Best Friend's Ex Box Set

Cheyenne moved past me to grab her coat from the mudroom. I turned to look at Tiffany as she hobbled up onto her right leg. I started to shake my head in protest, but she cut me off quickly. “I’m going with you. We need to get to the bottom of what keeps happening around here.”

It was useless to try and convince Tiffany she couldn’t come. My sister was as strong and sharp as the barbed wire fence surrounding our property.

“Fine. Let me help you get in the truck while I call Rick.”

With Cheyenne’s help, we managed to get Tiffany into the front seat of my truck as quickly as possible right as Rick pulled up to the barn. I left them in the truck to jog across the muddy and gravel road as Rick hopped out. Rain pelted both our hats as he waited for me inside the barn.

“We found the horse on Michael’s property,” I told him. “I’m taking the trailer right now to get the horse. Keep an eye on everything around here. There’s a group of kids who have been causing hell for some of the ranchers.”

Rick shook his cowboy hat free of rain before placing it back on his head. “Maybe it would be a good idea, boss, if I took the apartment above the barn here. Until the sheriff figures out who is behind everything.”

“I wouldn’t hold my breath on that, but that would be a good idea.” I turned to look at Tiffany and Cheyenne as they talked in the truck. “We will be back in a little bit. Help yourself to some fresh blankets and sheets in the house.”

“Did Rick see anything?” Tiffany asked when I hopped back into the truck. She took my hat when I handed it to her, grimacing at the rain that dripped off of it.

I looked up in the rearview mirror to find Cheyenne’s eyes focused on mine intently. She looked away after a few seconds. I put the truck in drive and eased down the driveway slowly with the horse trailer behind me.

“Nothing,” I said. “I have an idea of what is going on though with the spiders and the fireworks.”

“It’s Bill,” Cheyenne said quietly. “I’m telling you, Colt. It has to be him. I’ve done everything to damage his reputation around Green Point, so he’s trying to damage me in return.”

It was a valid point because Bill Coates had an ego larger than Oregon. A respectful reputation was key to successful ranching because it attracted wealthier contracts from corporations. My father had been the best at it. Yet Michael had experienced problems with teenagers on his own ranch. I couldn’t look past that possibility that the firework and spiders were pranks gone too far.

Rain continued to pour down. I drove down the road slowly, mindful of the muddy road and the trailer behind me.

“I’m not sure if it was Bill this time,” I said slowly. “Michael told me he has been having troubles with teenagers messing with his livestock. He caught a group of kids shooting at his chickens.”

“Are the kids around here honestly that bored?” Tiffany asked in disbelief. “I have a hard time believing that, Colt. Maybe we should talk with the other ranchers to see if they are having the same issues?”

I shrugged my shoulders as we came up to the turnoff for Michael’s ranch. True to his word, the gate was pushed open for us to drive down the muddy road. I glanced up in the rearview mirror to see Cheyenne staring out the window with a cold look in her eye.

“Cheyenne?” She looked over at me in response. “I know you want to believe that this is Bill, but—”

“I know,” she said flatly. “There’s no evidence it’s him. I just don’t think this was a prank. It was deliberate. The two of you know it too.”

“Pranks can go too far,” Tiffany said, turning to look at Cheyenne with a frown. “There’s no need to be testy, Cheyenne. The both of us are on your side here.”

The anger in Cheyenne’s eyes vanished. She deflated visibly in the back seat with a tired sigh as she undid her seatbelt.

“I know,” she murmured. “I’m just worried that these pranks are going a bit too far now. Maybe we should call the sheriff?”

I parked in front of the barn. Michael appeared from inside the barn, waving to the three of us in the truck. While Tiffany scooted out with her crutches, I twisted around in the seat to look at Cheyenne.

“The sheriff knows about it,” I said, and she paused in getting out while Michael rushed up to help Tiffany

out of the truck. “I’ll talk to a few other ranchers around here to see if they are having the same issue with these types of pranks.”

“My barn was not a prank that got out of control,” Cheyenne said flatly. “I bet there is one rancher here in Green Point that hasn’t had any problems.”

She pushed the door open to hop out into the downpour of rain. I turned the engine off with a sigh. There was no doubt in my head either that Bill Coates had no problems on his ranch like the rest of us.

Chapter Nineteen

Cheyenne

I followed Michael and Tiffany inside through the mud and straw mess in front of the barn. Just like the Smith ranch, the barn was spacious and kept tidy. The stalls were dry as a summer day, and it even felt warm when I brushed off my rain jacket to dry myself.

A line of horses poked their heads out over the stall doors to gaze at us curiously. I smiled despite the fear and anger bubbling in my stomach. They were obviously well loved as Michael walked slowly past them with Tiffany hobbling alongside him. He reached out occasionally to scratch their noses as they whinnied at him, searching for a treat by nosing his back pocket.