The Only Way Out - Book Two of the Western Girls Trilogy

Chapter 9

Monroe had been scouting out ahead of the herd. There was a small stream they would be crossing before evening but it was shallow and wouldn't be any trouble. And it would be nice to have fresh water after their last stop where the only water available had been a muddy watering hole that had resulted in Carter becoming sick after drinking from it.

Once he knew where they would be camping for the night, he rode back around the herd, checking on the men on his way. Carter and Grady seemed fine and didn't report any issues with the herd, so he moved on to check on Lewis and Landry.

"We lost a steer," Landry said. "I think it may have been a cougar."

"When?" Monroe asked.

"Must have been sometime early this morning. We found the carcass, half eaten, about thirty yards away from the herd."

"You didn't think you should have mentioned that at breakfast?" Monroe asked.

"Oh, well I thought if the animal had already been eaten, he probably wouldn't have bothered the herd any further."

Monroe sat atop his horse, just staring at the man for a moment. "Are  you seriously that naive?" he asked. "If it was a cougar, it'll just follow the herd if it thinks it's easy pickings!"

Landry swallowed hard. "Sorry, Mr. Monroe. I didn't think about that."

"If you spot anything, I want you to come notify me immediately!" Monroe snapped. "Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir."

Monroe rode off. He was fuming and began considering whether or not he should send Landry home. The man hadn't made a decent decision since joining the cattle drive, and even riding in the drag position, wasn't much use.

"What's wrong with you?" Morgan asked as he rode past her. She flinched when he turned his horse around and came back to her. Maybe it was too soon to dare question the boss.

"Let me ask you something," he said, riding along beside her. "If you found a dead steer and you thought a cougar had killed it, what would you do?"

"Um," she wondered if this was a trick question. "Well, I guess I'd tell you and find out if you wanted me to hunt it down," she said. "Why? Do we have a cougar problem?"

"No. We have a Landry problem," he muttered.

"Did I miss something?"

"He found a dead steer this morning and didn't bother to tell anyone because he figured the animal was fed and wouldn't follow the herd."

"Oh." she said with a nod. "Is he right?"

"No!" he snapped. Then he took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "No, he's not right and unless it's a cougar with cubs, we're going to have a problem on our hands. I'm going to let Pierce know, and we might have to go back and make sure it's not following us. Let me know if you see anything." he paused for a moment. "Please."

She nodded. "I will." She stared after him as he rode towards the front of the herd in search of Pierce. Had he just said 'please'?

It wasn't long before he returned, flanked by Pierce and they rose past with rifles at the ready. She knew they had decided to take care of things before it got out of hand and she wondered if Landry was going to last the day.

"What's going on?" Turner asked, riding over to her. "What's with the small armory?"

"I guess a cougar took a steer this morning," she said. "Monroe wasn't very happy about it. Well, he was less mad about the steer and more angry that Landry didn't say anything about it."