Page 6 of Operation Wolf: Hunter
CHAPTER 3
Hunter
I WAS EXHAUSTED BYthe time I turned down the road into Golden Cattle Ranch. I’d flown back into Dallas just a few hours ago and hopped straight into my car to make the five-hour drive to Bramblebush, Texas. The small town was where I’d spent much of my childhood and where Daniel Nash had lived from the moment of his birth to the day he’d died. I could still barely believe that had happened over two weeks ago.
Despite my exhaustion and grief, I couldn’t help but admire the view as I eased my custom Ford pickup down the drive. Rows of majestic pecan trees lined either side of the road as far as the eye could see, disappearing over the edge of the rolling hills of my forty-acre property. I could see cattle grazing in the open fields, beyond which was a white rail fence off in the distance to my left, and as I crested the hill, I caught sight of the magnificent two-story log home that stood at the end of the road.
I parked the truck a few yards away from the white picket fence surrounding the house just as Leta, my housekeeper, came rushing down the front porch steps to meet me.
“Oh, aren’t you a sight for sore eyes!” The buxom woman gave me a mile-wide smile as she enveloped me in a grandmotherly hug. Other than the gray in her dark hair and the crow’s-feet branching out at the corners of her eyes, she was the exact same woman who used to fry up bacon and flapjacks for me in the mornings before school. “I’m so glad you’ve come to visit, Hunter. It’s been awfully lonely here without you.”
“Yeah, she’s got no one around here to keep her company,” Austin, the ranch manager and my old friend, teased as he ambled down the front porch to join us. “I guess having four ranch hands around to run the place just isn’t enough for her.”
Leta swatted Austin’s bottom as he stepped forward to shake my hand. “Oh, don’t you start!” she exclaimed, but there was a sparkle in her eye. “I give you boys plenty of attention. It’s just nice to see the owner every once in a while.”
“I haven’t had a chance to inspect the property yet, but it looks like you boys have been doing good work around here,” I said, shaking Austin’s hand. I glanced over his shoulder, toward the open door of the main house. “You boys still sittin’ down to lunch?”
“We’re about finished, but there are probably a few leftover crumbs for you,” Austin said with a smile. “Why don’t you come on in? The men have been waiting to see you.”
As it turned out, Leta had dished out food specifically for me, having expected me, so I dug into a hearty meal of fried chicken sandwiches and coleslaw while I caught up with the ranch hands.
When my father died, Eric, my brother, had taken over the oil side of the company while I had agreed to oversee the management of the ranches. And, with over twenty of them spread out across the state, it was a lot of work. I wanted to visit them all twice a year, but at the rate things were going, I was barely going to be able to manage once a year.
After grilling the hands about the goings-on on the ranch, I sat back and took a few moments to enjoy my food. “Has anyone been out to Old Daniel’s ranch yet?” I asked. “I’m planning on going out there shortly to check on the state of things.”
Austin shifted uncomfortably in his chair. “Haven’t had a chance to check on things recently, but rumor has it, some new woman showed up a few days ago. A city slicker by the sounds of things.”
“That so?” I sat up in my chair, frowning. “What does some city girl want with a working ranch like that?”
“Word is, she’s a distant relative of Old Daniel’s,” Leta said as she cleared the table. “Guess she inherited the place.”
“Huh. Didn’t know he had any living relatives.” I suddenly wished I’d kept better tabs on Daniel. I hadn’t seen the old man in at least ten years, not since before I’d joined the Army in order to get away from my father’s machinations and excessive need for control.
“You learn all sorts of surprising things about people when they die.” Austin pushed his chair back from the table and stood up. “We’d best get back to work now, but let us know if you need anything, Hunter.”
Everyone cleared out of the kitchen so Leta could clean up. I went upstairs to grab a shower and a change of clothes. Then I headed out to the stables to saddle up a horse. I figured some riding would do me some good.
The horses had all been turned out for the day, and except for the ones the ranch hands took, they were milling about in the open pasture set aside for me. I grabbed a lead and halter from the tack stall, carefully approaching a chestnut horse that was grazing a little off to the side.
“Easy, girl.”
The mare’s nostrils flared as I advanced, and as she pranced, I paused, waiting for her to calm down. My inner wolf stirred from within but otherwise stayed silent. Eventually, the mare settled, and I slowly approached her, taking several minutes to soothe her, stroking her neck and muzzle.
“There you go. What’s your name, sweetheart?”
“That’s Misty.”
I spun in the direction of Austin’s voice to see him sitting astride a black gelding. “Thanks,” I said. I turned back to the horse and slipped the halter and lead on to her muzzle.
“Never knew you to take so long to settle a horse before,” Austin observed. “You always had such a natural touch with them, growing up.”
The words were not unkind, but they rankled me anyway. “Yeah, well, I guess I lost some of my touch during my Army days.”
Misty pranced nervously by my side, probably sensing my rising tension. I turned back to her, murmuring soothing words and stroking her neck. I led Misty to the stables without another word so I could get her saddled up. I knew that my body language sent a clear message to Austin that I didn’t want to discuss the subject any further. He made no attempt to follow, and I sighed with relief as I saddled the chestnut.
What the hell was I supposed to tell Austin? That the reason animals fear me is because they can instinctively sense my inner wolf?
I took several deep breaths to calm myself so as not to spook the horse again. Then I saddled her up and headed out.
