Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 90164 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 451(@200wpm)___ 361(@250wpm)___ 301(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90164 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 451(@200wpm)___ 361(@250wpm)___ 301(@300wpm)
“Thanks, Mom.” I bend down and kiss her cheek. “I’ll see you later.”
“Bye, now!”
She waves and sets off for home. My dad had a house built for them less than a mile from my place, and I like having them close by.
“You’re going to be in so much trouble!”
Welcome home, I think to myself as I hang my hat in the mudroom and slip out of my dirty boots.
“No, you are. I told you not to pour it like that.”
“What’s going on?” I ask as I walk into the kitchen and then stop cold.
There’s milk spilled all over the countertop and on the floor. Someone dragged a bath towel through the milk, smearing it all over.
“Is that chocolate?” I ask, pointing to the brown substance dripping onto the granite.
“I wanted chocolate milk,” Holly says as her eyes fill with tears. “And Johnny spilled the milk all over.”
“It fell,” Johnny insists. His own voice is quivering. “The jug was full and heavy, and it just fell. I couldn’t make it stop coming out.”
“Don’t be mad,” Holly pleads, and I realize that I must be a real asshole if my kids are this scared that they’ll get in trouble for a silly mistake.
“I’m not mad.” I take a deep breath, surveying the scene. “It looks like you two need to go change your clothes because you got wet.”
“Yeah.” Johnny’s voice is already much calmer. “It really splashed.”
“Can we change into jammies?”
I raise my eyebrows at my daughter. “Before six in the evening? Sure, if you want to. Go get comfy, and I’ll clean this up.”
“Thank you, Daddy.” Holly throws herself around my legs and hugs me tightly before running off to change.
Johnny, however, stays behind, his face totally serious.
“What’s up?” I ask him as I reach for the paper towels.
“Thanks for not yelling.” He shuffles from one foot to the other. “I mean, you don’t usually yell real loud, but we don’t usually mess up this bad, and you’ve been really mad lately. So, thanks for not yelling.”
And with that, he runs off behind his sister, and I have to take a minute to myself.
Yeah, I’ve been mad.
I’ve been frustrated.
And as of right now, I’m going to stop taking it out on my kids.
“It’s definitely a mountain lion.”
I turn at the sound of Lucky’s voice and raise a brow. “Did you catch it on camera?”
“Yeah, a few minutes ago, before the sun came up. She was out hunting and would have taken a calf if we didn’t get there first. You’re going to want to see this, boss.”
I stand and grab my hat. “Show me.”
He nods grimly, and we hurry out to the Jeep I bought last summer for times like this when we need to get somewhere on the property fast, and there isn’t a road to take.
It’s a bumpy-as-fuck ride, but before long, we see some of our guys standing around the carcass.
“I had to fire,” Bruiser says, looking completely miserable. “She was about to take out that calf over there. I had to.”
“Okay, I understand.”
“She’s a mama,” Lucky says, and points to the tree line where three cubs watch us from the brush.
“Well, son of a fucking bitch.” I immediately pull out my phone and call Chase. My brother is a cop, not Fish and Wildlife, but he’ll know who to call for this.
“Yo,” he answers.
“I need someone from Fish and Wildlife out here right away, and I don’t know who to call.”
“I can handle that. Where on the ranch are you?”
I give him our location and the gist of what’s going on. “It’s a fucking mess, Chase.”
“I’ll be out there, too. Give us thirty to get there. Don’t touch those babies, Rem.”
“We know better,” I assure him and end the call, turning to my guys. “They’re on the way. We don’t touch those cubs.”
“What will happen to them?” Bruiser wants to know.
“They’ll probably go to a wildlife rescue.” I rub my hands down my face. “Fuck.”
“It’s not poaching,” Lucky insists. “We’re entitled to protect the herd.”
Of course, it’s not poaching, and the fact that Lucky feels like he has to jump in to defend Bruiser tells me that he respects the other man, because we all know that Bruiser didn’t illegally hunt that cat.
“No, no one’s in trouble. It just sucks that she’s a mom. Those babies aren’t weened yet.”
“Do you want us to stay here?” Bruiser asks.
“Yeah, let’s wait so we can all answer questions. Just be honest, you understand? You didn’t do anything wrong, and you won’t be in trouble.”
Bruiser, looking like he’s full of guilt, nods.
Just like Chase said, thirty minutes later, two vehicles drive out onto the pasture and park next to the Jeep.
Chase gets out of the police SUV, and two other men step out of the truck.
“Hey, Rem.” Nathan Price extends his hand for me to shake. “I’m sure sorry about this.”