Page 85 of Fall to Me
“Thanks, man. I’ll tighten up security. Keep me updated if you have anything else.”
We end the call.
I’m not too concerned about him coming out here, though I wish that bastard would fucking try. I’ll kill him myself, and if I can’t get the job done, I know Rhett certainly can.
Texting security, I ask them to post up here, out of sight, then I head back toward the house. My phone vibrates in my palm.
Diesel
If we cross paths with Mrs. Graham, she’ll need to know she can trust us. When can we meet with her?
How the hell do I tell her about them? I know my wife. She doesn’t trust anyone. If I introduce her to three strange men she doesn’t know and tell her they’re her personal security, she’ll fight me on it and tell me she doesn’t need security. I pocket my phone, deciding to deal with that later. Another gunshotechoes around me as I begin to make my way around the back of the house. River’s blonde hair whips behind her as she heads through the trees. I slide in next to Cal, Aspen, and Hannah, and wait for River to make the jump.
“My dad would kill me if he found me on one of those,” Hannah says, then turns to Aspen. “Why didn’t you race?”
“I’m too full,” she fires back quickly.
Hayden comes out first, clearing the jump, then River. She lands the bike and tries to speed past Hayden, but he has her beat.
Killing the engine, he takes off his helmet, then saunters over to Rhett, snatching the three, one-hundred-dollar bills from his hand. “I’ll take that, thank you very much,” Hayden says.
River jumps on Hayden’s broad back and wraps her arms around him.
“You’re a lucky little shit.” She laughs, ruffling his hair before jumping down.
“It’s nice to see her like this again,” Marcy says to me.
I look over to find a smile lighting up her face.
Rhett adjusts the cowboy hat on his head. “Okay, we have about an hour of daylight, and I need to check on the cows before the sun sets.”
“We got it, Dad. Go visit with Uncle Matt and Uncle Kyle,” River says, taking my hand and leading me toward the barn.
I hop into the side-by-side, but she moves to the back of the barn and hoists a bag on her shoulders then heaves it on the back of a four-wheeler.
“Grab that other bag, will you?”
I pick up the fifty-pound bag and lay it on top of the other one, then she straps them down and climbs onto the four-wheeler, starting the engine.
“Hop on,” she says, placing a blanket between her legs.
I laugh, shaking my head, and jump on the back. She drives us out into the pasture and pulls up to the gate. I hop off and open it. Once she’s driven through, I close and latch it back, then hop back on behind her. Cows come running to us, and she pulls to a stop and cuts the engine, slinging one leg over the four-wheeler and hopping down. Her eyes begin to roam as she does a head count.
“Twenty-two cows . . . and three calves, remember that for me, will you?”
She turns to a cow approaching us, and my eyes go wide. I’ve never been this close to one before.
“Oh, hey, little mama. Look at you,” she says, petting the big black cow. “Looks like you’ll be giving birth soon.”
A bull slides up next to her, and she takes some cattle cubes out of the bag and feeds the bull out of the palm of her hand.
“Want to give it a try? He’s really sweet.”
She glances at me, and I blink.
A bull? Sweet? Okay, so I’m not a puss, but I do have a healthy fear of animals much bigger than me such as this one. I shake my head.
“Nope. I think I’m fine right here,” I say, staying seated.
