Drew drove slowly onto the land where they thought the trappers might be. He’d turned off his lights when they exited the main road, and they were travelling by moonlight. Fortunately, it was a bright night with no clouds. “Turn your text notification to silent. We’ll communicate with the other teams that way. If anyone finds them, we’ll let the others know so we can close in on them. When everyone is in place, we’ll all walk in at the same time, so they won’t try anything stupid.”

Beau did as he was told, thinking if the poachers had any light at the camp this idea would work fine. If not, they might see the cell screens light up and get spooked. But, it was a better idea than going in alone or having no communication.

They parked the truck and started to walk their designated section of land. They knew which areas they could avoid because of dense foliage. The northeast pasture had a couple of camping areas they used occasionally, when they needed to stay out with the herd for some reason. There were also camping spots in two of the other quadrants the hired hands were checking. A small cabin was in the northwest pasture Adam and the officer he was with would be hitting. Everything was silent except for the night animals and bugs. They were chirping away as normal, so that was a good sign that nothing dangerous was going on.

About twenty minutes in, his cell vibrated and he looked at the screen.

Adam: They’re in the cabin and they’re either drunk or high because they are singing up a storm. We could have brought tanks and they wouldn’t notice.

Drew: We’re the farthest out. We’ll go get the vehicle and drive it in so we don’t have to carry their asses out.

Adam: Perfect. We’ll be waiting.

Drew and Beau hotfooted it back to the SUV and started it up. They used the lights to connect to the dirt road that would take them toward the cabin, but Drew turned them off before they rounded the trees that would allow a visual to the area. He got within a couple dozen yards before he shut it down and parked.

It was a tiny cabin with only one door and two windows. The hired hand teams were at the windows and Adam and Sheriff Carlson were waiting by the door. Beau and Drew joined them, and they prepared to enter. When Drew opened the door a waft of pot smoke engulfed them. The officers went in first, guns drawn, and Adam and Beau followed. As soon as they saw the guys inside the officers dropped their weapons to their sides. The guys hadn’t even noticed the four of them were in the room yet, they were so wasted. One of them was tall and skinny with long greasy blond hair. He was singing off key so loud, Beau cringed. The other was shorter and more muscular with a buzz cut. He seemed to be able to carry a tune, not that he could be heard over Greasy Hair.

Beau looked around and there was evidence everywhere that these were the guys illegally trapping. There were several of the same traps that Dolly had gotten caught in. A dozen beaver pelts lay in a corner with some other pelts from other animals. They had a map with each trap location marked, including the one they had found in the pasture where Dolly had gotten hurt. Beau and Adam just looked at each other and shook their heads.

The sheriff spoke up. “Gentlemen, we’re going to need you to come into town with us.”

Buzz Cut looked at the sheriff and kicked Greasy Hair. “I told you we shouldn’t have brought the weed. The cops are here.”

Greasy Hair said, “Hullo officer. We’ve only got the legal limit. Not too much and we ain’t driving, so we’re good.”

Sheriff Carlson recited the Revised Miranda and asked the men if they understood their rights.

“Yep, heard ’em before,” Buzz Cut said.

Greasy Hair nodded. “I understand, but we ain’t got too much pot, I tell you.”

Drake Carlson shook his head. “We’re not here for marijuana. You are trespassing on private land. And you’ve been trapping with illegal traps on the same private land, without permission. So, I need you to come with me.”

“Well, hell. The jig is up I suppose.” Greasy Hair tried to stand and was unsuccessful, falling back down and laughing like a loon. “Can’t help you, officer.”

“We’re going to have to carry these idiots, aren’t we?” Drew said.

Buzz Cut said, “Hey, we’re not idiots—just a little high. Been celebrating a bit with the first set of skins we sold at a primo price to some furriers.”

Beau shook his head and looked at his brothers. He could see disgust written on both their faces. “Give me the keys, Drew. I’ll bring the SUV in closer so we can get it loaded with all the evidence and the idiots.”

Beau took the keys and walked out into the fresh sweet air. It was going to take some airing to get all the weed smell out of the cabin. They might need to fumigate, and they would definitely need to wash—or maybe burn—all the bedding and towels. But at least no more cattle would get caught in the traps. They would go out and collect all the ones carefully marked on the map. At least the guys were thorough and they wouldn’t be stumbling upon traps for years.

Beau sent a family text.

Beau: Poachers found. No trouble encountered. Problem solved. Will share, maybe an hour.

He got a flurry of thumbs up and happy face texts back.

* * *

Alyssa was glad to hear they had the trappers in custody, she hoped that meant no other animals would be hurt or killed. She wanted to avoid Beau, but she knew her curiosity was too strong to not go find out what happened. So, she shut down the tablet and plugged it in to recharge, and left her room to join the family that would be assembling to hear the news.

She met Emma in the hall. “I’m so glad they caught them, aren’t you, Alyssa? I think we should make popcorn and hot chocolate while we wait for Beau and Adam to get back to tell us the news. We can pretend we’re at the movie. Beau and Adam are both great story tellers, and since Beau didn’t say much in the text, there is a story to be told. I can guarantee that.”

“How did you get that out of the text?”

“Whenever he says he’ll share that means there’s a story involved.”

Alyssa nodded. “Good to know.”

“So, let’s get some popcorn popping and some homemade hot chocolate started.”

“Homemade hot chocolate? Like from milk and real chocolate?”

“Absolutely. None of that powdered stuff in our family.” Emma wrinkled her nose like she’d just stepped in cow manure.

Alyssa smiled. “We only have real hot chocolate made from scratch on Christmas morning. The rest of the time, it’s powdered.”

“Oh, you poor thing. We will take care of that today.”

When they got to the kitchen, Meg was already in there bustling around. “I figured hot chocolate and popcorn was in order.”

Emma nodded. “Yep, I was thinking that too. Poor Alyssa here only gets real hot chocolate on Christmas morning, the rest of the time, they have powdered.”

Meg had the exact same expression she’d seen on Emma’s face. “Oh, you poor dear.”

Alyssa smiled. “We just save it for special occasions, is all.”

Meg laughed. “You’ve never been treated to the Adam and Beau Show before. I wish Drew could be here, too. The three of them is even better. The twins said everything was quiet in the pasture, so they are coming in and leaving it to the hired hands. No one wants to miss Beau and Adam sharing.”

Alyssa was getting curious about what this sharing entailed.

Meg’s cell phone buzzed. “It’s a text from Drew and he said to get some sandwiches ready for Adam and Beau, because they are going to be hungry. That’s odd, but I trust his judgement, so let’s make some sandwiches and get a few heartier items together. Chase and Cade might be hungry, too.”

They all three bustled around the kitchen preparing a feast.