Page 4 of Two Wrong Turns

Sometimes, I wished their families had never feuded all those years ago. About three generations back, there had been some bad blood between brothers. When they couldn’t settle their disagreements, they split their land and their name, creating the Ridgecrest and Ridgemoor lines. The one thing they still shared was the Ridge part of their name, which was based on the land they’d called home.

“Where is this pool at? I’m familiar enough with the property to know where the line is,” I admitted. This wasn’t the first property dispute I’d handled in my thirty years as sheriff. And before me, my father had handled some as well. Since I'd shadowed him from a young age, I was more than capable of settling this squabble once I saw where the damn pool was being dug.

Ridgemoor pointed to a spot in the distance. “About a mile that way. Near the tree line.”

“Strange place for a pool.”

He wouldn’t look at me then. It was like he knew I’d sense his discomfort.

What he didn’t know was that I could pick up on the emotion even without his words or looking at him. I didn’t advertise that particular Alpha trait though. I found I was intimidating enough without it. Plus, it gave me a leg up when handling disputes or dealing with interrogations. Not that we had much of the latter.

Our pack was secluded in this particular stretch of land. In fact, we were warded to keep people out unless the land deemed them worthy of entering. Since no one had appeared in over fifty years, I figured everyone who was meant to be here would continue to stick around.

I was thankful our sleepy little town’s biggest troublemakers were a pair of cousins who refused to settle their differences. Handling them was a walk in the park.

I was drawn back to the moment when the Ridge men starting heading towards where the pool was set to be. Following them, I took in the area to see if any other changes had been made since my last visit.

Everything else was pretty standard. Ridgemoor’s garden was covered to protect it from the cold, as it should be. And other than a few loose chickens — which I still didn’t understand the reasoning for — all was well.

At least it seemed so until we got to the ‘pool’, if you could call it that. A large backhoe sat in a mess of dirt, clearly having been stopped midway through the project. I circled the hole, checking the boundary line for where I knew it to be.

The mold for the pool itself was already seated in the space, giving an idea of how wide it should be and how deep. It was a strange process, but at least it helped me ascertain the issue.

With a sigh, I turned to face the men. “The pool itself isn’t over the line, but the digging is. Why are you making it so wide, Ridgemoor?”

“Because that’s what the internet said to do.” His pout had guilt rising for how much I wanted to laugh.

The internet.

Dear Goddess, these men were going to drive me mad.

“Why not hire someone to come out to work on it? You know there are plenty of handy people in town if you weren’t sure what to do.”

Ridgecrest barked out a laugh. “This guy would never ask for help. He’s too proud.”

“I’m not proud. It just didn’t feel right to bother nobody.”

The two men stared at one another, neither backing down from the fight. Knowing I didn’t have much choice other than to rule in one of their favors, I bit the bullet.

“Ridgemoor, you need to fill in the area that crosses the property line. If you’re unsure how to do this without doing so, may I suggest getting help or moving the plan for the pool a few feet further from the border.”

A tense silence followed my words. I could feel Robbie behind me, his worry palpable. I wished I could send him some calming energy, if for no other reason then I selfishly hated the scent of burned caramel.

Ridgemoor grumbled, though he gave in. “I guess I could move it over some. Won’t be in as good of a spot.”

“Thank you,” I told him. “And I’m serious about the help. This seems like a lot to take on alone. You don’t have to. The pack will be there to support you if you allow them to.”

That was the other thing about the Ridge feud. They’d secluded themselves from the pack as a whole. We were only brought in when they wanted to show off or when a dispute needed intervention. It was a shame since both men could use the reminder of what treating one another like family looked like.

“Since that’s settled, I’m going to head out. I need to get some dinner and head home. Behave, gentlemen.” I waved at the pair, leaving them to discuss whatever came next.

Robbie walked beside me, his normal pep returning. “Great work, Boss. Those two were a second away from going after one another before you got here.”

“They always are. Old habits die hard in that bunch.”

“Yeah, I guess so. Are you headed to the diner? I could go with you. I bet Lindsea would give me a piece of pie for free since I’m on duty.”

I rolled my eyes. Robbie had a bit of a crush on the waitress; however, he couldn’t pursue her. Not only was he incredibly shy, but there was also the fact that they weren’t fated mates. He tended to stick close to her though, even if they’d never worked out.

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