The Maverick Returns by Roz Denny Fox

Author:Roz Denny Fox
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2012-06-24T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eight

The next few days marched past in four-four time. Willow worked on painting the house while Coop finished the fence. One afternoon, he mentioned needing Liquamycin to vaccinate the herd.

“Is that really necessary? How costly would that be?”

“I told you it’s needed to sell them. I’ll do it myself and save getting a vet out here. That’s where the biggest cost would be.”

“That’s nice of you, Coop. But isn’t it too much work?”

“I’m fine with it, Willow.”

The morning Coop decided to go into town after the vaccine, he stopped at the house first. Willow was already painting. She’d started on the shady side of the house as it’d been so hot. Coop thought she looked cute in shorts and her too-big gloves. With her blond hair tied up in loopy braids, she reminded him a little of Daisy Duke.

She bobbed her head in time to music blaring from the radio, and Lily sat on a blanket near the radio, too. He was glad she liked his gift, and made a mental note to stock up on batteries. Still, the idea of leaving her on the ranch alone gave him pause. “Hey, I’m going into town. Do you need anything?”

Willow hadn’t seen him, and jumped when he spoke behind her.

“I did a count, and over half your herd aren’t branded,” he added. “I don’t want you to get cheated at market. Counting brands is the only way to safeguard against that. But I can’t find a branding iron in the barn or shed. You couldn’t have sold something so specific. Do you know where the irons might be?”

“The yearlings were born about the time Tate died. Bart didn’t come to the ranch, but he sent a vet to give the calves something Bart called their five-in-one shots. None of them were branded, but those wouldn’t represent half my herd. Steers over a year old, Tate should have branded.”

Big surprise, Coop thought. Another job Tate had skipped. “Tate was all about show and no substance. If he lacked the skill to prove he was the best at anything, he didn’t tackle the job, or he lied to cover up his inadequacies. He fooled a lot of people,” Coop muttered. It still grated to think Willow hadn’t seen through the lazy bum.

She stood there, paint dripping from her brush, her blue eyes suddenly hard. “I’m sorry another one of my problems has been dropped in your lap, Cooper.”

He slashed a hand through the air. “Do you have a registered brand?”

“Wouldn’t my brand be what’s on the older cattle? Now what’s wrong?” she demanded as Coop pursed his lips. “You look like you ate a lemon.”

“Your older cows have the Bar W, Bart Walker’s brand. Considering all the claims Sully’s filed against him for rustling, I’m not keen to try and sell Bar W cows at a major market.”

Willow drew in a sharp breath, then shifted her gaze to her daughter, rocking on her blanket. “Lilybelle and I are Walkers,” she said emphatically. “If you’ll brand my cattle, I will sell them at market.

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