Ambush Before Sunrise: Bonus Story (Cardwell Ranch Book12; Montana Legacy

for some...high jinks.”
WYATT HAD BEEN hopeful that Patty was wrong and T.D. would give up on trying to stop Jinx’s cattle drive. He should have known better. T.D. was at loose ends after the breakup. One day he was determined to get her back; the next he just wanted half the ranch so he could get on with his life.
Going up into the mountains after Jinx and her herd, though, was just plain crazy. Nothing good could come of that. Someone could get killed. Wasn’t that what Patty was hoping? The reminder sent a chill through him. That he would even consider her request... Was he so desperate for anything that Patty offered that he’d even consider it?
Once they reached Travis’s trailer, they consumed more beer and listened to T.D.’s account of what had happened earlier tonight, first at Patty’s, then out at the ranch with Jinx. Wyatt watched as T.D. worked himself up for tomorrow. Just as Patty had said, the cowboy was talking about chasing after the herd and Jinx as they headed for the high country and doing anything he could to ruin her life.
“It’s time I showed Jinx what was what,” T.D. blustered, fueled by the booze and the anger he had going.
“Come on, T.D., what’s the point in going all the way up there after her?” Travis argued. “Sounds like it could get us all killed or thrown into jail and for what? Just to mess with your ex-wife?”
T.D. swore. “She’s not my ex yet. I need to show her that I mean business. And up in the mountains, the sheriff won’t be watching me like a hawk. That old fart is out to get me because of her.”
Wyatt had to ask, “You got a plan?” He still held out hope that all this was just the booze talking. Maybe by morning, T.D. would be so hungover he’d have changed his mind. The thought both relieved him and upset him. He hated to think how it would disappoint Patty. Wyatt couldn’t stand the thought of her thinking less of him.
T.D. grinned. “You know how dangerous a cattle drive can be. Accidents happen. And let’s face it. Jinx is due for some bad luck the way I see it. She can’t just toss me out without a dime. Before I’m through with her, she’ll be begging me to take half the ranch. Maybe more. If something were to happen to her... Well, we’re still legally married. That entire ranch could be mine...if my wife should meet with one of those accidents.”
“I don’t like the sound of this.”
“Damn it, Travis,” T.D. snapped. “Stop your whining. You don’t want to come with us? Fine. Stay here and work at your old man’s hardware store. Or you could tell him that you have a cattle drive to go to and won’t be back for a few days.”
“You’re going to get me fired, T.D.”
“Quit. Once I get the ranch, I can offer you a good-paying job and you won’t have to put up with your old man ever again. How does that sound? You, too, Wyatt.”
Wyatt couldn’t imagine anything worse than working for T.D. “Sounds great,” he said, which seemed to be what the cowboy needed to hear right now.
“Sure,” Travis said, sounding about as enthused by the idea as he was.
He had to hand it to Travis for trying to talk sense into T.D. But ultimately, Wyatt knew that Travis would come along with them. T.D. would beat him down. Just as he would Wyatt if he’d raised objections. So he hadn’t bothered, because as T.D.’s best friend, it was a foregone conclusion that he was going along.
“Then we should get some sleep,” Travis said, climbing to his feet.
“Mind if I stay here, Trav?” T.D. asked as he finished his beer and stood.
“Take the guest room down the hall.”
T.D. laughed. “Guest room. That broom closet of a room? You’re really living large, Trav.”
“I’m going home,” Wyatt told the two as he got to his feet.
“I’ll pick you up first thing in the morning,” T.D. said. “Be ready.” It wouldn’t be the first time T.D. had sat outside Wyatt’s mother’s house, honking his horn and yelling for him to get moving.
And just as quickly, T.D. changed his mind. “Wait, first we should have one more beer to celebrate,” he said, pulling Wyatt to him as Travis went to the refrigerator for the beers. “A toast to us!” he said, putting his arm around each of their shoulders. They clinked beer cans together, T.D. sloshing his own beer on the floor.
“We’re going to need to pick up a few things in the morning before we head out. I promise you, this is going to be fun,” T.D. said. “Something all three of us will remember when we’re old men. Isn’t that right, Wyatt?” He pulled him closer.
Wyatt hoped the cowboy didn’t smell Patty’s perfume on him. He could still smell it on his shirt, still remember the feel of her lips and the sweet touch of her tongue in his mouth. He swallowed, afraid he couldn’t do what she asked. More afraid he could.
ANGUS HADN’T SLEPT WELL. Seeing Jinx now grown-up and so beautiful and self-assured, he’d felt a sense of pride. I knew her when, he’d thought. But that wasn’t all that stole his sleep.
Last night he’d seen how strong and capable Jinx was when facing down her soon-to-be ex-husband. He worried that if he hadn’t been here, T. D. Sharp would have called her bluff and gotten killed. Unfortunately, that would have been something Jinx would have had to live with the rest of her life.
Now Angus had found himself lying awake, listening for the sound of a pickup on the road into the ranch. The one thing he’d learned about T.D. last night was that he wasn’t through with Jinx and that made him dangerous—just as dangerous as the situation he, Brick and Ella had ridden into.
He must have drifted off, though, because the clang of