“Don’t you think you should tell Ry about all these things that have been happenin’ ‘round here?”Duane asked as they rode down the wide lane leading toward the corrals.“They’re mostly piddly stuff, but they add up.I don’t know if it’s the jinx or some harebrained kids tryin’ to be smart, but he should know he has a problem if the sale goes through.”
“I’ll tell him, but my credibility isn’t too good these days.After all, I took him on that long trail ride just to get rid of him.Why wouldn’t I make up a bunch of incidents to scare him away?”
Duane spat into the dirt.“Then I’ll back you up.”
“You were in on that trail ride thing.He probably won’t believe you, either.”
“Yes, he will, ‘cause he knows I changed my mind about him.‘Course, we don’t know what them partners of his are like, but he’s okay.Having him own the True Love wouldn’t be so bad.I think I can talk him into havin’ a rodeo again.”
“I don’t think so, Duane.He told me he thought the liability was too great.”
“He said that?”Duane scowled.“And here I went and strung up the barrel for him, too.”
“You’re teaching him to ride broncs?Talk about liability!”
“He wants to.Says he wants to try a bull, too.”
“My God, that’s insanity!”
“He asked me not to tell you, but I been feelin’ bad about that, ‘cause I figured you should know.And now I find out he don’t want no rodeo.Maybe I jumped to conclusions about that greenhorn.”
“Maybe we both did.”She glanced at Duane.“What were you thinking of putting him up on, Grateful Dead?”
Duane shifted his chaw.“Come to think of it, I did mention that particular bull.”
Her stomach twisted at the thought.“Duane, I’m sure you’ve been worried about this change of ownership, just like I have.So I have to ask.Was the bull riding just a way to make him hightail it back to New York?”
Duane shook his head vigorously.“No, ma’am.I swear that wasn’t my idea originally.But now that I know he’s against the rodeo, it’s a thought, ain’t it?”
“Absolutely not!The ranch doesn’t belong to him yet.He could still sue both me and Westridge.”Freddy told herself that was her chief concern.But a picture of Ry beneath the furious hooves of Grateful Dead kept spoiling her calm objectivity.A few riding lessons and a few turns on the bouncing barrel didn’t make somebody a rodeo cowboy, but Ry didn’t realize that.
She heard the whooping and hollering before she and Duane rounded the bend leading to the corrals.“What the—?”She urged Maureen into a faster trot around the curve.Ahead of her, the hands sat on the top rail of the main corral cheering a wildly bucking bay and its determined rider.Her blood ran cold as she saw who was on board.
“Oh, Lordy, he’s on Gutbuster,” Duane said.
“Not for long.”Freddy leaped from her horse and threw the reins to Duane.“Hold Maureen,” she called as she ran toward the corral.She made it just as Gutbuster spun and showed his belly in his famous “sunfish” move.
Ry rose in a graceful arc and came down with a sickening thud that plowed his shoulder into the trampled dirt.
Freddy climbed the fence and shoved one of the hands aside as she jumped into the corral.“Somebody get that damned horse!”she cried as she ran toward Ry.
He lay completely still on his side, his back to her.His cherished black hat rested brim-side up nearby.Fear closed her windpipe.Dropping to her knees, she pressed two fingers against his neck just as he rolled over, bumping into her knees.
“And I thought you didn’t care,” he said with a wicked grin.
She jerked her hand away.“What in hell do you think you were doing?”
He pushed himself to a sitting position and started brushing the dirt from his shoulder.“Celebrating.And why are you swearing?I thought that wasn’t allowed in the Code of the West?”
Anger shot through her, replacing her bone-deep fear.She jumped to her feet.“I should have you horse-whipped!You deliberately waited until Duane was with me and Leigh was out on a trail ride with the guests, didn’t you?Of all the stupid, irresponsible, insane—” She paused, remembering something he’d said.“Celebrating what?”
He stood and gazed at her, his blue eyes sparkling.“Our offer was accepted this morning.The closing’s in two weeks.You’re looking at the new owner of the True Love Guest Ranch.”
“I’m looking at an idiot!The sale’s not final yet, and until it is, I’m still the foreman around here.You are not to ride one of our broncs again.There’s no telling what could happen to you.Although I doubt that anything could crack that hard skull of yours, people have been known to die coming off a bronc.”To her dismay, she realized the last sentence came out almost a sob.
He leaned down, picked up his hat and whacked it against his thigh to knock off the dust.“If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were sweet on me,” he said.Then he put on his hat, adjusted the brim and walked away.
Duane hurried up trailing a litany of apologies.“I shouldn’t have fixed him up with that barrel, Freddy.I can see that now.I never dreamed he’d talk one of the boys into saddlin’ Gutbuster.Guess I should have knowed it would happen, though.He’s the kind that likes provin’ himself, but I won’t teach him no more.I won’t?—”
