DarkPrairieFire Read Free Page A

Just wanted to let you know.”
    “Thank you,” I snapped, swinging my knees into motion, unwilling to hold up my trip to the barn with any venting.
    Christ. What else can go wrong today?
    I knew I wasn't in for good news from the minute I set foot in the barn. Jimmy leaned against the rim of an old cement trough, his rumpled cap balled up in one fist at his side.
    “Spill it, man. What's going on now?” I asked. Maybe if I got it over with fast, it wouldn't be so bad...
    I wanted my bad news to come in a single blow like a bullet. Not in spades.
    “Nothing good, I'm afraid. Combine had a blowout this morning when we fired it up. We think it might be the cylinder head. Either way, we're gonna have to get a mechanic out here pronto, or else the wheat harvest isn't gonna get done this year.”
    “At least it's still early,” I said, more for my benefit than his. “What about the cost?”
    “Hell, lady, the labor alone's gonna be a small fortune. This ain't like fixing up a Ford pickup.” He lifted his arm, running his fingers roughly through his short beard.
    “Now, the parts...that's where we can save some dough. Your Pa picked up a nice catch of machine parts a few years back, when old man McClatchy got out of the repair business and had a big sale.”
    I tapped my foot impatiently. It sounded like good news, but I sensed him holding something back.
    “Go on.”
    “Well, they're up in the loft in this building. Trouble is, it's going to take some real work digging them out. Here...just follow me. You'll see what I mean.”
    Sighing, I followed him into the barn. Jimmy ducked ahead of me.
    I watched his feet disappear up the steep ladder leading to the barn's upper floor. I couldn't remember the last time I'd gone up there – certainly not since I was a little girl.
    I hadn't gotten the time to explore it since I arrived. Sticking my head up near his made for a tight fit.
    When he turned on the small LED flashlight he was holding, I almost lost my balance, unnerved by his mad grin. I slapped him playfully on the shoulder.
    “You ought to know better! Now, what did you want to show me?”
    “Just trying to lighten the mood. Take a good look around, Cat.” The bright light wagged through the darkness, revealing a pathway so small it reminded me a library with its shelves positioned much too close together.
    I gasped. Crates, boxes, and uneven objects draped with silky coverings were piled as high as the eye could see.
    “Yeah. I thought as much,” he whispered, switching the flashlight off.
    He let me descend first, and it was just as well. I needed some air after seeing the mess. Badly.
    “Are you sure they're up there?” I asked. He hadn't let me down before, and I'd never heard a single complaint from my Pa in all of Jimmy's years as a ranch manager.
    But this...I had to be sure.
    “Sure enough. If he'd sold off those spares, I would've known about it.” He watched me cover my forehead with my sweaty palm. “Only trouble is, like you've already figured, someone's got to go up there and dig that stuff out.”
    Yeah, someone. We both know that someone is me. I don't know what's up there, but I do know it's more than old tools and junk.
    Pa hid the valuables in all that junk somewhere. As much as I trust these guys, I can't have any old employee up there digging into it. At least, not without my supervision.
    “I'll go,” I said at last. “Any chance one of those younger guys can come up with me?”
    Jimmy's face tightened, and he looked at his phone. He'd just read a new message.
    “Don't think it would be good to pull them away right now. Damned bull's gone halfway into Hartz property. Now, we'll have get Ethan's guys involved to get that bastard back here.”
    Excitement prickled its way through me when I heard the name. I nodded coolly to him.
    The last thing I needed was to betray my feelings about our neighbor to Jimmy.
    “Maybe I'll pay him a visit myself. The sooner we get that bull home