Page 31 of Rough
Sitting in front of him, I stroke his face and let the dog hover at my side for attention. “How you been? She been riding you often enough? If not, I’ll get ya outta here for a good long ride tomorrow.”
Baron snorts and dips his head for more of my petting. I got this guy only a year before we left town, and I’ve missed him. He’s young, full of energy and just beautiful.
I’ve always lived with Murphy, my parents never having been reliable and constantly moving around, but money was tight. I preferred living with my uncle. It was stable. I had an old mare that I rode for a while, but once she got sick, we had to put her down. It was a few years before I could afford a horse of my own.
During that lull, Betsy was awesome. We used to take our old trucks out on the trails and go mudding, racing each other until one of us got stuck and the other one had to pull us out.
“What are you doin’ in here, Wild?”
The sound of her voice does something to me. Warms me and pisses me off at the same time. Happy memories, but current misgivings. Getting to my feet, I turn and find Betsy standing at the gate, arms crossed over the edge to watch me. Her eyes drop to her dog.
“Lucy, you little traitor,” she murmurs, and I can’t help but smile. Only for a second, though. I’d rather her attention be on me.
“Just came to check on Baron. Came earlier but didn’t wanna interrupt with your guests here. Met your boyfriend.” Normally,I can read everything she’s thinking on her face, but the moment I mentioned a boyfriend, I’m shocked at the way she shuts down before my eyes. I don’t like it, not one bit.
Hoping down from the gate, she opens it. “Pretty sure I told you all you’re not invited on my property. Lucy, come on girl,” she adds, patting her thigh. The dog immediately listens and leaves me to stand at her side. “I got no boyfriend, and if anyone says differently, they’re fillin’ your head with tales.”
Smirking, I saunter out of the stall after patting Baron on the head. “So, Andy, the mayor’s brother, isn’t your beau?”
“No,” she bites out, slamming the gate shut and shoving the lock into place.
“What’d they want from ya?” I ask, following her back outside. They told me, but I want to know if she’ll spill.
Shrugging, she lets her eyes run over the gates as we walk, checking over everything. “Don’t really care.” She pauses for a moment, then adds, “Saw your little video. Ya’ll really went out of your way to make me look like shit. Much appreciated, but apparently, the internet thinks I’m kinda hot. Shockin’, I know.”
My brows furrow, not happy she saw it. I pull my ball cap from my head and scratch behind my neck. “Yeah. Didn’t know that was gonna happen. I’d apologize, but I ‘spose we’re even now with you snakin’ the farm from Rem, yeah?”
Betsy whirls on me and gets in my face. “You can keep believin’ what you want, but I know what I did, and what Ididn’t. There anythin’ you wanted outside of seein’ Baron? ‘Cuz if not, I’d like you to leave.”
My head rears back. Then I narrow my eyes at her. “So, you got nothin’ to say about throwin’ my uncle to the side?”
With a massive eye roll, she plants her hands on her hips and faces off with me. “Murphy Foxburg has been a thorn in my side for the last two years. Constantly undermindin’ me, always tellin’ me I don’t know better.”
“Maybe he’s right,” I snap, hating I say it and a bit worried over her reaction, but she only shakes her head.
“I didn’t mind him helpin’ out, and I’m feelin’ his loss. But I’m not gonna have someone here pickin’ fights and thinks I’m nothin’ but a… It doesn’t matter.” Betsy doesn’t finish her sentence and I really want to know what she was gonna say. “Point is, I don’t need that kinda people around me. I got shit to do and cattle to care for. If you aren’t gonna lend a hand, then kindly fuck right off.”
“I wanna see Baron again before I leave. If it’s nottooinconvenient for ya.” I don’t like the way she’s talking about the man who’s raised me, and it’s putting me on edge.
Waving toward the barn, she brushes me off. “Fine. Take all the time you want. But I want you gone by the time I get back.”
Striding toward her truck, she doesn’t say anything else before she disappears into the field in her Ford, back loaded with what looks like wood and paint.
Gritting my teeth, I head back into the stable. Before I go into Baron’s stall, I wander around, checking things out. In the back room where the stable hand normally keeps his office, there’s a stand-up freezer with another smaller fridge next to it. Opening the door, a white cloud of freezing air pours out. I wave my hand to clear it to see what she’s got stored in there.
Vials and vials of cloudy white liquid, frozen in holders on shelves. There are more than four dozen of them, all labeled with numbers and dates. Leaning in closer, I let my eyes roam over the tubes until it clicks. This is the breeding program that Betsy has started up all on her own. The one Uncle Murphy filled us in on.
Slamming the door shut, I stare at the freezer and consider what I’ve learned. We were told she was collecting samples, but I didn’t realize she had a freezer full of this shit right here, ready to expand her herd.
No doubt she plans on breeding her cattle along with the Landrys’. I can’t believe she’s got as much as she does, either. Bulls don’t come cheap in this industry. Even on the ranch we’ve been working with a head count of over two thousand, there were only around fifty bulls.
With the stock she’s got, she’ll be able to breed a herd fifteen times over. It’s insane and will be incredibly profitable if all goes well. Especially if the majority of her cattle take to the breeding.
I spend another few minutes with Baron before leaving and walking back to Remy’s. Once inside, I find the guys in the living room, Remy looking sullen and Clyde deep in thought.
“I know where she’s keepin’ all the breedin’ shit,” I say.
Remy’s feet were reclined in his dad’s chair, but he shoves it down and sits up straight, snapping the feet into place.
