“Too bad. He used to have one of the biggest herds in the area.” Beau made a clucking noise with his tongue. “I think it was too hard for him after what happened last year.”
Beth had been with them that night. It was right after she’d come to the Diamond J, after her father’s death. Aidan said, “Beth impressed me that night. She jumped out of the truck and went right to Bert.” It had been so quiet that night. No cattle lowing in the pasture. No snuffling of breath, no munching on grass, no hooves rustling through the weeds.
“It scared her pretty bad.”
“When I first saw the gate hanging open that night, I thought his cattle had gotten out.” But then he’d seen the dual tire tracks that led right up to the gate. Though Beth didn’t seem to hadn’t immediately understood the implications of those facts, Beau and he had.
“Damned rustlers,” Beau growled. “I’m afraid we haven’t seen the last of them.”
Aidan swallowed hard as he recalled the worst part of that night at Bert’s place. “I don’t get why they left that one, though.” Those sons-of-bitches had taken the rest of the animals, then killed a heifer. Slit her throat and left her to die.
One corner of Beau’s lips curled up in a snarl. “Trying to throw the authorities off, trying to make it look like some sort of ritual sacrifice.”
Aidan pursed his lips. “That’s right. I did hear that the Sheriff thought it might be some kind of cult or something.”
“Enough!” Beau slapped his hand on the dash. After a few beats, he said in a forced tone, “Snap out of it and focus, or you’re gonna lose your shirt tonight!”
The memory of that night still felt fresh, even though that had been last summer. Aloud, he said, “You worry about your own shirt – I seem to recall that you still owe me from last week’s game.”
Beau laughed that hearty laugh of his as they turned into the long driveway. The tires crunched in the gravel, and as they passed over the creek, the lights cut through a light mist rising from the water. The truck rumbled as they climbed a the small hill.
They were almost at Bert’s place. Aidan looked across the pasture to the big oak tree. That was where he had buried the heifer.
Beau’s cell phone buzzed and he answered it. “Sure, sure. Yeah. We can do that. We’ve got a handful of hog panels in the barn that’d work, and it’ll be good for the calves to be socialized.”
When he ended the call, he glanced at Aidan. “Got a job for you to do tomorrow.”
Aidan rolled his eyes. “Is it a job I’m gonna want?”
“Beth wants you to take two calves to a kid’s birthday party tomorrow at two. She said she’d leave the address on a notepad in the office in the barn.”
“Great.” Aidan dropped his head back against the seat. Just what he wanted to do. Spend his Saturday with a bunch of screaming brats.
CHAPTER TEN
The Truck Stop
Fluffs of clouds here and there dotted the blue sky. Heat radiated off the blacktopped parking lot, and the big trucks parked at the back side of the lot looked like they were shimmering. A couple of bob-tailed trucks broke up the monotony of the regular semi loads. The livestock hauler she’d followed into the lot slanted into a space next to another 18 wheeler.
The driver’s side door swung open and a slight woman climbed down. Gina sat up straight, gripped the wheel and leaned forward. The woman wore bright red leggings, with a flowered skirt over them. Her tie-dyed t-shirt contained all the colors of the rainbow. But the kicker was her hair.
Pigtails.
Gina chewed her bottom lip as the woman slammed her truck door shut, then sashayed across the parking lot toward the convenience store section of the truck stop. The woman walked lightly, hands swinging as if she didn’t have a care in the world. Gina glanced around the parking lot, but didn’t see Steve’s black Ford F-150. The older truck would’ve been easy to spot, with lots of chrome and a few dents and dings.
Gina watched through the big plate glass window as the woman with the pigtails walked through the convenience store. She paused just inside the door, facing the window. Gina hadn’t been in the convenience store for ages – she usually got gas at the Casey’s or the Break Time in town – so she had no idea what the woman was looking at, but whatever it was caught the woman’s attention. The woman bent down to get a closer look, her frizzy hair disappearing from sight for a moment, then bobbing back up. The pigtails turned to the side and bobbed along toward the heart of the truck stop.
Gina hesitated, keys in one hand and the door handle in the other. She gazed at the truck stop. It couldn’t hurt to go inside and have a cup of coffee.
She pushed the car door open, then walked casually across the parking lot. She hoped that she didn’t run into anyone she knew. How would she – how could she? – explain what she was doing? She tugged the glass door open and stepped into the artificially cooled air of the truck stop, then looked around. She spotted the odd woman as she slid into a booth in the restaurant. A tired looking waitress refilled the bacon bits on the salad bar.
Gina caught the waitress’s eye and pointed to the first booth beyond the trucker section. The waitress nodded and Gina hurried through the trucker section, avoiding eye contact with the subject of her surveillance, and slid into the booth, facing the door. She watched the back of the odd woman. Gray streaked her frizzy red hair.
As Gina expected, the diner was busy. Truckers sat in booths, some alone, some paired off. Behind her, tables and booths were full.
The waitress dropped a stained menu in front of Gina. “Get ya somethin’ to drink?”
Gina turned her coffee cup upright in the saucer. “Just coffee, please. Decaf.”
“Be right back with it, hon.” The waitress walked away from Gina and stopped at the other woman’s booth. The waitress hurried past Gina toward the kitchen. Less than a minute later, she returned with a coffee pot in each hand, and poured Gina’s from the one with the green lid. She gestured at the cream and sugar, then bustled off and poured coffee out of the regular pot for the crazy lady.
The two women sat alone in their respective booths, surrounded by other people involved in conversations. Gina slowly stirred a sugar packet and two creamers into her coffee.
Gina hadn’t been planning to get anything, but she when she saw the chicken fingers on the menu, she changed her mind. Toby loved chicken fingers and that would give her an excuse to be at the truck stop. She ordered a one-trip salad bar for herself and chicken fingers with white cream gravy to go. After the waitress moved on to the crazy lady, Gina walked to the salad bar and filled her plate. She passed the waitress at the end of the salad bar.
Gina caught her by the arm, “Excuse me.”
The harried waitress smiled, after the briefest hint of a frown appeared on her brow. “Whatcha need?”
Gina leaned forward and whispered, “That woman with the pig tails? She looks familiar, but I can’t place her. Do you know her name?”
The waitress shook her head no, but added, “Drives one of them bull haulers. Comes in fairly regular.”
Gina thanked the woman for her time and walked back to her booth. She had no sooner sat down than her ex walked through the front doors of the truck stop. He exuded that bad boy aura, with a black leather jacket and dark jeans. He pulled off his mirrored sunglasses and tucked them in his chest pocket as he strolled into the restaurant and slid into the booth across from the pig tailed woman.
Gina slumped in her seat as her mind raced. What business could Steve possibly have with that woman trucker?
CHAPTER ELEVEN
The Ex
Gina cautiously raised her eyes. Steve looked over his shoulder, and glanced at the other truckers sitting nearby. His eyes never slid her way, though. She stirred her salad a bit to distribute the dressing evenly, then forked a piece of lettuce and stuck it in her mouth. She couldn’t leave before Steve, so she chewed slowly.
Gina strained to hear what was said over the clanking silverware an
d music emanating from the overhead speakers, but couldn’t make out the words. These two obviously weren’t going to do anything illegal sitting in the restaurant of the local truck stop.
Spending Friday night sitting at a truck stop spying on her ex-husband was not her idea of a good time. She should be home with her little boy.
Or getting ready for a night out on the town with the ruggedly handsome cowboy from the Diamond J. He was the first man she’d met in ages that she felt a spark of attraction for. Wilder was full of young men straining at the leash, anxious to escape as soon as they graduated high school and, at the other end of the spectrum, devoted husbands and fathers who were already taken.
Her chest rose and fell in a heavy sigh.
Too bad she’d chosen wrong when she was younger. She wondered what she’d ever seen in Steve. His bad boy image had been so intriguing, so tempting, for an honor student like her. He pushed the limit, smoked Marlboros, drank Busch beer, drove too fast and stayed out too late. Their romance was fueled by teenaged rebellion, pure and simple. They’d both been immature. She could see that now.
Again, her thoughts turned to Aidan Brackston. He was gainfully employed, polite … and he had the most amazing blue eyes. The chemistry between them had been palpable.
And, boy, did she need some chemistry in her life.
She was being ridiculous though. She’d met the man once. He probably had no interest in her at all.
She sighed and stabbed a chunk of hardboiled egg with her fork.
Though she often told people she didn’t need a man, that was a lie. Even though Steve had been immature and foolish, she missed being married. The need for a man, a partner, was like an ache buried deep within her chest. She wanted someone to go out to eat with, someone to go to Toby’s football games with, someone to warm her at night.
Wilder wasn’t exactly a hotbed of action for a single woman like herself. She didn’t go to bars, she didn’t want to do the online dating thing. That left her with very few options.
Maybe that was why Aidan Brackston made such an impression on her. He was mature and responsible, if how he completed assignments for his boss was any indication. He had walked into a scrapbook store, generally considered women’s territory, asked her opinion and listened to her suggestions. Even though he was totally out of his element, he had been charming and pleasant and carried on an intelligent conversation.
She wondered how he treated his girlfriend. More importantly, she wondered if he had a girlfriend. For whatever reason, she couldn’t get him out of her mind. Maybe because he was a cowboy. She’d always had a thing for a man in a cowboy hat and boots.
She sighed heavily. Dreaming did no good. Aidan was good looking, and probably had a beautiful girlfriend. Probably one of those barrel racers, with long dark hair pulled back in a braid, skin tight jeans and cowboy boots. Besides, why would he want to have a relationship with a single mother? She had given up on having a life of her own when she decided to file for divorce and raise her son alone.
Though she didn’t regret the decision, it was hard to live with sometimes. After all, she wasn’t dead. She still had desires. She still felt a stirring deep within her.
She still hoped for a fairy tale ending, wanted to be swept off her feet by a knight in shining armor.
And, though she wouldn’t admit it to anyone, even Midge, she still wanted a man in her bed.
No, it was more than want.
It was a primal need.
“Refill?” The waitress looked at her expectantly, holding the coffee pot out.
She peeked at the booth she’d been spying on, just as Steve and the pig tailed woman scooted out of their seats and strolled toward the cash register.
Gina shook her head. “No. Just the bill please.”
The woman ripped the ticket off her pad and laid it on the scarred table, then bustled on her way, dodging from table to table, refilling off-white coffee cups at tables and booths as she went. Steve and his companion paid separately, then walked toward the door together, still talking.
Gina slipped her hand into her purse, pulled her billfold out and opened it. A twenty and two singles. She pressed her lips together, pulled the twenty out with a sigh and slid out of the booth. Just as she did so, she looked up to see which direction Steve and his friend went, and saw Steve walking toward her.
Damn it!
She pivoted and hurried toward the restrooms, hoping and praying he hadn’t seen her. When she reached the door to the restroom, she chanced a glance over her shoulder. He stood in the middle section of the truck stop, looking at a display of radio headsets. She debated. Go into the restroom and be safe, or hurry out of the restaurant and follow them?
If she lost sight of them, there were three ways they could go. To the left out the front door to the parking lot, straight ahead to the convenience store, or right to the trucker restrooms and back lot.
No, she had come this far. She wasn’t turning back now. She turned and headed for the cashier. As she paid her tab, she saw her ex and the pigtailed woman stride through the convenience store. Gina broke her twenty, hesitated for a moment, then returned to the table to drop a single bill for the waitress.
She walked through the convenience store, pausing for a moment on her way to the door to act as if she was browsing. She didn’t want to get to the door too quickly.
“Ma’am! Excuse me, ma’am!”
Gina’s heart jumped up to her throat. She swiveled toward the voice and saw the harried waitress hurrying toward her. The woman held up a white Styrofoam container.
Toby’s chicken fingers.
Gina returned for them, then was on her way out when she realized she was about where the odd woman had been when she stopped to look at something. She glanced down at the metal boxes that contained newspapers – the USA Today, the Kansas City Star, but the most prominent was the local paper with a headline that blared, “Rustlers Strike Again” over a bleak photo of a farmer with a tear rolling down his cheek. Gina leaned down and squinted at the caption under the photo. She recognized the man. His wife was one of her croppers. He occasionally came in with her, sometimes helped carry her supplies into the store, and bought Christmas gifts for her from the store.
She blinked, stunned at how close the crime hit to home.
She’d heard some of her customers talking about the recent spate of cattle rustling. It sounded almost funny to her at first, like something out of an old western, but it seriously affected people’s livelihood. Cattle were a major economic endeavor in Missouri and Kansas. Even worse, a farmer in a neighboring county had been shot dead when he tried to stop the crooks in the middle of their crime. The thieves were getting bolder and more dangerous with each passing day.
She’d imagined outlaws on horseback riding away with a herd of cattle like the old westerns on MeTV, but as she looked out the window, she saw Steve and his new friend standing between two cattle haulers.
She pointed her little car home and drove, wondering how on earth her ex managed to get involved with cattle rustlers.
Was he really, or was her imagination running away with her?
CHAPTER TWELVE
Cats & Dogs
Beau swung the truck around so that it was pointed out toward the road, then shifted into park. They both climbed out, slamming their doors with a double bang that sounded sharp in the relative quiet of the night. A pair of bats swooped through the air, catching bugs drawn by the dusk to dawn light attached to the front of the pole barn. A set of headlights swept across the front of the house. The two turned to watch as another pickup rolled down the driveway and swung around in the gravel to point out to the road, just as they had. A short block of a man hopped down from the driver’s seat and landed with a soft puff of gravel dust.
“Hey, there, Stump!” Beau called. Aidan raised a hand in greeting. They waited for the short man to catch up with them, then they all three strode up the steps to the front porch. A border collie raised up slowly from his
spot on the porch and woofed a greeting.
Aidan reached down and scratched the dog behind the ears. The dog wiggled happily at the attention. Before they could knock on the door, it swung open and Bert greeted them with a booming, “Howdy, boys! Hope you brought your wallets with ya, tonight!”
The dog stayed at Aidan’s side until he reached the threshold. Once there, the dog turned to the porch and returned to his post, his tail thumping on the ground. The others went ahead. Bert looked outside, his eyes swept from left to right, then he closed the door and bolted the dead bolt closed with a solid thunk.
Aidan commented, “Shelby’s lookin’ good.”
Bert nodded and said, “Yeah, she’s a good dog. Your old boss did a heck of a job raising those dogs. Always said he could have done just as well with that as with the horses and cattle.”
Aidan nodded in agreement and asked, “I thought she came inside with you at night?”
Bert shrugged. “Used to, but after those rustlers took my entire herd of cattle last summer, I figure it’s better that she be outside. Maybe she’ll bark if she hears something.”
Aidan certainly understood the man’s fear, but he was also concerned about his safety. “We got another litter of puppies that will be ready to go soon. You want another one so you can have one inside, too?”
Bert laughed and said, “No, one’s enough. I got Sam, the Newfie, outside to keep Shelby company, and I got Martha inside to keep me company.”
Aidan smiled at that. “OK, Bert. Two things now. Sam is so old, he wouldn’t hear a freight train running thru the barn lot and I don’t think your wife would take too kindly to being compared to a dog!”
Bert nodded his acknowledgement of that and they all walked toward the dining room. Bert had the best location of all of them for these poker nights. He and Martha had a six-sided dining room table and Martha had given him a folding poker table top for Christmas this past year. The chairs rolled easily on the linoleum, and they were padded, upholstered in red vinyl. Martha had decorated the room with Bert’s poker nights in mind. The light hanging over the table was surrounded by glass, like the ones that usually hung over pool tables, with each of the four sides featuring a different suit, all done in red and black. There were plaques on the walls of the various suits from cards, and the highlight of the room was a large print of dogs playing poker, displayed prominently on the large wall with sconces on either side of it to light it and draw attention to it.
Diamond in the Rough (Diamond J #2) Page 5
