When All My Dreams Come True (13 page)

Mack snorted, making Bobbie look up and realize Jace stopped to wait for her.

He moved his horse next to her. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure.”

“Do you at least believe there is a God?”

“Yes,” she said without hesitation. “I believe there’s a God out there somewhere. My mother used to talk about Him. But I don’t know that I would put my entire trust in Him like you and Annie do.”

“Why not? Is it because your mother died?”

She paused. First her mama, then her daddy. “That may have something to do with it, I guess.” Bitterness rose up in her chest, and she swallowed hard before she could force the next words from her dry throat. “I can’t think of one good thing God has done for me, which makes me wonder if He really cares. Besides, I’ve done fine on my own without Him.” She shrugged. “I don’t know for sure, Jace, but for some reason, I’m holding back when it comes to trusting Him, and until I know what that reason is, I don’t plan to change.”

Silence reigned for a time as she wrestled with her anger and disappointment. How could she come to any definite conclusion until she knew more about this God that Jace and Annie held in such high regard? She knew of only one way to find out more.

“Is there a spare Bible lying around the house, Jace? I think I’d like to do a little reading.”

“I’m sure either Annie or I could dig one up for you.”

She heard the smile in his voice and grinned in the darkness. The remainder of the ride home was silent as his question returned her thoughts to the Bible study. She had heard a lot of interesting ideas
from the others, and she had every intention of looking into each one of them.

Once they reached the ranch, they saw Dew’s taut figure outlined in the lamplight flowing from the open barn door.

“Jace,” Dew called out.

Something in his voice sent a shiver down her spine.

   TEN   

J
ace reined in his horse, certain he didn’t want to hear what his foreman had to say.

“You’ve been sent another message.” Dew strode toward them, the lantern in his hand shaking along with the fury in his voice. “Someone left a cow tied to the bridge. Its hide’s been branded.” Dew’s voice lowered once he reached Jace’s side. “I’m thinking you were meant to find it on your way home, but I found it first and moved it out of the way.”

Jace clenched his jaw. “Any more missing?”

“That’s all I saw at first. I rode around a bit hoping to run into whoever did it.” Dew shrugged. “I never saw or heard a thing, but I did find more hoofprints. Too dark to tell if they’ve been rustled.”

Dew’s eyes flashed toward Bobbie, and Jace bit back his response. He’d forgotten about her. “Take Bobbie to the house, Dew. Then meet me in my office.”

Bobbie dismounted. “I need to put Mack up for the night.”

“I’ll do it. You go with Dew.”

For once, she didn’t argue. He knew his clipped commands had done nothing to ease Bobbie’s frustration, but he didn’t have time nor was he in the frame of mind to ease her irritation. Tension curled his hand into a fist.

If you’re fighting, you’re not thinking
.

His father’s words came back to him like a flash of light.
Maybe if you’d have fought, Dad, you’d still be alive
. His fingers uncurled, and he took a deep breath.

“All right, Dad.” He led the horses into the barn. “So now what do I do?” Unable to face his foreman yet, Jace dropped onto a bench and cradled his face in his hands.

Dew sat in a chair waiting for him when Jace walked into the office. “Pretty gutsy fella, don’t ya think, Jace? I mean, he was almost in your front yard. So now what?”

Jace had spent some time in prayer while stabling the horses and felt much more calm. “At first light, we’ll take another look around. Then I’ll go talk to the sheriff again. Whoever is doing this is getting bolder. It just may lead to their first mistake.” He reached for a pearl-handled letter opener and tapped the desk. “Who’s on watch tonight?”

“Coop. He headed for the hills before nightfall—said he wanted to get close to the cattle before it got too dark.”

Jace nodded. “Tell him I want to talk to him before we head out in the morning.”

After Dew left, Jace sat in silence and thought about the watches he’d set up. Did they do any good? One man couldn’t cover all of his territory. He needed more men. Bobbie’s face popped into his mind unbidden.

He ran through the conversation they had on the way home, especially the fact that she didn’t trust God. Trusting God didn’t come easily. He could attest to that. He’d struggled with it since his parents were killed. But his parents left behind a wonderful model, and he was determined to follow their example. Not only that, but now he needed to be an example to Bobbie. He blew out his breath in a gust. Too many problems. His mind went back to the stolen cows.

The cattle thief seemed to know his every move. His thoughts ran over each of his neighbors. Could one of them be capable of this crime? He and his father had been friends with most of them
for years. There was only one he didn’t know well, Lyle Phipps, and he kept mostly to himself. Jace’s chair squeaked as he sat back and rested his chin on his fist. He’d have to ask Morgan about Lyle in the morning. Then he’d have to start making plans for an early cattle drive. If he wanted any cattle left or the money he could get for them, he’d have to get them to Pueblo in a hurry or face the possibility of losing everything.

   ELEVEN   

B
obbie sat on the porch, her feet propped on the wooden barrel Annie used to catch water for her flowers. Two weeks had passed since she and Jace returned from the Bible study to find more of his cows gone. They spent most of their time riding around the ranch checking on the cattle. Because of the long hours and the tension of the situation, Jace started giving each of his ranch hands a few hours off once in a while. Sitting in a chair and taking a break from the workload was a wonderful change.