WILD AT HEART BY CHRISTINA LEE, RILEY HART – eBook Details Online
- Status: Available for Free Download
- Authors: Christina Lee, Riley Hart
- Language: English
- Genre: Contemporary romance
- Format: PDF / EPUB
- Size: 2 MB
- Price: Free
Eleven years later
“You ready?” I ask Midnight as I saddle him. His snort sounds like a
smirk, and I pat the white stripe on his neck affectionately. He’s getting up
there for a horse, but just like the rest of us, enjoys feeling useful. He’s been
with me through thick and thin, works as hard as the rest of us, sometimes
riding for long hours with scarcely a rest or water break.
The ranch hands accompanying me are waiting near the paddock,
seemingly ready for the next grueling forty-eight hours. We’ve been
through this before—the outbreak of a cattle virus, this time Q fever, which
was detected after two calves were stillborn. To slow the spread, we’re
leaving the pregnant cows behind and moving the rest of the herd to greener
pastures just beyond the gorge. We’ll need to pass through the valley, which
will take the better part of the day, but they’ll like their new surroundings
because the brush is greener.
“Bishop,” Dad calls to me just as I’m about to mount Midnight outside
the barn. “You be careful out there.”
And he doesn’t just mean from the elements. It’s possible Q fever can
spread to humans too if we don’t take precautions while handling the herd.
Just part of ranch life.
“Always.” I adjust the scabbard holding my rifle near Midnight’s flank.
The ranch hands also carry shotguns for protection, especially on longer
journeys. You never know if you’ll run into trouble with snakes, wolves, or
thieves. The cattle industry is lucrative, our family has certainly done well
for generations, and a handful of smaller ranches covet what we have, no
two ways about it. Stealing our main source of income is not out of the
question, despite our cattle being branded and the entire county knowing
full well most of the black angus livestock belongs to us.
Dad will be staying to meet the vet who will check the pregnant cows to
be sure the fetuses are still thriving. I can see the worry lines around his
eyes. He’s always concerned about the cattle and horses, but in a time like
this, his stress level is through the roof. The cost of any more stillborn
calves will no doubt be keenly felt.
Add in being short-staffed again, and the tension around here grows so
thick, we can cut it with a knife. A break from the ranch will be a welcome
change. I can see it on the employees’ faces too as they wait for me to get
moving.
Ranch life is never easy, and as the world modernizes, it’s harder to find
staff who still want to work the land. But it’s either in your blood or it isn’t.
The environmentalists picketing in town and sometimes outside Sullivan
Ranch obviously don’t help, and some employees have gotten gun-shy
about our way of life despite it being important to the state of Colorado.
I mount Midnight, and we canter over to the ranch hands, a couple on
ATVs, the rest on horseback, while Dad follows beside us to greet them. He
gives last-minute instructions because he can’t help himself, even though
I’m in charge.
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