Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 87067 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 435(@200wpm)___ 348(@250wpm)___ 290(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87067 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 435(@200wpm)___ 348(@250wpm)___ 290(@300wpm)
“Oh, no! You’re on forced vacation. Things are quiet here for once. Enjoy it. Go ride another horse. Rope a cow. Go do ranch things,” Rowe ordered.
Cole swallowed a groan and scrubbed a hand over his face. He was pretty sure Rowe had never been on a ranch in his life. He couldn’t imagine what Rowe thought qualified as ranch things. “I was hoping to talk to you about the ranch. There’s…there’s something wrong here.” He paused, pushing down the feeling of guilt that was threatening to choke him. He hated to share JB’s business without checking with the man first, but Cole wasn’t sure if he was overreacting. Right now, his main concern was making sure that JB wasn’t going to get himself killed.
“What’s up?” Noah asked. The joking and lightness he’d heard in his voice was gone now. This was more of the serious person he knew when it came to planning protection details or even stealth missions to help out his friends and family.
“That’s the thing. I’m afraid I’m overreacting. Or maybe I’m blowing things out of proportion. It’s been one thing after another, and I’m worried that maybe JB isn’t taking it as seriously as he needs to be.”
“Tell us and we can give you our unbiased thoughts,” Rowe replied.
Cole pushed to his feet again and started to pace around the tiny open space in the room, trying to dodge suitcases and dirty clothes while scratching his head. “Well, there’s this property developer. He’s interested in the Alexander ranch. JB’s dad has told him no twice, and he’s a little pushy. From my understanding, the developer is interested in three ranches in order to build this massive resort property with hotels, golfing, and more. The catch is that all three ranches have to agree to sell. Particularly the Alexander Ranch, since it’s the largest of the three.”
“Have the other two property owners agreed to sell?” Rowe inquired.
“Yes, I believe so.”
Rowe or Noah made a low noise but didn’t say anything. Just waited for Cole to continue.
“When we went riding the other day, we found two dead cows in a field. Took JB by surprise. Really rattled him. We’re still waiting to hear the cause of death from the vet.”
“Did JB mention that someone could have done this? Maybe shot or poisoned them?” Noah asked.
“He didn’t mention it. I think he’s more worried about it being an early sign of disease and it spreading to the entire herd. It could seriously hurt their finances and push JB’s dad into selling the ranch.”
“Keep us posted with what the vet says,” Rowe ordered. “It could be a coincidence, but maybe not. The timing is fishy when considered against the offer for the ranch.”
“Anything else?”
“We got shot at today.”
“What?” Both Rowe and Noah shouted into his ear, making a flurry of demands loud enough that he had to pull the phone away for a moment. Rowe was already stating that he was sending half of Ward Security to Texas when Cole could finally get a word in.
“She looked to be about a hundred years old and blind.”
There was a long silence on the phone before Noah spoke up again.
“I’m sorry, what? You got shot at by a little old woman? What were you doing? Hitting on her great-granddaughter?”
Cole groaned loudly. “No. She thought JB was a coyote.”
There was another silence and this time Cole checked to make sure the call wasn’t dropped.
“She thought JB was a coyote,” Noah repeated.
“Yes. That’s what she said. She thought she was shooting at a coyote, but she nearly got JB a couple of times as we hurried to cover behind the truck.”
“Unless JB has changed a lot, the man does not look like a coyote.”
“No, he does not,” Cole agreed with Noah. “JB laughed it off and didn’t seem particularly surprised that this old woman was firing a shotgun at people, but she also happens to be one of the neighbors who has agreed to sell to the property developer.”
Rowe swore softly. “You got any other crazy shit going on there?”
“JB also has a neighbor who clearly hates him and would rather see him dead. His family also owns a neighboring ranch, but not one that’s got an offer from this property developer. If JB’s family sells, that’s less competition for this guy, plus he has the bonus of getting rid of JB as a neighbor.”
“Jesus Christ, Cole. What the hell!” Rowe grumbled.
“This is why I called!” Cole nearly shouted. “I mean, is this freaking normal for Texas? I’ve always heard that shit can be weird out here and ranch life is totally different from normal life, but this? This all seems to be a bit extreme, even for Texas.”
“Yeah,” Noah said slowly. “I think this is a little extreme even for Texas. It looks like you’ve got plenty of people who have ample motive to force JB’s dad into selling the ranch and or bump off JB.”