Silk and Spurs by Cheyenne McCray Page A

close the door and she pulled it shut behind her.
    She closed her eyes for a moment and drew in a deep breath before heading to the kitchen for that drink of water but wishing she was getting something a little stronger waiting for her.
    •  •  •
    Zane’s jaws ached from clenching his teeth so tightly while he drove toward the area where Jessie said she’d been shot at. Wyatt followed in his own truck, eating Zane’s dust.
    He didn’t find the hunters in that vicinity so he kept driving toward the Jones’ Mesa area. Further down the road, where he’d told them they could go, he found the hunters’ old red truck. It was parked in the shade of a couple of oaks.
    He pulled his truck up alongside the vehicle and Wyatt parked beside him. When he got out of his truck, he shut the door with a solid thunk then met Wyatt by the hunters’ truck.  
    Wyatt put his hand on the vehicle’s hood. “It’s warm.”
    Zane started walking. “Let’s find them.”
    It took some time to find the hunters, but they eventually came up on them. The pair was taking a break and sitting on the edge of the mesa with binoculars focused on the bottom of a canyon. Joe was perched on a log and Bud on a big rock, their rifles propped up nearby.
    Zane remembered that the men’s names were Joe and Bud. He had a hard time reining in his temper. For all he knew it could have been some other hunters on his land—only none had been spotted that he knew of.
    Both men stood. “How are you doing?” Bud reached out and shook Zane’s hand and then Wyatt’s. “I’m Bud,” he said to Wyatt then gestured to his friend. “This here is Joe.”
    Wyatt gave them each a nod and hooked his thumbs in his belt loops.
    “You look all riled up about something,” Bud said as he studied Zane.
    “You could say that.” Zane worked to keep his tone even. “Where have you been hunting today?”
    “Just a little east of here.” Bud pointed in the opposite direction of where someone had been shooting at Jessie.
    “Have you been near the road I saw you on?” Zane inclined his head toward that area.
    Bud frowned and shook his head. “Early this morning before sunup, on the way in here, but since then not anywhere close to it.”
    Joe had his hands in his back pockets as he looked from Zane to Wyatt and back. “What’s going on?”
    “A woman was shot at just a ways down the road, just east of here.” Zane looked at the men as he spoke, looking for some clue in their expressions.
    They both looked surprised and Joe frowned. “We’ve stayed near Jones’ Mesa like you told us,” Bud said. “Haven’t been anywhere near the area you’re talking about.”
    “We did hear four to five shots,” Joe said.
    “Is the woman all right?” Bud asked.
    Wyatt pushed his hat up with his finger. “Just scared and her car was shot up.”
    “Damn,” Joe said. “That would scare the shit out of me, too.”
    Zane studied them. “Have you seen any other hunters around?”
    Both men shook their heads. “No one since we’ve arrived,” Bud said.
    “If you see anything, let me know.” Zane reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. He opened it and handed each one a business card with the ranch name and Bar C brand on it. “That’s my cell number.”
    Bud gave a nod. “Sure thing.”
    “Don’t like the idea of someone getting shot at.” Joe looked at Bud. “Dangerous to be around a bunch of careless idiots.”
    “Sure it wasn’t something like drug runners?” Bud gestured toward the hills. “They come through these parts sometimes, don’t they? I’ve heard that they come across and hike the bottoms of the canyons under cover.”
    “Not ruling out anything.” Zane touched his finger to his hat. “Thanks for your time, boys.”
    “We’ll be sure to give you a call if we see anything,” Joe said.
    When they were a good ways away, Wyatt spoke. “Do you believe them?”
    Zane glanced at his brother. “Yeah. I do.”
    Wyatt said as