My Rowdy Cowboy. (3B Ranch Series) Book 2

21

**** Three days had gone by. The rescue teams searched every nook, every crevice, every little dip, valley and cave. No girls. They found tracks of men, wolves and horses that did not belong to the 3B ranch but they didn't lead anywhere in particular. There had been no cattle stolen in weeks. The local ranchers and Sheriff's office had worked together to keep up a continuous watch no matter how large or small the ranch. There had been a few instances of a lone steer being taken down by wolves with the huge paw prints, but none being rustled. That was enough however, to keep the sheriff's office, ranchers and ranch hands alert.

* * *

They had been so close. That damn Blanton Sr had ruined everything. They had gotten him out of the way and when Lillie had turned to him in her grief, he had convinced her to make it legal, for the sake of the children of course. He could still remember the look on the ranch forman's face when he and Lillie had announced their elopement. Ha! It had been worth the effort of keeping his hands to himself and not touching Blanton's pretty little girls. He'd had it made till the middle one had started making a scene when he wanted to take her out riding. Little witch. If that wasn't enough, he found out that Blanton Sr. had left the ranch to his kids; Brett Jr, Beau and Bobbi - the 3 B's. Lillie had no legal right to sign anything over to him. Nothing he had tried broke the will and then Lillie began to listen to the girls and no longer made them go with him.

Females of all ages stood in line to be with him! He had married five women after their husbands had met with deadly "accidents." He had been understanding, supportive and sympathetic. He had helped them through all the legalities of their husband's wills and inheritances. Of course they hadn't realized how much he had helped himself to their lands, homes, accounts and port folios. Unfortunately of course, they too always met with "accidents" or they had just been so sad and depressed over the death of their former husbands, they just couldn't go on. Or, it was unfair to Rodriguez to know that he was not first in their hearts.

That is until Lillie. Turns out, she was made of stronger stuff than he had thought. She had much more intelligence and support than his four prior wives, and it all fell apart. Rustling the cattle had helped make up some of what he should have had. His lovely little canine pets helped keep the locals away from their hiding spots. Until Beau Blanton retired from the rodeo and took charge of the ranch. That was when it all began falling apart.

If that wasn't bad enough, Ramone had killed the ranch hand and the girls had been kidnapped. What else could go wrong? How could he salvage this mess and stay out of prison?

* * *

While the girls had been given food, and water and shared a blanket on the ground, their physical and emotional strength was lagging. They were worried about their hero. Ava had been without her medication for three days and she was in pain most of the time. One of the gang members had offered what he said was a pain killer but she had refused, not trusting the source.

The third day after the girls were taken, Juan Rodriguez had arrived and the camp was in an uproar. He was furious that the girls had been taken, that they were there in the camp, and they weren't even blindfolded or bound. They were witnesses, they had been held for three days and could identify most if not all of the gang. Getting rid of Blanton's ranch hand was one thing....getting rid of his daughters....well, that was something entirely different.

Kidnapping and killing two kids, would have dire consequences. They'd never see the light of day again, and that was only if law enforcement got hold of them first. If Blanton got his hands on them....he shuddered. That was too terrifying to think about.

Besides, he had to admit that Ava was in fact his biological child. He had refused her at birth because of her disability. She was imperfect....couldn't be his, he had convinced himself that Lillie had cheated on him, put a blemish on his name, on his manhood. He didn't want to lay claim on her but then again, she did after all belong to him, and Blanton had taken her as his own daughter. Yeah! Blanton had taken something of his first....Ramone and José had just taken it back. He didn't want her but, that was beside the point. Then there was the other girl too. He rubbed his eyes snd sighed. It just kept getting more complicated.