Page 38 of Daddy's Little Cowgirl

He nodded. “I have to call a lot of people. Can you be a big girl and get yourself in bed? I’ll come in later, but if you said it was what they planned, I’ve only got a few hours to set something up.”

She hugged him. “I understand. And I can be a big girl. Be careful.”

He pressed a kiss to the tip of her nose. “I promise. Now, get up to bed.”

She giggled when he tried to tickle her. “Daddy, stop.”

He grinned and let her go. There was no way she’d be able to sleep until her daddy got back.

Ellie left the office and walked upstairs. In their bathroom, she took her clothes off and started the shower. While the water heated, she pulled her hair into a messy bun and stepped inside to wash. When she finished, she brushed her teeth before walking into the bedroom. She didn’t take her time getting into the bed. She was too anxious to see her daddy and ask him how the night went.. She knew she wouldn’t feel better until she had her daddy beside her.

Ellie stared up at the ceiling for a while before flopping back and forth, trying to get comfortable. The only thing that would calm her was her daddy, so she gave up fighting to sleep. She grabbed the blanket off the end of the bed, sat in one of the cushioned chairs, and stared out into the night.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Ridge crouched behind some trees with his foreman. He’d called the sheriff about the situation and told him to hold off on coming to the location until Ridge signaled him. He felt the more people in the area would make it more likely that the cattle thieves would see them and run.

He had quietly picked several of his most trusted men that had been with him for a long time. He had his men spread out, and each had walkie-talkies. He thought he knew where the bastards were going to cut his fence because there was a rough road up to the area, and he had several hundred cows yards away.

Ridge had thought he might have picked the wrong spot because they had been there several hours when he heard a vehicle in the distance. He signaled to the other men, sent a text to the sheriff just down the road, and then waited.

A beat-up old truck with a powerful motor and a huge trailer attached came into view. Ridge could see other headlights and wondered how many cows they planned to take. He felt his anger start to build. He hated people who took advantage of someone else’s hard work.

He concentrated on calming as he watched the bastards with the two vehicles backed up to the fence. When the four men got out, and one went to cut the wire, he whistled.

A dozen men came out of nowhere and surrounded them with guns drawn. They were smart enough to put their arms in the air. Three more cars drove up, with the sheriff in front. The deputies handcuffed the four men.

Ridge walked up to the one he knew. “How many ranches have you stolen from?”

The man cursed. “I want a lawyer.”

“You better get a good one because me and the other ranchers you’ve stolen from are going to make sure you get put away for a long, long time,” Ridge said.

The deputy jerked him along and shoved him into the back of one of the cop’s cars.

A few other deputies drove the trucks back to town while Ridge and the sheriff talked about the situation.

“Ben, how many ranches have cattle missing around here?” Ridge asked.

The sheriff gripped the back of his neck. “Several in our county, but I’ve talked to other departments around the state, and they’ve had the same problem. We were convinced it was a group of men that knew what they were doing and had been doing it for years.”

“Fuck.”

“If these are part of the gang, you’ve just cracked a case several officials have spent years investigating.”

Ridge grunted. “I had help from someone who overheard them.”

“You need to thank them,” the sheriff said.

“Oh, I will. I’m glad they’ve been caught. Will you be able to get the names of all the men involved?”

“We’re going to try our best.”

“One of the guys was an employee. The person who overheard them said there were two, and they spoke fluent Spanish.”

“That’s new information. I’ve got a deputy that understands the language. I’ll have him discreetly listen to the guys.”

“Good idea. I’m thinking that at least one of the men is still on my ranch.”

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