Steal Her Heart (Kaid Ranch Shifters #1)(11)

“So…you’re going to pay me…to ranch. On my own ranch.”

“When I sell, you have no say in the auction, and you won’t see any of that money, so stop thinking you’re some charity case. I don’t give a shit what you do in your spare time or with your pay. I give a shit that you take care of my cows.”

She blinked slowly. “There’s still the problem of the wolves. You stuck them right back in danger.”

This was the part that would be tricky. “I’ll handle the wolves.”

Her dark, delicate eyebrows arched up. “You don’t understand, Bryson. Those animals are slaughterers. I can’t keep them safe. Neither can you.”

“My job here is to keep the herds safe. I do it well.”

“Yeah, but your job is here. You can’t manage herd protection on two separate ranches. It’s a miracle the wolves haven’t targeted this place yet.”

Nah, it wasn’t a miracle. These kind of wolves hunted with an agenda. They probably weren’t even hungry. This was politics, but she didn’t need to know anything about the secret shifter society. All she needed to do was steer clear and let him work. And by work, he meant hunt and kill.

“From here on, you stay inside at nights. No rifles, no horse, no four-wheeler, no flashlights, no sitting out there with them cows, Maris. That’s my big rule. That ain’t your job anymore.”

“No, Bryson. None of this is my job. You’re taking over my ranch. You’re taking the heart out of it and turning it into just grass.” She stood and washed blood off her hands in the sink. “This wasn’t how it was supposed to be. I was supposed to work for myself on my terms. I don’t know you from Adam, and now you’ll have a huge say in how my ranch runs? I might as well sell if I’m gonna be a sellout anyway.”

This woman had more pride in her little finger than most folks had in their entire being. He respected it. Hell, he would feel the exact same. But this wasn’t just him being a selfish asshole and becoming a parasite on her ranch. If she would just give him time, he could help.

“I need to think about it.” Maris dried her hands and gestured to his leg. “It already stopped bleeding. You’re tough. Guess you have to be to live out here.”

“You’re tough too, you know?” he said softly. God, he hated the defeat in her eyes. Just give me time.

She forced a smile. “Sure, I am. I’ll let you know what I decide. Go easy on the leg today, okay?”

She made her way to the door, but there was something inside of him that didn’t want her to go. He wanted her to stay. To take up more of his time, because this was the most he’d spoken in three years. He wanted her to make him laugh some more and get to know her, but he couldn’t get a single intelligent word out to make her turn around and stay.

He just sat on that old rickety chair and watched her go.

And he wasn’t the only one.

The animal inside of him was watching her, too.





Chapter Five


She walked it.

This is what Maris did when her world fell apart. She walked her property. All those acres, all those trees, the pond, the fences, the old rusty gates that led from one pasture to another. The cows followed her for a while but stopped at the first gate and went to eating their grass. There was a bite in the air, that chill that warned of the coming fall. The cold seasons were expensive on a rancher, especially in these parts where it snowed and the grass was hard to get to. She had to feed the cows through the winter.

Well…she used to. These weren’t her cows anymore.

And if Bryson leased the land, was it hers? The bank owned half this place, so really…was any of this hers? Had it ever really been?

It felt like home. Felt like the place her heart had settled in, felt important…felt special. So whether she folded and got eaten up by the bank eventually or let another rancher take her property over for his benefit, was it really any different? Either way, she lost.

Small-town ranchers were a dying breed. It wasn’t like before with the big cattle drives of the Old West. Now it was commercial, and big ranches thrived to feed the world beef, while the small-time ranchers like herself struggled to break even every year because they genuinely loved what they did. Loved the lifestyle, loved the culture, loved the work, loved the challenge.

Loved the cattle.

Maris sighed and set her rifle against the fence beside her. She leaned on the gate, staring at the biggest part of her property. It stretched as far as she could see from here. No one lived on it, and there was no civilization touching it. This place was just open, beautiful wilderness.

Prettier sunsets didn’t exist. God was showing off when he set that sun on her ranch in the evenings. He painted the sky with oranges, pinks, and soft blues. She’d sworn to herself she wouldn’t give up one damn inch of this place…yet she was failing.

She didn’t know how long she stood there, watching the sun lose ground to the horizon. Time didn’t mean as much at the end of a day. The work had been done, and this was her time to unwind. She hadn’t watched the sunsets as much since the wolves had been hunting her land. Tonight, she had her rifle and extra bullets in her jacket pocket, but the risk was necessary. Her heart was so heavy, and she just wanted to watch that sun sink to oblivion.

When a twig snapped, she grabbed the rifle and yanked it up and into place before she registered the man leading a gritty lookin’ blue roan horse toward her.