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“Is this from the Walters ranch?” Reece asked him.
“Yeah. I don’t see any matches for the tires.” Alex glanced at Reece. “Do you know her?”
“I knew her father. Good man. His bulls were in high demand, and I heard his daughter took over when he passed.”
“Yes. Dylan is his daughter. She’s not happy.”
“I’m sure. One bull is worth a lot of money. Especially if he’s a proven breeder, and I know that bull was.”
“I’ll do what I can, but we both know the odds of getting the bull back is slim to none.”
“Yeah. It doesn’t always have a happy ending like Rory Heston’s case.”
“The one Wilder was undercover on turned out great for everyone.”
“Especially Wilder. He fell hard for her, and he’s happy. Like Nevada.”
“I’m not sure I could leave this job. Could you, Reece?”
“It would depend on the reason.”
“True. Wilder fell in love and Nevada quit before getting fired, but he found Courtney.”
“It’s about time you found someone, don’t you think, Alex?”
“The job is too dangerous.”
“That’s a copout. A lot of us are involved with someone and we’re happy. I don’t know what I’d do without Rissa.”
“So, if she asked you to leave it?”
“If it came down to her or the job, the answer is simple. Her.”
“I understand that.”
“Well, I’ll let you get back to work, Alex. Keep me posted and if you need any help, let me know.”
“Will do.” Alex nodded, then returned to work. He hoped something could be found in the photos.
Since the search wasn’t going well, he decided to do some checking on Travis Martin. The divorce wasn’t amicable so he could have some animosity toward Dylan.
When he located the file on Martin, Alex sighed. He wasn’t in Missouri as Dylan thought. His last location was in Whitefish, Montana. Too close for comfort in Alex’s opinion.
He was surprised to see he had recently been with another rodeo, although it was a small one, not the professional circuit he’d once been on. Since he’d been thrown out when he was arrested for drug possession and spent time in prison, he was banned from professional competing. Alex skimmed the file and his blood boiled when he saw that Martin had been cut out of his daughter’s life because he took her with him on a drug deal. The little girl had only been eighteen months old and he had her strapped into her car seat in the backseat of his pickup truck. When Martin tried to get away without paying the dealer, his truck was shot at, barely missing the little girl.
Alex was glad the judge saw fit to remove him from her life. With a father like that, she would never be safe.
As he read more, he saw that Martin had gotten into drugs after an accident while bull riding. He’d gotten addicted to pain pills and when he could no longer get them, he turned to heroin.
Alex knew all too well how someone could get hooked on pain meds. He’d been on them himself and they helped with his pain when he’d been shot, but he didn’t let them control him. He’d take them only if he needed them so he wouldn’t depend on them. He knew all about craving one for pain, but he didn’t give in to the demands of his body. In fact, he didn’t take all of them and tossed the rest down the toilet. They were way too tempting when he was hurting.
He pushed his chair back, stood, placed his hat on his head, grabbed his coat, and left the office. He wanted to get lunch and then see what he could find out about Travis Martin.
****
“Zoey, come eat your lunch,” Dylan called to her daughter.
“Okay, Mama. I’m hungry.” Zoey put her arms up for Dylan to place her on her booster seat at the table.
