Theodore pulled his coat tightly around him as he rode Remington into the pastures for his shift on patrol. The biting cold permeated through his clothes, making him feel as though his bones were chilled. Remington snorted, his warm breath clouding up instantly in the cold night air.
They slowly walked through the herd huddled together, munching contentedly with their eyes closed. Theodore studied the land around them, looking for any sign of trouble.
He sighed wearily. It had been a long night—longer than most since he had gotten virtually no sleep for the past two nights. Theodore knew they couldn’t keep this up. While he was well aware that whoever poisoned his cattle could, and would, likely strike again, there was no way he and his men could keep up nightly patrols. They were all hard-working, loyal men, but they would become exhausted.
Theodore rolled his shoulders and moved his head from side to side, stretching out his aching muscles. It didn’t loosen the tight knot he felt in his chest. The thought of losing everything that his family had worked so hard for generations was more than he could stand. Then, there was Isabel.
She had promised that she would never leave him, regardless of how bad things got. Her words were comforting, and a part of him wanted to believe it so badly. He wished he could trust her, but fear refused to let him.
His parents had died when he was four, and he barely remembered them. The scant memories he had of them were of them being loving people. His life changed drastically when his grandparents got custody of him. He became friends with Ellis, and look how that turned out.
Now, in spite of the way that Isabel had stayed by his side, her obvious love for their son, and the fact that she looked at him as though she thought he was more than just a broken man, he still couldn’t let himself trust her promises.
Isabel has proven that she stands by the people she cares about. She didn’t leave her siblings when they were younger. It would have been a lot easier to take Timmy to the orphanage and let them deal with the abandoned baby. Instead, she worked extra hard to take care of him and even answered an ad for a mail-order bride as a way to provide for him.
Feeling conflicted, he tried to focus on anything else. Theodore counted the cattle again, examined the fence, and studied the landscape.
He exhaled sharply and saw that the sun was just rising above the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, and the dark skies were tinged with shades of red, yellow, and orange. Theodore hoped he could get an hour of sleep and turned Remington back to the stables.
After taking care of his horse, he quietly slipped into the house and fell on his bed. He managed to fall asleep, but his dreams were plagued with visions of dead cattle and the stench of their burning bodies. When he woke up, he dragged himself out of bed, feeling as though he hadn’t slept at all.
Isabel was standing in the kitchen, with her back to him, frying eggs on the stove and humming softly to herself. For a minute, he watched her, feeling a warmth inside of him in spite of his exhaustion. There was something about watching her graceful movements that gave him a small sense of peace. He was shocked to admit that she did make him feel like it wasn’t just him against the world. For the first time in his life, he was starting to trust and believe in someone besides Jacob.
She turned around and smiled at him.
“Good morning,” she said softly. “Your breakfast is ready.”
“Thank you.”
She was about to sit with him when a voice called out from the other room. “Mama.”
Isabel grinned at him. “It’s better than a scream or cry.”
Theodore grunted in response as Isabel disappeared into their bedroom to take care of the baby.
She came back a few minutes later with him.
Timmy clenched and unclenched his fists at Theodore, smiled at him, and said, “Dada.”
Theodore smiled wearily and reached for the baby. Holding Timmy close to him, he knew that he cared deeply for the boy. If he were honest with himself, he would admit that he loved the child, even though Timmy wasn’t his son by blood. That admission terrified him.
Timmy had a lot to say and babbled nonstop, with occasional recognizable words like “Mama,” “Dada,” “home,” “yum,” and “dog.”
Theodore answered back with, “You don’t say? Tell me more.”
Isabel giggled as she watched the two of them together, a warmth in her eyes.
Timmy stopped babbling and said, “Yum,” pointing to his high chair.
“Yes, sir. I’ve got the message.”
Theodore put the baby in his chair, and Isabel slid his plate in front of him. Timmy grabbed a handful of egg and stuffed it into his mouth.
“Thank you,” Theodore said. “I’ve got a ton of work to do.”
“You’re welcome,” Isabel replied.
Just then, there was a knock on the door. Theodore opened it to see Sheriff Norris standing on the porch with a grim look on his face—brows furrowed and lips pursed.
Theodore didn’t say anything. He just opened the door wider in a silent invitation to enter.
“Good morning, Miss Isabel, Theodore.”
“Good morning, Sheriff. Let me get you a cup of coffee.”
“Much obliged.”
Sheriff Norris removed his hat and sat at the table while Isabel poured him some coffee and took her seat.
The tension was thick, and Theodore braced himself for the words he knew were coming.
“As promised, I asked around to determine where Jenkins was the night your cattle were poisoned. He had an airtight alibi. He was seen in town by multiple people,” the sheriff said, his voice low with regret. “There’s nothing that we can legally do.”
Theodore’s hands tightened into fists. “That no-good cur might have an alibi, but I know he was responsible. Any one of his lackeys might have slipped into my barn and poisoned my cattle.”
Sheriff Norris nodded. “I don’t disagree with you. But without any proof, my hands are tied. I’ll keep an eye on him, and if he steps out of line, even just a little, I’ll go after him. For now…” he trailed off.
“For now, there’s nothing you can do,” Theodore bit out.
He closed his eyes for a brief second and took a deep breath, trying to tamp down the rage that was building inside of him. It was infuriating that this cad could act without fearing the law.
“I wish I had better news for you. I’ll be in touch if anything changes.” The sheriff stood and nodded at Isabel. “Thank you for the coffee.”
“My pleasure.”
He put on his hat and left.
As soon as the door closed behind the sheriff, Theodore’s anger boiled over. He stood and slammed his fist into the wall, pain shooting through his knuckles. Isabel gasped, and Timmy screamed, but Theodore didn’t care. All of his frustrations, anger, and feelings of helplessness and hopelessness exploded.
“Blast it all!” he yelled. “That low-down scoundrel is going to get away with it. He’s going to ruin the ranch and force me to sell, and there isn’t anything I can do about it.”
Isabel crossed the room, holding Timmy, and put her hand on his shoulder. Her touch stopped him in his tracks.
“We’ll find a way to get through this. We’ll figure out a way.”
He looked down at her, a wave of embarrassment washing over him. His loss of control made him feel weak and like he couldn’t hold himself together. Isabel didn’t flinch. She continued to touch him and talk softly to him.
“I know you’re angry, and you have every right to be. You’ve worked your entire life for this ranch, and I can understand why it’s so overwhelming. You don’t have to be strong all the time and hold in your emotions.”
They stood there for a loud moment, staring at each other. Her eyes were full of understanding and something else he couldn’t name. His heart tightened in his chest, and at that moment, he realized how much she meant to him.
He wanted to tell her he cared for her, but the fear that she would leave him was too hard to overcome.
Isabel smiled at him and touched his face softly, as though she knew what he was thinking. “It’s okay. We’re in this together. I’m with you no matter what.”
Just then, Timmy let out a cry, and Isabel wrinkled her nose, breaking the moment.
“I’ve got work to do,” Theodore said, pulling on his coat and leaving Isabel in the kitchen, holding the baby.
The morning air was nippy as the sun had not yet had a chance to warm it. He walked over to the barn. The mooing of the cattle, a dog bark, and the calls of the birds echoed around him, but he was oblivious. He was too focused on Isabel.
He cared for her—more than he’d ever thought was possible. He knew that he loved her. She was smart, strong, a loving mother, and didn’t run away as soon as times got hard.
However, the idea of admitting it and letting her in terrified him almost as much as the thought of losing his ranch.
Jacob met him at the barn. “I saw Sheriff Norris here. I didn’t want to intrude.”
“You didn’t miss much. The sheriff said exactly what I thought he’d say. Jenkins had an airtight alibi, so there’s nothing he can do about the man.”
Jacob sighed. “We’ll figure something out.”
They walked into the barn together, and Theodore breathed in the scent of fresh manure, hay, and straw. They drove the heifers into the corral, and the two men grabbed the pitchforks and shovels and got to work cleaning it out.
“We can’t all stay up all night doing patrols,” Theodore said. “If Jenkins is determined to destroy my ranch, he will find a way.”
“I was thinking about that. We can take two-hour shifts in the pastures, which would let each of us get enough rest. We’ll lock the dogs in the barn with the cows. That way, they can’t be lured away, and they will set off an alarm if a stranger tries to get inside.”
“That’s a good idea,” Theodore said.
“I know it’s hard,” Jacob said, “especially all that you’ve been through. At least you have most of the calves, and we can bottle-feed them. You still have several heifers that haven’t calved yet. I know that the loss of the cows hurt, but we won’t let that dirty varmint win.”
Theodore nodded, wishing that he felt as confident as Jacob. He hated feeling as though he had no control over a situation. This ranch, which he had spent his entire life building, could be taken from him in an instant, and there wasn’t anything he could do to stop it.
“I don’t like this. I feel like we’re sitting ducks,” Theodore complained. “I feel like I’m just waiting for something else to happen.”
“I understand the feeling. We can’t stop everything, no matter how hard we try. We’ll deal with it together. I’ve been with you since before you took over this ranch, and you’re my friend. I won’t run away just because times are hard.”
Theodore nodded, feeling a measure of reassurance. Jacob had proven himself over the years. He didn’t leave when Ellis’ treachery was discovered.
They finished cleaning the barn and putting in the straw before heading over to the stables to muck the stalls.
“There’s something to be said about shoveling manure, isn’t there?” Jacob grinned.
“It’s a great way to get the frustrations out, I suppose,” Theodore replied.
He flushed with embarrassment as he remembered his outburst earlier. It had to have startled Isabel, and it scared the baby. She didn’t walk away from him, yell at him, or condemn him. Isabel simply walked over to him and told him that he wasn’t alone.
A flicker of hope dared to burn inside of him.