The Rancher Takes a Cook by Misty M. Beller

church yesterday some of the ranchers are missing
cattle. Jared Thomas says they suspect rustlers, but it’s too early
to tell.”
    Anna went back to cutting tomatoes, a line
forming on her forehead. “Do you think they’ve taken some of our
cattle?”
    Interesting she called the animals our cattle. She considered herself to be a part of the
ranch, too.
    “Not sure yet, but the boys and I will start
counting them today. It’s kinda hard to know for sure, though. We
only had about a thousand head of heifers left after we made the
drive to Kansas, but the boys have been branding the wild cattle
that come on our land, so we should be close to thirteen hundred by
now.”
    “Wild cattle?”
    “Yep. There’s always been a handful of loose
beef running in Texas. But with all the ranchers leaving for the
War these last few years, cattle got loose and owners died. The
wild stock are as common as jackrabbits. Nowadays, folks consider
them a natural resource if they come on your land.”
    Anna nodded, her brows pinched as she met
his gaze. “Is there any way to find out who’s doing the
rustling?”
    Jacob shook his head in frustration. “Jared
said they’ve reported the missing cattle to Sheriff Brown, but
there’s not much he can do until someone catches sight of the men.
Don’t know how many there are, but it sounds like a gang of ’em if
several ranches are being hit. They’re likely gathering up a herd
to drive north and sell.”
    Rising, he carried his empty mug to the
bucket of water Anna kept in the sink for washing dishes. She
continued her work at the counter, assembling sandwiches for the
men’s lunch packs, but she never took her eyes off him as he
walked. He could feel her gaze piercing the back of his neck. He
turned around to face her and leaned back against the sink. She
wore a dark green dress this morning that drew out the same color
in her eyes. It was amazing how they could change like that,
wavering between brown and green.
    His gaze met hers for a long moment and, for
a second, he had an overwhelming urge to wrap her in his arms and
kiss her soundly. The desire spooked him a bit, and Jacob gripped
the edge of the sink to steady himself. It was time to leave before
he did something he would regret. Finally, he offered his usual
parting words, “Thanks for the coffee,” and strode past Anna, not
waiting for her response.
    * * *
    Edward whistled the tune to Sweet Betsey
from Pike as his horse jogged through the brown grass. He’d
been assigned as line rider today, so he and his horse patrolled
the outer edge of the north pasture to make sure Double Rocking B
cattle weren’t drifting off the ranch’s property line. It had taken
a while before Monty let him ride line, since the job took him out
of sight of the rest of the cowpunchers, and he’d need to be able
to think on his feet if danger hit. The men all told him stories of
the wild animals that roamed the area, from cougars to wolves to
rattlesnakes. So far, Edward had only spotted tracks, but he would
be on the lookout.
    “If you run into trouble, Son, just fire a
shot and we’ll come a’runnin.” These had been Monty’s parting words
before sending him off for the day’s work. He hadn’t found any
trouble yet but hadn’t seen any cattle either. Edward was finally
getting used to the solitude on the range, although he got tired of
talkin’ to his horse sometimes.
    Up ahead, a cow bellowed from a patch of
trees. The underbrush was thick around the trees, so she was
hidden, but the insistent bawling sounded like she was upset. The
cow’s long horns were probably stuck and needed a bit of help to
get loose. Edward was learning to respect these crazy longhorns.
He’d have to come up on her quietly so she didn’t get riled. No
matter what, he had to stay mounted on his horse. Jacob had drilled
that rule into him until he heard it in his sleep. “A cowboy on
foot is helpless. You’ll lose every time around these longhorns,
and you’ll