Page 14 of The Earl’s Wrangler (Cowboy Nobility #3)

“SAWYER,” MRS. J called, standing near the paddock as he let the colt run on the lead. Hercules, Zeus, and Poseidon had all taken to the halter and lead pretty easily. “How did they do?”

“Exceedingly well,” Sawyer said, slowing the colt to a walk.

Then he came to a stop, approaching Sawyer to nuzzle his chest. “They are all very good, and they seem eager to please. All three of them were raised well. They aren’t skittish in the least. I think when we’re ready to train them, they’ll respond well.

” He patted the colt’s neck before leading him to his home paddock and removing the lead.

He joined the others, the three of them frolicking like they hadn’t seen each other in a while.

“You have a real good eye,” Sawyer told her. “Especially for auction horses.”

“Well, I knew the owner and his reputation.” She tapped the fence nervously. “They came from the Molton place. Heather always knew how to breed amazing horses. She had the knack, and these are her last three.” She eyed the colts as they settled in to eat.

“I heard she passed away about six months ago.” Heather Molton was legendary in their part of the country.

“She did. And since she didn’t have any family, she left it all to charity, and they were selling off everything.

I was able to get these three horses at the auction.

I would have bought every one they had, but I could only afford these.

” She swallowed. “She and I went to school together.” She raised her gaze as Randall came over to join them, his boots and pant legs filthy.

“Were you friends?” Sawyer asked.

“More like frenemies, I guess. We knew each other, but we were also rivals in a lot of ways. She was always smart and driven. I was popular, and we butted heads a lot growing up, but as we got older, we came to respect each other and realized that we could support each other instead of competing. I like to think she’d be happy that these boys are here and will be given a good home. ”

“So you aren’t raising them to sell?” Sawyer asked.

Mrs. J sighed. “I’m not sure. See, the one unknown with these guys is what she was breeding them to do.

Heather was secretive about her plans and methodologies.

Her colts and fillies went on to become amazing cutting and riding horses.

Others are champions of dressage, and a few are racing out east. She had this ability to breed some interesting animals.

She always believed that a horse would show what its abilities were in its own time.

So that’s what we’re going to do here. I want to find out what these boys are good at. Let their abilities come forward.”

“There aren’t a lot of racehorses here in Wyoming,” Sawyer said.

“I don’t know about that. They may not be trained here, but racehorses and steeplechasers can come from nowhere,” Randall said. “Think of Seabiscuit and any number of other horses. Sometimes you never know.”

“Did you ever keep racehorses?” Mrs. J asked.

Randall shook his head and explained what had happened to his family’s stables. Sawyer had already heard the story, so he half tuned it out and watched Randall. There was deep regret in his stance, and Sawyer wanted to bring the old earl back from the dead so he could kill him all over again.

A slick car, very low to the ground, slowly turned into the drive. “We don’t get many of those around here,” Mrs. J said as they all watched the powder-blue Porsche maneuver down the drive before parking near the house.

Sawyer glanced at Randall, who shrugged as a man got out of the car.

He was relatively small but very well dressed.

Sawyer thought at first that he was here to see Randall.

He imagined that guys like this with fancy cars and three-thousand-dollar suits would be part of his world, but the man spoke briefly with Mrs. J, and then she looked over at Sawyer.

“What can I do for you?” Sawyer asked as he approached.

“Sawyer Kincaid?” He held out his hand, and Sawyer took it. “I’m Jase Easton. I understand you’re having some trouble with bill collectors of a certain ilk.”

“Well, not exactly.” Sawyer began, and Randall cleared his throat. “Yeah, sorry. I’m forgetting my manners. This is Randall; he’s staying with us.” He wasn’t sure if he should explain that he was an earl but figured if Randall wanted him to know, then he could explain.

Jase nodded. “I wish we were meeting under better circumstances.” He returned to his car and retrieved a leather case. “Shall we?”

“Of course. Sawyer, you can use the living room to talk over what you need to.” She patted him on the shoulder and then went inside.

“I don’t really know how much I can tell you,” Sawyer said as he led the way through, taking off his boots in the mud room. He wasn’t going to disrespect Mrs. J by tracking dirt into her house.

Randall took off his boots as well, and they all traipsed into the living room. Sawyer and Randall sat on the sofa, and Jase sat across from them in one of the chairs. The man was probably comfortable in just about any surroundings. “Why don’t you tell me what’s going on?”

“Well, I don’t know much. A lot of this is supposition. My father has a gambling problem, and he came to me for money, which means he’s desperate. Badly so. So I figure he’s in over his head and owes someone big-time.”

Jase nodded.

“I have some experience with things like this, and I didn’t want Sawyer to be caught up in his father’s mess,” Randall said.

“Well, you were smart. Last night when I was given this case, I did some research with a few contacts I have, and it seems that Howard Kincaid has racked up some serious debts to a number of casinos. I’m afraid it isn’t just one.

He owes money in Louisiana and Alabama. It seems he was playing in one place hoping to pay off his debts to another, and now no one will let him play and they are coming to collect.

” He opened his case and pulled out some paperwork. “These are people who play hardball.”

Sawyer swallowed hard, because shit and damn. What was he supposed to do? “I’m just a cowboy, and I don’t have a lot of money. And even if I did, I’m not paying for his debts. That isn’t fair.”

“The law is on your side. He’s responsible for this, not you. But I’m here because these people don’t play by the law—at least when people owe them money and they think they can get away with it.”

“Do you have any idea how far they are behind him?” Randall asked.

Jase chuckled. “The wolves are nipping at his heels. My guess is that they found him a few days ago and that’s why he came to you. I take it you and your father are not on good terms.” He was all business. The guy looked more like a lawyer than a security specialist.

“No. My father was abusive and a total piece of shit. I don’t care why he was coming to me. I did my best to get him out of my life, and I want it to stay that way.”

“Okay, then.” He closed his case. “These collectors will try to intimidate you and anyone they think is close enough to your father or you to try to get them to pay up. It’s what they do. Now the good thing is that they just want to be paid and then they go away. But….”

“I don’t have enough money to pay them.” Frustration grew in his voice.

“I get that. And once they exhaust their options with your father, they will try to intimidate you. Has anyone approached you?”

Sawyer shook his head. Maybe these people would leave him alone.

Alan came in with George right behind him. Sawyer hated that he had brought all this trouble here. This was something none of these folks should have to deal with.

“This is Alan and his husband, George,” Sawyer explained.

Jase nodded and they sat down.

Alan spoke first. “What do we need to do to keep Sawyer and everyone here safe? My men all have guns, and they know how to use them. If these people trespass, we can take them out.” Damn, Alan was as wound up and serious as Sawyer had ever seen him.

“The biggest thing you can do is show these guys you’re strong when they show up. Make sure they know that trying to come after you is going to be a hell of a lot of trouble.”

“Is that all the advice that you have?” Alan asked.

“These people have no right to come here or demand anything. We have made the sheriff aware of the possibility of trouble, and he’s going to be on the lookout.

This is a small town, and I somehow doubt that they are going to receive any support or cover from anyone here. ”

“That’s better than I had expected.”

“The sheriff will give them my father if he gets the chance, but that’s between the two of them.” Sawyer swallowed as another notion occurred to him. “Do you think my father will just ‘disappear’ and never be seen again?”

Jase shrugged. “I don’t know. I was asked to come here and give you an honest assessment of the situation.”

Footsteps hurried in from the kitchen, and everyone turned.

Chip almost skidded to a halt, his eyes huge.

“What’s this? Did I miss a family meeting or something?

” He looked at everyone in turn. “Is this about Sawyer’s dad?

I saw him in town this morning.” His eyes grew wider.

“He had a black eye and was walking funny. I think someone beat him up pretty bad.”

“They know where he is, and they’ve most likely given him a deadline.”

Sawyer groaned. “Which means he’s going to get more and more desperate.” Great, just what he needed. More trouble. “And it means we can expect to see him pretty soon. When it comes to saving his own skin, he isn’t going to stop trying to get to me.”

“You have plenty of people behind you,” Randall said quietly.

“Yes, you do,” Alan told him. “What can you do to help?” he added to Jase.