Her Lone Star Cowboy

Jess had thought about the feisty Gabi many times since then. He grinned, thinking about how she’d asked him about his relationship with God. He wondered if she asked everyone she met or if she had some kind of radar that zeroed in on trouble. Jess hadn’t told her that he and God weren’t on the best of terms right now. But still, he had thought of her often.

“She was in a bind,” he said, not elaborating. “I’m glad I was there to help or it could have been worse.”

“I’m glad you were there, too. But the thing is, you were there and without thinking about it, you committed yourself to seeing it through to the end. Sam told me yesterday that you went back there, pulled her truck and trailer out and then drove it to her. You didn’t have to do that.”

“Anybody would have done that. It was the right thing to do.”

“Maybe and maybe not. Thing is, you did.” He paused. “I hear she’s single.”

Here we go. “Yeah, I heard the same thing.”

“You interested?”

Jess heard the hope in his brother’s voice. “Maybe. We’ll see. Honestly, she’s the one who didn’t seem too interested.”

Luke pulled open his truck door. “There ya go, buddy. You can change her mind, if you want to. And I can tell you the casual thing is a dead end.”

“Okay, man, back down. Right now I’m committed to a herd of ladies in the south pasture who are waiting on this hay.”

Luke chuckled as he got in his truck and slammed the door. “Well, I’ve got a lady at home waiting on me and she’s a whole lot prettier than any of those hairy gals you’re heading out to see. Talk to you later.” Luke grinned at him through the open window and as he backed up the truck he called, “Think about it, Jess. I’m praying for God to send you a woman.”

Shaking his head, Jess headed out in his own truck to the cattle in the south pasture. He had work to do. While Luke was praying for God to send him a woman, he needed to pray for God to send some rain. Of course, Jess wasn’t praying, he figured prayers didn’t really matter that much. If God felt like answering a prayer, then God answered. Not before.

Jess had stopped asking for anything a long time ago.

Looking across the pasture, he turned up the radio and took in his surroundings. He loved it here on the ranch. Luke had gotten one thing totally right. And that was the fact that Jess liked having a place to call his own. This ranch filled a hole in his heart, eased an ache he’d had for as long as he could remember. Here on this ranch, he was happy and content. He wasn’t sure he’d ever risk that by getting married.

He’d do anything for Luke, but get married…

Couldn’t do it.

Topping the ridge of a low hill, his attention was snagged by a group of buzzards circling in the pale blue sky.

Something was dead. Buzzards were a common sight here in the country, but Jess always checked it out when he was looking after the cattle. Driving toward the next ridge, he scanned the pastureland stretched before him. It was dry, not much grasslands left, thus the hay and feed they were having to put out, but it was still pretty land they’d bought.

The herd of Angus cattle grazed near a pond that was two feet low of water even after the rain they’d had two days before.

Topping the second hill, the pasture came into view.

Jess’s gaze zeroed in on the heifer laying halfway down the hillside. His heart sank. Dead cattle were expensive and a threat to the entire herd.

There was no mistaking this heifer had been dead for some time. Hanging his head for a brief moment, he looked up and scanned the pasture. In the distance he was certain he spotted a second large mound that would be another heifer.

Not good. Not good at all.

Chapter Three

Gabi drove the truck over the cattle guard of Jess Holden’s ranch. He’d found four dead heifers the evening before. Four at one time. They’d been dead too long for a necropsy to determine the cause of death, so her boss Susan sent her out to draw blood. For some reason, the idea of seeing the cowboy again caused a nervousness to wash over her.

Susan had confided to her that Jess and his two brothers had worked hard to scrape together the money to buy their ranch and stock it. The potential for these deaths to be something that could affect their entire herd had to be worrying them. Maybe make or break them.

Gabi hated to hear that. She was still thinking about it as the corral and Jess came into view. She would have been lying if she denied that she wasn’t curious about the cowboy.

Standing beside the corral at the corner of the pasture, he watched her pull to a halt, his face a work of seriousness. The man was better looking than she remembered—if that were even possible. How in the world this guy was still walking around single in a town that had gone wild with matchmaking was a huge mystery. His hair was just the length to make a woman want to run her fingers through it, tucking it behind his ear. On some guys she might have thought it scruffy looking, but not on Jess. Nope. On him it looked great. It looked right—

What are you doing?

Surprised that she was thinking about Jess more intimately than she wanted to, Gabi shook her head. She’d just broken up with her fiancé a month ago. This proved what she’d realized earlier—she hadn’t truly been in love with Phillip. Still, she was shocked by how swiftly she could become attracted to someone else.

Not just someone—Jess Holden.

Parking the truck she hopped from the cab, all business. She’d come to do her job. She didn’t want his cattle to get all sick and die, but she didn’t want to marry the guy, either—Gabi tripped at the thought, snagging her boot toe and nearly taking a dive at his feet.

“Watch it.” Jess caught her arm. “Are you all right?”

“Oh yeah, I’m just a tripper.” Her voice shook as she tugged away her arm from his warm grasp.

He chuckled. “So that’s what happened the other day.”

She made a face at him.

“Where’s Susan?” he asked, his gaze flitting past her to the truck.

“She sent me on ahead to draw some blood for testing so the labs could get it started.”

A brief hint of worry flashed across his expression. She knew he’d have rather Susan had showed up.

“That sounds like a good plan,” he said, hiding his disappointment. “I pulled the cattle I think we should look at. They’re in the corral.”

Gabi didn’t normally let negative reactions bother her, especially in such a stressful situation like this. After all the man was worried about his cattle. She followed him to the corral, a little stunned by how his reactions were affecting her. But she tried hard not to take it personally.

* * *

Jess had searched the property for any other sick or dead cattle and had found four total. He was worried. Everything they had was invested in this land, these cattle and the livestock. He owned his cattle rig outright but that was about the only thing the bank didn’t actually own.

“Is this all of them?” Gabi asked surveying the ten cows.

“So far. I watched them this morning, trying to pick out any that might even look slightly ill.”

Gabi stood quietly and observed them milling around. Her gaze skimmed the animals, lingering here and there. “They do look a little distressed. Not only their nasal activity, but some of them are drawn-looking in their stomachs.”

“Yeah, they were sluggish about eating.”

She glanced his way, her sparkling green eyes lit with agreement. “When stock is slow to eat, they’re sick. Problem is, how sick? Let me grab my bag and we’ll get to work. The quicker my part is done, the sooner Susan can give you answers.”

“I’ll have one in by the squeeze chute by the time you’re ready.”

“Sounds good.” She paused after taking a couple steps and glanced at him over her shoulder. “We’re going to figure this out, Jess.”