Saddle Up(86)

“Only for another day or so. If the rest haven’t returned by then, they probably won’t. We’ll need to go look for them. You’d better go grab your hat and some gloves, cowgirl,” he said. “We might be out here for a while.”

Miranda spent the afternoon corralling horses with Keith. Although they rode harder than she was used to, Miranda easily followed his lead. She wondered more than once what it would be like to run the place together. To build a future together.

They followed the same routine the next couple of days as several more small bands trickled in. On the third day, they got a call from Janice Combes. “Hey, Miranda! It’s Janice from the Pioneer. I’ve got some news for you.”

“Oh, yeah? Did you get anything out of Marvin?”

“Matter of fact I did. It took half a bottle of Crown Royal, but he finally spilled the beans. It seems that Miz Sutton’s son-in-law paid him a thousand bucks to cut the fence and stampede the horses up the mountain.”

“So it really was a grudge,” Miranda said.

“Sure enough,” Janice replied. “After he cut the fence, he turned Keith’s stallion loose just for pure spite ’cause he thinks Keith replaced him. Several people in the bar heard it all. So you’ve got ample witnesses.”

“I don’t know how to thank you, Janice. That’s everything we needed to know.”

“There’s more,” Janice said. “Dirk and I located a few of the mustangs yesterday when we were bringing stray cattle down from Bulldog Mountain. If you and Keith need any help tracking them, we’d be glad to ride up there with you. Just let us know if you need us.”

“Keith’s trying to bring in a helicopter, but we may take you up on that,” Miranda said. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate the offer, Janice.”

“No problem. What are neighbors for?”

“That was Janice?” Keith asked when she hung up the phone.

“Yeah. You were right all along. It was Marvin. Should we notify the police?”

“I’d rather let that be your grandmother’s call, since her daughter and son-in-law are involved.”

“Yeah, I see what you mean. I doubt she’s going to want to press charges. What are we going to do?”

“Let’s just hold off doing anything until we get all the horses in,” Keith replied. “Mitch said he’d be happy to send Trey up here with the chopper, but he won’t be free for at least another week.”

“How many are left?” Miranda asked.

“At last count, all but twenty-two have returned.”

“Since there’s only a few of them still out there, should we try to gather them by horseback?” Miranda asked. “Dirk and Janice offered to help if we need it.”

“If we go that route, I’ll need Little Bear.”

“Little Bear? Why?” Miranda asked. “I thought you retired him.”

“I did, but I have a strong hunch we’ll never be able to catch those horses without him. By now Blue Eye thinks those mares are his. He’s not going to give them up without a fight.” His gaze narrowed. “I suspect it’s going to come to a showdown between us.”

*

Having made the decision to go after the horses, Keith made a series of calls. To Miranda’s surprise, the trucks and trailers began pulling in the very next morning. Keith’s cousin was the first to arrive with Little Bear. Climbing out of the truck cab, she stepped forward, offering a callused hand and a friendly smile. “You must be Miranda. I’m Tonya.” She gestured to a redhead who’d accompanied her. “This is Krista Everett. Her family runs a backcountry-hunting outfit outside Dubois. I thought maybe you could use another hand, especially one used to riding rough terrain,” she explained.

“Nice to meet you both,” Miranda said.

“Do you remember Krista, Keith?” Tonya asked.

“I do,” Keith said. “I know your brothers. Jared and Reid, right? What are they doing these days?”

“Jared’s running the outfitting business since my Dad semiretired, and Reid just got back stateside from Afghanistan. We’re hoping he’ll be home by Christmas.”

“Is he out of the marines for good?” Keith asked.

“He is. I think Ton and I will both be glad to have him home again.”

Miranda wondered what that implied. Was Tonya involved with Krista’s brother?

“Nice place you have here,” Tonya said, changing the subject.

“Thanks,” Miranda replied. “I’ll be happy to show you around later. Should we go ahead and unload your horses?”

Just as they were about to do that, another truck pulled up the drive with the West Livestock emblem on the door and Mitch’s son Dave behind the wheel. The engine had barely cut off when Donny jumped out with a wide grin. “Hey Keith! Miranda! Thought we’d join the mustang wrangling party.”

“The more the merrier,” Miranda said with a laugh. “It’s great to see you both!”

For the next few hours, Keith was like a general planning his campaign. With map in hand, he circled the area of Bulldog Mountain where the horses were last seen. Since the horses were halfway between the two ranches, he decided to split the wranglers up into two teams—Donny and Krista would join Dirk and Janice in their approach from the south, while he, Tonya, Dave, and Miranda would come in from the north.