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“Are you talking about this?” she quipped, cutting him off and placing her hand against his crotch.
“Behave, or I’ll use that lunge line on you, along with a whip.”
“Promises, promises.”.
“Enough of your sassy cracks,” he said with a chuckle and delivering a quick swat. “I’m goin’ to that locker. You stay here.”
Releasing her, he marched away, and as she watched him she admired his purposeful stride and wide shoulders. He was a bull rider and a tough cowboy, but in just a few short minutes he’d comforted her and lightened her spirit. She’d never met anyone like him.
* * *
Big John had found a parking space close to the chain link fence surrounding the livestock pens. While it was easy to see the horses in the corrals, they had no access to the barns. They discussed climbing over the fence, but people were constantly coming and going, and the abundance of cowboys wearing yellow vests identifying themselves as security made it even riskier.
“Now what?” John grunted, staring at the bustling activity.
“Let’s take a walk around the perimeter,” Tom suggested. “We might find a back gate or some other way in.”
“Or we could steal a couple of vests somehow and—”
“Bad idea,” Tom said quickly, cutting him off.
“But, Tom, look at how many there are. No-one would give us a second glance.” Shaking his head, Tom marched away at a fast clip. “Dammit, wait up,” John called, hurrying to catch him. “We’ve both done worse than hijack a couple of vests.”
“Yeah, but didn’t you notice the sheriff’s car? It’s parked over by the gate.”
“Uh, no, I can’t say I did, and why are you suddenly so edgy?”
“I’ve been thinkin’…”
“Yeah, you do that a lot, and you do it real well. What’s that smart brain of yours tellin’ you now?”
“I think it must’ve been Ben who took the horses out of your paddock. There’s no other explanation, and he must have been helped by that rider of his. That was her footprint.”
“That’s what I’ve been sayin’.”
“And I didn’t disagree, but the question is—why? I can think of only one reason. He runs a sales barn, and—”
“You think he stole ‘em to sell like I did?” John exclaimed, cutting him off.
“John, just listen. He runs a sales barn. It wouldn’t surprise me if he saw a flyer, or got a notification about those horses. Like you said, they’re pricey. I bet their owners put the word out all over the state and offered a reward. Think about it. Two hours away is virtually next door. If Ben was up on that firebreak and looked down at your property he would’ve seen them.”
“Then why didn’t he call the sheriff?”
“Bringin’ in the law can get messy. But unofficially, not so much. That deputy showed up right when we did, remember? That could be his cruiser parked over there. Maybe he’s here keepin’ an eye on—”
“Fuck!” John exclaimed, stopping short. “Look!”
“What?”
“That’s one of my horses right there, gettin’ lunged.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Gripping the chain link fence, Big John stared at the slightly built young woman expertly lunging the beautiful dark bay mare. The horse trotted with a smooth, easy gait, then picked up the canter on the girl’s cue. As it bucked and played, the girl laughed out loud before bringing the mare back to a trot.
“Damn, that’s a nice horse,” Tom muttered. “It’s one thing to watch it grazin’ in a field, but seein’ it move like that is somethin’ else, and the way that mare’s respondin’, that girl has to be her owner. She’ll have her under lock and key now. Too bad. Ten grand would’ve been a bargain. Well, I guess you win some, you lose some. Come on, let’s go.”
But Big John had barely heard his cousin. All he could think about was getting the mare back.
