Cowboy Charade: Rodeo Knights, A Western Romance Novel

by Barbara McMahon

  Dirk nodded. “Which is why we’ve come prepared. We needed to know how this looked, but it’s pretty standard. We have packets of powder sugar that will match close enough. We've installed tracing devices in several of them. We’re hoping it’ll fool them long enough for us to close in.”

  Susannah felt relief that the drugs were no longer in her door–and that the DEA didn’t believe she was transporting. Toby leaned against the back of her truck beside her watching the men work.

  “Can they call the sheriff in Pueblo and get Kyle out?” she asked.

  “Not yet. I asked Jesse the same thing. For all they know, Kyle is involved. Nothing so far has cleared him. Besides, they don’t want to spook whoever's involved with this. Kyle showing up cleared of any wrong-doing would be a huge red flag. Whoever's doing this has to be connected with the rodeo. So they're taking no chances.”

  “That makes sense, but it's too bad for Kyle. It could be days before they find the guy.”

  “I know. I can’t even send him word for fear of tipping them off.”

  Susannah watched the men packing the powder sugar into similar bags. Who could have accessed her truck? And where?

  “Jesse’s really mad about the whole thing,” Toby said a moment later. “He and his family started the WRA years and years ago. They still have strong ties to the rodeo and he feels personally attacked.”

  “I think any honest cowboy would be outraged,” she said.

  Radar watched the proceedings. He had alerted again when they opened the door panels then watched as the drugs were placed in the metal container. Then he relaxed, but kept watch on what was going on.

  She smiled at Jesse. “I already feel ten times lighter. I hated knowing it was there. And hate thinking about some crook getting it to sell. Kids could be involved and there’s nothing lower than some guy preying on kids.”

  “You're right. We'll catch him, Susannah, it's just a matter of time.”

  “I just hope it's sooner rather than later,” Toby added.

  “So we don’t need to keep up our charade,” she said slowly.

  Toby looked at her. “Of course we do. We change nothing that might give a hint we’re on to them. It’s not so bad, is it?”

  She shook her head, hoping the warmth in her cheeks didn’t show. “It’s tolerable,” she said, lying her teeth off. She was growing unexpectedly interested in this cowboy. To continue their charade for a while longer suited her just fine.

  Repacking the door with the sugar, the DEA agents spoke with Jesse and then called a thanks to Susannah and Toby.

  The two men walked behind the barn and in a moment a nondescript black sedan drove down the drive.

  “Where are the people who own this place?” Susannah asked, realizing no one had come out of the house the entire time. Wouldn’t the owners be curious as to what was going on?

  “In town. Apparently this place has been used for meetings before where the DEA wants to keep it away from prying eyes.” Jesse shrugged. “Works I guess.”

  “The plan now?” Toby asked, pushing away from the pickup truck.

  “We wait and watch, same as before. But this way if things don’t go the way we want, we’re not letting drugs hit the market.”

  “And Susannah?”

  “Keep her close. The hope is they’ll take the stash and move on before they realize it isn’t the real deal.”

  “And not come back to ask her where it is?” Toby said sarcastically.

  “Yeah, well, there's that possibility, which is why you two need to be joined at the hip until we get these guys. However, I suspect they’re going to think long and hard before approaching her with Radar always at her side.”

  “Okay, then, Susannah, consider us joined at the hip.”

  She had never had a boyfriend on the circuit and even though this would all end once the crooks had been caught, she enjoyed the ride as long as she could. It might prove to be more fun than she expected.

  “We drive back separately, right?” She wasn’t sure she was as confident of her safety with the drugs gone as she’d hoped to be. She knew there were no drugs, but the bad guy didn't. As far as he was concerned, his stash was safely in her truck door.

  “We’ll follow right behind you. When we get near the rodeo grounds, we’ll hang back at the entrance for a little while. I don’t expect any action today or tonight. My guess is Loveland is their target site. One of my brothers is meeting us there. More eyes on the truck that way,” Jesse said.

  Susannah drove back to the rodeo grounds, trying to think when her truck was left alone for people to mess with it. Her best guess was at the motels she stayed in. From bedtime to next morning it sat in the parking lots unattended in most cases even by surveillance cameras.

  Maybe she should pick motels that had surveillance cameras from now on. They were probably more pricey, but if it deterred smuggling, she was all for it.

  Arriving back at the rodeo grounds, she fed her horse and walked her around a little bit before retying her by the trailer. They had one more event tonight and then she’d be going to the dance with Toby.

  Despite telling herself over and over it was part of their charade, she couldn’t help being excited. A fun night of dancing and swapping stories with others was just what she needed to get her mind off the situation.

  And she got to spend more time with Toby.

  As if thinking about him conjured him up, he and Jesse drove in. Jesse dropped him at his rig and continued.

  “How was your day?” Susannah called. She refused to glance around to see if anyone was close enough to overhear, but wanted to pretend they hadn’t spent most of it together.

  He walked over. “Good, and yours?” Leaning in, he brushed his lips across hers. “I missed you,” he said.

  Her heart skipped a beat. For a moment she wished it was true.

  Then reality returned.

  “Me too,” she said, reaching out to brush her fingertips across his shoulders.

  He captured her hand and brought it to his lips, kissing the palm and folding her fingers over to keep in the kiss.

  “You ready for tonight?’

  “My race or the dance?”

  “Both.”

  “Yes. I think Missy's in fine shape and I'm looking forward to the dance.”

  She hoped he attributed her enthusiasm to their cover, yet she truly meant it. She liked being part of a couple--sharing their day, talking about their pasts, finding common interests. Even his plans for the future were something to dream about.

  “Are you ready for the team roping again?” she asked as he held her hand, they walked to where his horses dozed in the late afternoon sun.

  “As we'll ever be. Jesse's gone to practice until our event. He needs no practice hazing the steer in that contest.”

  “He was a champion, doesn’t he still feel the urge to compete?” she asked.

  “I didn’t ask. I think he’s too tied up with this investigation agency to follow the circuit. And my guess is he doesn’t need the money from one or two rodeos. The big bucks are in Vegas. And he won there big time.”

  “Maybe.” Susannah sat on one of the stools as he took care of his horses.

  “Are we taking my truck tonight or yours?” she asked at one point.

  “We’ll take mine. Jesse said he’d watch Radar and your truck.”

  “I think the best time to mess with anyone’s truck is in the wee small hours when they’re parked at motels along the way. No one's around. Here anyone could get up in the night because they can’t sleep or some cowboy comes back for a drunken binge at the local bar,” she said thoughtfully.

  “You may be right. Jesse and I discussed that. Which is why we wanted to leave your truck here overnight. I can drop you at the motel after the dance and pick you up in the morning.”

  “Okay. But what of Radar?”

  “He can spend the night with me.”

  She considered it. “He’s my protector, too, you know, not just m
y pet.”

  “Or we can swing by here before I take you to the motel,” Toby amended smoothly.

  She nodded. “I’d feel better. What if this is the drop point and they show up at the motel and my truck’s not there. I definitely want Radar with me.”

  “If that happens, they’ll look around for the truck, not storm your room.”

  “Does that mean you’re staying with the horses again?”

  “Not a hardship. Anything to catch these guys and get Kyle out of jail.”

  She nodded, feeling deflated. Toby was doing this for his partner. She needed to keep that at the forefront.

  “Jesse told me they'd finished the background checks on as many of the cowboys as they could get intel. As expected the majority live from event to event, winning some, losing some. No one has a huge influx of cash unaccounted for. He couldn't find out much on Nick Montano, though. His office is still trying,” Toby said softly.

  “So no clear cut winner for the suspect of the year award,” she said.

  “I also threw out a couple of others--two of the concessionaires follow the circuit. I've seen their trucks in Pueblo and here—the corn-dog guy and the one selling tri-tips. Jesse said he'd check them, too,” Toby added. He would have thought if either of them was involved, they'd find the same hiding place in their own truck doors, why use others?

  Unless the shipment was so large one truck doors wouldn't hold it all.

  Or it could be Nick Montano who had no source of money he could tell. Toby wished the Knight Investigation Agency had access to bank records like cops did. Still, they'd amassed a lot of data that he hoped would help them narrow the suspects.

  “We'll keep an eye out to see when someone tried to access the door.” The last thing he wanted was for some crook to come after Susannah if he realized the substituted packets weren't his. Catching him in the act would be the best plan.

  At the evening rodeo event, the crowd was much larger than the afternoon event. Once again the excitement was almost palatable. Susannah came in a close second to Maggie's first place. And Peggy squeaked into third place by a half second. She was so pumped Susannah laughed, glad her pointers had helped, sharing in her delight at finally placing in the event.

  “I've created a monster,” she said after she congratulated Peggy. “I need to watch myself or you'll be passing me up.”

  “I can't believe I came in third. Susannah, thank you so much for those pointers. We've been practicing every moment we can.” She petted her horse on the neck. “He did good, didn't he?”

  “So did his rider,” Susannah said with a grin.

  She took Missy back and rubbed her down, giving her a handful of carrots as a treat when she fed her. Checking around her area, she put Radar in the truck with the windows rolled down all the way. It was still warm, but with the windows completely down, the night breeze wafted through keeping the interior the same temperature as outside.

  “Stay,” she commanded. She leaned in, “And don't let the bad guy in,” she whispered giving him a hug.

  Heading for the arena she hoped she was in time to see Toby and Jesse perform.

  It was crowded, but she squeezed into a small area that had a pretty good view of the arena and watched as the calves were released and then the cowboys rushed out trying to beat the time for getting the calf.

  Toby finished top in the steer wrestling. Susannah knew she'd never get used to him leaping off his horse to wrestle those steers to the ground. Her heart was in her throat when he made his move.

  Whoa, she thought, blinking as the feelings slammed into her. She was getting too caught up with Toby. Their alliance was a charade to catch the bad guy

  She tried to tell herself that she would be as concerned for any other cowboy who did the steer wrestling, but it wasn't true. She watched Devan and while she hoped he wouldn't get hurt, she didn't have that heart-stopping worry that he'd be injured. He did well in the event, but not number one.

  She pushed her way through the crowd and walked back to her truck. She couldn't be falling for Toby. She had vowed never to become involved with another rodeo cowboy. They were lots of fun, sexy, a bit arrogant, and super athletes. But they also had little staying power. They rode the high of winning with all the perks that came with it—including a girl in every town.

  Radar barked in happiness to see her.

  “I know, I should have just stayed when I brought Missy back,” she said opening the truck door to let the dog out. “I need to remember we're not truly involved.”

  “Involved with what?” Nick Montano walked by, looking at Susannah and Radar.

  “Hi Nick,” She glanced around. There were few people around. The focus was on the arena and the competitions going on.

  “Not riding?” she asked, glad Radar was beside her.

  “Finished for the night. You done?”

  Susannah nodded.

  “Heading for the motel?” he asked.

  “Actually Toby and I are going dancing when his events are over.”

  “Where?”

  “Some cowboy bar in town.”

  “Maybe I'll see you there. You two taking Toby's truck?”

  She was instantly alert. Was he fishing to see if her truck was going to stay here?

  “Probably. I'll leave Radar here with my horse. Dogs don't fit in cowboy bars.”

  “Good idea. He's a good watch dog. Must make you feel safe.”

  “He does,” she said, reaching out her hand to place it on her dog's neck. This was the longest conversation she'd ever had with Nick. Was he being friendly or was there more to it?

  “Have fun. See ya,” he said, walking down the line of trucks and trailers.

  Susannah watched him, wondering if he was the man behind the drugs.

  When Toby rode up some time later, she was sitting in the camp chair, gazing off into space, trying to decide if Nick's questions meant anything.

  She smiled at him. “How'd you do?” she asked.

  “Came in second on the steer wrestling last guy beat my time by a split second. Zero time on the team roping event, first on calf roping.”

  “Your best bet for the finals in Las Vegas,” she said.

  “Unless I can get Kyle out of jail and we score big as a team.” He dismounted and walked closer. “I wish this would come to an end here. Every day Kyle's in jail is lost money for us, not to mention agonizing for him. And makes it harder to acquire the needed points to make the finals.”

  “Could we force the issue? Say something about the car's window not opening all the way so I'm going to take it into a shop? That would spook him, don't you think?” she suggested, rising to walk with him toward his own horse trailer.

  “Sure, but who would we tell?”

  “Everyone we suspect,” she said. Without being asked, when he'd removed the saddle, she began brushing his horse on the opposite side from Toby.

  Together they made short work of the task, while she told him about Nick's unexpected visit. Then Toby fed the gelding and took him to the make-shift corral with his other horses.

  “It's not a bad idea,” Toby said at last. “We'll run it by Jesse in the morning. Now a quick stop at the motel to freshen up and we're heading for some serious dancing.”

  “I'm all for that. For a while I want to totally forget the you-know-what and just have fun.”

  When they reached the cowboy bar an hour later, it was jammed. Susannah recognized some of cowboys from the rodeo. Those she didn't recognize she figured were locals. She and Toby found a small table near the far right. The four-member band was pumping out fast music while the dance floor was full of people having a great time.

  They ordered and then Toby rose and held out his hand. “Ready?”

  Susannah joined him and soon they were dancing to the fast music. When the song ended, another cowboy asked her to dance. Toby shrugged and put her hand in the other man's. He stepped to the sidelines trying to fight the feeling that rose.

  Susannah wa
s not his girlfriend.

  What if she were? Then he'd stop any man in the place from dancing with her. He wanted her undivided attention.

  Pathetic. She agreed to help with the investigation by playing a role. She'd mentioned early on that she didn't date rodeo cowboys. He'd heard rumors about a bad breakup a couple of years ago with another cowboy. He wasn't on the tour this year.

  He watched as she danced with the man. Ambling back to their table, he saw their drinks had arrived. He sat and took a long swallow. Two minutes later the song ended and Susannah came back to the table.

  “You didn't want to dance with someone else?” she asked, sitting down and taking a swallow of her drink.

  “I came to dance with you,” he said easily.

  She looked at him. “Then why so agreeable to hand me over to that other guy?”

  He studied her a moment. Was she annoyed? Were her expectations to dance with him all night? Slowly he smiled, staring into her eyes.

  “So you'll appreciate being with me all that much more, of course.”

  She burst out laughing. “Right. Just so we're clear, I'm here with you and if you don't want to dance, we don't dance.”

  He took a long drink, slammed the bottle down and rose. “Then let's dance.”

  They danced almost every dance after that. Susannah had a great time. Her favorites were, unexpectedly, the slow dances. She relished being held in Toby's arms. Loved the way he snugged them right up together, moving in time to the rhythm of the ballads. She'd close her eyes and wish the moment would last forever.

  Finally it was time to leave.

  “I've had fun,” she said as they walked out to Toby's truck.

  “I'm glad. I did, too,” he said. Opening the passenger-side door for her, he leaned in and kissed her. His eyes studied hers when he pulled back, and to his surprise, she leaned forward and gave him a kiss.

  He wanted to say something. To tell her the evening had been special. That he was more interested in her than as a partner in a charade designed to fool others. He felt there was some connection between them, that maybe they should see where that led.

  But he wasn't sure how she'd react. And for Kyle's sake, he needed to ride this through to the end.