Page 1 of The Outlaw's Code

1

SHANE

“Lookslike one of the worst storms we’ve had in years.” My cousin Levi’s voice cracked over the two-way radio. “Can you go check on the fencing near the western range?”

“Already on my way.” It was all I said before taking off in one of the UTVs we had stowed away inside a barn. The plan was to wait out the storm and then check on the property, the usual M.O. for situations like this. Although, this storm had seemed much worse than we’d expected, the winds picking up much faster than before. At one point, I’d been worried about the animals in their barns, fearing that we’d either have to turn them loose or evacuate them to higher ground.

Thankfully, none of the barns had taken too much damage. But that didn’t mean the rest of the property had been spared.

As I drove across the ranch, I watched the sky above. There was some leftover cloud cover, and the wind was still sharp. I didn’t want to end up stuck somewhere with nowhere to hide out, just in case the storm doubled back for us. I brought my attention back to the path in front of me, just as I made my way over a hill?—

What is that?

There was a solitary horse I didn’t recognize. It looked nervous, maybe confused, standing next to a twisted tree, obviously damaged in the storm. There was a saddle on its back?—

A saddle?

A rider?

A missing rider. I parked the UTV and quickly went to work, looking for the missing rider. The horse calmed down as I approached, and I tried to make out its previous tracks in the mud. I followed a shaky lead down to a lake on the property, keeping my eyes peeled for any signs of struggle.

And there he was, face down by the lakeshore.

My breath caught in my throat as I approached him. I’d never seen a dead body before, and hadn’t exactly prepared to see one today, either. My hands went for his shoulders and I turned him onto his side, letting him rest on his back. The man’s face was matted with blood and mud, his features unrecognizable in the moment. I carefully wiped away at his skin, just enough to make out his eyes and nose, just enough to check if he was breathing?—

Calder?

My breath caught in my throat again, but this time for a different reason.

I recognized this man. Calder was a cowboy I’d seen around town here and there. He’d even worked at Stratton Ranch a few times, picking up seasonal gigs when he could. We’d never spoken much, mostly exchanged nods and polite hellos and goodbyes. Still, I knew him. And I remembered pretty much everything that I’d learned about him over the years. It was embarrassing but the first time I’d come across him, I’d thought he was the most handsome man I’d ever seen in a cowboy hat.

But I also knew that Calder was straight. Which meant it didn’t matter how handsome I thought he was, it was a dead-end crush.

I took a steadying breath as I reached for his neck, my fingers searching for a pulse. It seemed cruel that I was the one who found him like this, going from appreciating his every smile to desperately wondering if he’d ever smile again. I somehow managed to keep myself calm as my fingers shifted to his wrists, searching for a pulse there too?—

“Shit!” I suddenly jumped away from him, as he sat up with a loud cough. The coughing continued as he brought a hand to his chest.

“Are you okay?” I scrambled back towards him. “It looks like you were maybe knocked off your horse during the storm?—”

“She’s gonna kill me…”

“What?”

“She’s gonna kill me…” he repeated, his eyes looking past mine. “Whoever she is.”

“You’re not making a lot of sense right now, Calder. I’m pretty sure something happened to your head.” I grimaced before busting out the two-way radio.

“Hey, Levi. I found someone. Near the lake area. Possible head injury.”

“Got it. I’ll be right over.” Levi’s response was short and to the point.

I looked back over at Calder then. “Do you remember anything? About the accident?”

“Accident?”

“How you got to the lake? You were facedown when I found you,” I continued. “Your horse is fine, by the way. They’re just a little ways up.”

“My horse. Right. Sure.”

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