Through The Fire by Belle Calhoune

Author:Belle Calhoune [Calhoune, Belle]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Spark Publishing Studio
Published: 2018-03-09T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

Sierra didn’t sleep a wink all night. She tossed and turned for a couple hours, ending up pacing the length of her room until dawn, exhausting herself in the process. Over and over again she replayed the scene from last night, wishing that she could turn back the clock and handle the situation differently. Try as she might, she couldn’t think of any easy way that she could’ve broken the news to Caleb. She’d owed Caleb the unvarnished truth and that’s exactly what she’d given him. In turn he’d interpreted the truth as her being deceitful and manipulative.

By morning she was delirious with fatigue and suffering from a raging headache. Even though she was bone-tired, she couldn’t afford to sleep in. Today she was overseeing the branding and marking of a herd of new cattle they’d received from an operation out in Wyoming. As her grandmother had always said, it was important to establish ownership of the cattle as soon as possible so that the cattle weren’t vulnerable to rustlers. Regardless of the regulations handed down by the cattlemen’s stock association, Sierra knew from experience that rustlers always found new and innovative ways of burning off or otherwise altering brands. Sierra was determined not to let anything like that happen under her watch, particularly when her gut instinct was warning her that someone was out there waiting to strike out again at the Diamond Lil.

Before heading out to the Diamond Lil to catch a glimpse of Morning Star and Twinkle, she planned on grabbing something hot and hearty for breakfast. She was anxious to see how the new mama and baby were doing this morning. After checking in on the horses she’d head towards the southern pasture where the new herd of cattle was corralled and begin the branding process.

Upon entering the kitchen she mumbled a sleepy good morning to Minnie and plopped down on one of the old but comfortable chairs that had been a permanent fixture in the kitchen for as long as she could remember. She helped herself to a plate full of eggs, grits and bacon, knowing that she would need all of her strength for the full day that awaited her at the ranch. Some days things were so hectic at the ranch that the crew never broke for lunch, continuing to work right through til sundown.

“Hmmph! Everyone around here is in a fine mood this morning,” Minnie announced with a saucy twist to her lips. “Your brother was marching himself around here this morning in a fine state, let me tell you. And your daddy flew out of here a little while ago like his feet was on fire. And now here you are with your drawers in a twist.” Minnie shook her head and continued sponging down the stove. “Don’t make no kind of sense.”

“My mood is fine, Minnie,” Sierra said as she filled her mouth with eggs, then swallowed. “I’m just a little tired, that’s all.”

“Seems to me you might have

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