Page 56 of Live Love Lasso

“Don’t pay her any mind,” I say softly. “Eventually she’s gonna get tired of seeing me kiss you in public.”

Lemon laughs, glancing up at me with a wry look. “You sure about that?”

I chuckle. “Naw, not really. But maybe another hot monster will move to the Gulch, and she can latch onto them instead. Let’s go, city girl.”

I’m anxious to see if we notice anything with the animals here. Although, given Echo’s mention of ranchers flooding our office with calls, I wouldn’t be surprised if something pops up.

We walk along the fence until we can dip through an opening to where the bull chutes empty into individual pens. A big black and tan bull snorts at us, hyped in his pen after having just bucked the pixie rider off.

“Easy, fella,” I murmur. The cattle tattoo running down my spine twinges softly, nothing worrisome necessarily. It’s just a deeper awareness now that I’m so close to so many cattle in a small space.

Lemon’s quiet as we make our way between the small temporary paddocks set up for the bulls. Most are munching on hay, and a few stand in a line, waiting their turn to move into the buckin’ chutes.

“Have you ever ridden one?” Lemon glances up at me with a saucy look.

I snort out a laugh. “Hell naw. You hear the crunch of that pixie’s wings when he hit the railing? The only dynamite I need between my thighs is you, baby girl.”

She groans. “Gods, I opened the door for that one.”

We halt at the final paddock. Inside, an all-white bull stands with his head raised high, sniffing the air as he paws the ground. Unlike the others, he seems anxious. The twinge of my tattoo morphs into a prickly sensation.

The bull turns to us and lowers his head, pawing the ground harder. His eyes shine a milky white.

“Fuck,” I mutter.

“Careful, you two.”

I turn to find one of the ranchers coming toward us with a big syringe in his hand.

I eye the pink concoction inside. “Hey, Carmine. He sick with the same as the rest?”

The big minotaur nods. “Yep, but Charlie’s my special flower, sensitive to everything. So far, none of the rest are sick, but not only is he sick, he’s got hives all down one side of his body. I’m gonna give him a quick antihistamine to see if I can get him a might more comfy, poor thing.” He sighs and looks down at me as he climbs over the metal railing. “You any closer to figuring this out, Furyon? I can’t start losing these bulls, or my business is fucked.”

It’s not an outright accusation, but it hits like one, and I can’t lie to him. Shaking my head, I cross my arms. “We thought we had a lead with a potion from Glimmer, but it ain’t panning out. All we know is the horses have been showing symptoms for nearly a week, and they’re all still alive, so there’s that.”

Carmine sucks at his teeth and hops into the pen. The bull snorts and lifts his head. Carmine probably raised him, so hopefully Charlie’s mind’s not gone enough to run him down the way the mustangs charged me.

The rancher speaks in low tones to the big bull, who shudders when the minotaur approaches. When the needle goes in, the bull shakes his head like he’s trying to dislodge a fly. Carmine pulls the needle out and pats the big bull’s haunches, still talking like he’s consoling a child.

He rejoins us, capping the needle and shoving it into his back pocket. We’re silent as we watch the bull. He remains anxious, pawing at the ground for a few more minutes.

But then something interesting happens: he stops swishing his long tail and looks over. After picking his way across the pen, he shoves his head into Carmine’s chest and nuzzles around.

“I don’t have carrots on me tonight, you big oaf,” Carmine says lovingly.

“Furyon, his eyes.” Lemon nudges my side.

Glancing down, I see the bull’s eyes are no longer white but a deep brown. He swivels his gaze up, snorting at us. Lemon backs away from the fence.

Holy shit. I look at Carmine. “What all was in that shot, friend? Just antihistamine?”

He looks at the bull’s eyes and gasps. “I’ll be fuckin’ damned. Yeah, just antihistamine. I keep it on account of his sensitive skin. Wind blows the wrong way, and he gets hives, I swear.” Carmine pulls the injection from his pocket and hands it to me. “Did we just find a cure?”

I pocket the syringe and look at him. “Don’t know, but it gives us something to try. Thank you, Carmine. Thank you so much!”

“Keep me posted!” he shouts as I grab Lemon’s hand and drag her toward my truck.

Furyon