Cole frowned.
“Count wrong?”
“I counted twice.”
Lila listened.
Daniel continued.
“And two weeks ago we lost nine from east pasture.”
“Fence break.”
“That’s what Earl said.”
“Wasn’t it?”
Daniel hesitated.
“I checked after supper.”
Cole’s expression changed.
“What?”
“Wire was cut.”
The room went silent.
Lila looked between them.
“You didn’t tell him?”
Daniel looked at her.
“I wanted proof.”
Cole’s jaw tightened.
“You had two weeks.”
“I had suspicion.”
“You tell me suspicion.”
“And you ride into town breaking doors before I can find facts.”
Cole did not deny it.
Lila looked at him.
“That sounds plausible.”
He stared at her.
She smiled faintly.
“Sorry.”
“No, you’re not.”
“No.”
Daniel continued.
“Cattle missing. Wire cut. Now bathhouse tampered.”
Cole’s eyes narrowed.
“You think connected?”
“I think coincidence is expensive.”
Lila looked toward the shelves.
“Do the missing cattle appear in accounts?”
Both men turned toward her.
“What?”
She sat straighter.
“You count inventory monthly?”
Daniel nodded.
“Mostly.”
“Mostly is not accounting.”
Cole almost smiled.
Daniel looked offended.
Lila continued.
“If cattle disappeared and someone planned to hide it, there will be a paper adjustment.”
“Deaths,” Daniel said.
“Transfers,” Cole added.
“Breeding loss.”
“Predators.”
Lila nodded.
“So tomorrow I need the stock ledgers.”
Daniel looked toward Cole.
“She can read them?”
Cole answered:
“She can read anything.”
The certainty in his voice made Lila look down.
Again.
Us.
Trust.
Dangerous words.
Daniel stood.
“I’ll bring them before breakfast.”
Then he paused at the door.
“Cole.”
“What?”
“If somebody tried killing you tonight…”
“Yes?”
“Maybe stop walking around like you’re immortal.”
Cole looked annoyed.
Daniel left.
Lila waited until the door closed.
“He likes you.”
Cole frowned.
“Who?”
“Daniel.”
“He complains constantly.”
“That is how men like Daniel show love.”
Cole looked at her.
“Do you have expertise in men like Daniel?”
“No.”
“Then?”
“My father complained about everyone he loved.”
Cole’s expression softened.
“You don’t talk about him.”
“There isn’t much to say.”
“He died?”
“No.”
“Then?”
Lila looked toward the fire.
“He left.”
Cole became quiet.
She almost wished she had not answered.
Then he said:
“How old were you?”
“Fourteen.”
“Your mother?”
“Dead by then.”
His jaw tightened.
Lila knew what he was doing.
Adding another person to his private list of men he disliked despite never meeting.
She found that oddly touching.
She stood.
“I should return upstairs.”
Cole stood too.
“I’ll walk you.”
“It is your own house.”
“Yes.”
“I know the stairs.”
“Yes.”
“You suspect murder and somehow that means I can’t cross a hallway?”
“Yes.”
Lila sighed.
“Fine.”