“No luck with the banker, I take it?”
“None. The bank is foreclosing unless I pay off the loan on or before the due date.””
He stared at her a full minute, his expression never changing before he asked, “You gonna explain the maps?”
She inhaled and rushed on. “For the cattle drive. It’s been done before. Granted, it was almost seventy years ago but Calvin Barron...” She would have missed his expression if she hadn’t been so intent on watching him. “What?”
“Nothing. Go on.”
She knit her brows, puzzling through his reaction but continued doggedly. “I’ll need permits. I plan on going to the commissioners of Canadian and Oklahoma Counties today to find out. Unless you need the truck?” She batted her eyes at him. “You know, to go to the Four Corners or...something.”
He muttered under his breath, and she had to choke back a laugh as he blushed beneath his tan. “Take the damn truck. I have fence to ride.” He pushed back from the table, the chair legs scraping against the scarred linoleum.
Cass paused to throw her arms around the old man’s neck as he sat in his recliner. “This is going to work, Uncle Boots. I just know it!” The only damper on her enthusiasm was the fact Chance still hadn’t called her. She alternated between concern and anger. If he’d blown her off, he could have been man enough to say so instead of keeping her dangling. But she was enough of a worrywart to wonder if something bad had happened to him. “Maybe Chance will help out, too.”
“I hope so, baby girl.” He muttered something under his breath that sounded like “for your sake.”
Cassie kissed the top of his head, wondering at his words. Chance would call. She argued with herself, ending with the final insistent word as she muttered, too. “He will.”
* * *
The next afternoon, Cass rode toward the barn, Buddy trotting beside her horse. Her sleeve was torn, and a few bloodstains spotted the frayed fabric. She’d stretched a strand of barbed wire too taut, and it had wrapped around her arm when it snapped. She’d have to make a trip to a clinic to get a tetanus shot. Her last booster was long out of date. Hot, sweaty and physically worn out, she wasn’t looking forward to trekking into town.
As she neared the metal structure, something moved inside, and Buddy took off at a run. His excited barking reached her, and she nudged Red into a trot. Her heart skipped a beat when she recognized the man who stepped into the sunlight. Chance. She’d all but given up on him. He hadn’t returned any of her calls. Her traitorous heart galloped at the sight of him, a stupid grin spread across her face and she laughed like a giddy girl on her first date.
He shaded his eyes and raised his hand in a rather tentative wave. She resisted the urge to wave madly back at him as she reined Red to a walk and then stopped the big horse several yards away. After dismounting, she did her best to ignore her emotions and the man creating havoc with her pulse rate.
“Gee, fancy meeting you here.” She was so proud of herself. Just a hint of sarcasm and no breathy sigh.
He stepped closer and reached out, but she wasn’t sure whether he meant to touch her or take the reins. “Cass, we should—what the hell?” He grabbed her arm, his hand gentle despite the urgency in his grip. “What happened?”
She tugged her arm, but his fingers didn’t relinquish their hold. “I had a fight with a string of barbed wire. I won.”