As she glanced around at the high desert mountains and the blue sky overhead, suddenly his intentions didn’t matter. It was a beautiful day. She might as well make the most of it.
Cain smiled his approval. “I can probably find you a hat in the barn. Let’s go.”
While he saddled a big red, thick-necked roan for himself, one of the hands, a blond young man named Billy, saddled a pretty palomino mare for her. Cain grabbed a dusty straw cowboy hat off a row of hooks on the barn wall and tugged it low on his forehead. He plucked a smaller, slightly battered hat off another hook and tossed it in her direction.
Jenny snatched it out of the air and put it on, glad she had pulled her long, curly hair into a low ponytail at the nape of her neck. The hat was a little too big, but it would do.
Cain swung into the saddle, sitting the big roan the way he did everything else, with ease and confidence.
Billy led the palomino over to the mounting block. “You’re all set,” he said.
When she was younger, she could swing up onto the saddle without using the stirrup, but that was a long time ago, and she didn’t want to make a fool of herself. Jenny mounted and rode out of the barn behind Cain.
“You raise cattle?” Jenny asked, spotting a herd of black cows in the distance as they traveled a road behind the house toward the hills.
“Black Angus. A hundred cow/calf units, just to keep things interesting. The horses are our main focus. We have twenty-four registered quarter horses—twenty-five before we lost King. Some of them appear to have great potential as cutting horses. Denver Garrison is our trainer. He’s working a quarter horse gelding right over there.”
Cain pointed toward a tall, lanky cowboy riding a bay horse working a group of black cows. The horse’s dancing front feet dodged right and left, skillfully keeping the cattle clustered together, man and horse working in perfect unison.
“Do you ride cutting horses, too?” Jenny asked.
Cain laughed. “I’ve made a few attempts, usually ended up landing on my ass in the dirt. I leave that job to the professionals.”
It clearly took a skilled rider to stay aboard. Jenny figured Cain had probably made a good decision.
“We were just getting ready to breed Sun King to Kitty Cat,” he said as she rode beside him. “She’s a four-year-old mare out of a champion cutter named Smart Cat. King’s offspring have won over a million-two in competition, and Smart Cat is in the same league.”
“Do you think you’ll get King back?”
“I’m not used to losing something that belongs to me.” He flashed her a look she couldn’t read. “I’ve got good people working to find him, so there’s a chance they’ll come up with something.”
Cain raised his hat, raked back his thick brown hair, resettled the hat, and tugged the brim back down on his forehead. “I just hope wherever he is, King’s being well taken care of.”
Jenny felt a little pinch in her chest. No matter what he thought of her, Cain was a good man. She knew he worried about his people. Apparently, that concern extended to his animals, as well.
“Before we go, is there any chance you could get hold of Chief Nolan, find out what’s happening with Leslie Owens and the investigation?”
“I’ll give it a try.” He pulled out his cell and punched a number in his contacts. The big roan shifted and snorted beneath him, but Cain kept the horse under control.
Nolan must have picked up.
“Cain Barrett, Chief. Any news on the murder at the Copper Star?”
Jenny couldn’t hear the other side of the conversation, but Cain was nodding. “When will the crime scene be released?” He flicked her a glance. “I’m sure Jenny will be glad to hear it. Thanks, Chief, I appreciate the update.”
He turned in the saddle as the call came to an end. “Leslie Owens is stable but still in a coma. The doctors say that’s good, gives her head time to heal. The murder victim, Brian Santana, has a criminal record. Nothing major, just a couple of unpaid parking tickets, possession of a controlled substance when he was eighteen, and a DUI about ten years ago.” His gaze found hers. “At least we know he was no boy scout.”
“Fairly minor crimes. Doesn’t sound like a man who would assault someone.”
“Hard to tell what’s going on in a person’s head.”
“True.”
“The crime scene won’t be released until tomorrow.”
Surrounded by the blue skies over the ranch, Jenny breathed in the fresh desert air and felt the sun on her shoulders. “At least I don’t have to feel guilty for being here and not there.”
“There’s nothing you can do at the moment. You might as well enjoy yourself.” He nudged his horse forward, and Jenny fell in beside him. Maria had packed a lunch, which was in Cain’s saddlebags.
