Page 1 of Sweet Beloved

CHAPTER ONE

DEACON

It’s hot, dusty on Sovereign Mountain. I’ve been rounding up cattle for the last six hours. And it’s not even two in the afternoon.

I turn the horse I’m on—one of Sovereign’s chestnut mares—to head up the little rise. Down below, bringing a herd of shorthorn cattle in, are a handful of teenagers on horseback. My eldest son, Slate, brings up the rear. He’s always the leader of every damn thing he does. He’s just got one of those personalities where people look at him when something happens.

I’m proud of him. He’s wild but smart, even for a seventeen year old boy.

They get closer, slowing. Cash, Sovereign’s boy, rides beside Slate. Behind them comes Gage, riding at an easy trot. He’s younger than Slate by a few years, but he’s already showing himself to be the horseman of Ryder Ranch. Cool as a cucumber around the colts, smart as a whip, he has taken up the mantle from me when it comes to training the barrel racers.

His younger brothers, Red and Remington, come along next. They’re still riding ponies at eleven and fourteen. I don’t usuallygive my sons horses until about sixteen. The shorter the horse, the less momentum they’ve built up before slamming into the ground after they get kicked off.

That was Freya’s idea. I was fine with letting them learn their lessons the hard way.

Heavy hoofbeats sound to my right. Sovereign, astride a black gelding, comes to a halt beside me. Our ranches used to be competing for the top spot in terms of wealth, but after the role he played in getting Freya and me together, there’s no competitiveness left over.

We’re all neighbors out here. If we can’t depend on each other, we can’t depend on anybody.

He clears his throat. “After this round, we should break for lunch.”

I take off my hat, wiping the sweat off my face. “Good by me.”

“You fine with being here all day?”

I shake my head. “Got some shit to do at home,” I say. “I’ll take the boys and head back around three, but we can be back the day after tomorrow.”

He jerks his head. “That works. Why don’t you head out now, get back home, get lunch. I’ll let you know what we need later on.”

I nod, and he shifts his weight, leading the way down to the pasture. We finish rounding up the cattle and putting away the horses. Then, Slate brings around the truck, and his brothers load into the bed. I toss a pack of water from the cooler into the truck bed with them, and swap seats with Slate, heading down the winding drive to Sovereign Mountain.

“Goddamn, it’s hot,” Slate breathes, crushing an empty plastic bottle in his fist.

“You can ride in the bed if you want,” I say.

He shakes his head. “I’ll be fine.”

He leans back in the seat. I glance sideways as I hit the button to roll the windows down. Slate is still growing, but he’s already almost as tall as me. Either Freya had some tall genes, or these boys just take after me. They’re all built like I am—broad, tall—and they eat more than a herd of cattle. I’ve taken to raising a lot of extra livestock just to keep them fed.

“Was Mom mad this morning?” Slate asks.

I glance over, confused. “No. Why?”

Slate might be built like a brick, but he’s more sensitive than I expected. And he’s got a soft spot for Freya.

“She was just real quiet at breakfast,” he says.

My mind goes to breakfast, but I can’t remember much of anything unusual. Then, it goes further, to last night. After the things we did, she’s probably worn out more than anything. I clear my throat, rolling the window down lower to get the air moving.

To say Freya and I are private would be an understatement. To everyone we know, we’re a loving married couple who barely do more than hold hands in public. The lock on our door is a deadbolt, and all our children sleep on the other side of the hall to ensure that image. But behind that door—that’s our little secret.

“She’s fine,” I say. “You know she’ll tell us if she’s mad.”

He shrugs. “True.”

Freya has grown in confidence in the years we’ve been together. At first, she was fiery but cautious. Now, she’s just as sweet as ever, but she knows how to speak her mind and stand her ground without looking to me for assurance.

We pull up at Ryder Ranch near about five o’clock. The boys bail out, heading for the house. I head into the barn to put some tools away. To my surprise, my wife is standing just outside Silver Phantom’s door.

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