kitchen and finding Alice at the sink, headed for the cupboard.

“Did you enjoy this morning working on the fences?” Alice stuck a clean dish in the nearby drain board.

“Very much.” Pulling out a mug, she filled it with water and placed it in the microwave. “But I’m a bit worn out. Not to mention sore.” That much was the truth. “Thought I’d make some warm tea and go lay down for a bit.”

“Good idea. Naps always help right what’s wrong.”

Her gaze lifted to the kitchen window where Mason was in his usual place, playing in the dirt with both Brady and Samson at his side. “I know Mason is all right with the two dogs, but would you mind keeping an eye on him for me?”

“Absolutely.” Alice beamed. “I’ll do better than that. We’ll go check out the new foal in the barn.”

“He’ll love that.”

Alice stood a little taller and grinned like a cat with a belly full of cream. “I know.”

Carrying her tea in hand, Jess proceeded to the study where Rachel and Jillian were already seated.

Pouring herself a cool drink, Rachel glanced at Jess “Any idea what this is all about?”

“No.” If Alice hadn’t been excluded she might have guessed it was about the baler, but she had no idea what Alice couldn’t be privy to.

Practically tip toeing into the room, Sarah inched to the nearest chair. “Just for the record, it is almost impossible to sneak quietly into a house wearing cowboy boots.”

The two sisters chuckled.

“Alice is in the barn with Mason.”

All three of the other women snapped around to face Jess.

She shrugged. “I thought it might be helpful to get her out of the house.”

Rachel collapsed into her favorite chair. “I gotta admit, my brothers do know how to pick good women.” She raised her drink to Jess. “Thank you.”

Another few minutes and the three brothers marched into the room.

Carson headed straight for the bar, pouring three bourbons, handing one to Preston who went and sat on the arm of the chair where his wife sat, the next to Garret who took a seat at their father’s desk, and taking the last one himself, he came and sat beside Jess on the small sofa.

“What’s going on?” Rachel leaned forward.

Garret waved at Carson. “This is your discovery, bro, the floor is yours.”

“Bottom line, we have a problem.”

Everyone waited quietly for his next words.

“This morning when Jess and I took Mason to go fix some downed fence line and search for the mustangs again, we stopped at the nearest line shack. Inside, I found the usual, and one of the hay balers Dad had bought.”

“What?” Jillian leaned forward. “I thought Ray sold them all.”

“So did we,” Preston interjected.

“This afternoon, Preston, Garret and I returned to the shack with the flatbed and whatever we might need to hoist it and bring it home. Figured we could either use it the way Dad had intended or sell it and pay off some of the loan.”

“Makes sense,” Rachel agreed.

“Except for one teeny weeny little problem,” Carson continued. “When we reached the shack, the baler was gone.”

“What?” Rachel uncrossed her legs and sprang up. “What do you mean, gone?”

“Gone. G-O-N-E.”

“But who?” Sarah asked this time, her hand tightly gripping her husband’s.

“And that,” Garret steepled his fingers in front of him, “is the sixty-four thousand dollar question.”

“You don’t think…” Rachel scanned the room, but didn’t say another word.

Jess had watched the interaction amongst the siblings, recognized the growing concern, but had no clue what it all meant.

Carson reached over, taking Jess’s hand in his and squeezed. “It could be any number of people. Could be rustlers, a burglary ring, or,” Carson swallowed hard, “Ray and his men are still around.”

Now she understood. Understood why Carson had gripped her hand, why the others looked more nervous than a cat in a room full of rockers.

“So,” Jillian didn’t address anyone in particular, “what do we do? Call the sheriff?”

Carson shook his head. “He doesn’t know anything more than we do. He’s been unable to track down Ray or any of the others. If it’s them, he doesn’t know it.”

“Maybe Clint?” Rachel asked. “I mean, I know he’s been good to Mom, but then we thought the same thing about Ray.”

“No.” Preston sighed. “He was in the barn with Mason all morning and then with Mom while we were off to the shed.”

“What I want to know,” Sarah asked, “is does anyone else think it rather a coincidence that one minute it’s there and the very same day we find it, it’s gone?”

“Wait,” Jillian eyed her sister in law, “are you saying they were watched?”

Sarah shrugged. “The timing of all this is rather uncanny.”

“We thought the same thing.” Carson continued to hold Jess’s hand. “Now the question is, what do we do about it?”

“Can we trust Clint?” Rachel suggested.

All three brothers shrugged.

“Damn,” Rachel muttered under her breath.

“That about covers it.” Carson inched forward in his seat. “From now on, no one goes anywhere alone. And first thing in the morning, we’ll pair up and start checking out all the line shacks, just in case there’s anything else hidden we might want to know about.”

Preston spoke up, “We’re also going to install cameras. If anyone besides us comes near the shacks, we’ll know it.”

“Don’t you need wifi and power?” Jillian asked.

“No.” Preston shook his head. “We can use batteries and SD cards.”

“If you’re going to secure the line shacks,” Rachel stood up, “we should secure the house too. Cameras. Whatever. You know, just in case.”

Again, all the men nodded, and Jess could feel a sense of panic tickling her spine.

The conversation continued for a little bit longer, everyone more alert, Jillian and Rachel promising to carry again until this mystery was resolved.

When everyone left the room, Carson remained seated. Still holding onto her hand, he turned. “I know joining the family now is something like trial by fire, but I promise you, everything will be all right.”

She nodded slightly.

“Do you trust me?”

It only took a second for her to nod again, barely surprised that she meant it.

“Good. Then we’ll figure this out, and you have to know, everyone in this house will keep an eye out for Mason.”

Not for a second had she doubted that. “Whatever the family needs, count on me.” She just hoped she wasn’t promising more than she could deliver.