Sky had been pressed into service with the rest of the hands. Managing the remuda, riding herd with the other cowboys, and delegating care for the young horses he was training kept him so busy that even his worry about Marie had been pushed to the back of his mind. Cattle were the lifeblood of the Rimrock. No job was more vital than keeping the herd safe and healthy.
Sky was scanning the flat horizon for strays when Will rode up beside him. “The Boss,” as his hired men called him, had barely slept in days. His face and clothes were gritty with dust, blown by a wind that was like the heat from a blast furnace.
“You look like hell,” Sky said.
“I’m guessing I look about the same as you.” Will pulled down the red bandanna that protected the lower part of his face. “At least we got most of them penned. The first truckload of hay should be here any time. It’ll cost us a blessed fortune to feed this many head of cattle.”
“Better than watching them waste and die,” Sky said. “How long do you figure we can afford to keep the hay coming?”
“According to Beau’s numbers, we can feed them for another three weeks—maybe a month if the rains come and we know there’ll be grass. Otherwise, we’ll have to sell them off cheap and see them trucked away to feed lots.”
“So this is a big gamble.”
“Damned big. I’ve lost nights of sleep wondering if we shouldn’t just go ahead and sell them now. If it doesn’t rain, every cent we’re spending on hay is just money down the hole.”
The two men sat in silence, watching dust devils play across a landscape so flat that early Spaniards named it the Llano Estacado —the Staked Plain—because they had to mark their trails with stakes in the ground to keep from getting lost.
Will lifted his Stetson and raked a hand through his sweat-soaked hair. “Those colts you’re breaking to sell could keep us from going under. How many can you have ready for auction before the fall roundup season?”
“The yearlings are barely halter broke,” Sky said. “But I’ve got at least twenty good two-year-olds that are partway there. It’ll take a lot of work to get them to where they should be. But I’ll do my best.”
The furrow deepened between Will’s dark eyebrows. Sky could imagine him doing the math in his head. A well-bred, well-trained young cow pony could go for as much as $30,000. An exceptional horse, trained by a man of Sky’s reputation, could fetch more. With luck, they could count on more than half a million dollars for the lot of them—minus what they’d paid for the unbroken colts in the first place. Would that be enough to make a difference?
Given what the ranch would lose if they had to sell off the cattle, it didn’t seem like much. But that wasn’t Sky’s decision to make. All he could do was give the young horses his best and trust to luck.
“The boys and I can look after things up here,” Will said. “For now, I want you to get back to those colts. Go home, get some rest, and start again as soon as you’re ready.”
“You’re sure? There could still be strays out there.”
“I’ll send somebody to check. Go on now.” He wheeled his mount, then paused, turning back. “About that cousin of yours. I know you need to check out what she’s doing here and whether she had something to do with shooting Jasper. Take the time you need, as long as it’s not too much. Those colts have to come first.”
“I hear you.” Sky had been working with the Tyler men since he was fifteen, and Will’s controlling style sheeted off him like water off a stone. Beau, on the other hand . . .
Letting the thought trail away, Sky swung his roan gelding back toward the corral where the spare horses were kept. He’d brought his own pickup, which he would drive back down the winding road through the escarpment to the heart of the ranch. The horses not needed up on the caprock would be trailered down later—a task the cowboys could easily handle.
Meanwhile, Sky would resume training the prime colts he’d brought to the ranch, and try to squeeze in time, tomorrow maybe, for an afternoon visit to the Blue Coyote.
He was unsaddling the roan when Beau rode up to the gate, dismounted, and led his bay mare into the corral. “Will wants me to ride back to the ranch with you,” he said. “I just found out he made an appointment for me with a banker in Lubbock. I’m supposed to go and talk with him about a backup loan to tide us over in case we need it.”
Beau’s face was a thundercloud. Sky guessed that Will had made the appointment without consulting his brother and foreman. The stress of the drought was putting everybody on edge. Unlike Sky, Beau chafed visibly under the weight of his brother’s authority. Sooner or later, Sky feared, there’d be a showdown—one that could end badly. Beau had left once after a clash with their father. If Will pushed him far enough, he might leave again.
Sky had vowed that nothing would change for him after Jasper’s revelation. But some things couldn’t be helped. The depth of his concern for his two blood brothers had come as an unsettling surprise. Whether he liked it or not, the Tylers weren’t just his employers. They’d become family even before he knew of their shared blood.
Beau said little as Sky drove down the gravel road that zigzagged among flat-topped mesas and red sandstone hoodoos to emerge above the ranch. As the view opened up, Sky caught himself glancing down toward the house, to the open area beyond the porch where visitors parked their cars. There was no sign of the black Corvette.
“She hasn’t been around.” Beau seemed to read his mind. “The computer hasn’t been touched, and that little gold earring is still in the desk drawer. What did you do to the woman, anyway?”
Sky muttered a noncommittal reply. He’d tried to wall Lauren out of his thoughts, but she’d crept back to haunt his unguarded moments—that lush mouth, that lithe willing body, those sharp little whimpers as he’d brought her to climax.... He’d been crazy to take her—and even crazier to keep wanting her. She was the spoiled daughter of a man the Tylers barely tolerated. If he passed her on the street, she’d probably turn and look the other way.
“Whatever the hell’s going on with you two, I need Lauren’s help with the books,” Beau said. “If she doesn’t show up soon, I’ll have to go to her on my knees, offer her the moon, and promise to slug you if you get within a
hundred yards of her.”
“Do what you have to,” Sky said. “Lauren doesn’t take orders from me.”
“Getting testy, are we?” Beau prodded.
“Just don’t push me. Get her back here and she’s all yours. I’ve got better things to do than fool around with Garn Prescott’s little princess.”