Beth Cornelison - Rancher's Covert Christmas

“Now when they come around that hill with the herd, they’ll drive ’em right up here. Once they’re all inside the fence, you take that post over there—” Roy pointed to the last place the fence was standing “—and I’ll start driving in the new posts.”

“Got it.” She sniffed the air discreetly, more certain now that she smelled liquor on the man’s breath. Michael had told her, when giving her an overview of the state of the ranch, that Roy had recently done a stint in a rehab center. She didn’t want to stick her nose where it didn’t belong, but she wondered if she should let Michael know she suspected Roy had been drinking.

“Now when the cows come through, you’ll need to stay way back. You don’t wanna get trampled.”

Her pulse jumped, and she gave him a nervous laugh. “Uh, no. Certainly not!”

Roy glanced up from his manipulation of the barbed wire with a pair of long-nosed pliers. “The boys will do their best to steer ’em straight in, but you can never predict when a cow will veer off track.”

“Thanks for the heads-up.”

A whoop sounded behind her, and she turned to see Josh headed toward them, the first of the herd charging up the hill.

“Stand clear!” Roy gave her a gentle push, backing her away from the gap in the fence.

She scuttled away, her heart racing with the thrill of seeing the beasts beating a path toward her. The ground shook, and the low bleats and moos escalated the din of thundering hooves and the roar of the ATV engine as Michael guided the left flank.

Erin scanned the terrain, searching for Zane. He and Brady were bringing up the rear with the dogs racing along beside the cattle, tongues lolling. As he neared, Zane cast a glance her way. She smiled and gave him a thumbs-up.

But instead of returning a grin, his face darkened, and he shouted, “Erin, look out!”

She jerked her head around in time to see one of the cows at the edge of the herd veering away from the others. The cow was running straight at her.

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