Page 21 of Sheriff's City Girl

I shook my head. “Not a good idea. We’ve got valid evidence right now. If we go cutting the fence, that’ll mess it up. Your insurance is gonna probably need that.”

Lucas didn’t say anything, but before I could ask him about that, he was up on his horse and galloping down the fence, making the long trek back to the gate. I spun Jett and he understood that we were taking chase. His black hooves thundered as we made our way across the rolling fields. The sun was beginning to creep off to the west, and a quick glance at my watch made me wonder if Jess was home yet. She was with Dara…

Or at least I thought she was.

I had never had any issues with Jess and who she hung out with, and she told me the previous day that she had stayed late at school to finish some homework. I wanted to believe her…

But something just felt off.

She needs her damn Mom.

The pang of pure hurt pummeled my chest. I didn’t miss Jess’s Mom, but I missed her having one. She needed a female figure in her life to help her with all this teenage shit. Puberty was rough and if it weren’t for Lily, I don’t know how we would’ve made it through. She had to take Jess under her wing. Lucas wasn’t married, and I was an only child—and I had no living parents.

I brushed the thought off, my eyes landing on the utility green gate coming into view. The sight of it caused my heart to jump with anticipation. I was hoping we might find solid evidence, and maybe that would at least spur Lucas to make a report.

We didn’t slow to a trot until we made it back to the spot in the fence that had been split. I scrutinized the area, hoping to find some sort of evidence that would tell us whether the cattle did come through this area.

“Maybe one of my hands made that splice a long time ago,” Lucas commented as he, too, studied the ground. “A hundred head of cattle would show up.”

I slid off my horse, taking a closer look—and realizing just how dry the ground was. “I don’t know… I wonder if they picked this spot because of the ground. We’ve had all that rain, but this is dry as the desert.” Using my boot, I kicked up dust in the air. “See?”

“Oh shit…” Lucas let out a sigh. “You’d think they’d have scoped the damn area out beforehand.”

“They probably did,” I said, shaking my head as I climbed back up on Jett. “I think our best bet is to look for signs of anything. You said you had some guys check this area, right? Did they see any fresh cow shit? That would’ve shown up. You can’t move that many cows and they don’t leave some sort of trail.”

He nodded. “I don’t know how extensively they searched, to be honest, and the grass is so dang tall that you might not be able to see it… But they should’ve been looking for it.”

“Only way to make sure something gets done right is to do it yourself,” I grumbled under my breath. Lucas didn’t hear me as we headed toward the only access point along a side road.

“No one lives down this road up here,” Lucas said, as we trotted through the tall grass. “My guess is that the guys only checked to the north of the creek. The cattle never cross the water, ever. It’s a steep decline.”

“But can they cross it?” I asked, furrowing my brow. He was right, though. In all the years, I had never trekked to this part of this specific pasture. The cattle just never went that far.

“They can. My grandpa used to have them cross it. It’s the old loading site.” He realized what he was saying as soon as the words left his mouth. “Holy shit, I bet they backed right up to the old chute. It wouldn’t be that easy, but based on how they spliced that fence…”

“Yeah, they could’ve handled it.” I shut my eyes for a moment before glancing down past my boots in the stirrups. “Cow shit,” I stopped Jett. “Look, Lucas.”

Lucas glanced down around him. “How the hell did Jake and Connor miss that?”

“Because they probably rode right through it, looking for cattle, not shit. I don’t know.”

“I’ll talk to them when we get back.” Lucas led me straight down the trail into the woods, and the closer we got to the old corrals and chutes, the more it became evident cattle had gone through the area. The soft dirt was torn up with tracks, and the moment we hit the clearing of the wooden corrals and old chute, it was obvious…

Right down to all the truck tires out on the road.

“How the hell did we miss this?” I exasperated, removing my hat and wiping the sweat from my forehead. “This is just bad work on our part.”

“Everyone always forgets that this side road exists…” Lucas’s voice strained as he shook his head. “I don’t… Someone would have to be knowledgeable of the area. The access point to this road is nothing but grass.”

I met my best friend’s gaze. “Someone did their homework.”

The creak of the front door made me cringe as I stepped inside the cabin. It was late by the time I got home from collecting all the evidence we could from the Lowe Ranch. It took more time than I wanted to admit, and while I tried to convince Jess to stay with Dara for the night, she insisted that she would be fine at home until I got there.

My footsteps were silent as I padded down the hallway, peeking into Jess’s room. The lights were out, and listening closely, I could hear her draw long, even breaths. I smiled to myself, shutting the door and heading to my own room. I was in desperate need of a shower, and I hung my hat on the rack as I stepped into my own room, letting out a sigh.

Fucking long day.

However, now that I was home and away from everything that was going on, the only thing on my mind was Emma. My body filled with need for the woman, her curves replaying in my mind. My dick went stiff as I stripped down and stepped into the warm water. I needed to stop by and see her, offer an apology for that night… After all, that was the first time I had hooked up with anyone in years…

---