“Right.” I kept the disappointment off my face as I grabbed my wallet and car keys from the coffee table. “Behave yourself. I have to go in to make sure everything is running smoothly at the Iron Stallion.”
Tiffany scowled at her leg that was propped up. “Yeah, I’ll get into a lot of trouble with my bone completely broken. At least there is a pin in there now.”
“You know what I mean,” I said, chuckling. “Keep an eye on Cheyenne for me. I told Rick to keep his eyes peeled out for any funny things.”
“Do you think that Cheyenne is in trouble?” Tiffany asked, a concerned frown tugging at her lips. “Because things seem to be happening all the time right around her. Like accidents.”
“Accidents?” I repeated, concern shooting through me now too. “What sort of accidents are you talking about?”
“Just weird things, you know? The barn catching on fire. The wooden beam a few days ago—”
“The wooden beams? What happened with her and the wooden beams? I asked Rick to replace all of them when I found the rotted beam alongside the hay bales this morning.”
“That’s because it nearly fell on Cheyenne,” Tiffany said. “Rick was upset because he forgot, and he didn’t want to tell you because he was afraid that you’d get pissed off. Like you are right now.”
A red haze fell over me. What the hell was wrong with Rick? If that beam would have fallen on Cheyenne… I shoved that unpleasant thought away. I needed to have a long and serious talk with Rick over him remembering what needed to be done around the barn before someone got killed or seriously injured. Or a new ranch-hand was needed.
“I don’t understand what is happening,” I said, running a hand through my hair in aggravation. “Nothing seems to be going right anymore. That beam could’ve killed Cheyenne if it fell on her.”
“It didn’t though,” Tiffany pointed out, giving me a look. “Don’t go crazy like you always do. Accidents happen. You and I both know from years of working on the ranch.”
“I know, but nothing like that. We keep this ranch in tip-top shape. We have to in order to meet the federal requirements.”
“Maybe it’s just getting out from underneath of us. That happens sometimes too. The ranch is older than us.”
“Maybe,” I said slowly. I couldn’t shake off that bad feeling though. Something wasn’t right, and I couldn’t put my finger on it. I glanced at the clock above the fireplace before rising to my feet. “I’ll be back later. Just be prepared to have Rick come in here with an estimate for the roof.”
The drive to the Iron Stallion was long and quiet when I turned the radio off to think. I didn’t know what to think about the situation with Cheyenne or the accidents that seemed to happen around her. Accidents never happened at the ranch either, but they were popping up suddenly.
None of it made sense.
And neither did any of my feelings for Cheyenne.
I wiped at the sweat that gathered along my forehead where my hat rested. It was cold enough to want to wear a long-sleeve shirt, but still warm enough to make you sweat. Or was that a reaction I had more for Cheyenne?
My mood temporarily lifted when I spotted Cheyenne’s truck parked outside of the Iron Stallion. She hopped out of the driver’s seat when I pulled up next to her. A smile spread across my face at the sight of her long locks of hair fluttering in the cold breeze behind her. She was wearing a simple pair of leggings tucked in boots along with a simple gray sweater, but she never looked more beautiful in my opinion.
“I didn’t think you were coming in tonight,” Cheyenne said. “Your employees weren’t sure if you were going to go come in.”
I locked my truck up with a click of a button. “I wasn’t sure myself. I had some things to take care of at the ranch that weren’t be taken care of.”
Cheyenne’s eyebrows furrowed into a concerned frown. “Anything with my horses or—”
“It was about the wooden beams,” I said and watched the color in her face drain. “I found one of the beams out behind the hay bale. Tiffany told me that it nearly fell on you after I told my ranch hand to replace them when they were damaged in the storm.”
“Don’t be upset with Rick. I agreed to keep it quiet. It was an accident.”
That red haze filled my line of sight again. I couldn’t look past it no matter how hard I tried to.
“You shouldn’t have agreed to that. You could’ve been killed, Cheyenne!”
Cheyenne reared back in surprise. The anger in my voice surprised me too. Rubbing at the back of my neck, I sucked in a deep breath to calm the storm rising inside of me.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I didn’t mean to get like that. I’m just a bit concerned is all that something is going on.”
“With me?”
“Yes, with you. The wooden beam. The fire. Damn, Cheyenne.” I shook my head at her. “You have the worst luck. I don’t think I have ever met someone who has the type of luck that you have.”