tablet out of his vest pocket.
“Three,” Liberty answered.
“That could be a predator,” he told her. “We have lots of big cats in these parts.”
“We have a tree-hound,” Liberty said. “And we saw no signs that a predator was involved. Have there been other livestock reported missing?”
“Not that I know of,” the marshal said, rubbing his chin. “What type of sheep are these?”
“Rainbow sheep,” Liberty answered.
The marshal looked up and studied her face as if putting something together.
“Valuable,” he said after a moment.
“So I’m told,” Liberty said. “Not so valuable when they’re missing.”
Odin barely suppressed a chuckle.
“We’ll keep an eye out, madam,” the marshal said. “Give me your thumbprint, location and transmit digits.”
She took the tablet and entered their information.
“Thank you,” she told him, handing it back.
“Stay safe out there,” he told her. “And a word of friendly advice - Lachesis is a frontier moon. It’s no place to be flaunting your wealth.”
A wave of rage swept over Odin and he took a step forward.
Liberty placed a hand on his arm.
“We’re not as wealthy as we may seem,” she told the marshal. “The sheep are the birthright of this little adopted boy. They are all he has, and we are meant to raise and educate him with the proceeds from their wool. But we appreciate the advice.”
“I see,” the marshal said, his expression softening. “I’ll do all I can to help.”
“That means so much to us,” Liberty said. “Thank you.”
She gave a slight bow and the marshal’s expression turned to gratified.
Odin was so busy watching her performance that he had to scramble to follow when she turned and marched out.
“How did you do that?” he demanded as soon as they were safely outside.
“Do what?” she asked.
“Make him like you?” he said. “Without batting your eyelashes at him.”
“Should I have batted my eyelashes?” she asked in a teasing voice.
“Absolutely not,” he growled before he could stop himself.
“First of all, I told him the truth,” she said. “And he didn’t like me, he liked the idea of helping Colton. And who wouldn’t?”
It sounded so reasonable when she put it like that. But Odin still couldn’t comprehend how she had done it.
“He insulted you,” he said. “And you were nice to him.”
“You have to give people the benefit of the doubt,” she said. “He wasn’t trying to offend me. He was trying to warn us. And when I took his warning at face value and told him what was going on, he decided to help us, right?”
“Hm,” he said, thinking about it.
“Anyway, let’s go to the feed place,” she said. “Maybe someone there will have info on any other missing livestock.”
He looked across the street at Gynther’s Feed & Supply. There were a couple of customers inside. Maybe they would have some luck asking around.
“Sure, sounds good,” he told her.
“Maybe let me do the talking?” she suggested with a wink.
He rolled his eyes and enjoyed the sound of her laughter.
23
Liberty
Liberty waited in line at the feed supply store, with Odin behind her. The store was bustling, but everyone seemed focused on their business.
“Good looking wee one,” an older gentleman with a bag of grain on his hip stopped to say. “Haven’t seen you folks around. I reckon I would’ve remembered.”
“We’re new here,” Liberty said. “I’m Liberty, that’s Odin, and this is Colton.”
“Pleasure to meet you,” the man said. “Name’s Kaldy. Live down in the valley.”
“Nice to meet you,” Liberty said. “We’re up on the mountainside, and we’re missing a few sheep. You haven’t heard anything about missing livestock, have you?”
“Can’t say as I have,” Kaldy replied thoughtfully. “Got plenty a’ big cats up where you’re at though.”
“Thanks anyway,” Liberty said.
“Who’s next?” the proprietor called out from behind the counter.
“Off you go, missy,” Kaldy said, giving her a friendly whack on the shoulder.
She felt Odin go stiff beside her, so she grabbed his hand and headed up to the counter.
They were going to have a hard time getting by in a small town if he was always this protective. She made a mental note to have a talk with him when they got home.
“It’s nice to see some new faces,” the owner said with a big smile. He had a neatly trimmed white beard and dancing gray eyes. “I’m Bylbart, but you can call my Byl. Thank you for honoring my shop. How can I help you today?”
“Hello, Byl,” Liberty said politely. “You have a lovely shop. I’m sure we’ll be here often.”
Byl nodded in humble assent.
“But today we came on horseback in a hurry,