Page 6 of Cowboy Jeopardy

Grinning, he opened the door to the storage building and grabbed the ladder. He’d placed shingles on the roof of the building needing repairs weeks ago. Now, he had a couple of hours to devote to the task. Dylan propped the ladder against the building and climbed to where he’d left supplies. The whole roof could stand to be replaced, but patching would have to do for the time being. He laid out some shingles and grabbed the nail gun.

A scream rang out from the woods.

He whipped around at the sound. His boot slipped from where he stood on the slope of the roof, and he slid toward its edge.

Chapter Three

Dylan’s shirt rodeup as he slid down the roof, exposing his ribcage to the rough shingles. Fire burned as he left flesh behind. He yelled and grabbed for the gutter, stopping his fall. His legs flailed as he tried to find the ladder.

“Whoa, Boss.” Colt held the ladder still. “Want me to fix you a harness?”

“No, I do not.” Dylan glared and moved to the ladder. “I lost my footing is all. Thought I heard someone scream.”

“You did. Eric splashed his brother with cold creek water.” Colt grinned up at him, then sobered just as quickly. “You expecting trouble with the new nanny being here?”

“They won’t find Bigfoot with that noise.” Dylan climbed back to the roof.

“What?”

“Nothing. No, I’m not expecting trouble.” He hoped. “Thanks for coming to my rescue.”

“No problem. It wasn’t but a few feet to the ground. You’d have been fine. I’ll help you with the inside when I’ve finished my other job.” Gravel crunched as the other man sauntered away.

Dylan needed to keep his head in the game, or there would be medical expenses to pay on top of everything else. No more screams or shouts of alarm came from the woods to distract him. Nothing to keep him from the job at hand except his thoughts. Thoughts that settled on the blond woman he’d hired to watch his boys.

Were the men wary of her? Her former gambling debts had created a lot of trouble for the town of Misty Hollow. People had died, including the loan shark who had followed her to town. That was all behind her, right? The Rocking W was a place of second chances. That pertained to those not only with PTSD, but also with addictions. Who was he to turn away one person over another? A concerned father, that’s who. One with a niggling at the edge of his mind that wouldn’t go away.

Dylan glanced toward the woods. Dani and the boys should be heading back this way soon for supper. He could relax then.

~

“Boys, stop.” Dylan would have a fit when he saw his sopping wet boys. “Let’s get out of the water and continue the hunt. We’ll have to head back soon for supper.” Dani needed to help Mrs. White. Feeding all the hands was too much work for one person.

“Okay.” Eric splashed his brother one more time, then climbed from the creek. “We need to find some footprints.”

Dani heaved a sigh. Finally, the boys were back on the original track of finding the fabled creature. “If we follow the creek, we might see evidence in the mud.”

“Bigfoot is too smart for that.” Derrick shot her a look that clearly said she wasn’t too bright. “He’ll be sneakier. Nothing keeps Bigfoot from being caught this long by being stupid.”

And yet the two ten-year-olds thought they could outsmart such a creature, not that Bigfoot actually existed. “Half an hour more, no longer.” She doubted they paid her any attention.

The boys scrambled along the creek, heads down, stopping occasionally to study a scuff. After determining it wasn’t a footprint, they moved on.

Late afternoon shadows deepened. “We should really think about heading back, boys.”

“In a minute. We found something.”

Dani joined them near a boulder. A clear footprint showed in the damp soil. “That’s a gym shoe, guys, not an animal print.”

“Maybe Bigfoot wears shoes now.” Eric glanced up.

“His feet would be much bigger than that. It’s most likely one of the cowboys.”

“They all wear boots.” Derrick shook his head. “It’s a mystery, Dani. One we need to solve.”

“We’re moving on from finding Bigfoot?”Thank you, God.

He nodded. “Dad doesn’t allow people back here. Since we haven’t started those dumb tours, this is a trespasser.”

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