How did you know? I didn't. She glanced toward the running water. I just figured being wrong would cost less than keeping quiet. That evening at supper, Rhett set down his spoon.
Thank you, Nia. Two words, nothing more. But before she could answer, Dusty appeared in the doorway, pale and breathing hard. Rhett, he said, "There's a dead calf in the east corral. Rhett reached the east corral before anyone else.
The calf lay beside the watering trough, stiff against the dry ground. Dusty stood several paces away, clutching his hat between both hands. Luke watched the rest of the herd, trying to keep them away from the carcass. Nia knelt beside the animal. It took her only moments to know hunger had not killed it.
The calf was thin like most of the cattle on Holt Ranch. But drought did not leave that kind of stiffness. It did not leave that dullness in the eyes. Nia placed one hand against its neck, checked the gums, then studied the dirt around its muzzle. "When did you find it?
"At sunrise," Dusty answered. "It was standing last night. Rhett crouched on the other side. "Sickness. "I don't think so.
Nia looked up. "Whatever hit it, hit fast. Rhett turned towards the trough. He stood, found a stick, and pushed it down into the water. When he stirred the bottom, a thin, oily film rose to the surface and caught the sunlight in a dark, unnatural shimmer.
Rhett's face hardened. Clay Boon arrived a moment later. He smelled the end of the stick and cursed under his breath. "That didn't come from the creek or from the ground," Nia said. Rhett went still for several long seconds.
No one spoke. Four months, he finally muttered. Nia waited. Rafe Crow's been trying to buy this ranch for 4 months. Flint Cattle Company canceled the contract first.
Then Jed Carver and Asa Quinn left the same week. Then the hay burned. Now this. His voice remained calm, but beneath it sat a cold, steady anger. "You think Rafe's behind it?
Clay Boon asked. Rhett stared at the dead calf. "I think I've been a fool. Then stop thinking like a man who has something to feel guilty about," Nia said. "Start thinking like a man who's under attack.
Rhett raised his eyes to her. What do you suggest? Check every trough, every pipe, every place someone could come onto the ranch without being seen. She paused, but quietly. If someone's watching us, they can't know we figured out what they're doing.