"Then I'll live with it."
He returned the checkbook to his jacket.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Then he looked toward the farmhouse.
"How's your mortgage?"
Claire felt her stomach tighten.
She didn't answer.
Wade continued.
"I hear the bank's been asking questions."
She kept her expression steady.
"That's between me and the bank."
He nodded.
"Of course."
Then he smiled.
"But ranches don't run on pride."
Claire picked up the bucket.
"Neither do they run on threats."
Wade's expression changed.
He took a step closer.
"You're a very young woman trying to operate land your grandfather barely managed to keep afloat."
Claire turned.
He continued.
"You don't have the money to play games with expensive breeding animals. Sooner or later, you're going to need help."
She looked back.
"And you think that help has to come from you?"
Wade smiled thinly.
"Most roads around here lead through somebody I know."
Claire held his gaze.
"Then maybe it's time I found another road."
For a moment, Wade looked genuinely angry.
Then he climbed into his truck.
Before closing the door, he called out.
"That bull won't save your ranch!"
Claire stood beside the bucket.
"Maybe not."
Wade laughed.
But Claire continued.
"That's not why I'm trying to save him."
His smile disappeared.
He slammed the door and drove away.
Claire watched the pickup disappear beyond the gate.
Then she looked toward the isolated enclosure.
The bull stood beneath the mesquite tree.
A caracara perched several yards away.
Claire took a breath.
Something about Wade's sudden interest frightened her.
But it also confirmed one thing.
The bull's history mattered.
And Wade knew more about it than he was willing to admit.
The first official registration response arrived the following Tuesday.
Claire was repairing a fence when her phone vibrated.
She wiped her hands on a rag and opened the message.
It came from a livestock registry administrator who had agreed to help locate the historical records associated with her grandfather's breeding operation.
Attached was an archived registration summary.
Claire read the first line.
Then the second.
Then she sat down on the nearest fence rail.
The document identified a reddish-brown Beefmaster bull born on the Garza ranch in the spring of 2020.
Its recorded identification was G-41.
Its distinctive shoulder brand matched the mark shown in her grandfather's ledger.
The transfer history included Southline Range Partnership.