Page 17 of Protecting What Is Mine

“Not really. At least, nothing that seems to be much help. Like I already told these two, I didn’t see anyone or anything. I spotted a couple of cows wandering through a break in the fence line. Midnight and I set off to investigate, and when I climbed down to take a closer look at the fence—bang. I don’t even remember hearing a shot, just a searing pain in my gut.”

Cody picks his hat up from the table. “Don’t you worry. It may not be much, but it’s a start.” He looks to Gabe. “A detective will call you to schedule time to come out and check the area.”

“No problem,” Gabe replies. “Hank and I moved the herd to a different paddock a couple of days after everything went down.” Gabe looks at his boots. “Chet, I hate to say it, but we lost ten head through that damned hole in the fence.”

Cody’s face perks up. “And you never found them?”

Gabe is filled with disappointment as he answers. “No. Still haven’t figured out where they got off to, but I haven’t found so much as a trace of ‘em. Why?”

Cody retrieves a notepad from his shirt pocket and quickly jots something onto it. “It’s probably nothing, but at this point we want to chase down every lead. You know…just to be sure.” He places his hat on his head. “You gentlemen have a good afternoon. And you? You get better now,” he says to Chet with a smile. “That’s an order.”

Aside from occasionally placing a hand over his stitches, it’s apparent Chet’s feeling better after he wastes the better part of the next hour peppering Gabe and me with questions about the ranch. Afternoon transitions into evening and Gabe looks worse for wear. “You look like crap man. Did you not sleep well last night?”

Gabe rubs his lower back and scowls. “Yeah, I was up half the night…worrying about Chet.”

Worrying about Chet my ass.

Chet glances back and forth between us, his brow raised as he considers weighing in. Finally, he interrupts. “Last I checked, I’m still a grown man. And older than either of you. I think I’ll be fine here all by myself.”

“You think we’re here because you need us to be?” Gabe asks.

“Hardly,” I say with a laugh.

Gabe shakes his head. “No way, friend. We’re here because we’re afraid of that little wife of yours—and the hell she’d raise if she found out you were alone for more than ten minutes.”

“And don’t forget Mom,” I add. “Either one of them is bad enough on their own, but those two together…well, let’s just say it’s easier to be here. Besides, when the nurse comes in and doses you back up on your pain meds you’re not as difficult to be around.”

Gabe smiles. “Ain’t that the truth. Speaking of which…” He looks at his phone. “It’s almost six. They’ll be in with your dinner and your medicine soon. Hank, I think you can handle things from here. I’ve got to get back to my wife and baby before they forget what I look like.”

Oh Gabe. Always throwing me slow pitches right down the middle.

I smirk. “Well, you are rather forgettable.”

Gabe offers a farewell nod to Chet and mutters something about me being an asshole under his breath as he leaves.

The evening sun filtering over the mountains fades as night takes hold. Like clockwork, after Chet’s eaten he’s out like a light. I settle into the chair-of-pain and flip through the channels in search of something to put me to sleep.

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