“No, we count the herd every time we move them to a new field. Plus, he’s not in the vet’s reports we did last week. I just double-checked.”
I pinch the bridge of my nose. “So how did he getbackin the herd? We haven’t had any cut fences lately, right?”
He shakes his head. “Checked that this morning. Everything looked good.”
When he walks away, I motion to Jace. “Can you walk the perimeter of the field where these guys were grazing?”
“Sure thing. What am I looking for?”
It takes me a minute to consider. “Repairs. Fences that were cut but then fixed.”
My brother chuckles. “Someone returned our steer and repaired the fence afterward? Who would do that?”
A sense of dread washes over me. “Someone trying to sabotage our operation.”
Like the fucking McAllisters.
We get the sick steer into a holding pen and resume checking the others. As Beau is checking the animal’s mouth, I motion tothe house. “Are Paige and the kids okay? Did you tell them we’ll be working late tonight?”
“She, um, she’s still pretty pissed about last night.”
Shit. “Did you tell her we have sick animals? That this might affect whether or not we can repay Harlan’s loan? That our whole fucking operation revolves around these animals not being contagious?” I scrub my face. “I get that she’s upset, but she was dead asleep when I got home, and even though I tried to wake her, she didn’t budge. What was I supposed to do? Douse her with cold water?”
I tried to follow her home, but I had a flat tire, and it took me a while to change it in the dark. Then I found her sleeping on the couch.
As I think about it, my heart sinks. The woman must be livid. I don’t blame her, but it’s not like I planned to hash out shit with Darlene in the middle of a goddamn festival.
When that fuckhead Trig said I was keeping Darlene on standby, I could’ve killed him. But seeing the devastation on Paige’s face after he said that caught me off guard.
Does she really believe I could do that to her? Play her like she’s a chess piece I could discard?
Beau shoots me a look. “Don’t get mad at me. She really didn’t give me a chance to explain. Just said she needed to run some errands with Baylee and took the boys with her. Talk to her when you get home.”
“Yeah, I’m really looking forward to that after inspecting the mouth and asses of a hundred cattle today.”
He laughs. “You mean this ain’t fun for you?”
“Ha ha, asshole. I’m having a blast.”
I’m not much of a church-going man, but I can’t lie. I say a little prayer that we’ve found all the sick animals and that we’ll make it through this.
Because the entire future of my family—my wife, the boys, my brothers, and all my employees—depends on it.
39
PAIGE
My heart isin my throat as I walk down the contraception aisle at the pharmacy. I look over my shoulder to make sure the boys are still in the front of the store with Baylee. She gives me a thumbs-up, and I stop in front of the pregnancy tests.
I start to panic as I scan all the boxes.
Who knew there were so many? I’ve never missed a period in my life, so I’ve never had a reason to get a test before. Some have alarms, some give you a pink cross if it’s positive, another one gives you a double line.
I can’t stop thinking about that day at the river when Rhett told me he trusted me. Will he think I did this on purpose? That I’m trying to baby-trap him? I don’t want him to think I’m irresponsible. I’ve never missed taking a birth control pill. Not once. I don’t know how this happened.
I grab a test and scan the back, wondering if I should go with a name brand or something generic.
The pharmacist comes up behind me. “Can I help you find something?”
