Page 39 of Daddy's Little Cowgirl

“The person didn’t know them by name?”

Ridge shook his head. “She’d seen them before, but she never talked to them.”

Ben’s eyebrows rose. “She?”

Ridge smiled. “Yeah. My girl, Ellie.”

“I’m glad she wasn’t caught.”

“Oh, she was, but she pretended not to know Spanish.”

Ben chuckled. “Smart little girl.”

“That she is. Now, if there’s nothing else, I want to get home to her.”

Ben patted him on the back. “Go. I’ll be in touch when I know anything. Have your trusted men find the other guy. They have to come to work at the same time and probably hang out and don’t engage in discussions with the others.”

“I think I might already know. The guy we caught tonight, who was one of my ranch hands, hung out with Jerald. They came to work about the same time, too.”

“We have no evidence unless the guys we have talk. Unless your girl would be willing to do a line-up.”

Ridge stiffened. “I’d rather her not be involved with this.”

“She already is, Ridge. She might be our only chance to get the other guy.”

“Let’s see how the next few days go. I’ll have my men watch Jerald.”

“I’ll call tomorrow with any information I have.”

“Thanks, Ben,” Ridge said. He shook the guy’s hand before he walked over to one of the ranch trucks that waited to take them home. They had to be careful going down the driveway because they didn’t want to alert the other thief. His other men had four-wheelers and would park them to the north in a barn they didn’t use and then walk in. He didn’t have to tell them not to be seen. They heard about the other guy.

Layton, the foreman, drove on the dirt road they rarely used, so it had more potholes than gravel. But it was the best way not to be seen. He parked it out of sight.

Ridge slapped the man on the shoulder. “Try to get some sleep.”

“Hell, the morning will be here in a few hours,” Layton said and grinned.

“Try the best you can and make tomorrow easy for the guys. I don’t want the men that helped tonight getting hurt because they were too tired.”

“I’ll do that.”

Ridge watched Layton walk off, being careful to stay in the shadows. When the foreman was out of sight, he let himself into the house at the front door. It was the only one the hands couldn’t see from their barracks. He walked around to make sure everything was locked up before making his way up the stairs and to his room.

He stood just inside of the door, leaned a shoulder against the doorjamb, and stared at the beautiful sight before him. Ellie was facedown in bed with the sheet down around her hips, showing him her soft back.

God, he loved running his hands over her. Fuck, any time he touched anything on her, it made his need for her deepen and grow. It was three in the morning, and he needed to get up in two hours. He didn’t have time or the energy to fuck that sweet girl the way he wanted to. There was time enough for that later.

Right then, he needed a quick shower. Then he wrapped his body around his girl and caught some sleep before the sun rose.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Ellie worked in the back garden, pulling weeds. Maggie had just gone in to start lunch, but she had wanted to keep going. It had been a few days since Ridge caught the cattle thieves, but he was still antsy and wanted her to stay close to the house until he knew it was safe.

She sat back on her heels when she heard what sounded like a kitten in a group of thick bushes. She stood and walked around them. If one of the kittens had gotten lost, she wanted to make sure it got back to its mother.

A gasp tore from her throat when a hard arm was wrapped around her waist, and one hand covered her mouth to prevent her from screaming.

“We’re going to have a little fun, bitch, because you owe me for destroying my operation that I’ve made millions on.”

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