Would-Be Wilderness Wife by Regina Scott Page A

want to know who, and I want to know why.”

Chapter Eight
    D rew fought down a rising temper. He’d heard tales of cattlemen and farmers fighting over grazing rights and poisoning each other’s water supply, but that had been in other territories. No one he knew bore any grudge against him. Why dump manure in the spring?
    â€œWe should call back Deputy McCormick,” Catherine said. “Surely this is against the law.”
    Drew focused on her. Her head was high, her eyes narrowed to blue chips of ice. She looked ready to fight anyone who would dare to threaten the health of her patients. Despite himself, he felt a smile forming.
    â€œMcCormick mentioned some of the other farms out this way had been harassed,” Drew told her. “There may be a pattern. I’ll report the matter when I take you back to town. In the meantime, we’ll keep a closer eye out for strangers.”
    â€œIt was probably just a mistake,” Levi protested. “It’s not as though we need to mount a guard or something.”
    Was the boy determined not to do an honest day’s work? Drew forced himself to take a deep breath before answering, “If we all lend a hand, it won’t be a burden on anyone.”
    Levi’s lean face was turning red. “I never said it was a burden. But all you think about is working! Having a little fun isn’t a crime, you know!”
    His vehemence seemed too strong, even for his mercurial personality. Drew eyed his brother. “Do you know who did this, Levi?”
    â€œMe?” He took a step back. “No! Of course not! I’m just upset they made more work for us.” He turned and stalked off to the barn.
    â€œSurely he wouldn’t poison a spring his family uses,” Catherine said, her tone unusually gentle. Drew glanced back at her to find her watching him as if to gauge his response. “He may not appreciate the importance of good health, but he must realize he’d have to drink the water, too.”
    There was that. But something was bothering his brother. “I doubt Levi dumped manure in the spring,” he told her. “But I wouldn’t be surprised if he hadn’t angered some other young bucks who thought this was fair retaliation. I’ll let him cool down a bit before I talk to him again. I won’t tolerate this kind of nonsense.”
    â€œAgreed,” she said with a nod. “In the meantime, what do you intend to do about the spring? Levi is right about one thing. Your mother became ill at least two weeks ago, so the manure was added before then. Very likely the bulk of the contamination was flushed out with the rains, but obviously some remains.”
    â€œI’ll have Levi clean it out,” Drew said. “We’ll only draw from it for the stock until we know it’s purified. We can use the pumps on my claim and Simon’s for the house. It’s farther to go, but they’re capped. It wouldn’t be easy to dump anything down them. Beth can show you how to work my pump.”
    She frowned at him. “Are you leaving?”
    â€œI need to find my brothers,” he said. “They’ll want to know about this. I’ll leave Levi in case you need an extra hand.”
    â€œI’m sure he’ll be quite helpful.”
    He could hear her sarcasm. “He will if I have to beat it into him.”
    She blanched. “Please, Mr. Wallin. There’s no need to strike the boy.”
    Did she think him a brute? Many saw his size and immediately assumed his temperament was as large.
    â€œIt’s only a matter of speaking, ma’am,” he replied, turning away. “I’ve never had to raise a hand to any of my brothers to get them to obey.” With a nod, he set off for the woods.
    Once he’d reached his brothers, he filled them in on the day’s events. They were glad to hear that Ma was feeling better but irate that anyone would damage their main