“Not if they’re all down at the south end,” Duke said, and headed that way.

It wasn’t until they topped a small hill and started down to the grove of trees below that they saw them grazing.

“Stop and let me get in the back,” Jack said. “They’re going to come running when they see us.”

Duke stopped again, and as soon as Jack was back in the truck bed with another sack of cattle cubes, he started driving down the hill.

When they got closer, Jack started pouring feed out over the side, leaving a trail behind them as they went, then emptied the other feed sack before they stopped.

Again, Duke got up in the back with him to count.

“Well hell. I only count twenty-four and there should be thirty,” Duke said.

Jack nodded. “I had the same count.”

“So we’re short six head,” Duke said, and took out his phone. “I’m calling Sheriff Ryman. It’ll take us a bit to get back to the house, and if we’re lucky, we won’t have to wait all afternoon for someone to come out. I want to fix that break, but he needs to see it as is. Maybe we need to just the move the herd into the East pasture and take away the convenience.”

“The grass is short there,” Jack said.

“So we’ll start feeding round bales a little sooner than planned. It’s better than losing more cattle,” Duke said.

“Agreed. Get in,” Jack said. “I’ll drive back so you can talk.”

“And get you out of gate duty?” Duke said.

“Fair’s fair, brother,” Jack said, and jumped out of the truck bed and got in the driver’s seat.

Duke was already reporting the theft as they drove away.

* * *

While Duke was dealing with cattle rustlers, Cathy had finally managed to get herself into the shower. She’d done exactly what they told her not to do and unwrapped her ankle, but she felt dirty and gritty, and a spit bath wasn’t going to suffice.

She was exhausted and hurting by the time she was finished, but she was clean, and she had rewrapped her ankle.

She rolled herself back into the kitchen, took a couple more painkillers, then went back to the living room and collapsed into the recliner. She got her foot up and was almost getting comfortable when someone knocked at her door.

She groaned. Just when she was beginning to get easy. But before she could move, she heard a familiar voice.

“Cathy, it’s me, Dan Amos. Are you there?”

“I’m here. Give me a second,” she said.

“I know you fell. I can let myself in if you’re okay with that,” he said.

She was taken aback for a moment, and then realized as the landlord, he had access to all of his rentals, and relaxed.

“Yes, yes, come in.”

She heard a key in the door, and then as the door swung inward, Dan and his wife came in.