“We can go together and flirt with all the guys. They’ll never suspect,” Maggie said gaily.
“That's an excuse to flirt with everyone,” Peggy said dryly.
“We’re going to be investigators to see if we can find anyone dealing drugs, if flirting is our cover, what's the harm?” Maggie replied.
“No one on the circuit would be so dumb, would they?” the younger woman asked.
“What about Kyle Fallon? He got busted in Pueblo when they found drugs in his truck.”
“I heard about some cowboy. I didn't know him.” She looked at Susannah. “Do you know him?”
“Only to say hey to.”
“But Toby Palmer is Kyle’s partner and now he and our Susannah are an item,” Maggie said, bouncing up and down on the bed. “Spill, girl.”
“I told you already. We went to dinner, came back to the camp and met up with an old friend of his.”
“Who happens to be a world champion bull rider, but she skims over that part,” Maggie interposed.
“Is he single?” Peggy asked.
“Who?” Susannah asked.
“The world champion?”
“He’s married, I think. I don't know for sure. But I don't think he's interested in seeing anyone.” The last thing she wanted was Peggy or Maggie making a play for Jesse and impeding his investigation.
“But Toby’s single and hot. And took Susannah out. She never dates cowboys, so this is really special,” Maggie said.
Peggy looked impressed.
“We’re getting to the good part, aren’t we?” Maggie asked, focused on Susannah. “Did he kiss you good night.”
Did he! Like she’d never been kissed before. But she wasn’t going to let anyone know that.
“Oh, he must have, look at her rosy cheeks,” Peggy said. She laughed. “Now I want the details.”
“Yes he kissed me goodnight and I came here. End of date.”
“How many times?” Maggie asked. “Did he curl your toes?”
Susannah laughed, totally embarrassed. She tried to appear nonchalant about the kisses, but her heart began pounding in remembrance.
“Of course he did,” Peggy said. “I know which guy he is and he’d curl my toes if he kissed me.”
“So when are you going out again?” Maggie asked.
“I don’t know.”
Maggie looked at Peggy. “We need to keep an eye on her.”
Peggy nodded. “So tell me how we're investigating for drugs. Shouldn’t cops be doing that?”
Maggie told her about Radar and her idea to visit all the cowboys.
“That’ll be a job. There're so many,” Peggy said.
“Which will make it fun.”
“Except–what happens if Radar identifies one,” Peggy asked.
Maggie looked at Susannah and then Peggy. “That’s when we leave it to the cops. We’ll tell them what we found and let them handle it.”
“Good plan.”
Once the lights were out Susannah lay in the dark wondering how Toby and Jesse would view Maggie’s crazy scheme. Her only hope was they wouldn’t find any cowboys at all using drugs.
The next morning Susannah headed for the rodeo grounds early. She wanted to feed Missy and exercise her to free up her day. It was a rest day for them. The rodeo in Colorado Springs started Tuesday. But to keep her horse in top shape, she'd ride the arena and practice turns. She hoped she was first in practice.
And then she wanted to find Toby and tell him about Maggie’s crazy idea.
Chapter Six
Despite the early hour, many cowboys were already up and horses were being fed and groomed. A few were already in the practice ring warming up or in the main arena going through their paces.
She fed and watered Missy. Toby’s two horses had already been taken care of. He and Jesse must have already met up and gone off.
She didn’t know how good Jesse was with team roping, but hoped the all around cowboy would be an asset to Toby. And truth to tell, she was a bit relieved not to ride as hazer for the steer wrestling event. While she was sure she and Missy could handle it, a wild steer who veered into her horse could injure her mare. She couldn’t afford to have anything happen to her.
“Good morning, you’re up early,” Toby said behind her.
When she turned around he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.
“Good morning,” she replied already feeling flustered. She glanced around. There were enough cowboys in the vicinity who looked their way. That was probably the reason he kissed her. It meant nothing, part of the charade.
But to her it meant a lot. She glanced at him and then away, hoping he didn't see how much she liked his affection.
Jesse stood on one side looking amused.
“I guess you two got the substitution set up,” she said, reminding herself again the display was for any on-lookers. Was whoever stashed the drugs in her truck among the nearby cowboys? It would make sense, they'd want to keep an eye on their stuff.
“Yep. Which gives Jesse a legit reason to prowl around,” Toby said
“Speaking of that, one of my roommates from last night suggested we go around and speak with all the cowboys with Radar at our side to see if any have handled drugs.”
“You didn’t tell them you’d already tried that?” Toby asked.
“No. Besides, Maggie isn’t looking for trucks, she wanted to visit cowboys.”
“You stay in a motel in town?” Jesse asked.
She nodded and gave the name.
He looked at Toby. “How about you and Kyle? Do you usually stay at a motel or hang out with your horses?”
“Depends. At a motel more often than not, to get a shower and a good night’s sleep. As long as we know the horses are safe. Other times we just doss down by the trailer.”
Jesse looked thoughtful. “So Kyle’s truck was sometimes at a motel. That'd be a better place to stash drugs than here where there're people milling around all the time.”
“So it might not be a rodeo cowboy involved?” Susannah asked.
“I don't know for sure. It could be concessionaires, office officials who travel with the circuit, any one of a lot of people,” Jesse said. “I’m still waiting for some feedback on the names I called into the office last night. Until I get that, there’s not a lot to do. I’ll work my horses to get the kinks out and then Toby and I'll practice. It's been a while since I've done any roping.”
Susannah watched as he walked away.
“Is Jesse any good for heading and heeling?” she asked.
“We’ll find out, won’t we?” Toby gave her a grin. “See you later.”
Peggy was waiting in the main arena when Susannah entered riding Missy. She rode over to her.
“I’m taking you up on your offer,” Peggy said. “If that’s still okay? I got one of the cowboys to put up the barrels. And the cowboys riding around said they'd stay at the perimeter.”
“Okay. Let’s start before anyone else comes in. Show me.” Susannah rode to the finish line to watch Peggy.
Peggy headed for the first barrel. Susannah again saw her hesitation, how she’d turn her horse wide.
Peggy did the same thing on barrel two and three, winding up for the finish and rode straight until she passed Susannah, then she pulled up and trotted back. “What do you think?” She asked, stopping beside Susannah.
“I think you're awfully timid on the turns. Don’t you trust your horse?”
Peggy patted the gelding’s neck. “Of course I do.”
“Then turn him sharper on the left turn, practice almost having your foot on the barrel. And don't swing so wide on the right. Same thing. Tight turn. Do it slowly at first then speed up each pass. Then really urge him to give it all he’s got on the home stretch.”
Peggy took a deep breath and nodded. She practiced three circuits, turning tighter against the barrels at a slow speed, getting herself and the horse used to being so close to the barrel. Then she said she was going for real. She st
arted beside Susannah and she and her horse rode like crazy. They finished faster than Susannah had ever seen her do before.
“Better. I’d practice both those moves over and over until you're both comfortable with the tight turns,” she gave as a final suggestion.
“Thanks.” Peggy patted her horse's neck. “I saw you with Toby this morning. You two look good together.”
Susannah smiled, knowing she had a part to play, but wishing she could tell someone what was going on. Maybe get some feedback on if she was totally crazy or not.
“See you later,” Peggy said and began riding the configuration again. Susannah kept Missy on the outer perimeter of the ring and took the horse through the gaits to warm her up. Once Peggy was finished, she'd do a couple of runs. Practice did make perfect and she wanted to make sure her horse was in top shape.
Toby stood at the gate and watched the women exercise their horses. It looked as if Susannah had given the other barrel racer some suggestions to improve her performance. And the woman had taken them to heart if he was any judge. Her time looked better already.
Mostly, however, he watched Susannah. He loved seeing how she moved with her horse, almost as one. Graceful and pretty, she was a treat to watch.
What would happen when the investigation was over? Would they still be friends? He suddenly wanted to know more about her stance on rodeo cowboys. How could she be so adamant about not dating one when she was around them all the time? Seemed like to him that would give them a lot in common.
He thought about the kisses last night. It felt good to hold her in his arms. And her response showed she wasn’t indifferent to him.
He’d stayed clear of dating anyone seriously. Often he and Kyle went dancing with some girls that flocked to the rodeo. It didn't mean anything but a fun night out.
He wasn’t going to be on the circuit forever. If they made the winnings this year, he and Kyle would be too caught up in making a going concern of a new ranch to leave it for the time it took to ride in rodeos. Unless they were close to home, of course. Maybe one or two a year for a while just to keep in practice.
What about Susannah? They’d talked briefly about their pasts last night, but she’d never said what she wanted in the future. She was living in the moment with her barrel racing. What did she see for her future? More rodeos? When she stopped making the money, then what?
A question every cowboy asked himself.
He pushed away from the rail and headed back to his horses. He'd take what he could get with Susannah and hope when the drug dealer was found, they'd continue seeing each other. He felt more than just a cowboy playing a charade. How much more it was too early to tell.
When Susannah had enough, she rode Missy back to the trailer, unsaddled her and replenished her water bucket. Letting Radar out of the trailer, she fussed over him for a couple of minutes before brushing her horse. She was finishing up with the mane when Toby came around the back of the trailer.
“Want to get something to eat?” he asked. “A few of the concession stands are open today for us that are here.”
“Sure,” she said. “Can Radar come with us?”
“Of course.”
They headed for the midway on the other side of the arena where the concession stands were. Toby reached out and took her hand. It felt right and not just for show to whoever might be watching.
He glanced at her. She looked straight ahead, her dog walking right at her side. Radar wasn’t even wearing a leash.
“Did you and Maggie check out the cowboys?” he asked.
She grinned at that and glanced at him. “No. She slept in late this morning. One of her other friends took care of her horse. She’ll be here soon, so it's still a possibility later.”
“And if Radar alerts then what will you two do?”
“Call the cops,” she said promptly.
“That might be dangerous if the guy suspects what’s going on. And if he’s involved dealing drugs, you can be sure he knows about drug enforcement dogs.”
“We always say he but I suppose it could be a woman involved,” she mused.
“Maybe. So what’s your choice, hot dogs, pulled pork sandwiches, tri tips?” Toby reeled off some of the different food offered at the different concessions.
“I want a corn dog,” Susannah said with a smile. “And soda and chips and all the junk food I can get for this meal.”
Toby laughed.
“Good thing you’re young,” he said. “That sounds like a heart-attack on a plate.”
“Hey a corn dog once in a while isn’t going to hurt. And I’ll get corn chips because corn is a grain.”
He laughed at that. “Yeah, a really healthy version of it, too. Come on, there's no line.”
Once they both had corn dogs, drinks and a bag of chips to share, they went to the rows of picnic tables and sat at the end of one. It was still early for lunch, so the area was sparsely occupied.
“Thanks,” Susannah said as she sat and put her drink down. “I really don’t eat like this all the time. Sometimes I even make a lunch if we’re a few days at an arena and have a motel room with a mini kitchen.”
“And what do you make?”
She looked at him. “PBJ, of course.”
He grimaced.
Once again she laughed. Toby loved hearing the sound. It was infectious and he involuntarily smiled in response.
“Tuna, cold cuts if we have a mini fridge. Usually my roommates go in on the cost so we all eat on the cheap for a while.”
He nodded. “Money can get tight.”
“This year’s been good to me, so far I'm coming out way ahead. Even for all the events I’ve already paid for, I’ve made more then expenses.”
“You think about Las Vegas?” he asked.
“Who doesn’t if they're serious about rodeo. Maybe this year. But if not, there’s always next year.”
He nodded. “I was hoping for this year. If I can’t get Kyle out soon, that’ll be the end of that.”
“For the team roping and maybe even steer wrestling. But your score’s high on the calf roping and that’s a solo event.”
“I know. I might have a shot at that. The money’s not as big as for the others.”
“Money matches risk. If you were a bull rider, you could make a lot more.”
“Yeah or get killed. I did bronc riding my first year, busted my leg on the next to last rodeo, so decided I liked showing off other aspects of ranching like roping and steer wrestling rather than staying on a fool wild bronc for eight seconds.”
“I think steer wrestling is dangerous. I can’t get over the jumping off a full running horse.”
He ate another bite and than asked, “What are you going to do in the off season?”
“Go back to Bootstrap and help out. It’s the closest thing to a home I have and they can always use the help.”
“Is the pay good?”
“No, but the feeling of paying it forward is. I get room and board for me and my animals, so I’m satisfied.”
“And what do you plan to do with your winnings?”
“Unlike you, I don’t ever expect to own a ranch, though I have a pretty good idea how to run one from working with Walt and Sherry. I don’t know. When I get tired of the rodeo, or get too old, maybe I’ll hire on somewhere. I like Texas,” she said slowly.
Looking at him she wrinkled her nose. “But that’s years away. For now I love competing, love the different towns, love the camaraderie of all the participants and the folks connected with rodeo. Even the crowds and especially the applause.”
Toby suspected she had years of competing in front of her. She couldn’t be that old and her mare was young. She’d only improve with practice. He just hoped she didn’t get injured. His broken leg had put him out of the money that year.
The talk turned to Texas and where she’d been and what she’d liked.
Toby enjoyed talking with her. She was easy to be around. And she didn’t flirt.
Which
set her apart from most of the women he dated when on the circuit.
Would they ever have had lunch together if not for the situation with the drugs? Probably not. She tried to keep her private life separate from the rodeo.
Now that he was getting to know her better, he was glad circumstances threw them together. She was pretty, friendly, and kind. Not all people associated with the rodeo were. Many were cut-throat competitors doing all they could to get ahead.
“I need to get back to my horse,” she said a few minutes later. “And meet up with Maggie.”
He glanced at his watch. Time had slipped away.
“I'm going to see if Jesse's found out anything,” Toby said, rising when Susannah did.
They walked back to their rigs. Maggie was sitting on the tailgate of Susannah's truck.
“Hi,” she said hopping off. She smiled at Toby.
Susannah made introductions conscious of Toby holding her hand, his fingers linked with hers. She knew exactly the image he projected and felt flattered. Even knowing it was a charade she felt special and cherished.
“You two stay out of trouble,” he warned with a twinkle in his eye. Giving Susannah a quick kiss on her cheek, he headed for the perimeter of the field.
“Wow, he's even better looking up close,” Maggie said, watching him walk away. “Girl, you're winning more than barrel races this year!”
“Maybe. You want to walk around now?”
“Yeah, might as well. Then I've got to exercise my horse. It's hot now, so I don't mind waiting,” Maggie said, reluctantly turning away from watching Toby.
“Do you have a plan or are we just walking up to every cowboy in the place and shaking hands like we're the welcome committee or something?” Susannah asked.
“I've been thinking about it. We need a gimmick. I thought maybe we could be collecting donations for Kyle's defense.”
Susannah stared at her for a moment. “From the rumblings I've heard, a lot of the cowboys think he's guilty.”
“So we give them something else to think about. I scrounged a old coffee tin from a restaurant in town. We can use that,” Maggie said. She resettled her cowboy hat and nodded when Susannah said,
“Well, that'll make it so official.” She smiled at Maggie. She slapped her leg for Radar.
Cowboy Charade: Rodeo Knights, A Western Romance Novel Page 5