had risen above the eastern mountains. The air was still cool, and the sky was clear and growing brighter as the miles passed. When he made it into town and drove down Main Street, past the cute historic buildings, the shop owners were putting out their Open signs, opening the umbrellas over their patio tables, and sweeping their front entryways. He waved to Ronnie Jenkins, the barber, as he passed him and smiled at Barbara White, the antiques store owner, who blew him a kiss. He turned the corner and drove down the street toward Pepper’s Seed and Feed. It was one of the oldest shops in all of Fate Rock. He parked the truck and headed inside.
At the counter, the great-great-grandson of the original Pepper was standing, counting change. “Good morning, Gunner,” he said. “How are things on the Wilde Ranch?”
“Couldn't be better,” Gunner said.
“I assume you're here to pick up your order,” Mr. Pepper said.
“That's right.”
Mr. Pepper picked up the order slip and read it over. He told Gunner to drive around back so they could load the order and then went into the back storage room.
Gunner went outside and pulled the truck around the feed store and backed it up toward the loading dock. Boyd Brown and Sam Wright, who had gone to high school with Gunner and his brothers, were on the loading dock, ready to load up Gunner's order.
The mineral supplements they fed their animals were some of the only items they still purchased to bring into the farm. Everything else was right there on the land. There were bags of seaweed powder, selenium, calcium, and a variety of other supplements that they fed their animals on a daily basis. It was an expense that paid back in increased land fertility and healthier animals.
Boyd and Sam loaded up Gunner's truck with brown paper bags full of powder then brought out the extra tools that Austin had purchased for the interns. They were always in need of new shovels, rakes, and pruning shears. The guys finished loading the truck, and Gunner closed the hatch to the bed, thanking them for the help. Austin had an open account with the feed store, so there was no need to settle the bill.
Gunner was about to get back into his truck when he heard a loud motor rumbling outside the gate. A truck screeched into the loading dock, coming to a stop right in front of Gunner's truck, pinning him in. Charlie and Bobby McCoy jumped out of the truck and charged toward him.
“Gunner Wilde, you better stay the hell away from our sister.”
Cold dread trickled down Gunner's back. Bobby's pinched face was red with rage and too much sun. Charlie bristled, puffing out his chest and clenching his fists.
“I don't know what you're talking about,” Gunner said, trying to keep his voice steady, but he knew he was stuttering.
“You've been seeing our sister, Cassidy. I saw you in Blackville three days ago. You were with her in the park, and then she came home in a fancy dress last night. I called Piercy Jensen at the Lodge because that's the only place anyone would wear such a fancy dress in this town, and he told me he saw my sister with you last night.”
“Piercy Jensen is an idiot. He spends ninety percent of his life as drunk as a skunk,” Gunner said.
Piercy Jensen had been a year ahead of him in high school and had a part-time job as a maintenance worker at the Lodge. It was possible he had been there last night when Gunner and Cassidy were on their date, but whether or not the McCoys knew about his relationship with Cassidy was the least of his concerns. What concerned him much more was the fact that the love of his life, his fated mate, his one and only, could be a McCoy.
He didn't want to believe it. Everything that he knew, his entire perception of reality, felt like it was melting around him. How could Cassidy be a McCoy? But the wheels started to click into place. It would make perfect sense. All the things that she'd hinted at, all her problems with her family, every time she'd seemed hesitant to get close to him, it all came together in an undeniable fact. The love of his life was his sworn enemy.
“Cassidy's my mate. I love her, and I'll do anything to protect her,” Gunner said, deciding that now was the time to be direct,