Her whole body shook. She felt like she might throw up. Gary, the man her parents had hired to help her run the ranch, had almost certainly betrayed her and stolen from her. If she told the police what she’d learned from Earle and they convicted Gary, she’d be so relentlessly far in debt, she’d lose the ranch. If she kept her mouth shut in hopes of getting the insurance check, her honesty meant nothing—all of her insistence to her parents that she wouldn’t make underhanded deals or compromise her integrity would just be posturing.
Gary was going to have to answer for this. She called him. He didn’t pick up. She texted, asking where he was. Still no answer. She searched the barn and front pasture. He must have already gone back to the foreman’s cottage.
She drove there, spitting gravel and dust. She’d almost taken her rifle, but even if Gary turned out to be the sort who got violent when confronted, he wouldn’t be intimidated by her gun. He knew her well enough to realize she wouldn’t actually use it on him. Instead, she’d rely on the can of pepper spray she carried in case she ran into unwelcome wildlife. If he tried anything, she would happily douse him with it.
She banged on Gary’s door. The doorbell was insufficient to convey her feelings.
The faint noise of some TV show drifted from inside. No sounds of footstep stirring. No answering calls. She pounded on the door again.
He might be asleep. Or dead. One of his shady associates—or possibly karma—could have caught up to him. Kate tried the doorknob. Unlocked. She stepped inside.
The place smelled like dirty laundry. A pair of dusty boots sprawled on the ground in front of her. Several boxes lined the walls, most opened and their contents in a jumble. It looked like he’d never actually unpacked but just got out things as he needed them.
His open laptop sat on the coffee table, playing a basketball game. He laid passed out on the couch, one arm splayed over the back. Beer cans cluttered the ground by his feet. Drunk again. Or still. Neither would have surprised Kate.
She strode over and shook his shoulder. “Gary, wake up!”
He groggily lifted his head and rubbed his eyes. “What?”
“Twenty-six cows. Why would you stab me in the back like that? You were supposed to be my father’s friend.”
He sat up unsteadily, squinting like the light was too bright. “What?”
She planted her hands on her hips and leaned toward him. “Look me in the eyes and tell me you didn’t steal my cattle.”
“I…” His gaze shifted around the room, checking to see if anyone else was around. “I didn’t.”
“Liar!” She smacked him on the shoulder. “You couldn’t even look me in the eyes.”
His gaze returned to her. He cleared his throat nervously. “Why do you think I took them?”
“You don’t deny the charge. You just ask what the evidence is.”
“I deny it,” he said hurriedly. “What’s your evidence?”
She shook her head and groaned. His guilt seemed so obvious now. “You’re not even a good liar. I can’t believe you’ve gotten away with stealing so many times.”
He swung his feet to the floor as though he was about to get up and walk away.
But she wasn’t done yet. She parked herself in front of him. “I just talked to Earle Hooper. Do you suppose if the police asked, Earle would be able to identify Jake? I have a feeling he was one of the men with you when Earle fired you for stealing his cattle.”
Gary woke up quicker than if he’d been slapped. He swallowed hard. “You don’t have to do that.” His hands went up like he was trying to push her anger back. “Look, I didn’t really steal nothing because your father promised me cattle. I just took them a little early. I had to.”
“That wasn’t the deal, and you were only supposed to get twenty-five thousand dollars’ worth.”
“I had bills to pay. The divorce is costing me thirty grand. I can’t pay my lawyer on the salary you give me. He was going to drop me, and I would’ve had to start all over again, paying a new lawyer even more.”
In another time and place Kate would have felt sorry for Gary. She couldn’t manage it now. “Then why didn’t you ask my father for a loan—anything but this. I can’t replace those cattle.”
“Sure you can.” Gary chuckled, a thin, humorless sound. “The insurance will cover them. Unless I get caught.”
Just like that, her outrage kicked up again. He knew exactly what he’d done and the position he’d put her in. She wasn’t going to let him get away with it. “If you want to stay out of jail, the insurance isn’t going to replace those cattle. You are. You’re going to track down every cow you sold and get it back, or you’re going to buy me another one just like it so we can tell the police and the insurance company they’ve been recovered. If you need to beg, borrow, and sell everything you own, including your truck and your plasma, you’ll do it. If you need to get a second job, you’d better start applying for night work. I’m not going to lose this ranch because of you. Do you understand me?”
He gulped and nodded. “I understand. No need to call the police.”
She wasn’t sure if there was a need or not. They might already be gathering the evidence to arrest him. And if he was in jail, she wouldn’t recuperate anything. “Start working on getting my cattle back tonight. I want them here by next week. If you try to skip out on me, I will track you down.” She’d heard Gary complain enough about his divorce lawyer that she remembered his name. Gary couldn’t go completely off the grid while that was in the works.
“I’ll get you cattle,” he assured her. “You can trust me. I’m a friend of your father’s.”