Page 101 of The Texas Sterling Collection
Rod swallowed. “He has a strong faith and figured he would serve the world by discrediting me. You know, the misinterpretation of the original Leviticus passage and all that.”
“While we both worried differently about that first kiss, you were dealing with the Ortega mess?” Wyl spoke around a bite of toast.
“I didn’t want to add to your fear of being a college student,” Rod said. “And I didn’t think Alfonso Ortega would stoop to this kind of threat. He didn’t warn me of anything. He merely started a false rumor. A rumor that Stella picked up and ran with. Still, he could be a suspect.”
Wyl shook his head. “I still think Shifty is the rock-throwing guy. But someone else wrote that note. If it wasn’t Ortega, then who?”
Rod gathered the now-empty plates. “The only other person I can think of is Mitzi. But rocks and fires don’t seem to be her style. She’s more of an in-your-face gal.”
Wyl picked up the empty coffee mugs and carried them to the sink. “Yeah…she likes to threaten in person. Maybe Jack can come up with a couple of ideas. We’ll give him that note the next time we go into town.”
* * *
After cleaning up the breakfast dishes, they cleared the shards of glass from the rug and the floor, then vacuumed the area. Then they strolled to the barn to survey the damage more. One corner of the exterior needed replacing. The interior, although wet, showed damage only on the wall near that corner. Felipe and the hands were busy shoveling out the damp straw and cleaning up the mess. The barn would dry out in a few days with both doors open. Meanwhile, the horses stayed in the corral, safe from predators.
“It’s not as bad as I expected.” The fire residue stink assaulted Rod’s nose. “But will the horses be afraid of the lingering smell of fire?”
“I’ll have Felipe spray down the burned area with white vinegar,” Wyl said. “That, and the open doors, should eliminate the smell.”
“Vinegar? Won’t that make the barn smell like vinegar?”
Wyl shook his head. “We had a small pump house fire years ago. Dad sprayed the inside of the structure with vinegar, eliminating the odor. When the vinegar evaporates, the odor goes away.”
“Let’s hope we have no more reasons to use that,” Rod said.
Wyl gazed at Rod. “I’m proud of you for fighting that fire as you did. You didn’t hesitate to run into the burning barn and help, and you knew what to do when the water didn’t douse the flames.”
“I have a personal stake in the fight. It’s my ranch now, too. And I fought the fire not onlyforyou butwithyou.”
Wyl smiled. “We fought for each other…protecting our assets…determined to not let the bad guys win.”
“Do you understand how much I love you?” Rod snaked his arm through Wyl’s and pulled him close.
“You always make me feel so good. I’ll never forgive myself for how I lashed out at you last night. Exhaustion, cold, and shock left me senseless, and after our fight, I feared losing you.”
“We both acted on pure adrenaline. After the fire was out, our brains were mush, and our emotions were high. But you came and found me, and we wrapped our arms around each other.”
Wyl tugged at Rod’s chin, searching deep into his eyes. “Do you realize how often we come to find each other when things don’t go right? I came after you when we first met. You came after me when I ran from Dusty. I came after you this morning. What does that tell you?”
“Why didn’t you come to find me last night?”
Wyl chuckled. “I wanted to give each of us a few minutes to calm down. I sat on the couch to rest for a second, and the next thing I knew, it was morning.”
Rod snuck a quick kiss. “Yeah, I settled in the corner to wait for you, and the next thing I know, you are pulling me into your arms. I guess we both needed to rest.”
“While the hands clean the stables, why don’t we run into town and take that note by Jack’s office? I don’t know that he can do much with it, but he sure can’t do anything if it stays on our coffee table.”
“Good idea, babe. And I guess I need to know where Jack’s office is. As a Sterling, I may interact with him on occasion.”
“Great point, cowboy.” Wyl kept his arm around Rod as they strolled toward the house. Although the damage was minor, the arsonist and possibly an accomplice were still out there. Wyl hoped Jack could corral the perps before they caused more damage. Or worse yet, harmed Rod.
Chapter Eight
The annual Blackfield Fourth of July celebration took place all day on Friday in the town park. The weekend festivities included the county rodeo, held on Saturday. All the ranches competed in the events. Sterling Ranch covered the fees for any of their own hands that entered. Felipe ensured the cowboys had plenty of practice time in the days leading up to the rodeo.
Friday morning, Rod fixed breakfast.
“We need to attend the 4thof July Rodeo tomorrow.” Wyl cut into his over-easy eggs.
