Winds of Wyoming (A Kate Neilson Novel) by Rebecca Carey Lyles

the radio from his belt and showed his mom. “I found dad’s in the storeroom.” He punched the button. “Clint, would you cut out the bossman bit?”
    “Yeah, sure. Hey, we’ve got a problem down here. I was riding fence at the bison pasture and came across a dead cow.”
    Mike groaned. “You positive she’s dead?”
    “As positive as I am that the sun rises in the east. Could a been shot. But we can’t be certain until we take a closer look. She’s about twenty yards from the fence.”
    “I’ll be right there.” He replaced the radio, shaking his head. “I don’t get it. A slashed fence yesterday and a dead cow today. Is it just coincidence, or …” He turned to go. “I’d better get down to the Battle Creek pasture.”
    “Wait.” Laura grabbed his arm. “Aren’t you taking Kate with you?”
    He looked at Kate. “Sorry. Circumstances changed. You’re welcome to ride along. Just can’t guarantee what we’ll find when we get there.”
    “I’d like to go, unless you think another time would be better.” Why did her heart have to flip out every time he glanced her way?
    Laura patted his back. “I think it would be nice for you to have someone to visit with on the way. Do you need to borrow my SUV?”
    “Rusty and I got Old Blue running again last night.”
    Kate had to ask. “Who or what is Old Blue?”
    Laura laughed. “That’s the name Dan gave his pickup. Mike had a little adventure with it yesterday.” She winked. “I’m sure he’ll be glad to tell you all about it.”
    Mike narrowed his eyes. “Yeah, right.” He motioned to Kate. “We’d better get a move on. Clint is waiting.”
    ***
    Mike opened the passenger door for Kate. The bottom half of it looked like it had been slugged by a giant fist.
    Kate touched the pickup’s faded hood. “So this is Old Blue.”
    “Yeah, the truck that keeps on trucking. It gained a few more dents and scrapes yesterday, plus a broken window and mirror on the driver’s side.”
    He stared at the glass that littered the vinyl bench seat. Not exactly the best time for a ride-along. Thank you, Mom. But the truth was, it was his idea to show off his bison to the new girl on the block, and this is what he got, rotten timing included.
    Using his hat rim, he swept the shards onto the floor of the truck. “Better to stomp on glass than sit on it. I’ll clean up the mess later.” He straightened, shaking slivers from the hat. “I’d get the door for you, but the other side is jammed, which is crazy. You’d think the door that got hit would be the inoperable one.” He plopped his hat on his head. Anyway, if you don’t mind, I’ll get in first—or, I could crawl through the driver’s side window.”
    “You don’t need to do that.”
    He got in and maneuvered behind the steering wheel.
    Kate followed, pulling the door shut.
    Mike started the engine. “You can close the window, if it’s too windy for you.”
    “No, thanks. I like to smell the fresh air.”
    Mike turned onto the same dirt road he’d driven and walked the day before. “There’s no window on this side, so raising yours wouldn’t make much difference, anyway.”
    He drove as fast as he dared, staring into the questions that swirled through his mind. Was it only yesterday he’d found the gap in the fence? What was going on? Who would shoot an animal in the middle of a fenced pasture? Why? And why a single cow? If it wasn’t a gunshot, how did she die?
    But if someone did shoot the bison, why did they do it? Would he have to prove wrongful or malicious intent to their insurance company? Should he take pictures? He hadn’t brought a camera. Should he call the vet—or the sheriff? Or both? He rubbed his chin and stared unseeing at the road. So many questions, and their guest season hadn’t even started. How would they get through the summer without Dad?
    He instinctively knew prayer was the key to the WP’s survival. He also knew he had to handle the situation himself, with