She laughed, and Duke felt the pleasure of the sound all the way to his toes.
“Everything is fine. I didn’t need to call, but your aunt Sarah is helping me out this morning and said I should call to let you know I watched the video. Chasing ponies and falling in mud or kicking up dust isn’t what I’d call fun, but I was struck by how happy all the kids were. Again, at Sarah’s urging, I phoned Pam Marshall. We met at the park, and the boys played on swings and monkey bars. They got along. Luke had such fun. I didn’t know Pam makes and sells birdhouses at the fair. She talked me into renting a space to sell my horse treats. I, ah, well... Thank you for hooking us up. That’s really why I called, to say thanks from Luke and me. It’s all he can talk about.”
“Hey, that’s great. So, all three boys got along? I admit I had some concerns about Tommy.”
“He was a bit bossy, but his brother and Luke didn’t object. I, ah, will let you get back to your lunch. Now I can tell Luke I let you know I’d signed him up for the race. He asks every five minutes because he wants to be sure you’ll still give them pointers when you return.”
“I will. But, Angie, you can phone me anytime. Or Luke can.”
She didn’t respond and Duke thought they’d lost the connection. “Angie, are you still on the line?”
“Yes. I was trying to think of a circumstance where I may need to reach you again. I hope it’s not in any official capacity.”
Duke knew he wasn’t handling well what he wanted to get across. “As friends,” he finally said. “You know, if you need a man’s muscle to help with anything.”
“Oh. It’s kind of you to offer, but I’m fine. Really, I’ll let you go now, Dylan. I hope you don’t mind that I call you Dylan,” she said in a rush. “It’s too weird saying Duke and Luke in the same sentence. I know he thinks it’s cool, but...”
“No problem,” Duke broke in. “Frankly, ‘Dylan’ sounds great when you say it.”
Again the phone went silent.
“Well, goodbye,” Angie finally murmured.
Duke caught himself smiling as he held his dead phone. He liked how Angie had sounded a little breathless. Maybe she felt something for him that went beyond gratitude for his hooking Luke up with a team for the pony race. Duke hoped so. The more they interacted, the more he wanted to spend time with her.
* * *
ANGIE HELD THE PHONE LONGER than necessary. There had been times since her grandfather’s death that she wished for a man to help do some heavy lifting. Just this morning Miss Sarah brought up that very thing, too. As a rule Angie prided herself on handling things at the rescue ranch alone. However, Miss Sarah struck a nerve when she asked if Angie didn’t get lonely. Truly she spent a lot of time by herself or just her and Lucas. But this afternoon she had an appointment to see a woman who was closing her coffee shop on the outskirts of Roundup. The building had everything she needed to expand her horse-treat trade. That would let her hire help, and she would be with people more. But she knew that wasn’t the type of loneliness Miss Sarah meant. Even though she and Dylan’s aunt had grown closer, and Angie looked up to the older woman, she hesitated mentioning her burgeoning friendship with Miss Sarah’s nephew. It was mainly the rodeo involvement she couldn’t reconcile—yet here she’d arranged for Luke to enter a rodeo event. Had she just made another big mistake in her life? She hoped not.
* * *
LATE AFTERNOON DUKE PULLED into Bozeman and took the route leading to the rodeo grounds. Austin woke up about a mile out of town. He downed the water Duke replaced in the beverage holder. He still didn’t say much.
“Did you book a room?” Duke asked. “Beau rented at a cheapie motel. It’d be tight with three bunking there, but we can buy an air mattress somewhere and make do for a couple of nights.”
“Thanks, but Baylor Nash called when he saw I’d entered to ride. He arranged for five of us to stay at a B and B. What time do you plan on heading home? I’ll bring my gear to the rodeo grounds and hook up with you there.”
“Sounds like a plan. Ah, there’s Colt’s rig.” Many rodeo cowboys drove similar pickups, but the ranch logo on the side of Colt’s stock carrier stood out. “It looks as if he’s already turned the horses into the corrals. Where is the B and B? I’ll drop you off.”
“We just passed it. But that’s okay, don’t turn around. I’ll get out here and say hi to Colt, then I’ll walk back. It’ll do me good.”
“Suit yourself.” Duke stopped. “I can guarantee Beau will vote to eat steak at the Wrangler’s Pub tonight, and knock back a couple of beers as we shoot the breeze with other riders. I’ll phone you with a time.”
Austin hesitated and scrubbed a hand over a face dark with stubble. “I’ll grab a bite at the B and B. I want to look over the horses slated for the bareback event. April was my last rodeo. I need the advantage of studying stats on the field I’ll draw from.”
“Up to you. I’ll undoubtedly see you around. Tomorrow I’m visiting the big stock auction barn to be sure they’re on the lookout for Midnight. I ride Friday, and Saturday if I do well. We can skip Sunday’s wind-down festivities and hit the road at six again. That is, if you set your alarm,” Duke teased.
Austin grinned and for the first time Duke saw a glimpse of the old Austin, who flashed a thumbs-up, then grabbed his bag and hopped out of the cab.
Beau spotted them from wherever he’d been hanging out. He jogged up and yanked open Duke’s door. “About time you rolled in, slowpoke. Was that Austin? Where’s he going?” Beau slapped Duke on the back in greeting. “Colt’s settled the stock, but we’re late to go to the pub. I waited to give you a room key.”
“Austin opted out of joining us. Point me to the motel.”
“I’ll hop in and direct you. I parked between two spaces, so I’ll pull over and you can park beside me. I’ll touch base with Colt if you want to drop your dog and your gear in the room first.”
“Sure, but I may make an early night of it. In the morning I’m going to the auction barn. Dinah asked me to check pawn shops that sell Western gear, too.”
“Colt is freaked over losing that stallion. Ace thinks he got stolen because Colt proved how good he can buck. He can’t wait to get home, as if he has a way of locating Midnight when you and Dinah can’t.”
“A horse doesn’t just vanish. I figure whoever has him will hide him awhile, then when the furor dies down, they’ll sell him for a fraction of his worth. Angie Barrington thought someone might try to disguise him.”
“That would be difficult. He’s in top form since Ace, Aunt Sarah and Colt fattened him up. I suppose whoever took him could cut his mane and tail.” They continued to talk about the horse as Duke stowed his gear. A few minutes later they joined Colt at the pub and more cowboys came up and commiserated over their loss. Duke passed around packs of Angie’s horse treats over the course of the evening.
Tired from the drive, he had one beer after his meal to be friendly, then he went back to the motel. He took Zorro for a walk around the arena. Duke considered calling Angie just to hear her voice, but he chickened out and crashed for the night instead.
The next day Beau slept in. Colt joined Duke for breakfast. A lot of old friends came up and asked how they could get some horse treats. Excited for Angie, Duke took their names. He didn’t know if she had business cards since she hadn’t given him any. Right after breakfast he and Colt drove to the auction barn.
“We have your notices posted where any seller bringing in a horse
will see it. No one here takes kindly to horse thieving,” the barn owner said.
Taking the owner at his word, the cousins were nevertheless less talkative on the drive back to the rodeo grounds. They parted ways there and Duke hiked to the pens to check out the bulls. For his first ride on Friday he’d drawn a bull called Holy Roller.
“He’s big and bad,” Beau said, stepping up behind his brother. “He’s known for bucking inside the chute.”
“Anybody stay on him eight seconds?” Duke asked.
“Not the last two times out. He’s in contention for bull of the year.”
“Great!” Duke expelled a tightly controlled breath. “Who did you get?”
“Whiskey Sour. He kicks high and comes down stiff-legged. If I can keep from flying off over his head I may be able to ride him out.”
“Hey, what’s up with Austin?” Beau suddenly asked. “I ran into him at the hot-dog stand and invited him to meet me at five to hoist a brew. He turned me down flat and was acting odd. Distracted.”
Duke shook his head. “He slept the whole trip. Outside of him saying he hadn’t ridden since April and he needs to land in the money, I don’t know what’s bugging him. He and Dinah got into it the other evening, too.”
“What’s new there? Could be he’s fighting with his dad again, or maybe with his sister. I asked how Cheyenne is doing, and Austin shrugged is all.”
“Are you sweet on Cheyenne?”
Beau frowned. “I’m not interested in her like that, Duke.”
“Why not? She’s pretty.”
“She’s got kids and I’m not ready to be a dad. Besides, her husband offed himself. That’s a bit too much baggage for me.”
“Hmm.” Duke thought about Angie and Lucas. “I think you could be a good dad if you cared about the kid or kids and loved their mother.” Duke corrected himself to include more than one child because he didn’t want Beau digging. But, too late, Beau put two and two together, and Duke had already mentioned Angie too frequently last night.
“Do you have the hots for Angie Barrington?”
Duke scowled at his brother.
“Every guy in the family is falling. The whole time Colt and I were in South Dakota he mooned over missing Leah and the kids. And Ace is gonna be a dad before the year is out. Ain’t happenin’ to me,” Beau declared. “It hurts too bad when a relationship ends. Marriage isn’t in my cards,” he added, shaking his head. “Not in yours, either, right, Duke?”
“Ri...ght,” Duke drawled slowly. But he wasn’t at all sure. If he was honest with his brother he might have said he’d thought more about marriage in the past few weeks than he had in his whole entire life.
* * *
FRIDAY, THE ATMOSPHERE changed at the rodeo grounds and took on a carnival quality. The air smelled of popcorn and spices as vendors opened up. The grandstands filled, and the beer barns did a thriving business as old friends met up.
Duke, Beau and Colt watched the opening from the sidelines. Colt went off to handle the stock he’d brought. Beau stopped to talk with two of the barrel racers he knew. At two, Duke took Zorro back to the motel and collected his gear for his ride.
Beau turned in a passable score, but it wasn’t great. He came to where Duke was clipping on heavy chaps. Duke donned a padded chest plate, but yanked back his hand when Beau took over wrapping it. “Hey, watch it.”
“This hand still tender from when you cinched it too tight in Sheridan?”
“Yeah,” Duke mumbled. “I brought a thicker glove.”
“That’s good, but maybe it’d be best if you switched hands.”
“I’m not as ambidextrous as you, Beau. This’ll be good.”
“I think you should wear a helmet with a face mask.”
Duke glanced at his brother now helping him buckle on arm guards. “You want me to look like a baseball catcher? You don’t wear all this padding.”
“Well, it’s not cool to wear a helmet, but with this bull it’s better than getting your face stomped. You’re aiming to rack up points, not trying to impress a lady.”
Duke rolled his eyes. “I hate wearing a mouth guard, but if Holy Roller is a chute slammer, he could break my jaw.”
Beau agreed.
The big bull was indeed a chute slammer. Handlers yanked Duke up out of the chute four times before the snorting animal quit fighting enough for his rider to lock on and get a good seat. The instant the chute opened Holy Roller crashed back into the side of the chute, catching Duke’s left leg. He shot his right arm up calling a fair ride so as not to lose precious seconds. It indicated to a cheering crowd that he wasn’t injured.
The bull bucked and kicked, attempting to dislodge Duke and the clanging bell cinched to his belly. He whirled and spun in dizzying circles, snapping Duke’s head forward and back. Clinging with his knees and heels, Duke slid to one side. He counted off seconds in his addled brain.
At last the horn blew and the bullfighters moved in. Duke released his grip on the rope and kicked off the still-crazed bull. Holy Roller whipped around, forcing Duke to race toward the nearest fence in a galloping hobble. A roar of approval went up from the bleachers as Beau and Colt pulled Duke up. The bull escaped the clowns and made one last bellow and tried to butt Duke’s backside.
“Wow, you are one lucky dude that bull’s horns turn down instead of up and out,” Colt said, breathing hard as he gave his cousin a congratulatory backslap.
“You’ll earn extra points for staying on past the buzzer on such a rough ride. How’s the leg?” Beau asked, watching Duke rub his left knee.
“It’s not broke. Mostly my knee got whacked. It’ll be black-and-blue by morning.”
“Think you can ride tomorrow?” A guy with a clipboard stepped out from behind Colt. “If your time holds up, and since Dan Ralston just got throwed at first bounce, it looks as if you get your pick of bulls for tomorrow.”
“How about Hornet? He gave me a good ride a couple of months ago.”
“You got it. I’ll turn in your choice. Better ice that leg, son.”
“Guess so. I brought a few blue ice packs. How did Austin do? I missed watching his bareback event.”
“He did really well. If he turns in an equivalent ride tomorrow, he’ll win some cash. As will you, my man,” Colt said, sounding pleased.
That was the best thing about being a rodeo family, Duke thought as he limped to the room. They could be in fierce competition, but they all rooted for one another in the end.
Beau caught up to him outside the motel. “My time wasn’t good enough to let me ride tomorrow. I’m going to pull out at first light and catch the rodeo in Great Falls.”
“Will you make it back for ours in Roundup?”
“Only if I haul ass. Don’t lecture, Duke. I’m teasing. You know I wouldn’t miss the hometown gig. But if I hope to match you in cash, I’ve gotta ride in twice the rodeos as you.”
“That’s bogus, Beau. I’ve watched you ride bulls for years. You have a better style and, in general, ride smoother than me.”
Beau hooted with laughter. “You can say that with a straight face—you who are only points away from the national finals?”
Duke shucked the rest of his gear and stooped to pet Zorro before he dropped down on his bed and took the ice pack Beau dug out of the cooler. “Tell me why you win when we aren’t competing against each other?”
Beau looked startled. “I don’t know. Maybe you get better bulls.”
�
��Sure...like I did today? Oh, forget it. I don’t want to argue,” Duke said.
“We can’t both be top dog. Colt’s winning well. Thunder Ranch is looking good.”
“Yeah. I’ve been thinking if I win at Nationals, Aunt Sarah and Ace can make a splash with it on Thunder Ranch’s website. You know, top stock and top contenders.”
“You bet,” Beau said, grinning as he handed his brother the ice pack.
* * *
SATURDAY DAWNED. DUKE’S LEG felt somewhat better, but as he’d expected, it was discolored. He moved his gear to his pickup so Beau could check out and take off for Great Falls. The second day of a rodeo, fans who held tickets to all the events tended to be hardened rodeo buffs. The best riders rode on day two, adding to the excitement and the pressure.
Colt found Duke at noon. “Listen, coz, my stock are done competing before your ride. I’m finished, and Austin rides next. If you don’t care, I’m gonna leave. Austin said he’ll help me drive. If you don’t hang around until morning, you’ll catch up to us. Pulling a trailer filled with stock slows me down.”
Duke thought about telling Colt good luck on getting help driving from Austin, but that might sound like sour grapes. “You go on ahead. I may find a room and spend the night. I should have kept the one Beau had, but I let it go since he was paying. I like to shower after a ride and rest a bit. Tell Dinah we came up dry on leads here on our thieves.”
“Will do. Have a good ride and take care driving home. We’re all going to be working hard the next couple of weeks getting ready for our fair and rodeo.”
“That reminds me. I promised to train a team of little guys for the Wild Pony Race. Can you spare me a corral for a few days, and scare up a couple of ponies?”
“Sure. I can’t wait till Davey is old enough to enter, but Leah signed Jill up. She’s tough like her mother.” Duke smiled as Colt’s obvious pride in his stepkids puffed up his chest. But then Colt’s own smile dimmed. “I just wish I had had the brains to be there for Evan when he was younger.”
Harts Of The Rodeo 3 - Duke - Deputy Cowboy Page 9
