Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 63469 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 317(@200wpm)___ 254(@250wpm)___ 212(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63469 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 317(@200wpm)___ 254(@250wpm)___ 212(@300wpm)
When I backed away—not turning around—he turned his horse and pulled his rifle.
“I don’t know who the fuck you think you are,” Mac’s voice thundered from behind me, “but on the Red Diamond, we don’t kill people for saving puppies.”
Turning my head, I saw Mac standing on the bank, holding his rifle, letting it lean back against his shoulder like he was on a movie poster for some B-Western. I would have preferred anyone else but him being there, but as he was the foreman on the Red Diamond, it made sense.
Adding to my irritation was the fact that the wolf pup was growling and trying his damnedest to eat my hands. I gave him a little shake. “Knock it off, ya little fucker,” I groused at him as Zach walked up beside Mac.
“What the hell is going on?” Zach grumbled. “Glenn, put the pup down before its parents eat you.”
Rolling my eyes, I crossed the creek and put the first pup down, the one who hated me, and then opened the bag. There were three of them, and the last one, clearly the dumb one, didn’t want to leave me, taking a seat on my wet boot. His parents were not thrilled and came toward me, hackles up, snarling, teeth bared, looking like something out of a horror movie.
“Don’t move, Glenn!” Mac warned me, like I didn’t know that, and I nudged the wolf pup with my foot to try and get him going. He yowled, which helped nothing.
“Get the dogs,” Zach called to someone.
“Fuck no,” Mac yelled. “That’s all we fuckin’ need. Just get—”
The scream from Juju was loud. She’d been drinking, screwing around as usual, and hadn’t noticed my imminent danger until—I was guessing—she lifted her head and saw the wolves advancing on me.
She came barreling through the water, shrieking the whole time, and charged over to me, scaring the crap out of the wolf pup, who bolted for his parents. To the adult wolves, I was betting she looked crazed, and that was terrifying. All the wolves turned tail together and disappeared into the underbrush.
“Really?” I grumbled, turning to her.
She grunted, bumping me with her head, and then rested it on my shoulder for a second before breathing in my face and then swiping my hat. Crossing the creek quickly, she stood on the other side with my hat, and swung it around just to be a brat.
Everyone watched me cross as well, shaking my head, muttering expletives the whole way, and even the guys who wanted to shoot the wolves couldn’t stop staring at Juju. I understood; she was different.
“You’ll be hearing from Spencer Cole, our foreman,” the guy told Mac.
“Well, when you tell him what happened here, don’t leave out the part where you drew a gun on Rand Holloway’s cousin.”
It was nice that he didn’t say brother because that wasn’t anyone’s business. It was thoughtful, and I couldn’t help smiling. I got a head tip in return.
“And don’t forget to add that you had words with me, Mac Gentry, foreman of the Red.”
He was just grandstanding with that, but I couldn’t help grinning as I watched the men blanch. Because yes, no one wanted to screw with Rand, but Mac was the one who would put you in the ground.
The men beat it out of there then, and I was giving Juju hell just as Rand came riding up on his huge black stallion. I was pretty sure the horse’s name was Diablo or some shit.
“What the hell is going on?” Rand yelled as soon as he reached us. “Are you guys eating or not? What the hell is—why are we watering the horses now?”
He’d been with Mr. Patterson, probably chatting, and hadn’t noticed all the horses being led to the creek.
“That was Glenn’s call,” Zach answered, throwing me under the bus.
“What? Why?”
“It’s a long drive, Rand,” I told him, leading one of the horses by him. “For a man who saves horses from bein’ slaughtered, apparently you don’t mind them dyin’ of thirst.”
“They’re not going to die of—we need to go!”
“Glenn did save some wolves while he was watering them,” Zach chimed in, and that was surprising as well. First Mac, then my brother. Weird.
“Wolves?” Rand said like Zach needed to have his head examined. “There haven’t been wolves in Texas since—”
“Wolves brought special just to hunt,” Mac clarified. “And now they’re on your land, going to do God knows what, God knows where.”
Rand looked at Mac, then Zach, then me, over across the creek, and then back to me. “You saved wolves?”
“Yeah.”
“Not coyotes.”
“No, sir. Wolves.”
He huffed out a breath. “Well, good, then. We don’t kill predators on the Red.”
“Yes, I know,” I replied without a trace of sarcasm.
He nodded, and I stared at him a moment, wondering what in the world was going on. I was having the strangest day.