Page 11 of Relentless

How did Maeve do all of this by herself?

She went through the entryway and pulled her boots on one last time. When she opened the front door, a blast of chilly airhit her cheeks. She would have given anything for Crew’s hat that evening as the wind whipped through her ponytail.

Oakleigh tread carefully across the uneven driveway, still marred with tire marks left during the chaotic rainy season. She looked at her palms, where the fading scars on her fingers were a lingering reminder that she hadn’t spoken to her younger sister in almost a year. Maeve had encouraged her to be intentional to pray for a mended relationship with Paisley. She often tried to lift her hurt to the Lord, but sometimes, it made her dwell on how hopelessly fractured it felt. The lack of closure caused her to wrestle with her own guilt, not to mention her mother’s oppressive influence that had contributed to the conflict.

The last thing she needed that day was to allow the negative feelings to ruin her entire evening. She forced the harsh memories from her mind, focusing now on crossing her final responsibilities of the day off her lengthy list of duties.

Pulling the radio off her belt, she brought it to her lips. “Sawyer, what’s your location?”

A loud hiss of static was heard before Sawyer’s obnoxious snark came through the speaker. “We’re busy.”

Oakleigh rolled her eyes. “It’s ranch businessonly.”

“No live streaming?” he asked, his tone gave the impression that he was in a rare mood to be reasonable.

“No live streaming, no posts,” she vowed, even though there were no promises when it came to her social media.

“East Pasture,” he drawled. “Fixin’ a fence.”

She saddled up her favorite horse, the dapple gray mare. Stepping into the stirrups, she settled in and gently tugged the reins toward the open pasture.

“Come on, girl,” she said, giving her a pat. Bringing her horse to a gallop, she made her way to the East Pasture. Her ponytail even felt cold as it whipped across her neck in the crisp breeze. The fiery orange leaves peppering the ground signaled that autumn was quickly coming to a close and winter would be right on its heels.

Sawyer and the boys came into view.

She slowed her horse to a trot, mindful to avoid spooking the cattle grazing on the tall grass.

Fixing a fencewas an understatement as she laid eyes on a tangled mess of frayed wire and fence posts uprooted from the ground and cracked in two.

The ranch hands hardly acknowledged her, each engrossed in their task. Colton steadied the fence posts while Wade drove them into the ground with loud, rhythmic clangs. Sawyer knelt with his knee soaked in the mud, using pliers to twist the wires until they were as taut as one of his guitar strings.

“Oh, I’ve seen this movie,” Oakleigh remarked, snapping her finger as she pulled her leg over the saddle. “The raptors are loose?”

Sawyer wouldn’t even offer her the courtesy of a fake chuckle, answering her question with a grumble. “Bear.”

“We’ve never had a bear cross our fences before,” she said, her brow furrowing with concern. “Have we?”

Sawyer let his pliers clank to the ground. “This cold snap is making them desperate for food,” he replied. “Means we’ll have to keep an eye on the cattle.”

It was no secret that her questions were quickly digging under Sawyer’s last nerve. Maeve reminded her often that she deserved respect, and she was determined to hold his feet to the fire. “Is that where Crew’s at?” Oakleigh inquired.

“Loverboy,”Wade snickered, elbowing Colton.

“He’s prepping the pen for the new bull,” Sawyer informed.

“That reminds me,” Oakleigh recalled, snapping her finger again. She couldn’t help but enjoy seeing dismay cross Sawyer’s face as he realized she was about to add to his endless list of responsibilities. “I need you to build an enclosure soon so my animals don’t freeze.”

“Should have thought of that,” Sawyer replied with a grunt, giving the fence wire one last twist. Hoisting himself to his feet, he put his hands on his lower back, stretching his stiff muscles. “Would hate to see your new rooster turned into anugget.”

“Actually —“ Oakleigh raised a finger as her mind wandered briefly, pondering thatNuggetwould be a fantastic name for the funky little fowl. “Never mind.” She wouldn’t dare give Sawyer the satisfaction. “Don’t let that happen,” she ordered. “I love that thing.”

He let out an exasperated sigh but also offered her a nod. “We’ll get around to it, I promise.”

Although the two rarely had a civil conversation, she knew when Sawyer made a promise, he meant it. She placed her foot in the stirrup and prepared to throw her leg over the saddle.

“And Oakleigh,” Sawyer boomed, catching her attention. “Don’t come out this way again without a rifle, you hear?”

“What do you mean?” She felt her brow furrow as she quickly softened her expression. One thing she could not afford waswrinkles. “You want me to carry a gun?”

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