Cowboy Charade: Rodeo Knights, A Western Romance Novel

by Barbara McMahon

  “Yeah. I’ve done all four horses. I only need this one today for the calf roping.”

  “Couldn’t you get anyone for steer wrestling? I know team roping's pretty specialized, but a hazer just rides in a straight line.”

  He looked beyond the fence to where contestants were milling around, some walking their horses, some grooming them, others leaning against the sides of trucks and trailers shooting the breeze.

  “Seems some folks think Kyle might be guilty–and me too by association.”

  “I’m sorry. That sucks.”

  “It is what it is. But the sooner I can find the real culprit the better we’ll all be.”

  “And how are you going to do that?” she asked, intrigued.

  He glanced at her. Her blonde hair was in the usual braid down her back, her cowboy hat pulled low to shelter her eyes from the early morning sun. She was as pretty as a picture. He’d watched her in those barrel races for the last couple of years. Why hadn’t he made a move to get to know her before this? She'd refused a date. But he could have spent some time with her without any involvement of a romantic nature. He shook his head. He sure didn't have time for any thoughts like that. He had his partner to get out of jail and hopefully a buckle to win at the nationals.

  “I haven’t a clue. But the sheriff isn’t looking any further. He’s convinced he has the man responsible,” Toby said.

  “I gave it a lot of thought last night,” she said slowly. “There’s a couple of guys I wouldn’t mind being guilty, but I've never seen anything suspicious. Could it be someone not associated with the rodeo?”

  He shrugged. “Who knows? It seems logical that the most likely guy is someone everyone's used to seeing so not to cause comment if he’s around the trucks. And for all I know there're other trucks carrying drugs, too. It was Kyle’s bad luck to have his in that crash.”

  She shook her head. “It’s unlikely there’s much more around,” she said. “I mean, first of all there’s the problem of finding trucks where no one sees him putting in the drugs. And then there's Radar.”

  “How’s that?”

  “Radar was in drug enforcement before he was injured. He gives a definite signal if there are drugs around.”

  “Did he ever come near Kyle’s truck?”

  “I have no idea, but if he did and there were drugs present, he would have alerted.”

  “So maybe the drugs were stashed there recently,” Toby said thoughtfully. “That's the thing, we don't know if the drugs have been there for a day or two or weeks. If it's someone on the circuit, they could have stashed it there weeks ago, waiting however long they wants before opening up the truck door and taking them. Of course he'd have to make sure no one was around.”

  “I could walk Radar around before everyone leaves, just to see if anything suspicious pops up,” she suggested.

  “It'd be interesting to see if there’s more. Or if this was their only stash.”

  “As soon as my event's over, we’ll wander around,” she said, urging her horse forward.

  Toby watched her, wondering what he’d do if Radar found more drugs. Should he call the sheriff right away?

  Or should he wait until he had more to go on?

  The announcement over the loud speaker ended his thinking. He had an event to win.

  Toby rarely watched the other events, focusing on his own events and psyching himself up to perform his best.

  The one exception was the barrel racing. He liked watching Susannah perform. The ladies competing were good. He couldn’t help think that Susannah’s form was the best and when she raced across the finish line, he didn’t need the final score to know she’d won the event.

  Now it was time for him to do likewise on his event. With only one event of the three he’d paid to enter, he needed a win to recoup the money from the entry fees.

  When the calf roping event was up, he drew number seven. He hoped it would prove a lucky number. Though this was more a test of skill than luck. First lasso the calf. Then flip him on the ground and tie three legs, step back and pray the tie held.

  Sonny was the gelding he used for this event and he was well-trained. In the off season, Kyle and Toby kept up the training for all their horses. Sonny knew to pull the rope taut and hold until Toby gave him the command to give it some slack. If the calf didn’t rise in six seconds, it would all come down to time it took to put him on the ground.

  Toby knew he was good, but so were a lot of the other cowboys competing.

  It was hot, and the sun blazed down from a cloudless sky. The arena was almost full. Sunday was the last day of this rodeo and the fans had turned out.

  He loved the anticipation that was almost palpable at the beginning of each ride. The applause was often the only reward a rider had—especially if he ended up with a no time.

  He sat on his horse outside the arena enjoying the few moments before he was up. The exhibit barns were to the far right. People were walking through to see the bulls and calves up for sale, the 4-H show stock. To the right, behind the arena were the holding pens for the rodeo stock.

  Dust filled the air. A slight breeze kept it from being too hot to ride.

  Another cowboy came out of the arena and nodded to Toby. He was up.

  Toby rode hard, got the calf on the ground first try and tied the legs, stepping back, Sonny gave slack. The calf struggled to get to its feet but when the bell sounded, he was still firmly on the ground.

  The crowd roared. Toby waved his appreciation before stepping in to release the calf. He glanced at the scoreboard. His time was the best of the day. But there were six more cowboys before the event was over.

  He wouldn’t count on anything until the final score was posted.

  He mounted Sonny and they rode slowly out of the arena as he recoiled his rope.

  Susannah was by the gate. She gave him a bright smile. “Good job, cowboy!”

  “Thanks. You did pretty good yourself.” He dismounted and moved out of the way of the next contestant ready to enter the arena.

  She nodded. I’m ready to head out for Colorado Springs. How about you?”

  “I was planning to. I need to check on Kyle first. If he can’t get out, I need to see to his horses before I go. My rig’s only set up for two and those are mine. I can’t carry his, as well.”

  “Good luck. I hope they find the real culprit. I'll see you in Colorado Springs, then. Good luck with the event, I see you’re at the top right now. Only a few more riders to go.”

  “Fingers crossed.”

  She gave him a bright smile and turned toward the field where the trucks and trailers were parked. Stopping suddenly, she turned back to Toby.

  “Oh, we walked around. Nothing.”

  “Thanks.”

  Toby watched her walk away, liking the way she moved. Her braid swayed in the back. He wondered how long her hair was when not confined. Would it feel like silk or thick honey?

  Sonny nudged him and Toby turned to his horse.

  “You’re right, I’m crazy in the head thinking about silky hair when Kyle's stuck in some two-bit jail. Come on, let’s get you settled so I can get into town.”

  Susannah had groomed her mare after her event. She collected her winnings and had packed everything up. Impulse had her going back to the arena to watch the calf roping event. She rooted for Toby but kept her mouth shut in the midst of the others watching from the gate. He made calf roping look easy.

  She’d tried it a time or two and came away chagrined she hadn't been able to lasso a single horn!

  “Okay, Radar, we’re ready to roll,” she said, shutting the cargo door on the horse trailer after putting her saddle inside. “We’ll make Colorado Springs before dark.”

  She needed to hitch the trailer to her truck and they’d be off. Some of the others had already left. The field was beginning to look empty. By the end of today’s rodeo, it would be vacant again until the next time a rodeo played this town.

  Suddenly Radar sank down on
his belly and looked at her truck.

  “What’s up?” she asked walking to the truck. “Come on, it’s time to move.”

  The dog didn’t budge.

  Susannah stared at him. His gaze was fixed on her truck, his ears alert, his gaze never wavering.

  A sick feeling came over her. Slowly she opened the truck. Nothing looked disturbed. She saw her duffel bag behind the seats, some miscellaneous things she packed around it. The front seat was empty. She looked at the door. Wasn’t that where Toby said they’d found the drugs on Kyle’s truck.

  Closing the door, she walked over to Radar and squatted down beside him.

  “Good boy. We’ll look into it. Come on, I need to get help.”

  Only she wasn’t sure which way to turn. What if she told the cops and they thought she was spooked by Kyle’s arrest and a part of it--trying to avoid arrest if discovered?

  Or what if the drug dealer was watching her to see what she did? What if he came after her or her animals?

  Feeling really shaky, she headed over to where Toby was grooming his horse.

  “Toby,” she said.

  He looked at her. “What’s wrong?” he asked, dropping the brush and crossing over to her.

  “Radar did his thing.”

  “What thing?”

  “Alerting for drugs. And it’s for my truck.”

  Toby glanced around. “Are you sure?”

  “I’m sure he alerted for it. I checked my truck and it looks okay, but what if there are drugs in the door like with Kyle? What should I do?”

  “Let me get my horse settled, then you and I are going somewhere away from here to check it out. Okay?”

  She nodded. “He could be wrong. He’s been with me for two years now and only once alerted. Kids had some dope. Why would anyone put drugs in my truck?”

  “Why would they put it in Kyle’s? Risk-free transportation. Once we’re where they want the drugs, they go in and remove it and probably no one's the wiser. Who knows--this could have been going on for months.”

  “Should we go to the police?” she asked.

  He nodded, “Probably. But let’s see what we have if anything. The sheriff isn’t the friendliest guy to rodeo cowboys.”

  “You don’t think he’d believe I was transporting drugs?”

  “Might not if you turn it in. But you never know. Maybe it’s nothing. Maybe someone using drugs leaned against your truck at some point and that’s what Radar’s smelling.”

  She looked around, worry etching her face.

  “Don’t do that. Come on, let’s go for a ride,” Toby said, brushing his fingertips across her forehead as if the erase the lines.

  “What?”

  “You have some tools in the truck, right?” He never knew any cowboy not to travel with tools to keep the rigs going.

  “Yes.”

  “Get in, I’ll drive.”

  “Are we going to the sheriff’s?” she asked, snapping her fingers. Radar rose and jumped into the truck, over into the space behind the seats, settling on the duffel bag.

  “Not yet. Let’s check it out first.”

  Toby glanced around. Not seeing anyone who appeared to be paying special attention to them, he started the truck. In only a couple of minutes, he turned left out of the field onto the road that paralleled the county fairgrounds. After about a mile, he turned right, keeping a close watch in the rear view mirror.

  “Is someone following us?” she asked, turning around to look out the back window.

  “Not as far as I can tell,” he said, speeding up a little.

  Two more turns convinced him no one was behind them. He then turned and headed away from town.

  “Where are we going?”

  “There’s a rest stop not too far. Pretty isolated and run down. I don’t think it’s used much being so close to town. I figured we could stop there and see what’s what. I trust your dog, but let’s make sure before we try to figure things out.”

  Susannah nodded, glancing behind them one more time. “Okay. I have to tell you I don’t like this at all.”

  Toby glanced at her. “No one does.”

  In less than ten minutes, he pulled off the county road into an overgrown rest stop. There were two wooden picnic tables to the left of the weed choked parking area. A dilapidated outhouse sat at the opposite end of cleared space.

  Susannah wrinkled her nose. “Ugh, I can see why no one stops here. It looks awful.”

  “And isolated.” He pulled the truck as close to one of the picnic tables as he could. It was sheltered from view of the road by some wild brush overgrown and scraggly.

  He got out of the truck and left the door open. In two seconds, Susannah was beside him, studying the interior panel of the door.

  “I don’t even know how to get it off,” she commented looking at it.

  “I can figure it out,” Toby said.

  The dog jumped on the seat and almost knocked Toby over when he jumped down to the ground. Turning, he lay down, his ears pricked forward at he stared at the door.

  “He’s alerting again,” she said, glancing between Radar and the door.

  Toby rummaged in the space behind the seats and pulled out two screwdrivers. Setting to work, he removed screws, popped grommets and soon had the interior panel in his hands. Tucked into the spaces between the frame of the door were several plastic wrapped bricks of a white substance.

  Chapter Three

  Radar never moved.

  “Heroine do you think?” she asked, reaching out.

  “Don’t touch anything,” he warned, grabbing her hand and holding it away from the packets. “You definitely don’t want a single fingerprint on the wrappers. That’s one of the things I think will help Kyle. His prints aren’t on the packets.”

  “Who would do such a thing?” Susannah asked, studying the packets carefully arranged around the framework. “Do you think the other door has stuff, too?”

  “Don’t know.” Toby released her hand and lifted the panel back in place.

  “What do we do now?” she asked as he carefully reattached it to the door.

  “Since I don’t trust the way the sheriff works here, I suggest we call in help.”

  “Who, DEA?”

  “Do you know anyone in the DEA?” he asked, finishing up and tossing the screwdrivers back into the truck.

  “No, why would I?”

  He shrugged, “Just wondered. I’m thinking more along the lines of a private investigator. Someone with a vested interest in seeing this kind of thing stopped, yet protecting the reputation of the rodeo.”

  She looked at him, suddenly glad he was with her. She didn’t have a clue how to handle the situation.

  “And who is that?” she asked.

  “Jesse Knight.”

  “I know that name. Wasn’t he a championship bull rider a while back? I don’t know him, but I’ve seen him ride. What could he do?”

  “He and his brothers are connected to the rodeo. As I heard it they busted open a ring that was injuring animals and found they liked undercover work, so they opened a private investigation agency–primarily for situations involving the rodeo. The last thing any of us want is for authorities to shut down the circuit while the cops investigate.”

  “Which could take months.”

  “And maybe never turn up the perpetrators. They’ll go to ground if they get wind of an investigation. Which is why Jesse would be perfect. He has ties to the rodeo and the knowledge to investigate what’s going on without raising suspicions.”

  She rubbed her palms against her jeans. “Can’t we take the drugs out and leave them here? No one would find them and I don’t like driving around with them in the truck. What if I get stopped like Kyle did?”

  “For the time being, let’s leave things as they are.” He pulled his cell phone from his pocket and checked it.

  “No service this far out of town. I’ll track down Jesse and give him a call once we get back. In the meantime, act normally. You�
�re heading out today, right?”

  She nodded. “I was about ready to hitch up the trailer when Radar alerted.”

  “Hook up your trailer as normal and go. Don’t get into any accidents.”

  She tried to smile but couldn’t. “Who would do this?” she asked again.

  “I don’t know, but we’ll see if we can find out.”

  “Your truck’s not transporting, right?” she said.

  “Nope, thankfully. The cops checked it while I was being questioned. I guess they figured Kyle and I were partners in more than team roping.”

  “This could ruin him and it’s not his fault,” she said slowly.

  “I know.”

  “And me, too, if anyone finds this.”

  “Let’s get going. The sooner we have some help, the better,” Toby said.

  The drive back to the fairgrounds was quiet. Toby reviewed what he knew about the Knight brothers. He’d met Jesse a time or two back when he was competing. How many people knew what happened then? Would anyone involved in drug smuggling know Jesse and his brothers had formed an investigation team?

  If not, who better to be on the spot and able to keep an eye on things without arousing suspicion? He was willing to take that chance.

  “You know, when we’re all competing, the parking area’s totally empty. Cowboys are either practicing or watching. Even the women competing like to watch the different events. Someone could easily put stuff in a bunch of trucks and no one ever see them,” Susannah said.

  “Let’s just hope the sheriff doesn’t come to that conclusion and start opening up every truck on the lot.”

  “Oh, I never thought of that. I want to leave right away.”

  “I’ll help you hitch your trailer up and you can leave as soon as we get back. And I’d suggest not stopping until you are well away from town.”

  When they pulled into the lot, there were two county sheriff cars parked near the entrance to the parking area.

  “Oh no,” she said. Her heart sank. What if they opened every truck door and found the drugs in hers. They should have hidden the packets at that rest stop.

  “Don’t borrow trouble until we know what’s going on,” Toby said.