September's Switch by Mimi Milan

Author:Mimi Milan [Milan, Mimi]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Eaton House
Published: 2019-09-23T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 5

Hank squatted down beside the body. Of all the things he had to deal with today, this was definitely not one of them. He sighed. What was Billy doing in this place anyway? Better question, what was he doing riding alone? The youngest—and the slowest draw—of the Dunn brothers, he never traveled anywhere without his three older brothers. This right here was surely the reason why. A scrawny hothead with a big mouth, Billy Dunn was the sort of fellow meant to find himself on the wrong side of a gun… or in a hangman’s noose. In this case, it looked like the former won out. The man had a hole in his head that indicated he’d been shot at point blank range.

Hank shook his head. For as much as he wanted to know the how’s and why’s, the bigger mystery to solve was the “who.” Who in the world shot Billy Dunn? He needed to find out… and soon. Chances were good that big brothers Dunn would come looking for Billy, and the last thing he needed was for them to find him only to think Hank had a hand in his killing.

Hank finally stood. “Someone better notify the sheriff.”

“Already done, boss.” Ralph thumbed back behind him. “I sent Rodrigo off at the same time I came to tell you.”

“How long ago was that?”

“Not but maybe an hour.”

Hank nodded. “Alright then. The sheriff should be out any time now. Could you do me a favor and wait here for him? I need to get back on down to the house and check on things.”

“Aw, I’m sure your new missus has things under control. Gotta’ say, she’s a mighty pretty thing, boss.”

Hank was one part flattered and two parts annoyed. He knew Ralph’s comment wasn’t meant to cause any harm—and any man would be a fool to not notice that Ana was indeed beautiful. He simply didn’t like the idea of anyone even looking at her, though. Maybe it went back to his childhood days of his mother selling herself—or perhaps it was an ugly reminder that he owned a business that coerced women to do so just to get by in life. Either way, he knew the problem laid with him and not the old man who had come on as a ranch hand only six months prior and proved himself a harder worker than even the young bucks. Most of them would waste away their nights—and pay—in a saloon; their days sleeping off their drink in the bunkhouse. Not Ralph, though. That was a man who showed that he understood the value of hard work.

Hank offered his hand. Ralph accepted it and they shook.

“Thank you,” he said. “And thanks for being an even better foreman than I asked for. I know the pay isn’t nearly as good as some of the jobs out there that you could be doing instead, but you’ve got both my respect and admiration. There’s sure to be a Christmas bonus this year.”

Ralph beamed.

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