Renegade (Tin Star K9 Series Book 1) by Jodi Burnett (fastest ebook reader .txt) 📕

me first. Promise me, if I don’t show up for dinner, you’ll send someone out to look for my body in the northern pasture.”

Her mom pursed her lips and shook her head. She turned toward the ranch house toting her basket of eggs. “I’ll see you tonight, honey.”

Caitlyn waved goodbye to her mom. On their way to the barn, Renegade spotted a rabbit and darted off on the hunt. She loved to watch him run. With his fox-colored topcoat and black-as-pitch face, legs, and underbelly—he was strikingly beautiful. Caitlyn’s thoughts drifted to her brother Logan, who was an FBI K-9 handler in Denver. He had taught her everything she knew about training dogs, and he wouldn’t approve of her allowing Renegade to run free as much as she did. Her dog was well-behaved, but he wasn’t a trained police dog. He was more of a ranch dog—one who liked to chase rabbits.

Caitlyn pushed open the stall door and slid a halter over Whiskey’s head. “Come on, boy. Time to go to work.” She tied him to the hitching post and returned to the barn for his tack. When she had saddled him and they were ready to go, Caitlyn whistled for Renegade, and her dog sprinted to her side. They followed the path through the tall grasses that Dylan had taken on his way to mend fences. She’d ridden about three miles when she saw the sun glinting off the fence-stretcher that Dylan was working with. She loped over to meet him.

Without looking at her, he grumbled, “What do you want now?” Dylan peered up at her and wiped his forehead with the back of his forearm.

“You know, Dylan, this ranch will fully belong to you one day—not me, or Logan. Aren’t you happy about that? You love this place. I just needed my share now so I could get started on living my life.”

Dylan clamped the wire stretching tool onto a broken end of barbed wire. “Then, go live your life.”

“Look, just because I want a place of my own, doesn’t mean I don’t care about you and the ranch.”

“Let me see if I’ve got this straight. You want your own place, you supposedly want independence, but you want to work here, keep your horse here, and get fed here. What kind of independence is that? You don’t even have a job.” He clamped the other side of the broken wire onto the tool and ratcheted the strands toward each other.

“I do too. I’ve been taking some shifts at the café.” Caitlyn defended herself, but Dylan was right. She was at loose ends, not sure what she wanted to do with her life. She was thankful her dad understood her need to be out on her own and believed she’d eventually find her vocation. “I’m off today, so I thought maybe you could use my help. And I’m saving up to build a shelter and corral for Whiskey.” She reached forward and patted her horse’s powerful neck. “Then I’ll take him off your hands. Until then, Dad said I could keep him here.”

Dylan glared up at her again, holding her gaze for an uncomfortably long moment. “Dad’s always let you get away with murder.” He stepped away from the fence. “If you really want to help, ride back to the barn, load a spool of barbed wire into the ATV wagon, and bring it out here. Looks like I’m going to need to restring a good part of this fence.”

Caitlyn sensed a whisper of an olive branch in his words. Their disagreement was far from over, but maybe Dylan was ready to take a step forward. “Sure thing. We’ll be right back.” Caitlyn turned her horse and called out, “Come on, Ren. Let’s go.” She loped to the barn, gratified her brother was willing to let her stay and help, at least for a little while.

3

Caitlyn and Dylan worked together side-by-side, mostly in silence, throughout the day. They restrung the fence and patched several other areas the cows had busted through. Back at the ranch house after work, Caitlyn washed up for supper. She thought about her time with Dylan. He hadn’t said many words to her, but his attitude seemed to soften. Hopefully dinner will go well too. Maybe I can draw him into a regular conversation. Caitlyn dried her face and hands on a fluffy white towel, then she and Renegade rumbled down the back stairs to the kitchen to see if her mother needed any help. Cooking was not her forte. In fact, most household chores were a challenge for Caitlyn. She much preferred the hard, physical work of a ranch.

“Is there anything I can do, Mom?” She approached her mother from behind and rested her hands on the woman’s soft shoulders. She kissed her mom’s cheek and peered down at the magic happening in the pot on the stove.

“For one thing, you can get that dog out of my kitchen. Dinner is just about ready. Why don’t you carry the salad in and fill the water glasses?” Her mom stirred something bubbly that smelled savory and delightful, causing Caitlyn’s stomach to roll in anticipation.

She swept the salad bowl off the counter and made her way to the dining room. “Come on, Ren. Your fur is not welcome in Mom’s lair.”

Caitlyn’s dad and Dylan stood together before a blazing fire in the massive stone fireplace of the great-room. A seven-point elk’s head mount stood guard from the rock chimney above them. Both men held stout tumblers of bourbon. The two men bore a strong resemblance, but Dylan’s frame was thicker. Logan was the one who looked most like their dad, with his leaner build and finer features. The only real differences between those two were the graying at her father’s temples and the weathered creases on his tanned face that spoke of a life lived on the range.

When her dad saw her enter the room, his obsidian eyes glimmered. He held his arm open for