Fortunately, it was just T.D. He came walking into camp, grinning.
“The fun is about to begin,” he announced and looked at Travis. “That one for me?” he said of the hot dog Travis had cooked perfectly.
Travis looked from the hot dog to T.D. and back before he sighed and said, “Why not?”
“Then we’d better pull up camp,” T.D. said, taking the hot dog and bun and reaching for the mustard. “We might have to move fast.”
Oh, hell, Wyatt thought. What has the cowboy done now?
Chapter Ten
Angus caught a whiff of something on the breeze that froze his blood. Smoke? Jinx must have caught the scent, as well. She shot him a look and then the two of them were yelling for the others as they raced toward the smoke rising on the horizon.
Angus hadn’t gone far when he saw the flames licking at the grass along the tree line—and in the direction of the herd. He jumped off his horse, pulled off his jacket and began beating the flames back. Next to him, Jinx was doing the same.
As Ella and Brick joined them, they formed a line, pushing the fire back. Had it been fall, they wouldn’t have been able to stop the wildfire. But with the new grass mixed in with what was left of the dried fall vegetation, the fire wasn’t moving fast.
The four of them worked quickly, beating back the flames. Angus had no doubt who had started the fire. He’d seen firsthand what T. D. Sharp was like that night at the ranch. He’d expected trouble, but not this. The man was a damned fool. Didn’t he realize that he could start a forest fire that could spread through the mountains—killing everything, him included?
Every year forest fires burned across this part of the west. They often grew even with the states throwing everything they could at the flames. Most weren’t put out until the first snows in the fall. That was Angus’s fear now. If this fire spread, it would kill more than Jinx’s herd.
At first it appeared that they would never be able to hold the fire off. Then as if granted a miracle, a spring squall came through just before daylight, drenching them and the mountainside with a soaking rain shower. The rain did most of the work, but they still had to finish putting out hot spots.
By then it was midday. But they’d kept the fire away from the herd and they’d put it out. With most of the mountainside wet from the rainstorm that had come through before dawn, T.D. would play hell getting another fire started until everything dried out. By then they would have the cattle in the high country and have returned to the valley.
Angus figured T.D. would lose interest once Jinx was no longer on the mountain. There would be no reason to kill a bunch of cattle, especially when it sounded as if he would get half the ranch in the divorce. So half the cattle would also be his. That was if the man had thought that far ahead.
But first they had to get the herd the rest of the way to summer range. What else did T.D. have planned for them before they all went back down into the valley?
“Here’s where it started,” Brick called. Jinx walked over to where his brother was pointing at the ground and Angus followed.
He knew what he was going to find even before he reached his twin. Boot tracks in the soft, wet, scorched earth and the charred remains of a bandanna soaked with fuel oil.
“Whoever started the fire had planned this,” Jinx said with disgust as she took a whiff of the bandanna. The cowboys wouldn’t have had fuel oil on them. They had to have brought it with them. She shook her head, planting her hands on her hips as she looked out across the pasture to where the herd moved restlessly. If Angus hadn’t smelled the fire so quickly... If the flames had gotten away from them...
“What now?” She sounded close to tears but quickly cleared her throat. “What’s he going to do next?” She looked at Angus, but it was Brick who spoke.
“What if it wasn’t your ex?” Brick said as he looked around. “Anyone seen Cash?” Angus realized he hadn’t seen Max, either.
They made their way back to camp. Angus wasn’t surprised to see Cash’s horse gone. Max was busy finishing making breakfast. “I thought you might all be hungry,” he said as he took them in. “Figured I was better here than fighting the fire.”
“When did Cash leave?” Jinx asked.
“Soon as he smelled smoke,” Max said. “He hightailed it out of here. Said he’d catch up with you at the ranch to get his pay.”
Jinx mumbled something under her breath.
“I think we should end this now,” Brick said and looked at him. “Let’s go pay them a visit.”
“No,” Jinx said, her gaze on Angus. “We have cattle to move. That’s why we rode up here. That’s what we’re going to do. We’ve lost some time, but we’re going to get these cattle to the high country. But first I’m going to wash some of this soot off. Thank you all for being here.” With that she turned on her boot heel and walked away.
“I think we’re growing on her,” Brick said with a chuckle.
Angus smiled. “That is one determined young woman and she’s right. We take care of the herd. That’s our job.” He felt his twin’s gaze on him.
“She likes you,” his brother said.
“I’m not trying to—”
“That’s just it, Angus. You don’t have to try.” With that, Brick turned and walked away.
Angus sighed, tired of his brother’s need to compete. He doubted it had anything to do with Jinx. Brick just liked to win. Angus was determined, though, that it wasn’t going to be a problem between
