"Ringo, this is shaping up to be a disaster." Cade leaned
down to give the gray tabby a good scratch. Ringo's motor
started up, and the soothing purr lifted Cade's spirits,
but
not by much. Whenever he glanced at the glossy black horse
peering at him over the stall door, anxiety curdled in his
gut.
A couple of hours ago, his boss at the Circle T had vowed
to
sell Hematite to a meatpacking plant. Dick Thornwood was
the
kind of SOB who would do it, too, so Cade had driven into
Colorado Springs and emptied his bank account. He had more
in his pocket than Thornwood could get at a
slaughterhouse,
so logically Thornwood should sell the horse to him
instead.
But logic wasn't his boss's strong suit, especially when
his
pride had been wounded. His decision to ride Hematite
earlier that afternoon had been ill-advised, and to make
matters worse, he'd chosen to do it with his new
girlfriend
watching. Cade had tried to talk him out of it, but he'd
insisted. Hematite had tossed him in the dirt.
Just as Cade had predicted he would. They were mere days
into the training program, and Hematite had major issues.
He'd been mistreated as a colt and gelding him hadn't done
much to settle him down. He'd just begun to trust Cade,
who'd managed to saddle him for the first time today. Too
bad Thornwood had seen that and decided to show off for
his
lady friend.
When he'd been dumped on his ass, she'd laughed. Thornwood
had sent her packing, and then, shaking with rage, he'd
approached the horse. Thank God he hadn't had a gun.
Instead
he'd delivered Hematite's death sentence before stomping
up
to the house.
Cade had been nervous about leaving for the bank, so he'd
asked Douglas, the foreman, to keep an eye on Hematite.
Fortunately nothing happened. Thornwood was likely up at
the
house drinking. Cade had brought fast food with him so he
could stay in the barn and keep watch over the horse all
night.
Footsteps on the wooden barn floor jacked up his heart
rate,
but it turned out to be Douglas coming back, probably to
check on them.
"The way that feline dotes on you, anybody'd think your
pockets were stuffed with catnip." Douglas nudged back his
hat and leaned against Hematite's stall. "You should
probably take him when you leave or he'll die of a broken
heart."
"Who says I'm leaving?"
"I saw your face when Thornwood started to go for that
horse. Looked to me like you wanted to kill him."
"The thought occurred to me, but then I decided he wasn't
worth it." Cade worked his fingers over Ringo's arched
back,
and the cat purred louder. "But yeah, I figure my time
here
is about up. I just have to work out the logistics."
"That's why I came to talk to you. You can borrow my horse
trailer."
Cade glanced up. "Really? You don't need it?"
Douglas shrugged. "Not until next spring. If you can get
it
back to me by April, that'll be fine."
"I'll have it back real quick. I called a buddy over at
the
Bar Z and he said they might be able to use another hand,
at
least for the summer. I'll head there once I get Thornwood
to sell me this horse."
The foreman sighed. "I dunno. He's crazy."
"Thornwood or the horse?"
"Thornwood. The horse is just scared."
"Yeah. Hematite can't stay here. Even before today's
incident, I thought Thornwood and Hematite were a bad
combination."
"You got your stuff together?"
Cade nodded. "Figured once the shit hit the fan, I needed
to
be ready to go. Iβ" The sound of heavy, deliberate
footsteps
and the jingle of spurs made whatever he'd been about to
say
irrelevant. Heart pounding, he rose to his feet as Dick
Thornwood came toward them. He held a coiled stock whip in
one hand and a rope in the other. The fires of hell shone
in
his pale eyes.
Douglas swore under his breath, and Ringo crept behind a
hay
bale.
As Cade faced his boss, his heart rate slowed and icy calm
replaced the initial adrenaline rush. He knew that unholy
expression well. Bullies were all alike. His father,
Rance,
had looked exactly like that after he'd been drinking,
except he'd vented his rage on Cade and his mother, not on
a
horse. Finally Cade had grown tall enough to stop him and
his father had left.
Positioning himself in front of the stall door, Cade fixed
his gaze on Thornwood. "I'll buy him from you."
Thornwood kept coming, bourbon on his breath. "He's not
for
sale."
"I thought you wanted him destroyed."
"I've reconsidered." He reached the stall. "Stand aside,
Gallagher."
"No."
Thornwood's nostrils flared. "I
said stand aside,
cowboy!"
"No."
Dropping the rope, Thornwood uncoiled the whip. "Move it!"
"Touch me with that whip and I'll charge you with assault.
And I have a witness."
Thornwood's jaw worked. "You're fired, asshole."
"Okay."
"And I'm not selling you that damned horse!"
"Why not?" He kept his tone conversational. "I'll give you
more than you'd get at the slaughterhouse, and I'll take
him
off your hands. You can be rid of both of us tonight."
A vein pulsed at Thornwood's temple as his face reddened.
"I'd rather beat the shit out of both of you." He sneered
at
Cade. "And your precious witness won't say a damned thing
about it."
Cade raised his eyebrows. "You think he'd lie for you?"
"I do." Thornwood snapped the whip against the barn floor.
"I wouldn't count on it." Cade widened his stance.
"But if you're determined to pick a fight with me, bring
it
on." He held Thornwood's gaze. "Take your best shot."
A flicker in those pale eyes told Cade all he needed to
know. Bullies chose fights they were certain they could
win,
and Thornwood was no longer so certain, even with that
whip.
Sure enough, he backed up a step and his lip curled.
"You're
not worth the energy. Get the hell off my ranch. And take
that nag with you." He pivoted toward the barn's entrance.
"Oh, no, you don't! You're selling him to me, not giving
him
away. I don't intend to get jailed for stealing your
horse."
Thornwood paused but didn't turn around. "How much you
got?"
Cade gave him a figure, everything he had in his pocket
minus what he needed to carry him until he had another
job.
"Give it to Lindstrom. He'll handle it." Thornwood stalked
out of the barn.
Douglas blew out a breath. "Damn. That was close."
"He's just like my old man. Once you stand up to guys like
that, they fold."
"Not always."
"No, not always." Cade had challenged his dad before he
could back up the threat, and he had the scars to prove
it.
He dug the roll of bills out of his pocket. "I want
something in writing that says I own this horse. Something
with his signature on it."
"I'll see to it. You hitch up the trailer and get him
loaded. I'll have a signed bill of sale for you before you
leave."
"Thanks. I'll need to take the halter, too, and borrow a
lead rope. Is that going to be a problem?"
"Nah. If he even brings it up, I'll tell him you'll return
those when you return my trailer."
"I couldn't manage this without you." Cade gazed at the
foreman. "I appreciate the help."
"Glad to do it."
"I won't be that far away. We can still get together for a
beer once in a while."
"I'd like that." The foreman pocketed the money. "Better
get
moving before he changes his mind."
"Right. See you in a few." Cade fished for his keys and
headed out the back to fetch his truck. He really was
going
to miss the crusty old foreman.
His reason for gravitating toward him in the first place
was
no mystery. He resembled Cade's foster fatherβabout the
same
age with a similar wiry build and a no-nonsense attitude.
Cade hadn't set foot on Thunder Mountain Ranch in⦠Damn,
had
it really been five years?
He talked to Herb and Rosie on the phone several times a
year and always on Christmas Eve, but he'd avoided an
actual
visit because of Lexi. That was a chickenshit reason. He
needed to man up and make the trip, although he couldn't
expect vacation days for a while if he was about to start
a
new job.
Climbing into his truck, he drove behind the bunk-house
and
hitched up Douglas's trailer. Then he took a moment to
call
his buddy at the Bar Z to make sure spending the night
there
was still an option. Tomorrow Cade would talk to the owner
about a job, and with luck he'd be employed again in no
time. That was important, especially when he had another
mouth to feed.
Convincing Thornwood to sell had been the easy part of
this
rescue operation. Now he had to get that high-strung horse
in the trailer. The previous owner, the one who'd
mishandled
Hematite's training, had given him a heavy-duty
tranquilizer
so he'd load. The drugged horse had staggered down the
ramp
the day he'd arrived.
This time Hematite would have to load and unload cold
turkey. Cade considered that as he drove his truck around
to
the front of the barn. Lowering the ramp, he paused and
took
several deep breaths before going back into the barn.
His behavior would influence the horse, so the calmer he
stayed, the better chance he'd have of keeping Hematite
mellow. He visualized the horse walking quietly out of his
stall, down the wooden aisle of the barn, then moving up
into the trailer without hesitation.
Grabbing the rattiest-looking lead rope from the tack
room,
he started toward Hematite's stall. The horse watched him,
ears pricked forward. Cade usually saved his next
technique
for when he was alone with a horse. Nobody else was in the
barn, so he began singing "Red River Valley." Thanks to
his
time at Thunder Mountain Ranch, he had a whole repertoire
of
camp-fire songs, and normally they worked like a charm to
settle nervous horses.
He'd only sung to Hematite a couple of times, though. They
hadn't developed a singing routine, but at this point
anything was worth a try. He continued the sweet love song
as he unlatched the stall door and stepped inside.
Hematite snorted and edged away. Still singing, Cade
approached and managed to clip the lead rope onto the
horse's halter. Then he turned and walked out of the stall
as if he thoroughly expected Hematite to follow him, no
questions asked. The horse did.
Cade finished "Red River Valley" and moved on to "Tumbling
Tumbleweeds." He sang in rhythm with the steady clip-clop
of
Hematite's hooves on the barn floor. Meanwhile he
continued
to visualize a smooth entrance into the horse trailer.
Out the barn door. Up the ramp. Cade kept singing. About
three minutes later, the horse was loaded and the trailer
doors secured. Cade stood there grinning and shaking his
head in disbelief. That horse would be serenaded from now
on.
"That's about the slickest thing I ever did see." Douglas
came toward him from the direction of the house. "Were you
singing to that animal?"
"Um, yeah." Cade chuckled. "If you use the term loosely."
"You're no George Strait, but at least I could recognize
the
tune. I've heard of using songs to calm a herd of cattle,
but I never thought of trying it with horses. How long you
been doing that?"
"Three or four years, I guess."
"No kidding. How'd you come up with it?"
"By accident. One day I was riding along, humming to
myself
for some reason, and I could feel my horse relax. So then
I
tried humming when I worked with a problem horse, and that
seemed to help. I don't know if singing is any better than
humming, but it's more interesting for me."
"I'll be damned." Douglas rubbed a hand over his jaw.
"I'll
just have to try it. Although I sound like a mating
bullfrog, so it might not work for me. Can't believe I've
known you for almost two years and never realized you were
a
singing cowboy."
Cade laughed. "I wouldn't go that far."
"I would. You're a cowboy. You sing. Case closed. Oh, and
here's your bill of sale, complete with Thorn-wood's
signature. He's had enough to drink that he doesn't care
about much of anything, so he was more than happy to
sign."
"Thank you." Cade took the paper, opened it to check the
signature and refolded it. "You have my cell number. If he
gives you any grief about this after he sobers up, let me
know."
"I doubt he will. I'll wager that by tomorrow he'll have
rewritten history. He'll tell everyone he gave you the
deal
of a lifetime because he's such a great guy and he felt
sorry for you."
"He can make up any story he wants as long as he leaves me
and this horse alone."
"I think he will, but if I get any hint that he's on the
warpath, I'll give you a holler."
"Thanks, Douglas." He shook the foreman's hand. "Don't
forget. We're going to have that beer someday soon."
"I'm counting on it."
Climbing into the truck, Cade glanced around at the place
he'd called home for eighteen months. It hadn't really
been
home, of course. Thunder Mountain was the only place that
fit that description. Thornwood had been a lousy boss, but
Douglas had made up for that. So it was with mixed
feelings
that Cade put the truck in gear and pulled away from the
Circle T.
He'd made it to the main road by the time Ringo decided to
show himself. The gray tabby crawled from the space behind
the passenger seat and settled himself on the worn
upholstery. Immediately he began to purr.
Cade sighed. He should probably turn around and take Ringo
back to the Circle T. "Look, I'm heading over to a ranch
that may have a territorial barn cat for all I know. You
might not be welcome there. Then what?"
Ringo blinked at him and purred louder.
Cade's chest tightened. He'd never had a pet of his own.
Dogs and cats had been a constant presence at Thunder
Mountain Ranch, but they'd been loved and cared for by all
the boys. Cade remembered each one fondly, but he'd never
felt the deep connection that he'd formed with Ringo.
Apparently Ringo returned the sentiment, because here he
was
ready to follow Cade wherever the road led.
"Okay, cat. We'll figure it out."
As if he understood that the matter was settled, Ringo
curled up on the seat and closed his eyes.
That kind of trust was rare in this world. Cade hadn't
experienced it often. He could count on one hand the
people
who trusted him like thatβHerb, Rosie, Damon, Finn,
Douglas.
Not Lexi.
If Ringo was offering him that level of trust, he'd be a
fool not to take it and be grateful. He'd also be very
careful not to betray it. He knew what abandonment felt
like, and he wouldn't wish that on any creature.
Lexi might think he'd abandoned her, but he'd been very
careful not to make promises he couldn't keep. That's what
he told himself whenever guilty memories of her anger and
her tears plagued him. She'd had expectations he couldn't
meet. According to Lexi, some things were just understood.
Not in his world. He was a guy who spelled everything out,
and he'd never, ever said he'd marry her.
The Bar Z was only a forty-five-minute drive from the
Circle
T. About halfway there, Cade's cell phone rang. He pulled
it
off its holder on the dash, expecting a call from his
buddy
or maybe from Douglas.
Instead he stared in disbelief at the name on the screen.
Lexi Simmons. Damned spooky, as if she'd tuned in to his
thoughts and picked up the phone.
But he didn't believe in mental telepathy, and he knew she
wouldn't call because she'd magically tapped into his
brain
waves. He had a bad feeling that he wouldn't like what he
was about to hear. Heart racing, he answered while looking
for a place to pull over.
"Cade?" She sounded the same, and her musical voice hurt
his
heart in ways it hadn't hurt in years. "Can you talk?"
"In a minute." He sounded out of breath and hated that.
But
he
was having trouble breathing.
Lexi. Dear
God. "I'm driving and hauling a horse behind me. Let
me
get off the road."
"Okay. I'll wait."
He set the phone back in its holder and eased to the
shoulder so he wouldn't jostle Hematite. Then he grabbed
the
phone again. "I'm here. What's up?"
"It's Rosie. She⦠Herb took her to Sheridan Memorial."
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