Page 42 of Cautious Love

“Yeah?” I repeat.

“Have you talked to Shiloh? I figure since that ass hurt her, she might be pretty willing to throw him under the bus,” Will says.

I press my lips together and look out over the land. I know what I should say. I know that I should have asked already.

“I have not,” I tell them sternly. Going after Grey through Shiloh is not a direction I want to go. There’s much more on the line since that night.

“It could help,” Will offers.

My temper flares, and I take a deep breath. “Get me something I can use for an actual warrant, okay? And be careful, boys,” I tell them as a pit sinks lower in my stomach. I don’t have a good feeling about this, and the only way I know how to help is by talking to Shiloh. But I haven’t because I can’t bring myself to make her relive another second with that asshole. And I’m starting to wonder if maybe that makes me the villain because I don’t want to put her through more pain for the sake of others. What does that say about me?

“Will do. Talk soon.”

I heel Spark to get over to the herd.

“Sorry, Fletch, had a work call I had to take.”

He nods. “Alright, count is done. We’re moving them to pasture A by the barn. I need you to flank right. Everyone else has their places.”

I nod and head over to the right side of the herd to help them stay in some semblance of a group so we can get them moved.

Fletcher leads the way with Albert, and we head down the hill and through a wide valley down to the pasture.

When we get the herd down, everyone heads to the barn to start vaccinations. June has everything ready, but she can’t do it on her own. The more hands, the lighter the work.

Sterling parks his truck next to mine and hops out with a grin on his face as he comes up to the corral next to the barn.

“Hey man, long time no see.”

I pull him into a hug and pat his back. “How you doin?” I ask him. He’s been out fighting a wildfire for a month. I can see the exhaustion on his face, but he’s home, and he’s in one piece.

He puffs out a breath. “It was a tough one this time around. We had a few pretty sticky situations, but everyone got home, and that’s what matters.”

I nod, glad my best friend is here. We’ve grown up together. He’s like a brother to me, not only because we always had each other’s backs, but we practically lived in the same house. He was with us half the week instead of at home. He would even help me scare boys away from June in high school.

“When do you have to be back at the station?”

“I have a little less than a week off for some R&R. Chief basically mandated it. They’re saying we’re going to have some issues here as things get drier.”

I nod. “I saw the report, risk is high right now.”

“Yeah, but hey you know me, I can’t sit still, so I figured I’d come and help y'all.”

“How did you know we were doing vaccinations?” I ask him.

He shrugs. “I think June Bug told me.”

I frown, wondering how he saw her before he saw me since he just got back, but I shrug it off. They might have run into each other in town.

“We need to get a beer sometime, you know?” Sterling says.

I bump my hat up to wipe the sweat from my brow. “That sounds good.”

Sterling nods and leads the way into the barn. He stops and says something to June, and she rolls her eyes before leaving him standing there. I think he’s always seen her as a sister, and he likes to mess with her.

“Alright boys, Mama probably has lunch ready by now. Let’s head up, then we’ll finish the last of them.”

“Hey Ledge, didn’t get to say hi,” Fletcher says, walking beside me.