Getting down off her horse, Reba looked around, then slapped her jean clad leg with her hat to knock off some of the dust. She and some of the ranch hands had been out rounding up cattle to take to the sale. She had to come up with enough money to pay the taxes. Taxes on 24,000 acres wasn’t your everyday pocket change. She had 2 weeks to get the money to the commissioners office or they were going to take the ranch from her. Reba wasn’t going to let that happen! Her husband Bruce was killed because he came up on some rustlers trying to steal some of the cattle. To this day, the sheriff hasn’t found the men who did it. Reba looked at the mountains thinking, “If you could talk, you would tell me who shot Bruce.” She had to blink, tears formed in her eyes. She had loved him deeply. He was her friend, her husband and her lover. Reba missed him terribly. She couldn’t let the ranch go now. With the help of the ranch hands, together they would make it work.

 Bruce had taken so much pride in this ranch. It was all that was left of the inheritance from his great-grandfather. The land had started out with 50,000 acres, but Bruce’s father had lost 26,000 acres in one night at a poker table. Grady, Bruce’s father just kept on losing more land and wouldn’t quit. Until Bruce walked in and put a stop to it. The two men fought that night, but atleast Grady didn’t play anymore cards. He had to be put to bed.He had no idea how he even got there because Bruce had knocked his own father completely out. When Bruce came in the house that he and Reba shared, she couldn’t believe her eyes. His right eye was almost swollen shut, the bottom lip was busted open and his noise was bleeding! “My God, What happened to you?’ He tried to smile, then his hand raised to his mouth. You could see the pain in his eye’s. ”Can you please get me some ice and then I’ll tell what happened.” He said through swollen lips. Reba hurried with an ice pack. She had a clean wet wash cloth, to clean the bleed away with. While Bruce placed the ice on his eye, he noticed that Reba stood tapping her foot patiently for him to start talking. Well she would have to wait , atleast a few minutes. His mouth hurt like the devil, his eye didn’t feel any better. Dang he just hoped his nose wasn’t broke. He looked at his wife, Lord how he loved her.