Page 42 of Some Cowgirls are Worth Protecting

Rachel had gotten the rights to use the water that ran through her property. That meant the people in charge of the rights to the water wouldn’t have diverted it. There was only one reasonable explanation, and Rachel wasn’t going to like it.

He glanced back toward her, his heart sinking.

They were back at it.

20

Rachel

“What do you mean the water is gone?” Wade demanded.

“Exactly what I’m saying. The water isn’t running through the land anymore. That means the folks on the other side of the property line aren’t getting any either. I’m telling you, the people who broke into the house are doing this to sabotage the project.” Hudson paced the Keagan living room with quick, agitated steps. At least everyone in this room knew who the real owner of the property was. It made more sense why they were being asked to help out. Ironically, no one had batted an eye when Rachel had made her confession. Now, they just had to figure out how to keep her and her property safe.

Rachel’s eyes bounced from Hudson to Henry, who spoke up next.

“We have to do something. If the folks who approved the sanctuary find out that there isn’t a water source on the premises, then they could revoke the funding or whatever it is they’re helping with.”

“What can we do? It’s not like I can just turn on the faucet,” Hudson said with derision. “At this point, all I can think of is to follow the creek upstream and try to find out what happened.”

Henry pushed away from the wall from where he had been leaning. “Then let’s do it. We can follow the creek and get the water flowing again?—”

“Are you sure that’s the right decision?” Athena drew Rachel’s attention. She’d been holding Rachel’s hand throughout the whole conversation. The sanctuary had been Rachel’s responsibility, and hers alone—until Hudson had pushed himself into the fray. Now they were involving his family and hers.

Something didn’t feel right about any of this. Why couldn’t they just be left alone? What if the next time these people came back, they actually hurt someone? She’d had a close call once before. She squeezed Athena’s hand, causing their eyes to lock. “Athena’s right. Maybe we should call the sheriff about this one, too.”

Hudson shook his head. “If we do that, they’re going to let the state know. What if they refuse to let you run the sanctuary the way you need to?”

Athena’s focus darted to Hudson. “Do you really think they’d do that? Could they stop the project from moving forward?”

“Anything could happen,” Hudson said. “There is so much red tape around this project. One of the big rules is that the animals have shelter, food, and water. All that would have to happen is for someone to report us and the whole thing gets shut down.”

Henry scowled, his arms folded. “What happened to people being decent? The sanctuary is literally to save wild horses and give them a new life.”

Rachel shook her head. “I don’t want any of you getting hurt because of what’s going on. Checking the perimeter is one thing, but venturing off the premises could end poorly for everyone involved. Besides, there’s no way to access the creek by car. You’d have to ride horses, and there’s no telling how long that would take.”

“We’re not going to get hurt if we’re smart, right guys?” Hudson glanced around the room to where the others had remained quiet. Everyone in the room nodded their assent. “See? We’re here for you,” Hudson said vehemently as he moved across the room and knelt down in front of her. “We’re not going to let you deal with this on your own.”

“And what if it’s a trap? What if someone calls it in right when you get there and you get arrested for something you didn’t do?” Rachel stood and turned slowly so each of the Keagan men understood what they might be getting themselves into. She stopped at the oldest.

Wade gave her a boyish grin. “The sheriff isn’t going to believe for one second that we’re involved. He’s smarter than you give him credit for.” He let his gaze sweep over the room. “Hudson and Henry have the right idea. We should send a couple guys upstream to check it out. Maybe it’ll be nothing. Maybe we’ll find something we can fix. Either way, it would be better for us to figure it out before we decide what should come next. This isn’t just about Rachel and her property. It’s about the horses, too. We’ve found a couple on the outskirts of our borders, but we haven’t had them rounded up yet.” He gave Rachel a meaningful look. “I thought they could be your first tenants.”

Rachel couldn’t help the smile that stretched across her face. “I’d love that.”

“Then it’s settled. We’re going to follow the creek until we figure out what happened. If we can fix it, that’s what we’re going to do.” He motioned for the guys to follow him out the door, presumably to get the supplies ready for their trip.

Athena tugged Rachel back to her seat. “They’re going to be fine. I’ll make sure that Henry takes his rifle with him. The worst that could happen is that they find out they can’t fix the creek.”

Rachel huffed. “That’s not the worst that could happen.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Athena asked quietly.

A flush crawled up Rachel’s neck until it settled in her cheeks and her ears. She closed her eyes, biting back the smile that wanted to make itself known. “It just means…” Rachel let out a heavy sigh. “It means that I would never forgive myself if something happened to your fiancé.”

Athena gave her a pointed look. “Come on, Rachel. I know you know I’m not that dense. I knew something was going on the second I stopped by that night and gave you the wedding invitation. The tension in your house was almost unbearable. Either you two are in love or you’re in denial.”

Rachel gasped with a forced laugh. “How can you even say that?”

Another pointed look from her sister was all it took for Rachel to know she wouldn’t be getting out of this conversation unscathed.

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