At Wolf Ranch by Jennifer Ryan Page A

company, here to check on Wolf Ranch for the family. He’d been nervous when they met that she’d come to look into something more. He didn’t want anyone to see this place and the sorry state of this ranch and the cattle. He wouldn’t report her to anyone in the company. He couldn’t. Not without alerting them to a problem here, so she went with her gut and tried to set things right for now, until she could implement a permanent solution.
    “Now, listen here, Travis. Maybe I didn’t make myself clear last night. I work for Wolf Enterprises. Those are Wolf cattle. You will remove your head from your ass and move those cattle out of those damn pens and transfer them to the pastureland for them to graze and roam. You will feed and water them the proper way and dispose of the dead carcasses immediately.”
    She turned to Gabe. “Am I missing anything?” Before he answered, she turned back to Travis. “Oh, quarantine any sick animals away from the herd. Call the vet to check on them and get them well. I think that’s all. You know your job. Do it.”
    “You’re not the boss of me. You can’t come in here and order me around like this.”
    “You will do as I say or face the consequences a hell of a lot sooner than what’s coming down the road. You got it?”
    “Who the hell are you?”
    “The woman you dumped on her ass in the snow in the middle of nowhere. The biggest mistake you ever made in your miserable good-for-nothing life.”
    “I’ll call the company and get you fired. No one likes a pushy bitch.”
    “Call Jim Harrison. I dare you.”
    “How did you know . . .”
    “I know a hell of a lot more than you. You underestimate women at your own peril. Let’s go, Gabe, I’m done here.”
    She limped over to Travis’s truck.
    “What the hell do you think you’re doing now?” The words came out whiny, like a kid who didn’t get his way.
    “Getting my bag. Lord knows, you’re too lazy to have even taken it out of your truck.”
    Sure enough, her sister’s bag sat on the floor of the passenger side. She grabbed the bag and hauled it out. Travis lunged, grasped her shoulder, and spun her around. She twisted her ankle and yelped out in pain, collapsing against the truck door.
    Gabe grabbed Travis by the back of his jacket. Travis turned and caught a right hook in the jaw and fell backward and landed on his ass in the dirt.
    “Bowden, this is none of your concern,” Travis yelled, holding the side of his face.
    Gabe loomed over Travis, hands fisted at his sides and fury in his eyes. “You made it my concern when you dumped her on that road, asshole. You left her out there to die. What is wrong with you?”
    “She deserved it.”
    “Why? Because she’s got better taste than to find anything appealing about you. Seems to me, her instincts were dead-on.”
    “You want her, keep her.” Travis spat, climbing to his feet. “She’s not worth the trouble.”
    “She’s not yours to give away, you idiot. But thanks, I will keep her.” Gabe scooped her right off her feet and carried her to his truck. She pulled the door open and he set her inside the cab. “Stay put.”
    Gabe took her bag and carried it to the truck, setting it in the bed and opening the driver’s door. He didn’t get in, but stared at Travis. “Don’t make things worse for yourself. Do what she asked. Take care of these animals, or I’m coming back to take care of you.”
    Gabe slid behind the wheel, started the truck, and turned them around. He sped down the dirt road and took the right onto the main road back to his place.
    “How’d you know Travis’s contact at Wolf?”
    “Jim is the head of Western Operations. It was a good guess he’d oversee anyone responsible for the cattle business. I’ll look into it, and Travis will get what’s coming to him.”
    “The company isn’t exactly known for cattle.”
    She stretched out her leg and tried to adjust her foot to take the pressure off her ankle. “No. Not really.