Page 47 of Meant for Her

“That’s not a good idea.”

“It’s not for sex, so hold your horses.” She explained what Seth told her. “I wasn’t expecting to run into the sheriff, but I told him about the possibility that the cows are yours. I thought maybe you could take your branding iron to show part of the brand matched the Circle L Ranch’s brand. He also asked that you take all papers you have on the stolen animals.”

“Ryan counted that we lost twelve, but I will have to ask him if he knows which of them were stolen. I’ll gather what I have though. When will you get here?”

“In seven minutes give or take a few.”

“This is awesome news. I’ll see you then. And Malia?”

“Yes.”

“Thank you.” For the first time, Luke’s voice came out sensually soft.

“Of course.”

When she disconnected, she smiled. She’d made Luke Lattimore happy. When Malia arrived, both men were standing in front of the house, and that was not good—for Ryan at least.

She slipped out of the car. This might be worse than telling a patient their condition was terminal. “Ryan, you can’t come with us.”

“Fuck that. Who’s going to stop me?”

“The sheriff seems to be on your side. I told him that except for a slight limp, Luke was almost back to normal. You would need a few more days to heal. I’m sorry, but we need to keep our story authentic.”

He huffed. “I’m supposed to just wait here?”

“I’m afraid so. The sheriff didn’t seem all that excited to have Luke there either. If I had to guess, he feared a fight might break out between Luke and the man selling the cattle.”

Luke turned to him. “The auction is going on right now. Let’s not debate this. It would be terrible if the cows were sold, and we missed proving they are ours because we stood here arguing.”

Ryan waved a hand. “Fine. Go. Just bring back our animals.”

Thankfully, Ryan decided to be reasonable. She rushed to the driver’s side and Luke jumped in carrying the branding iron in a sack and a notebook, which she assumed had all of the certifications for the cows. How anyone thought they could get away with stealing cows, she didn’t know. If these animals belonged to the Lattimores, selling them to someone close to Midvale was asking for trouble. Then again, werewolves had an advantage over mere humans if it came to a fight.

Malia started the engine and took off.

“Did your brother tell you how many of our cattle were there?”

“I forgot to ask. He just said that a human cattle middleman was involved. I have a feeling the sheriff will think Chip Lawson stole your cattle.”

“And we can’t say we know he didn’t because he’s a human.”

She chuckled. “Exactly. Mentioning he’s not a werewolf wouldn’t be smart either.”

“I’m well aware.”

She was sure he was. “We just have to remember that the sheriff really wants to find these rustlers. Having these thieves in his district doesn’t look good for him either.”

“I get it, and I’m not supposed to drag any information out of Chip either, right?”

“Exactly. According to my uncle, Rich Hanson is a good lawman. Let’s let him do his job. If he fails, you can always find Chip Lawson andlearnmore.”

It took another fifteen minutes to reach the Plainville Cattle auction site. The lot was full, implying the auction was still ongoing. Malia hadn’t even removed the key from the ignition when Luke pushed open his door.

She jumped out. “Hold on, cowboy. Please follow my lead.”

Luke spun around. “These are my cows.”

“I know, but let me speak with Seth first, and then the sheriff. We want to do this the right way.”