Free A Little Harmless Ride by Melissa Schroeder

side from his ranch. Well, the second one I found was.”
    “ There was a second one?”
    Eli nodded. “If he were smarter, I would say that it was a diversion, but we both know Sam isn’t that bright.”
    Jerry chuckled. “Yeah. Brains sort of missed the train for both of them. I’ll talk to you tomorrow, boss.”
    He watched the old man walk away. He’d been with Joe longer than anyone and Eli knew he could trust him. But, unfortunately, he was about the only one. There were a lot of new faces around the place and while he knew many of them, he didn’t know how far he could trust them.
    With a sigh, he knew he had to call Dillon and see what he had dug up and now he would have to have a background check on everyone working there.
    At least it might keep his mind busy and off Crysta—but he knew that was a lie. At least it might help a little. It would also give him an excuse to pop on over to Oahu and everything could get back to normal.
    As he made his way up the stairs, he was stopped by a shout. Danny Aiona was riding into the yard along with Freddy, another hand.
    “ Boss, we have a problem,” Danny said, barely waiting for his horse to come to a halt before dismounting.
    “ Slow, down Aiona,” Eli said. He noticed Jerry was already making his way over too, a grim expression on his face.
    “ We got some cattle missing, boss.”
    Jerry sighed and gave Eli a look.
    “ Damn, and I thought I’d have an early night of it. Let’s call it in.”
    “ And you need to go tell your partner,” Jerry said.
    “ Yeah. You call, I’ll tell her.”
    He just hoped she would ignore what happened earlier and focus on the present. Knowing Crysta, she would and for some reason, that pissed him off. He brushed those thoughts away and made his way into the house. Rustling wasn’t usually a problem, but when it happened, there was usually an agenda.
    He had to go tell his partner her family apparently hated her enough to steal from her.
    The day just kept getting better and better.
    * * * *
    Hours later, they were sitting in the kitchen and Eli wanted to beat the hell out of the Kaheakus. It had more to do with Crysta than the ranch. She looked washed out, beaten. He knew it wouldn’t be long before she was back up fighting, but knowing someone you’re blood related to pulled this shit, well, it had to suck.
    “ Will they find the cattle?”
    He nodded. “I bet they’ll be on our land before we know it. That or they’ll claim they came over of their own free will.”
    “ Jerks.”
    “ Not much we can do about it; although, I am pretty sure someone cut that line. Looked like it.”
    She sighed and rose out of her chair. “It’s been a long day. I’m off to bed.”
    “ Are you going to tell your father about this?”
    “ Yeah. No avoiding it this time. Not that he has to be kept up with everything I am doing, but I think I should tell him about this. Hopefully, he won’t feel the need to pop over on an unannounced visit.”
    “ Don’t you want to see him?”
    “ Not if he comes over pissed off. Then he will be all about making Sam cry. While it would be entertaining, it could kill the man. He’s barely hanging on by a thread as it is.”
    Eli nodded. He watched her turn away and wanted to say something. Do something. She looked so sad.
    “ Hey, Crysta.”
    She looked back at him again. “You shouldn’t let it get to you. Sam’s a bastard to everyone. Even his own son.”
    She gave him a small, tired smile. “Thanks.”
    He watched her walk around the corner and disappear upstairs.
    It was a sad day for a man when that little, pathetic smile was more of a turn on than a naked woman…unless it was that woman naked.
    He really needed a trip to Rough ‘n Ready.
     
     
     
     
     

Chapter Nine
     
     
    Several days later, Crysta was walking down the aisle at the grocery store not any happier with the situation. Her father had tried to insist on traveling over and missing his upcoming appointment at