“Fine. Bring me the bone saw, and I’ll get one of the steers ready for skinning.”

Throughout the long hours of the night, they worked ceaselessly—bleeding, skinning, and cutting the cattle. As they did so, his attention kept straying to Greta. She scraped the hides, never stopping to rest, working as efficiently with the cattle as she did with her jams.

Had he been as wrong about giving up on her as he’d been with the ranch? Did he need to find a way to hang on and fight for her, for them?

He had to convince her to stay a few more days, at least until he was done with butchering and selling the beef. He couldn’t do anything or go anywhere until he salvaged what he could of his herd. But after that, he’d travel to Denver with her and Astrid for the winter. Now without the cattle, Judd could more than handle the ranch by himself.

First he had to persuade her to give him a second chance, and he prayed to the good Lord she would.

Chapter 21

Greta awoke with a start. At the sight of sunlight pouring through the windowpane in the front room, she bolted upright in bed. The movement shot fire through every muscle and brought back the memory of the long night.

Before dawn, Wyatt had insisted she return to the cabin and asked Judd to take her back. Though they still had over half the cattle to finish butchering, she’d been too tired and cold to protest.

They’d stopped by the river to wash the blood from their hands. She’d already been frozen down to her bones from the frigid temperatures. And the iciness of the river had confirmed the urgency of making it out of the high country to Denver before it was too late.

Even so, she couldn’t leave Judd and Wyatt in such desperate straits. Though they hadn’t said so, she guessed they’d work through the day and again into the night until they finished the job.

After packing up a basket of food and coffee, she’d given it to Judd with the promise to bring more at noontime. She fed the chickens, milked the cow, and watered and fed Dolly and the four oxen that hadn’t been out in the pasture with the others. Then she’d fallen into bed next to Astrid.

Greta shoved the covers away and glanced again at the bright sunshine, attempting to gauge how much time had passed. She sensed it was later than she’d anticipated.