THE COWGIRL OUTSHOT EVERY MAN AT THE FALL CONTEST — THE COWBOY WATCHING FELL FOR HER ON THE SPOT
Chapter 5
The bank’s representatives arrived the following morning.
They inspected the cattle.
The barns.
The equipment.
The books.
Emma answered every question.
Cole stayed outside.
He didn’t interfere.
When the inspectors left, one of them told Emma:
“You have until March.”
She nodded.
“I understand.”
After they drove away, Emma sat on the porch.
Cole brought her coffee.
“They’re giving you a chance.”
“Not really.”
“No?”
“They’re giving me enough time to fail.”
Cole sat beside her.
“You won’t.”
“You can’t know that.”
“I know you.”
“You barely know me.”
“I know enough.”
She looked at him.
“Why do you care?”
He smiled.
“Because I do.”
Emma looked away.
She had spent months worrying about the ranch.
But lately, there was another fear.
The fear of depending on someone.
Her mother had once told her:
“Never build your future on someone else’s promise.”
Emma had believed that her entire life.
Then her father died.
And everything became her responsibility.
She didn’t want another person to become something she couldn’t afford to lose.
That afternoon, she told Cole:
“You need to stop helping me.”
He stared at her.
“Why?”
“Because I can’t owe you.”
“You don’t.”
“I will.”
“No.”
“You don’t understand.”
“I do.”
“No, you don’t.”
Her voice cracked.
“I’m afraid.”
Cole became quiet.
“Of what?”
“Losing everything.”
He looked toward the fields.
“Then don’t.”
“It’s not that simple.”
“No.”
He looked back at her.
“But you don’t have to be alone.”
Emma’s eyes filled with tears.
She quickly wiped them away.
“I don’t know how to do this.”
Cole reached for her hand.
She let him.
“You don’t have to know today.”
She squeezed his fingers.
Then pulled away.
“I need time.”
“I’ll give you time.”
He stood.
“But I’m not going anywhere.”
That evening, Emma discovered something strange.
A section of her financial records was missing.
Not misplaced.
Deleted.
She checked the backups.
Gone.
Someone had accessed the ranch computer.
She called the bank.
They denied involvement.
Then she called Cole.
He arrived within twenty minutes.
They examined the system.
A transaction appeared.
A payment from the Carter ranch account to a company called Red Oak Holdings.
Emma stared.
“I never made this.”
Cole frowned.
“How much?”
“Forty-eight thousand.”
He looked at her.
“Someone is draining your account.”
She felt sick.
“Who?”
“We’ll find out.”
They traced the company.
It belonged to Voss Agricultural Supply.
Emma stared at the screen.
“Voss.”
Cole’s expression hardened.
“He’s trying to make you look financially irresponsible.”
“Why?”
“So the bank will foreclose.”
“And then?”
“He buys the ranch.”
Emma stood.
“I’ll kill him.”
Cole smiled slightly.
“Let’s avoid prison.”
She laughed despite herself.
Then Cole became serious.
“We need evidence.”
Emma nodded.
They spent the next several days investigating.
They found altered invoices.
Fake payments.
Forged signatures.
And eventually, a recording.
Voss had met with a bank officer.
He offered money in exchange for accelerating the foreclosure.
Emma listened in silence.
Then she looked at Cole.
“He wants me gone.”
“Yes.”
“I won’t let him.”
Cole smiled.
“That’s the woman I met at the shooting range.”
Emma looked at him.
“What woman?”
“The one who outshot every man there.”
She laughed.
“I thought you were angry.”
“I was.”
“Then why were you smiling?”
He stepped closer.
“Because I knew I had just met someone extraordinary.”
Emma looked into his eyes.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then she kissed him.
It was brief.
Soft.
Almost uncertain.
When she pulled away, she whispered:
“That was a mistake.”
Cole smiled.
“Probably.”
She looked at him.
“Don’t smile.”
“I can’t help it.”
She shook her head.
But she was smiling too.
Neither noticed the shadow outside the barn.
Someone had been watching.
And someone had just taken a photograph.
