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Horse after horse went out of the chutes, some bucking respectably, a few bolting into a dead run, others crow-hopping halfheartedly, and a small number successful in dumping their riders. None of it held Trey’s attention.
Impatient and restless, he gravitated to the alleyway behind the chutes. He spotted Tank standing off to one side, buckling on his chaps. Johnny was there as well, an Ace wrap girdling his right knee.
Joining them, Trey nodded at the wrapped knee. “What happened to you?”
“Caught it on the chute when I went out on that last damned horse,” Johnny muttered. “Twisted the hell out of it.”
Tank grinned. “He’s worried about losing the ride money if his knee isn’t strong enough to make his last horse. ’Course, I said I’d take his ride for him.”
“And the money for it, too,” Johnny added sourly.
“You aren’t going to let a sprained knee keep you from riding, are you, Johnny?” Trey taunted, the bite in his voice coming from his pent-up frustrations.
“Damned right I’m not,” he retorted. “And you can put money on that.”
“I wouldn’t get any takers,” Trey replied, already losing interest in the exchange.
“Where you been keeping yourself, Trey? It’s the first time I’ve seen you around the chutes all afternoon,” Tank remarked.
“That’s a danged fool question to ask.” Johnny snorted in disgust.
“Why?” Tank gave him an innocent look, then glanced at Trey. “You’re still trailing after that Hawaiian girl, are you? I thought you’d already scored with her last night?”
Mouth thinning, Trey made an educated guess as to the source of Tank’s information. He could too easily imagine the kind of talk Kelly had spread after seeing him come out of Sloan’s room this morning.
“Lay off, Tank.” His voice was low with warning.
But it was a cowboy’s nature to keep poking when he found a sensitive spot. And Johnny and Tank were both dyed-in-the-wool cowboys.
“Did she teach you the hula?” Johnny asked with an almost gleeful grin.
Tank snickered. “If she did, I bet her hips were doing the talking, not her hands.”
Anger that had simmered below the surface exploded with a rush. Trey whirled on Tank, lashing out with a fist that Tank didn’t quite manage to duck. It clipped his jaw and propelled him sideways into a pen.
Johnny limped to his assistance. “What the hell’s the matter with you, Trey? He was just giving you a hard time. He didn’t mean any harm.”
“Just keep your mouth off of her.” The harshness of his temper still vibrated in his voice.
“You could’ve said so.” Tank held on to his jaw and worked it from side to side.
“I did, but you didn’t listen. “Already regretting his loss of temper, Trey offered his hand in apology. “Sorry. No hard feelings.”
After a slight hesitation, Tank took hold of it. “That was a helluva quick way to get a man’s attention.”
“It was,” Trey admitted, then added. “You might as well know that she’s coming back to the ranch with me for a few days. The Crawfords said you could ride with them.”
Johnny gave him a surprised look, eyebrows raised. “So that’s the way the rope flies.”
“That’s the way of it.” The steady regard of his gaze never wavered. Johnny was the first to look away, with a slight downward tuck of his chin.
“Hell, we didn’t know, Trey,” Tank began. “I mean, a girl from Hawaii—”
Johnny cut in, “You talk too much, Tank. Why don’t you shut up and think about that horse you’ve got comin’ up.”
“Guess you’re right,” Tank murmured, throwing another glance at Trey before the two of them moved off toward the chutes.
Trey didn’t follow. Instead he located Sloan atop one of the chutes trying to get a picture of the activity in the next one.
