Cowboy's Break

by Lexi Post

  She threw open the screen door and jogged down the steps. Had the cattle broken through the fencing? Did they have a new predator? She dismissed her second thought. Cattle, as in more than one, wouldn’t be “missing” if it was a predator. There’d be a trail to follow, a carcass to find.

  As she saddled Foxglove, she picked apart every word Sam said. That he’d hung up meant she needed to come quickly. It was a habit he had when he was upset. Once her prized quarter horse was ready to go, she mounted and guided him out of the barn.

  Vince stood on the front porch.

  She waved as if nothing was wrong and kicked Foxglove into a gallop. She didn’t need Vince to think she had an emergency or that she couldn’t handle the ranch on her own. She could. She just couldn’t think when he was around.

  As she galloped out to the west pasture, her mind cleared. It always did while riding her horse. The two of them went back a few years. She’d stumbled upon a horse auction that had not been well advertised. She stopped to get gas on her way back from Austin where she’d gone to see Crystal when she first landed her accounting job.

  There were hardly any cars at the auction barns next to the gas station, so she drove over to see what they had. The minute she’d seen the blue roan quarter horse, she knew she had to have him, but she’d never bought at auction because the prices tended to go too high for her bank account. One look into Foxglove’s distrustful gaze and she had to try. After registering, she sat in one of the many empty chairs and waited.

  When he was brought up, there were a few half-hearted bids, but nothing to keep her from buying him. She was shocked. Even she could see he was of good stock and his color alone made him special. The only hurdle was they required cash payment.

  It had taken all her self-control not to bid against herself in her excitement. Once the auctioneer said “sold,” she was out of her seat and on her phone to Crystal and Sam, Crystal to bring the cash and Sam to bring the trailer.

  Her first meeting with Foxglove didn’t go well. She also learned in the paperwork how he got his name. He was born in a field in the middle of a patch of Foxglove. From the notes, she could tell whoever had owned him didn’t know much about horses. She wasn’t sure, but she had a feeling his training had been harsh. It took her about a month to get him to accept her. Now they were inseparable.

  She swore he could tell she was anxious because she barely needed to guide him in the direction she needed to go. As she crested the small hill at the beginning of the pasture, she could see Sam and three other men near the fence line. Shit, the fence line had broken. The cattle must have wandered out.

  As she rode closer, she could see it was no normal break. Deep ruts left by truck tires clearly marked the route her cattle might have disappeared to. Fury threatened to overtake her, but she was the boss and if there was one thing ranch hands couldn’t stomach, it was an emotional female rancher.

  Slowing Foxglove, she brought him to a stop, but didn’t dismount.

  Sam walked over to her. “As you can see, this was intentional.” Even with his hat shading his eyes, she could see her own anger reflected in his grey eyes.

  “Obviously. Have you been able to figure out how many they took?”

  His jaw tightened. “Yes.” The word was ground out between gritted teeth. “Just one.”

  She knit her brow in confusion. “One cow? Was it a prank?”

  Sam shook his head. “These fellers knew exactly what they came for. They took Matterhorn.”

  She sucked in her breath. “Shit.” Matterhorn was her prize bull. Many ranchers used his semen to impregnate their cows. Besides the ranch house itself, he was her most valuable asset followed closely by her own horse. This was the last thing she needed.

  “You want me to call the sheriff?” Sam looked at her expectantly.

  She bit down on her automatic response. She had one former police officer in Hunter and one detective with Vince involved in her business already. Her gut told her they would want to make the next move.

  As much as she hated to involve Hunter and Vince, she could already hear the dressing down she’d receive if they got wind she’d handled this on her own when they were nearby. “I’ll do it. We still have extra fencing in the shed off the barn, right?”

  He nodded. “Yeah, there should be enough as long as no one decides to cut any more fencing.”

  “I’ll have Crystal order more just in case, but I doubt we’ll have any more cattle stealing. They got the best. Why bother with any others?”

  “I’m sorry, Miss Rachel.”

  Sam’s anger had to be dissipating if he was back to calling her “Miss Rachel.” “It wasn’t your fault. When do you think it happened?”

  He tipped his Stetson up and wiped the sweat off his forehead with his bandana then resettled his hat. “It had to be last night. I had the men ride the line yesterday and everything was intact.”

  “We can’t be out here twenty-four seven. Guess I’m going to have to invest in some of those motion cameras Crystal is always trying to get me to buy.”

  “Pardon me saying, but you shouldn’t need any damn cameras.” Sam’s voice had lowered to almost a growl.

  She watched her men as they herded the few curious Hereford away from the opening. “No, I shouldn’t, but things have changed.”

  Sam just shook his head. “I’ll get the men started on the fence repair. It should be done by dinner time.”

  “Thank you.”

  Her foreman tipped his hat and strode off to give instructions. She rode over to the break and looked at the tire tracks. It had to be one heavy-duty truck to get up to this pasture, through the conservation land her ranch bordered, then to return with a bull weighing over a ton in the back. She looked for trailer tracks, careful to keep Foxglove from stepping near the ruts.

  There were no other tracks which meant someone loaded Matterhorn into the bed of a pick-up. That was just crazy.

  She turned her horse back the way they’d come and let him pick his own pace. Maybe there was a reason Vince was in her life at the moment. If she suffered a few heart palpitations and a couple hot dreams so he could help her discover who was undercutting her operation, she’d just have to grin and bear it.

  As she rode closer to the house, she could see Vince’s truck was gone. She ignored the disappointment that swept through her and focused on bringing Foxglove into the barn and taking his saddle off. “You’re still the most dependable male in my life, sweetie.”

  She set him loose into the corral and leaned on the fence for a few minutes watching him drink from the trough. His black coat interspersed with the white hair that declared him a true roan gave him a greyish color. His black legs and mane just made him that much more handsome, though not the heart-stopping handsome that a certain detective was. “At least now I can tell Vince about the loss of my bull over the phone instead of in person. Shit, I’m such a wuss.”

  “Oh no, I forgot about the cookies.” Foxglove barely glanced at her as she spun away and strode across the hard-packed front yard. She needed to throw out the left over dough and bring the cookies out to the men. They’d be doubly appreciative after they repaired that fencing.

  She let the screen door slam behind her and headed into the kitchen. When she stepped in, she froze. The leftover dough had been made into cookies and the mess of dirty dishes and cookie sheets had disappeared. There was a note on the plate of cookies.

  Rae, I’ll see you tomorrow. Following up on a couple possibilities. Call if you need me.

  Vince’s card was stapled to the bottom. It wasn’t from the Austin police department. It was a simple card with his name, phone number and a cowboy hat in the corner.

  She looked from the note to the clean kitchen to the baked cookies and back. Pulling out a chair, she plopped into it. He baked and cleaned too? Her heart swelled at his thoughtfulness. “Shit, I’m such a lost cause.”

  Chapter Four

  Vince took a sip of his beer as he watched the door o
f Big Joe’s Bar and Grill. There was no one called Big Joe associated with the bar. In fact, it was owned by an old friend of his, Bonnie. She had chosen the name to attract male customers and it worked. At least there was a grill in the kitchen, though he’d never eaten in the place.

  “Looking for someone?”

  Vince started as Hunter settled into the seat across from him.

  “How the hell do you do that? You were always quiet, but that’s inhuman.”

  His friend shrugged. “A few months in Afghanistan and you’d learn to walk silently, too. I take it that wasn’t a requirement for undercover work?”

  “No. My specialty was pretending to be someone I wasn’t.”

  Hunter raised his brow. “Do you still get carded?”

  He chuckled. “On occasion, but I think that’s just the cute grocery clerk’s way of checking me out. How many thirty three-year-olds do you know get carded?”

  “My point exactly.” Hunter looked doubtful. “You can grow a beard, right?”

  This time he laughed. It was an old routine for the two of them. Hunter joked about his young appearance, and he pretended it had to do with all the women wanting him. There was only one woman he was focused on now, and he would work on that tomorrow. “Gotta shave every day.”

  The waitress came over and Hunter ordered a ginger ale.

  It didn’t take rocket science to figure out why. The man’s wife was killed by a drunk driver. Vince kicked himself. He should have had them meet somewhere else.

  He just wasn’t keen on the bistro atmosphere of the two other eating establishments in Daisy Creek and the diner was only open for breakfast and lunch. “You okay with me having a beer?”

  Hunter shrugged it off. “I’m not your mother.”

  “And I can’t tell you what a relief that is. You’d make an ugly woman.”

  Hunter’s lips quirked up on one side. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

  The waitress brought Hunter his drink and gave him a wink then sashayed back to the bar.

  Vince wasn’t surprised by Hunter’s lack of interest. His friend was like himself. A one woman man. “So what did you find at the fence break. Wish I could have been there by nightfall.”

  “There wasn’t a lot to see. Whoever stole her bull obviously just came for him and the idiots loaded him into the bed of a large pick-up truck.”

  He shook his head. “That’s what she said. What about tire tracks?”

  “I made the impressions you wanted. I followed the tracks down through the reserve and to the paved road. Luckily, there was so much dirt and mud stuck in the tires that I could track it all the way to West Highway 290. They were headed toward Austin.”

  Vince sat back as his mind spun. The bull incident and the missing money didn’t seem connected, but they had to be. He didn’t believe in coincidence. Financial ruin came to mind. As much as he was upset with Rachel, he didn’t want to see her lose the ranch because someone decided she’d be easy pickings. Maybe a developer wanted the land. He’d look into that.

  Hunter studied him. “Did you find anything going through Rachel’s books?”

  “Yes, a lot.”

  “Really?” Hunter took a swig of ginger ale. “I knew you were the right one for this case.”

  Vince pointed to an invisible spot on the table. “At first, everything looked perfect, but it was too perfect. There were no adjustments or mistakes of any kind. In three years, that’s almost impossible.”

  “True, but Crystal is supposed to be a whiz at numbers.”

  He moved his finger to another spot on the table. “I compared the bank statements to the books.” He moved his finger back to its original spot. “Even that looked right. So I decided to spot check daily balances.”

  “And…”

  He slapped his hand down. “They didn’t match. The statements and online daily balances were completely off, by thousands.”

  Hunter folded his arms. “How can that be?”

  Vince thought about his conclusions. Two he liked and one he didn’t. “Based on the discrepancy, I can rule out the accountant.”

  “Okay, that doesn’t surprise me. From what I discovered today, she’s as clean as a whistle.”

  He nodded. “She only has the books in her possession for a month and this problem is year-round.”

  Hunter whistled low between his teeth. “Are you saying Rache is lucky she still has the ranch?”

  “Not necessarily. It’s almost as if someone has been using her checking account for short term loans. By the end of the month, she is always solvent.”

  Hunter lowered his brow. “I’m not a financial whiz like you, so explain how she was suddenly short of cash in laymen’s terms.”

  “The borrower didn’t pay the money back in time.”

  “And the borrower is?”

  “One of three people.” He shrugged. “Or as best I can tell right now. It’s either Sam, his wife Marie or Crystal.”

  Hunter stiffened. “Whoa, I don’t like any of those choices. Can you suggest another?”

  He shook his head. “Just Rachel’s mysterious hacker theory, but I don’t think she’s been hacked.”

  “Fine, then I’ll hope it’s Sam or his wife. What do you need me to do next?”

  “I’m with you.” He thought for a moment, choosing his words carefully. “I’m going to do more online digging on all three, but I’d like you to check out an address.” He pulled his wallet out of his back pocket and took a piece of paper from it. “Here it is. Find out everything you can about it.”

  Hunter stared at the address to the CR Seed and Grain Company then put it in his back pocket. “What is it for?”

  “It’s one of the companies Rachel does business with.” He purposefully kept the amount of business to himself. It was a long shot, but if the other three didn’t pan out, this company could be a clue.

  “Anything else?”

  “Yeah. Sam’s wife works part-time at First Austin Bank. That’s where Rachel’s account is. That’s too much of a coincidence for me. I’d like you to keep her in your sights tomorrow.”

  “Sure. What about Sam and Crystal?”

  “I’m going to do more computer research on them. Maybe you could see who Crystal hangs out with tomorrow night. I’m guessing Sam’s wife will be home with him and his daughter, Eva, so that will leave you free to track Crystal down. She’s going to Seventh Heaven on Sandy River Road.”

  Hunter rubbed the condensation on his glass with his thumb. “I’m guessing you figured that out on the computer as well.”

  He nodded.

  “I hate night clubs.” Hunter frowned.

  “I’d do it, but if Crystal sees me there, she’s going to wonder. If she sees you there, she’ll just think you were having a night out on the town. Besides, in black, no one will see you.”

  Hunter shook his head. “And where will you be tomorrow night?”

  “I need to ask Rachel some tough questions.”

  “About the missing money or about you and her?”

  Vince took a swallow of beer. “That obvious?”

  “Fuck yeah.”

  Hell. He tipped his hat up and brought it back into place. “She told me today she’d broken off our relationship seven years ago because of my job. That’s not what she said to me back then.”

  Hunter frowned. “Damn, that sucks.”

  “Yeah. That she lied to me has me pissed off, but since my job has changed—I’m thinking a lot.”

  Hunter took a sip of ginger ale, but didn’t say anything.

  Vince knew the tactic was to make a perp talk. He was no perp, but he didn’t mind talking, at least not to Hunter. The guy was a vault when it came to secrets, never mind a friend’s conversation. “We had something growing between us. We even talked about what it was like for the wife of a cop. She didn’t appear to be concerned. I thought it was because she had confidence that I could keep myself alive.”

  “And now you’re wondering if it wa
s because she didn’t see herself as an officer’s wife.”

  He nodded. “Her father died while I was undercover. I didn’t come up for air for over six months.”

  “Shit, that’s a long time.” Hunter looked askance at him. “You saw shit that woke you up at night.”

  “Yeah.” The vision of an overweight man on his knees begging for a second chance rushed before his eyes. He jerked at the remembered gunshot to the man’s forehead. He took a gulp of beer, ignoring the sweat that trickled down his back at the memory.

  “Rachel was an angel by that time and you couldn’t wait to see her.” Hunter wasn’t even looking at him.

  Hell, it was similar to what Hunter had gone through overseas, only his wife died. At least Rachel was still alive. “Forget I mentioned it.”

  Hunter’s gaze snapped to him. “No, keep talking. That’s what my therapists always said. I didn’t believe them until I started talking to the right person.”

  “Right person?”

  A smirk formed on Hunter’s face. “Adriana.”

  Vince shook his head, but understanding dawned. “You think I should tell all this to Rachel.”

  Hunter just looked at him over his glass, his meaning clear.

  “First, I have to corner her. That woman does not want to talk. Second, I’m not sure she’s the one I should talk to. The only reason I’m in her life right now is because you brought me in. We are done as she reminded me today.”

  Hunter shrugged. “You’ll be at the ranch all day tomorrow.” Then he pushed back his chair and stood. “Speaking of the ranch, I better show my face or Rachel will start worrying.”

  “Right. Thanks for the advice.”

  Hunter stared at him a minute. “We go back and I like you, but Rachel and I go back farther. Don’t break her heart and make me come after you.”

  Vince stood, throwing down a few bills to cover their tab. “Believe me, you don’t have to worry about that. It’s my heart that’s been beat up and spit out. She’s the one who made the break. I’d be a glutton for punishment if I tried to fix it.”