Something Borrowed

Chapter 22

Josh

Bad luck comes in triplicate.

First that rat bastard pawing at his wife. Then the fire. Now this...

"How the hell did this happen?" he growled, glaring at the broken fence. Nearly three sections had been destroyed, the snow muddy and trampled by the herd's mass exodus from the corral. Copper fidgeted beneath him, and he knew the finicky animal was reading his own energy-- anxious. Raising his head, he looked to the horizon, where the sunset was blocked by a roil of dark clouds.

Blizzard. Worst one they'd seen yet this season if his instincts were right, and they were rarely wrong about such things.

"It's my fault," Paul sighed, shaking his head. "This section was looking worn so I put a few of the new guys in charge of fixing it up. I should have checked on it."

"I knew as well as you did that it needed fixing," Josh said, rubbing at his wind-burned face. He'd hoped to have the ranch locked down, all chores delegated evenly, before the storm hit. He wasn't exactly an old man, but he'd lost his taste for hardship. If he could be inside, looking at bad weather through a window with a fire burning at his back, that's what he preferred. Especially after the past two nights. But this kind of catastrophe-- two hundred head of cattle, roaming the plain before a massive storm-- required oversight.

"You can't check up on everything, boss," Paul said with a grimace. "This one's on me."

"Doesn't matter right now who's to blame," Josh said honestly, wheeling Copper around. "I'm going to head out and see if I can get a lead on where they ran to. Hopefully they stayed together. If they scattered it'll take us all night to round them up. You get back to the bunkhouse and get as many men as we can spare to help. Anyone who isn't working on locking the place down. And those men you assigned to fix the fence better be at the top of the list."

"We'll meet you at the bend," Paul said with a nod, referring to the bend in the creek that lay at the far north side of the ranch. From the path of beaten snow, that was the direction the lost herd had headed, at least at the start.

"Half hour," Josh tossed over his shoulder as he kneed Copper into a trot and then a canter, snow and mud kicking up around the horse's legs. His own legs and feet were already going numb with the cold. He'd have to dismount and walk for a while, soon. As much as he loved the rugged beauty of his home, sometimes he wondered what it would be like to live somewhere more temperate. Somewhere he could go the whole year without worrying about his toes falling off or losing two hundred goddamn head of cattle to a blizzard just because some idiot kids didn't feel like doing the work they were paid to perform.

Grumbling under his breath, Josh followed the path of the cattle, cursing when the trail split into three separate branches. The clouds in the distance were getting closer and wind whipped at his coat, snaking icy fingers through every weakness in his clothing. His nose and eyes stung.

It was going to be a long night. He had half a mind to run back to the house and let his family know he probably wouldn't be back until late, but thought better of it. Such an exercise would be a waste of time and Copper's energy, as his urge to return had more to do with his own ridiculous desire to bask for a minute in Amelia's presence than it did with setting her mind at ease. She wouldn't notice his absence. He typically didn't return until well after the house had retired, and had grown skilled at stepping quietly up the stairs and into the bedroom he shared with Amelia, preparing for bed silently so as not to wake her. She was usually asleep, curled up on her side with her back to the door, when he slipped inside and shut the door behind him. She had no reason to wait up, and tonight would be no different. He'd send a runner if this task kept them out into the next day, but hopefully that wouldn't be the case.