My Knight

Chapter 21

"You've been awfully quiet; is everything alright Kota?" Ryan's voice breaks me out of my train of thought, I peel my eyes away from Oakley. His large form watches me from the middle of the pasture even as he grazes.

"What?" Ryan lifts his foot onto the bottom rung of the fence, his cowboy hat rides low on his head, shading his eyes from the brutal sun.

"The past few days, you've been stuck with your head in the clouds. Something going down between you and that biker? Ever since he came hauling ass in here, you've been off." I wave my hand at him and turn to stare at Oakley.

"No, things between us have been great; has the grapevine sparked some new juicy drama I didn't get the memo to?" It wouldn't be the first time my name has been connected to that grapevine and its lies. One time I had my ass kicked by little Miss Kennedy, a new girl on the block who thought she was better than sliced bread. It's funny, because I never felt it, or saw proof of that fight. Hell, who am I to care if a little girl wants to pretend she was all billy badass and taught me a lesson, or some shit.

"Besides the fight, people say you were making threats towards Kevin's new boo." I shrug at his statement; I know he's fishing, but that won't get him anything right now.

"I started nothing, I just finished it, you know that's how I roll. What are your plans for the day?"

"The cattle need to be rotated; Devin and Scotty are coming along for the haul, it'll be a few days before we're back. Is your Dad back yet?" I shake my head, rubbing my face with a sigh. That's another thing I've been handed to deal with. Dad just vanished a few days ago. I've called, and he answers, every time I ask him what the hell he's up to he says don't worry about it, and hangs up. That's getting on my fucking nerve.

"Not yet; he'll be gone a few more days." Maybe I don't really know. If he's still MIA by Monday, I will hunt his ass down and drag him back here. The man has never tried to pull this before; I'm left hanging off the deep end at the moment.

"Why do both of you have to be difficult?" I snort at his words, scratching my head before I replace my cowboy hat; this sudden heat wave is killing me. It's supposed to be cooling down within the next week. Some schmuck lied to us, yet again. What a surprise?

"We share blood; it's in our nature. Has Jason settled into his post?" Jason is the leader for our second security patrol. He's a good man and great Marine, I know the ranch's security will be taken care of.

"Yeah, he has had no troubles. Said he's been studying the maps." I chuckle and give a nod. A man that had previously signed up for the job had to bail out. For the best, I'm sure; the man unnerved me, he was a bit too daft.

"That fits the bill; where are Tommy and Jolene? I need them helping unload square bales." Once again, it's that time of the month to get our deliveries.

"Jolene had to take Tommy into town; he drove a nail through his hand. I'm not sure how long it'll be before they are back." I shake my head and pinch the bridge of my nose; today is hell and it's only ten in the morning.

"Alright, I'll call them shortly and see what's up with that. I'll be hanging close to the house today, I have horses to work. Do you need anything else?" I look down at him from my perch on the fence, I'm exhausted with the day.

"When is Sam due back?" I chuckle and shake my head at the man; he's been chasing her skirt for years. It's amusing to watch her blush and turn him down; he continues to chase after the woman.

"She's coming out tomorrow; Oakley needs to be fixed, vetted and what have you. Does she need to look over anything else?" He shakes his head and stares into the pasture.