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Russell offered him a wicked grin. “Have you met our foreman? If anyone tried to pull something like this at our place, Jessup would find them and rip their throats out. He’s been with my father for thirty years, and no one in the valley messes with him. You remember when we came over to help you? Jessup wasn’t with us, and yet he was the one who made sure the men had what they needed. They listen to him more than they listen to me.”
“Okay….” He wasn’t sure where Russell was going.
“Half the valley is afraid of Jessup, and the other half is in awe of him. Sometimes I swear Jessup has eyes in the back of his head. Violet taught me how to cook, and Jessup was the man who taught me all about horses. And I got my business instincts from my father.”
“So in other words, you’re not worried at all.”
“Nope. And you don’t need to be either.” Russell’s gaze met his. “We look out for the people we care for. If anyone hurts you, it’s the same as hurting us. Period. My dad really likes you, and he hated Jase on sight. I should have known the guy was bad news if Dad didn’t like him.” Russell smiled and then sighed. “Let’s get the coffee on before the guys get here.”
Rafe nodded, still worried. It wasn’t like he could keep Russell’s men here forever. Hopefully the sheriff would get to the bottom of this soon.
Chapter 10
RUSSELL WOKEafter a fitful night. Rafe hadn’t slept much and kept waking up. The dogs refused to settle, even after they’d greeted Brad and Dustin again. Finally, after almost an hour, everyone in the house had managed to get to sleep.
Russell slipped out of bed and grabbed his clothes, then headed across to the bedroom to dress. Rafe needed to sleep, and he left him to it.
“Anything?” he asked Brad when he found him in the kitchen getting some coffee.
“No. It was quiet. Dustin was in here a little while ago, but he went out to check the barn again.” He sat down with his mug, and Russell poured himself some coffee as well. “Where’s Rafe?”
“Still sleeping. He was up half the night, and the dogs prowled around until we brought them in the room with us.” He stifled a yawn.
“This really sucks.” Brad downed his coffee like he was desperate. “If it’s okay, Dustin and I will take off soon. But I’ll tell the guys to keep their eyes and ears open. Whoever did this is probably just dumb enough to actually talk about it.” Then Brad got up and quietly left the house.
Russell sat at the table, drinking his coffee, thinking about the situation. It all centered around Rafe and the ranch.
He and his father had made business decisions, and the ripple effects had affected Rafe’s place. Russell had known that this piece of land was a keystone of sorts to the health of the valley, but never before had so much focus been put on it. Or maybe it had, and he just hadn’t known.
Mendeltom wanted the land for its water so he could grow his business and push as many cattle through his operation as possible. Rafe’s parents wanted the land, or at least the money it represented, so they could further their own agenda. Even Russell’s father wanted use of this piece of land, but he was willing to work with Rafe rather than pull it out from under him.
Still, even in the past, this particular spot had seen a lot of action—the avalanche that changed the flow of the river, and Mack’s escape to this place to build his own life. Russell kept thinking there had to be something that connected it all, a key of sorts. But what if there wasn’t? What if it was simply that everyone just had their own miserable objectives?
He finished his coffee and moved into the living room. The dogs ambled in to get petted, then went right to the kitchen. Russell let them settle while he checked his email on his phone. When he saw a response from one of the rodeo organizing committees, he immediately called the number provided.
“Yes, is this Jessica? I’m Russell Banion.”
“Yes, hello, Mr. Banion. I wanted to let you know that we have the records from the rodeo for the years you asked about. They are paper records, so it took me a while to locate them, but I have the participation logs you requested. I can take pictures of them and send them to you if you like.”
He grinned. “You’re wonderful. A friend of mine is related to one of the buckle winners. We found the buckle and a picture of him after he passed away, and we have been trying to determine who else was in the picture. All we have is the name Dale.”
“I see.” His phone chimed as pictures began coming through as texts. “Hopefully what we have will help you,” Jessica said.
“From his outfit, we figured he was one of the participants.” A thought occurred to him as he spoke. “But he might have been one of the pickup men. We’d really like to know who this man is. He seemed like a good friend, and if he’s still alive, maybe he would like some of the old pictures and things.” It sounded like a good enough reason, and he figured he didn’t need to go into anything deeper.
“I’ll send you those lists as well. Give me a few minutes.”
“Thank you very much.”
“It’s no problem. We’re a small rodeo, but we have a longstanding tradition that goes back almost a century.” She indeed sounded very proud.
“Well, I appreciate all the help you’ve given me. I’ll let you know if we have any luck.” He thanked her again and ended the call. A few minutes later, more images came through. He forwarded the images to Rafe’s email so they could look at them once he got up.
The dogs all sat next to him, waiting, tongues out. “You hungry, guys?” He got them some water and food, which fortunately was still where Mack had kept it. That alone brought home just how much of this place was still Mack’s. Some of the pictures on the walls had been replaced. The one on the kitchen wall grabbed his attention. Someone had captured Rafe midaction, the bull in the air, Rafe’s hand over his head, the hat flying away, but it was the eyes and the set of Rafe’s jaw that pulled Russell into this image. It truly was like he was there with Rafe. He could almost feel the tension and excitement of that moment.
“You like that one?” Rafe asked, scratching his head.
“Yeah, but why is it in the kitchen?” Russell asked as Rafe poured himself some coffee.
