Page 8 of Maggie’s Match

“Third. My grandparents bought Broken B from the Tillersons when the family sold off a bunch of land to pay a debt they owed,” Bryson said. “So you can see why the family believes they are due it back,” he said sarcastically as he rolled his eyes.

“Right.” Rick shook his head. “Privileged?”

Bryson nodded.

The fifteen-hundred-acre ranch sat between Austin and the outskirts of Bottle Creek. Even though the larger city’s development was miles away from the fence lines of the ranch, it was quickly encroaching on the outer properties. Soon, Broken B Ranch would be nestled up against the growing city limits.

“I have no plan to sell. Ever. When I die, my kids will inherit everything,” Bryson said with pride. “They can do what they want with it.”

“I can see why you want to hang onto it. It’s beautiful around here,” Rick admitted as he glanced around.

There were several barns within sight—a milking barn for the dairy cattle they had grazing in two of the fields, one barn for the beef cattle, and one smaller one that housed the sick and isolated animals. There was also a garage-like barn for all of the large equipment and four-wheelers and another larger one for the many horses it took to oversee the ranch.

Bridget, Becca, and Bent’s mother had a large garden that sat between the main house and the road that at this time of year was overflowing with vegetables. Apple, pear, and other fruit trees filled an orchard on the side of the house. They would soon be ripe for picking.

Off the back of the three-story home was a large yard that still housed a swing set and soccer nets that Bentley had probably used. He probably still did.

Where Rick had taken to football and basketball, Bentley had been the star soccer player and had even played in college when he’d attended the University of Texas in the city.

After a pretty gnarly injury his junior year, he’d quit playing soccer and had focused on finishing out his majors in both business and environmental engineering.

Becca had attended college for a few years, but Bent had filled him in on how a bad breakup had caused her to move back home. Bentley seemed out of shape about the guy his sister had been dating and had mentioned wanting to pound the man’s face in a few times during their ride earlier.

“Do you think the new sheriff and mayor in town would go as far as to poison your herd?” Rick asked as they brushed the horses down in the barn.

Bryson glanced over at him and shrugged. “We’re all thinking it. I have my men working round the clock to keep an eye out around here,” Bryson answered.

“How many men? Can they all be trusted?” Rick asked, thinking aloud.

Bryson was quiet for a moment. “I knew there was a reason your father sent you to us,” he said with a smile. “Bentley and I are too close to the subject. We’ve known most of our ranch hands for years. That doesn’t mean they can’t be bought off or… swayed.”

“First things first. I’ll examine one of the poisoned animals in the morning to see if I can narrow down what happened to them. Once we know what’s killing them, we’ll go from there.”

“We buried most of them at first, thinking they was natural deaths. But when we started suspecting foul play, we kept a few on ice that you can take a look at.” Bryson motioned over his shoulder. “We’ve got a walk-in freezer in the medical barn.”

Rick nodded. “Smart.” He made a mental note to suggest his father do the same at Saddleback.

“For tonight, relax. I’m sure Bridget has dinner ready by now,” Bryson said after glancing at his watch. Then he looked up, and a smile spread on his lips. “And I’m sure you’ll be happy to spend some time with Maggie,” he added before turning and shutting the stall door behind him.

Okay, so it was that obvious why he was there. In the past, he would have hightailed it out of town at this point. Now, however, he smiled as he thought about seeing Maggie again. How she’d looked flustered and covered in flour.

Damn. He really was a goner.

Chapter Four

No matter how much dough Maggie pounded, nothing seemed to cool her temper.

Rick was toying with her. Just like he had been doing for ten years. Why? Did he find pleasure in hurting her?

When tears threatened to fall into her mix, she wiped them away with her sleeve and tried to push back the hurt.

“Go.” Becca broke into her thoughts. “Take a walk. I’ll finish these last batches. You need some fresh air before dinner.” Her cousin nudged her shoulder. “Go,” she said again.

Maggie relented and after washing her hands and pulling off her apron, she took a cold beer from the fridge and went out onto the back patio. She used her belt buckle to open the beer and took a long sip and sighed.

Rolling her shoulders, she stepped off the porch and headed towards the orchard. She loved walking through the tall fruit trees, smelling the sweet scents of the apple and pear blossoms. Hearing the bees buzz around the orchard made her smile.

There were more than a dozen white beehives sitting among the trees to help with pollination. The bees were on loan from a local bee farmer, who supplied the ranch with as many honeycombs and bottles of honey as the family needed.