“Where’s Cowboy?” Joe pressed.
“You’ve got me on speaker phone, Roberts? You’re not helping yourself. All those protesters—”
“No one called them. They saw the trailers and got curious, Benton,” Darlene answered, over Joe’s attempt to hush her.
“Who the hell are you?” Benton asked.
“Your worst nightmare!” Darlene said dramatically, and Joe growled and pulled the phone closer.
“You knew the horse we wanted most was Cowboy, Benton.”
There was a snicker on the other end. “And you’re going to get him, Roberts. If you play nice.”
Jody pulled Joe’s hand away from his chest. “We did everything you asked. You have no right!”
“Nah, honey, but I got the horse.”
“The sheriff—”
“Can have a copy of a bill of sale for sixty-three horses. And a signed tally that sixty-three horses were loaded by your guys.”
“What do you want, Benton?”
“Some of my compadres from Louisiana came to visit for a day or two. Problem is, there’s not much to do around here. They’d kill for a little fun. Here’s the deal. You ride Cowboy for my friends, then you can take him home.”
“What?” Gasps and protests rippled through the crowd, but Joe stood up, and concentrated on the man on the phone, unaware that Jody was following him. “What do you mean, I ride him?”
“Rodeo rules. Bareback, eight seconds. My friends get a kick whether you stay on or get tramped into the dirt. Either way. You get the horse if you stay on.”
“And if I don’t?”
“You know what, Roberts? I’m a decent enough guy. You try to ride him, and if you can get him off my property within twenty minutes after that, he’s yours. Easy enough.”
“No,” Jody protested, shaking her head. “We can’t trust him.”
“You got a lot of witnesses, there, girl, don’t you? Can’t back down from that, can I?”
“I’ll ride Cowboy,” Joe said, closing his eyes briefly and hearing gasps of worry all around him. “But if you’re having friends there, I’m taking the guys who helped me today. And some of my family is here.”
“There was a lot of picture taking going on today along that highway,” Benton retorted. “Nobody needs to be there to take pictures.”
“Will your friends have cameras?” Joe challenged.
“Well, you know, phones today.” Benton sounded flustered, finally, and Joe nodded.
“Take anyone you want, Benton, but my guys worked their tails off today. Time?”
Benton laughed. “That’s easy, son. High noon.”
“He hung up,” Joe muttered.
Conversation erupted around them, arguments and outrage blistering the descending dark.
Darlene squeezed Jody’s hand. “You two go get together on this,” she said gently. “No one else’s opinion matters.” Then she grinned. “Just so you know, at least Dora and Mom will be here tomorrow morning.” She let go of Jody, put a hand on each of their shoulders, and pushed them. “Get gone. We’ll wrap things up here.”
“Come to the house with me?” Jody asked, unsure that he would.
“Of course.” They walked together in silence, the noise behind them fading.
“I couldn’t face that empty stall again,” Jody told him as they walked into her room. She shut the door. “Joe, you can’t go tomorrow. You can’t ride Cowboy.”
“What?” Joe stared at her. “You heard Benton. He’ll kill Cowboy.”
“Am I supposed to sacrifice you for him? No!” Jody shook her head emphatically. “Not happening.”
“Jody, I rode him once.”
“I know,” she mumbled. “But Richard asked me not to let you ride broncs.”
“He had no right.”
“He loves you. And he’s family.” Jody leaned her head against his chest. “Don’t, Joe.”
He sighed and wrapped his arms around her. “I have to,” he said simply. “This has become my fight, too, and Cowboy has been part of it since I won the buckle on him.”
“I don’t think I can go back out there tonight,” Jody whispered. “They all tried so hard, and now….”
“We don’t need to,” Joe murmured, and she could feel him smile against her. “Darlene’s got it covered.”
***
The scene at Benton’s the next morning was surreal. Benton’s friends had an expensive awning covering them as they peered into the arena, chatting and swilling beer. There were about twenty of them, Jody estimated, not wanting to count one by one. The last thing she wanted was that hideous group watching her try to get their number right.
Joe and she had more support. Everyone who had helped with the horse rescue came to see the rematch between the two former champions, and brought friends. Sylvia and most of the crew were nowhere to be seen, but Darlene explained she was afraid some of Benton’s friends might know her. Besides, she whispered softly, elbowing Dora, they both had high-tech cameras.
Jody fought constant nausea from the time she woke up in the morning until they walked from the car to the makeshift arena. Her heart lurched when she saw Cowboy tied tightly to the fence, held in place by a hastily constructed chute. Then she looked at Joe and almost lost her composure. Only the fact that it was just minutes before twelve made her clench her fists and keep walking toward the site of the spectacle.
“No matter what happens, go straight to the trailer afterward,” Joe reminded her. “Chuck and Ram are as good as they come at trailering horses, but I saw how he reacted to you that day we met.”
“The day you will curse the rest of your life?” Jody asked, trying to sound like someone other than herself.
“The day my life changed,” Joe corrected and pulled her into his arms for a long kiss.
“Two minutes!” Benton bellowed and Joe moved away. “Get to the front of the trailer, not inside, Jody, I mean it—and let Cowboy know you’re there.”
She couldn’t say anything, so she walked toward the group of friends waiting along the unshaded fence.
“No matter what happens,” Joe repeated, and she moved her hand in acknowledgement.
They were getting the rigging on Cowboy without much effort. Had he always waited so stoically, realizing escape would only come when the gate opened?
She hurried to get out of the arena in time, helped by a quick boost from one of the ranch hands. He followed and seconds later, the gate swung open.
Cowboy whirled and burst into the ring, his solid front legs bracing themselves in the turf as he bucked viciously, moving forward in lunges, then burying his head and trying to catapult his rider to the ground. Six seconds into the ride, Joe slipped hard to the right, and Jody watched as he fought to stay on while still keeping his rope hand up.
The sudden blast of the buzzer stunned her. Momentary relief flooded through her, but then the rigging fell away and Joe hit the ground. Cowboy bucked a final time and shied away from Joe, who was still inert in the ring. Upset by the clamor, he barreled around the ring in a panic, and Jody couldn’t breathe. Then Joe slowly sat up, moved his legs and arms, and stood.
Trembling from the toll of exertion on his undernourished body, Cowboy stopped at the farthest side of the corral, away from everyone. Sweat drenched his neck, shoulders and haunches, and his sides heaved. After a few seconds, his head dropped.
“Off the lot in fifteen minutes or else,” Benton shouted, and even some of his guests booed.
“I need a halter and rope right now,” Jody murmured to Chuck, who came up with one almost instantly. “Back the trailer up to the gate.” She flushed slightly, finally tearing her eyes away from the rider and horse in the ring. “Please.”
“Just go,” he said, nodding. “Hey, Ram, get a couple of ropes ready just in case.”
Hundreds of eyes followed Jody’s diagonal path across the arena.
“You okay?” she asked Joe, who nodded.
“Jody—”
She ign
ored him, calling out to the horse instead. “Hey, Cowboy. Silly guy. Come on. We’ll find you a treat.”
Cowboy’s ears pricked and he turned his head slightly, but the big body tensed visibly.
“Joe, find me food—grain, or fruit, or a candy—anything,” she said urgently.
“Right here,” someone called, holding out a half-eaten granola bar. Joe retrieved it quickly, but walked back, stopping within arm’s reach and holding it out. Jody took it, put it in her palm and extended her hand.
“Cowboy, come on. Look what I have.”
He lowered his head a little, sniffing, but stayed by the fence. Jody walked toward him, talking softly, hand out, stopping a step away. Cowboy’s nostrils flared, then he nickered and stepped forward, nosing Jody. She laughed and handed him a bit of the oat bar, then slipped the halter over his head. “Come on, big guy,” she coaxed, patting his neck. “Let’s go home.”
No one made a sound as Jody led Cowboy straight across the ring and walked up the ramp. He put his front hooves on the ramp, then balked, snorting and throwing his head.
Don’t get in the trailer, Jody. Watching was hard as memories of his injury flooded back, and Joe moved toward the trailer, but Chuck grasped his arm.
“Her horse,” he said succinctly. “Give me your keys.”
Joe stared at him in confusion, but handed them over.
“When she walks out of that trailer, you go get in. Benton’s going to start something. Don’t embarrass her or risk the horse if he does.” Then he grinned and winked at Joe. “She does not need another cowboy to save.”
Jody’s voice called out from inside the trailer, urging the horse to follow her. His whole frame shook, but step by reluctant step, he did.
“Good boy,” Jody enthused. “We’re going home, Cowboy. Just a little while longer.”
Then she walked out and reached for the ramp, but several onlookers beat her to the task, locking Cowboy safely inside.
And the entire crowd erupted into chaotic cheers.
Except Benton, leaning on the fence, who called over to them, “Bet someone gets some ass tonight, hey, Rogers?”
Joe lurched toward the fence, but Chuck clung to him as if dogging a calf.
“Don’t you dare embarrass Jody!” he snapped. “You walk over and drive away. She’s waiting for you. And the whole crew’s meeting outside Cowboy’s stall. Go.”
Benton snickered but the crowd cheered as they climbed into the cab and headed home with Cowboy.
Chapter Sixteen
“I can’t believe you enjoy editing all those students’ papers,” Joe muttered, walking to his own chair when she swatted his hand away. “Boring!”
“Occasionally. But until we decide what we’re doing with sixty odd horses, I need a real job.” She smiled across at him. “At least until more of the horses can go to new homes. I’m so glad Hope is being trained as a therapy horse.”
“That’s a perfect spot for her,” he agreed. “Richard still wants us to go to Dallas for Thanksgiving. But he said they could come here if we can’t leave the horses.”
“Yeah, right.” Jody smiled at the idea. “We couldn’t fit everyone in even if we bought bedrolls and tents. He doesn’t still want us to talk to his financial advisor, does he?”
“Yes. He thinks we should take the steps to become an established horse rescue.”
“Maybe someday.” Jody stared absently at the wall for a moment, then remembered. “We got a nice thank you from Heaven’s Wings Horse Rescue for featuring them on the website. They’ve gotten some contributions they really needed.”
“All’s well that ends well,” he said, glancing pointedly at the bed. She laughed and flung a notepad at him. Then she started pulling clothes off.
***
The gray horse Benton had switched for Cowboy was the most vicious she’d ever seen. Eric wouldn’t even throw hay over the fence into the paddock that the gelding occupied alone, and Joe kept insisting he be euthanized or put out with Eric’s cattle and forgotten.
“We’ll get there, won’t we?” Jody asked. “You’ve probably been abused all your life. You can’t get over something like that in a month or two, right boy?”
If anything, the gelding flattened his ears even more. When she held an apple out over the fence, he snorted, then suddenly charged the fence. The apple fell to the ground, and she barely jumped down before he crashed into the fence.
“What the hell’s wrong with you, Jody?” Joe’s voice behind her startled her, as did the anger tightening his face when she turned. “Do you have some damn death wish?”
The words stung. She’d never seen him mad at her, but she could feel the heat of his fury even though he didn’t touch her.
“He needs work,” she said, shrugging. “Joe, calm down. I wasn’t in any danger.”
“What if the fence hadn’t held? What if he’d gotten your arm? He attacks any horse we try to put in here for company. He’s not Cowboy, Jody. He’s not going to be okay!”
Jody felt tears sting. She wanted so much to be able to control the stupid things. They just made her feel weak. She turned and looked at the horse until she could reason with Joe again.
“Look, I know you worry, but you don’t need to. I’ll be fine.”
“I don’t want to see you anywhere near this pen, Jody.”
“What?” Jody stared at him, open-mouthed. “You can’t mean—”
“I mean if I see you here, again, I’ll put the horse down.”
“You’re telling me what I can and can’t do? No!”
“I will not come over—and Eric won’t—to find you in a mangled heap in the dirt. Why can’t you just see that it’s for your own safety?”
“So I listen, the way you did when I begged you not to ride Cowboy?”
“If I hadn’t, you wouldn’t have Cowboy. This horse has no reason to live, Jody. Cowboy had every reason to. You’ve proved that.” He paused, his chest heaving with emotion. “You want me to tell you why you can’t come here again? Because I love you too much to let you. Okay?”
Jody stared at him in shock, then her own anger ignited deep inside. “Now you love me, Joe? We both agreed there were no ties. You didn’t want a relationship. And I don’t want one more person using love as a reason for me not to do what I want. I lost Cowboy because my stepfather ‘loved’ me! I cry too easily and I can’t say the right words, but I am not some little ragdoll—”
“No one ever said you were.” Joe turned away. “I don’t want to stand here and yell at you, Jody. I’m telling you to leave this brute alone.”
“You don’t have that right, Joe Roberts! Standing here on my ranch telling me what I can and can’t do!” She saw him wince and knew she’d gone too far. She wished she could choke back the reference to the ranch, but words failed her again.
He paused, looking over his shoulder. “So, just to be clear, I don’t have the right to demand anything out of this relationship?”
“No,” she whispered, unable to bend as she usually did.
He nodded and walked away.
That night, he slept in his room with the door shut. She didn’t sleep until the early morning hours, and when she finally dozed off, her alarm jolted her awake almost immediately.
She got up, dressed and went to find Joe. And apologize. He’d told her he loved her. She told him he had no rights on ‘her’ property. She thought of Cowboy, safe in his stall, and learning to be ridden with a saddle. Of Hope, off to work on a ranch serving troubled and disabled youth.
He wasn’t in his room. Her heart stopped when she looked out the front window. He was gone.
“Why in hell would you run a man like Joe off, girl?” Eric demanded, coming out of the kitchen.
“Run—what did he say?” Jody whispered, pressing her palms into her jeans so her hands wouldn’t shake.
“Come sit down a minute,” her stepfather ordered. He motioned her to the table, where his mug of coffee sat steaming. “Something to drink or eat?�
�� he asked awkwardly, and she shook her head.
“Can’t talk to you if you just stand holding that chair like I’ll hurt you, girl,” Eric told her gruffly. “Sit. Please.”
Jody eased herself into a chair, and he continued. “Joe said he’d let me know where he was going so he could keep up with the horses. Said he couldn’t stay if you didn’t understand why he didn’t want you endangering yourself.”
Jody hung her head, but blurted out the truth she’d carried for so many years. “That’s what you told me, too, Eric. First you lied and said Cowboy had died. Then you said you’d sold him because you didn’t want him to hurt me.”
“And that’s true, Jody. I didn’t want you to get hurt. Because your Mom—you were everything to her. I didn’t keep her from breeding horses, Jody. Katie got scared for you, afraid she might be hurt. Then she found out she was sick. She—we thought it was best, Jody. We never meant to hurt you and we would have taken it back, but we couldn’t.” He hung his head for a moment, and when he looked up, the strong, emotionless man she’d known for so long had tears in his eyes. “When you do something out of love, it’s not always what’s best for everyone,” he said quietly. “But it’s always the right reason to try.”
Jody grabbed a handful of napkins, wiped her face with one, and handed him some, smiling at him through tears. “Do I need to go to Dallas?”
Eric shook his head. “He went to Chuck’s for a few days.”
She walked around the table, shocking them both when she hugged his shoulders and kissed his cheek.
“Wish me luck,” she whispered.
“I always have,” he said.
***
Jody didn’t find Joe at Chuck’s ranch, but his wife told her to look for “the gang” at Red’s Diner. She found the small place easily and recognized his truck among a handful of others.
Going in alone was torture. Still, she forced herself to the back table where half a dozen men who’d helped Joe and her were eating and laughing.
Chuck saw her first and nudged Joe, whose fork fell back to his plate with a clang. The others started standing, but Jody made a motion with her hand, stopping them.
Saving Cowboy Page 8
