“I hope he’s careful. I want our horses back but not at the expense of someone getting hurt.” A thankfulness swept over Lori as she stood there. Her daddy might not be here but she was surrounded by a tremendous amount of amazing men,counting these three men, the five Presley brothers and their dad, and then Trip too. She wasn’t sure what she’d done to deserve them but she was thankful. She had the best team a woman could ask for on her side. She felt as if her daddy had been unable to stand by her side so he sent the best he could round up. Lori’s heart felt like it would burst. And yet, she also wanted to stand on her own feet and be a part of the solution.
“Michael can take care of himself, so don’t worry,” Jesse assured her. “We have a man digging around at Kramer’s ranch. He’s searching the place for any signs of your horses and has a suspicion he might know where they are. We decided one of us needed to be there. He’ll be in touch. In the meantime we’re going to hang out here and personally keep our eyes open. This is the WRC and we want this resolved as quickly as possible.”
“So do I,” she said, glancing at Trip.
“We all want that,” Sean said. “Trip tells me that Vance Presley and his brothers are here looking out for your interests too. If we all have our ears open to the conversations and actions around us something, even something small, might come to light.”
“I hope so,” she said, just as Sean’s phone rang.
“We all do,” he said as he unclipped his phone from its clip on his belt. “Excuse me.” He moved away from them all as he answered the call.
It didn’t last long before he ended it. “I need to head out. There’s a lame bull that needs my attention.”
“That’s fine,” Jesse said, then frowned. “Let us know how that turns out. I need to check with the secretary but I believe Kramer has stock that could benefit from this.”
“I’m not liking the sound of this.” Trip frowned.
“I’ll let you know what I find out after I look at the animal.” Sean slipped out the door not wasting any more time talking.
Lori was restless. “I think I’ll go check on my horses. I’m glad everyone is here, Daddy would be very appreciative of all the help. I know this may not be all targeted at the Calhoun Ranch and mine and Trip’s stock company but either way it needs to stop. Hopefully Sean will find that the bull he’s looking at is lame for no some simple problem. But anyway, call me if any info turns up. And I’ll do the same. I’ll see y’all later at the rodeo.”
“I’ll come with you,” Trip said goodbye to Jesse and headed out with her.
They left the hotel and walked toward the arena. There were a small group of western clad singers entertaining people on the steps of the Stock Exchange and the lively music and hustle of tourists made the street a lively place. When she heard the sound of cattle mooing she stared down the street and saw the daily cattle drive coming their way. The reenactment was put on daily for all the tourists at the Stockyards. Lori watched Longhorns and cowboys pass by and again thought of her dad.
She looked at Trip. “I used to love coming here as a girl. I remember the first time I saw them run cattle through here. Daddy picked me up and put me on his shoulders to watch the longhorns and the cowboys.” Those memories seemed etched in her mind more than normal this weekend. It had been a while since she’d come to Fort Worth and the Stockyards. So much history was etched in this place and she and her father’s memories were forever etched there for her as deeply as Texas history and the cattle drives of the early days were etched in the history.
“I have memories too with my dad. We loved the Stockyard Museum and eating at the Cattleman’s Steakhouse…that was a treat for a little kid.”
“Yes it was, I’m sure.” She shot him an understanding smile. “I hope we have a new memory here that includes finding our horses.”
“That would be a fantastic memory for us. I’m just in shock that someone would risk everything to do something like this.”
“Me too. But when someone gets themselves into financial trouble like he’s obviously in there is no telling what they’ll do.”
They entered the coliseum and headed to the stalls. Cooper spotted them and came over. “Hey, glad you’re here. There was a guy hanging around earlier. I watched him and he just seemed overly interested in your stock. I finally asked him if he needed any help with anything and he didn’t waste any time disappearing. Also, heard through the grapevine that a bull is lame and the owner is furious.”
Trip was studying their horses. “Sean Knight is on his way to look at the bull. This guy you saw, what does your gut tell you? Did you think he was up to no good?”
“I did, I kept watching at first to see if he was going to make a move but no deal. He finally just irritated me and I wanted to see if he’d spook.”
“And he did,” she said.
“Oh, yes he did. The question is why? Like the Knights have stated this Kramer has reason for wanting your horses out of the show. But it seems too easy.”
“That’s what I’m thinking too, but then, desperation leads to sloppiness,” Trip said. “I think Kramer is a real jerk…but stupid? It’s hard for me to believe and yet it’s not looking good for him.”
“I’ll stick around back here during the rodeo as they take the horses into the chutes.”
“Thanks,” Lori said, as she moved to the fence to study her horses. They all acted like they were in good spirits and that usually meant they were going to put on a good show…which was exactly what she needed from them. With her top five out, these fellas needed to step up and give the bucking performances of their lives.
A few hours later the rodeo was in full swing Trip couldn’t chase the feeling away that something wasn’t right. Maybe he was feeling overly suspicious but his gut was telling him something was wrong or going to be wrong.
They had men spread out all over the place. Jesse had gone behind the chutes to hang out with the bull riders and they knew that Sean would be around back there too. Since the bull that had been lame had been taken out and one of Kramer’s backup bulls had taken its place.
When it was finally time for the saddle bronc competition Trip could tell Lori was nervous. He reached out and took her hands. “Relax. It’s going to be okay. Nothing is going to happen to our horses. We have too many eyes on the ground watching and listening. And Cooper is not going to let anything happen back there. He’ll call if we’re needed.”
“But we need them to figure this out. Not just make it through. When this rodeo ends and we don’t have our horses then we don’t make the finals.”
He wanted and needed the horses to make the finals, he had something to prove but seeing the worry on her face, he realized there were more important things than proving he had what it took to keep a business successful.
He pulled her into his arms. “I want to find the horses. I want them safe and you know I want to compete and show this company is strong. But if we don’t meet the deadline that’s just the way its going to be. We keep going.” He kissed her gently with a brief brush of his lips to hers. She stared up at him as if stunned.
“But, what about us?”
He loved the feel of her in his arms. “We’re fine. We’ll get our situation figured out when everything is settled. But right now try not to worry. I just want you to realize life doesn’t end if we don’t have horses in the finals.”
She took a deep breath. “Okay, I’ll try to relax. Dad would have said something similar.”
“Yes, I believe he would have. Your daddy was a very smart, wise man.” He kissed her forehead.
She turned deeply serious. “Yes he was, he hired you.” She placed her arms around his waist and hugged him.
Satisfaction coursed through Trip. “Thank you, that means a lot to me.”
“I’m glad we’ve made it to this point,” she said, and the worry in her expression eased. “I’m glad to have you at my side.”
“Up next Vance Presley,” the announcer called over t
he loudspeaker. “Riding Dream Wrecker.”
They both faced the arena and watched as Vance lowered himself into the chute and settled on the back of the bronc. He hadn’t drawn one of theirs but instead, had drawn of all horses one of Kramer’s. The horse was restless and jumped in the chute causing Vance to scramble back up on the chute bars with his boots braced on either side of the rowdy saddle bronc. The cowboys holding the bucking horses’ reins put pressure on, trying to settle Dream Wrecker down and after a couple of seconds Vance yanked on his hat then lowered himself back down.
Trip could see Jesse’s head over the stall rungs where he had moved in close and was studying the horse. There was nothing unusual about a restless saddle bronc though. They were high strung and ready to rock-n-roll in an event.
In the next moment the gate opened and the horse blasted from the chute, bucking and spinning trying with everything it had to toss Vance to the dirt. Vance rode with all the show and skill of the best, arms back, knees working as he moved with the rhythm of the saddle bronc. One thing about the cowboy, he was one of the best and his trips to the finals were a testament to that. Tonight was no different as he rode Dream Wrecker to the buzzer. The horse was bucking like mad as the pickup men rode in hard to help Vance get off the back of the horse safely. It was always a dangerous moment when the cowboy tried to jump from the bucking horse. The two pickup men came alongside the horse and one reached for the bucking cinch while the other tried to move in so Vance could grab his shoulders and swing off Dream Weaver and jump to the ground with the protection of the pickup horse between him and the bronc.
It was not easy when the horse was freaking out as it seemed this one was doing. Finally, Vance managed to throw himself off the horse while holding onto one of the pickup men’s shoulders then slide to the ground unharmed. The good looking cowboy grinned as his boots hit the dirt. He yanked his hat off his head and fanned it to the roaring crowd as he jogged to the fence.
“Whew,” Lori gasped. “Always a showman. I was worried.”
“Yeah, that horse was hyped up good.”
“Well, they’re trying hard for rough stock that will give the guys a tough ride. The tougher the ride the farther the horse goes.”
“True, ours are great in the arena but that just seemed off to me. Let’s go down there. I want to talk to Vance and Jesse.”
She heard the skepticism in his voice and when he started down the bleachers she followed.
Chapter Twelve
They reached the bottom of the stands and headed toward the stock area. Trip wanted to hear what Vance had to say about that horse. And he wanted to hear what Jesse thought too. There had been some drugging of stock a while back and he couldn’t help wondering if that had happened again. Kramer was obviously in over his head and desperate. But he didn’t want to say anything more to Lori until his suspicions were confirmed. Sean could find out with a simple blood test if the others were suspicious too.
Or maybe he was just being overly touchy where anything that had to do with Kramer was concerned. By most people’s standards that had been an amazing competitor in that ring. Not a drugged up horse that could hurt himself or his rider.
Speak of the devil, Kramer moved from a group of men and slid in front of them blocking their path. He was a short man with a thick waist and he liked to wear his shirt unbuttoned two buttons too many to expose the gold chain he wore around his neck. But his biggest and worse accessory was his shadow, the six foot four inch cowboy that Trip and many of the others referred to as his goon. The man crossed his tree-trunk sized arms and leveled a glare at them.
“Kramer,” Trip acknowledged him. He stepped closer to Lori when he heard her intake of air when she realized who the man was. Trip had forgotten that she still hadn’t met the man who it was looking more and more like stole their horses.
“Jensen. Miss Calhoun,” Kramer drawled in what sounded more like a snarl. “I’ve been wondering when I was going to run into you. What do you think you’re up to?”
Lori shot Trip a questioning look but he kept his expression stone cold as he returned his gaze to Kramer. It took everything he had to hold his temper in check. “We’ve been right here. The question is what have you been up too?”
The man blustered. “What does that mean?”
“You asked the question first. We’re trying to run a stock business. Trying to figure out who took our horses. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about all that would you?”
He turned red-faced. “Are you accusing me of something?”
Trip cocked his head to the side and stared hard at the bodyguard when he took a step forward. “I’d back up, hoss,” he demanded. “We’re just having a conversation here that we did not initiate. Kramer either answers my question or steps aside. We’re trying to congratulate our good friend on a great ride. Looks like Vance got the better of your bronc.”
“I don’t believe I’ve had the pleasure of an introduction, but I’m assuming you’re Mr. Kramer and the owner of Vance’s ride moments ago?” Lori didn’t look at all intimidated.
“That’s me,” he huffed. “My horse almost got him off. It was still a tough ride and a high score. Presley got lucky.”
“You think? I beg to differ.” Trip goaded him on purpose. Hoping to see what the man would do. If he had taken their horses then he wanted to push the man and see what happened. All he could hope was that Michael was having good luck on the ground at the man’s ranch right now.
“My horses are better than the Calhoun Stock. Your outfit is the one that’s had the lucky breaks in the lineup, getting the lesser riders and making your horses look better while mine draw the tougher contenders and it makes them look like a lesser ride. You know it’s true.” He glared at Lori. “Your daddy always had the luck on his side.”
Lori stiffened. “My daddy worked hard and believed in making his own luck happen through his hard work.”
Kramer’s eyes narrowed. “You’re a smart a—”
Trip cut him off, “Watch your mouth, Kramer. Don’t start insulting my partner.”
The man cut angry eyes at him. “From what I hear she’s your boss. You’re just her lackey.”
Trip let the cutting words slide off of him, knowing Kramer was just baiting him. “I think we’re done here. We have a rider to congratulate. Step aside.”
“For now.” Kramer moved away and his lackey moved with him.
Trip took Lori’s arm and moved her past them. He could feel the fight in her in the stiffness of her arm and could see it in her eyes and the square of her shoulders and jaw. She was brewing for a fight. He tugged harder when she hesitated and glared at Kramer.
“He’s my partner. The best there is.” Trip pulled hard and forced her to move past Kramer.
“Well ain’t that just so sweet. She’s taking up for you,” Kramer snarled sarcastically.
Trip clamped his mouth shut.
“How dare you say something like that,” Lori blurted out. “Who do you think you are, you little twerp—”
Trip grabbed Lori by the arm and hauled her into the crowd and toward the rough stock chutes.
“Why are you pulling on me. I had something to say,” she demanded, yanking to get loose from him but he held on tight.
“Because we’d said enough and he’s not worth wasting any more breath on.”
“But what he said isn’t true.”
“I know that. I’m fine. I crossed that line a while back. Okay? But you didn’t need to go pushing any more buttons on the dude than you already had.”
“Fine,” she snapped. “But he had it coming.”
Yeah, that was true. Trip let the words play in his head but said nothing as he tried to ignore the pricks to his pride. Tried to not let the jabs Kramer was trying to hit him with dig in…but deny as he might, deep down the words struck their mark.
Everything about the run-in with Kramer made Lori’s skin crawl. He had intentionally insulted Trip and her dad and tried to go after he
r but Trip had stopped him. She wished she’d been able to stop him from insulting Trip. The same ole story always seemed to jump between them. She knew once again she’d had bait tossed at her but Trip had managed to keep her from taking it too far. She had to get better at holding her tongue. But…well shoot, the man was a sleazeball.
Vance, Jesse, and Seth were in deep conversation with Marcus Presley when they walked up.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
“Something wrong with that ride?” Trip studied them with penetrating eyes that Lori felt all the way to her toes.
“We have our suspicions,” Jesse said. “We’re not sure if the horse was hyped up to ride harder or what but Vance did a great job.”
Sean did not look happy. “I’m going to test it and see, might disqualify Vance’s ride but, again, substance abuse is easy to detect so if he drugged Dream Wrecker then he’s desperate.”
“The deal is,” Vance said. “He didn’t ride much different than a regular tough ride. If he’s drugged then it wasn’t enough to draw attention to anyone but us. And that’s because we’re looking for anything that might point a finger at Kramer.”
“True,” Marcus said. “We could be overly observant. Lori, is something wrong, honey? You looked angry when you walked up here.”
“Yes. I just had the unpleasant opportunity to meet Kurt Kramer. The man is awful.”
Grunts of agreement made the rounds from everyone around her.
“You stay away from him,” Trip said. “I got the distinct feeling that this isn’t just about rodeo status but is personal. Your daddy never said a lot about Kramer. He just didn’t like him or trust him after that incident with our horse. But when it happened, he also didn’t seem surprised. I’m wondering if there is history there we don’t know about. Marcus do you know anything?”
Marcus looked thoughtful, as if searching his memory. If anyone knew anything it would be Marcus since he and her dad had been best friends since their early years.
Her Cowboy Hero: Rodeo Knights, A Western Romance Novel (Cowboys of Ransom Creek) Page 7