I heard a loud whistle and looked across the square to see Amy pointing down the street. “Looks like we might have a sighting,” I said. “North end of Main. Mack, circle around and approach from the supply store. Sofia, head toward Hastings. Parsons, stay with the foreman.”
Waking up to an avalanche of texts and phone calls was never a good way to start the day, especially since I’ve been burning the candle at both ends the closer we got to the rodeo. I drove slowly, looking everywhere I could.
Overnight, some cattle had gotten loose from Kingdom Ranch. Folks awoke to cows tearing up their gardens and yards. With a lot of help, we’d managed to get most of them rounded up and returned, but there were still four outstanding and they were proving elusive.
“It’s like a damn game of cat and mouse but with eight-hundred-pound mice,” Sofia complained into the radio, and I grinned at that.
“Times four,” Mack added. “Oh, I think more help is here.”
“What? Where?” I drove toward the north end of town where I could just make out a bunch of whistles and yips. Speeding up, I met up with my deputies, and we watched Cal come riding down the street, herding the elusive four cows in front of him.
As he rode past, he tipped his hat at me. “Where do you want ’em?”
I pointed toward the square where Kingdom Ranch had parked their trailer. “Over there, man.”
Cal waved his hat and whistled again, coming up alongside the cows to direct them toward the trailer. By the time I got over there, the cows were being loaded onto the back and the foreman, Kent, was shaking Cal’s hand.
“Can’t thank you enough, Mr. Pierce,” Kent said, pumping Cal’s hand harder than necessary. Kent was talking a mile a minute about the competitions he’d seen Cal in and how appreciative he was. My brother clapped him on the shoulder, and I watched him politely pose for a couple pictures before he joined me.
“How often does that happen around here?” Cal asked and I chuckled.
“Not that often, thankfully. I’m glad you were around for the assist.” I looked at the horse he was riding. It was a gorgeous black stallion. Definitely someone’s pride and joy. “Where’d he come from?”
“Doc Lett. She let me borrow him for a few minutes. Isn’t he a beauty?” Cal rubbed the horse’s neck and it whinnied, bumping his head against Cal’s shoulder. “I know, Twister. You were great out there, but I gotta get you back now.” He turned to look at me, “Unless you still need us?”
I shook my head. “Nah, I think we’re good.” I watched Cal swing his leg into the saddle and ride off at a trot. Folks waved at him and took pictures and he played along, waving back as if he were in a parade. Julia Lett was one of the large-animal vets in town. Well, she also worked on smaller, domestic pets, but in a town where ranching was a way of life, the ability to work with horses and cattle was a must.
Crisis adverted, the rest of the morning was uneventful. I was thankful because I couldn’t possibly consume enough caffeine to snap me out of the fog I was wrestling with. Giving up on doing anything remotely productive, I told Lois I was headed out for lunch and I made my way over to Bite and Brew. The thought of digging in to one of Marc’s onion burgers had me salivating.
Walking up Main, I waved to the Alistair twins, who still lived in the same house they grew up in. Now in their eighties, the octogenarians were two of the more cantankerous residents of Poplar Springs. They weren’t malicious about it, unlike some of the others, but they did take some getting used to.
“Gentlemen,” I said by way of greeting. “What’d you think of the excitement this morning?”
Mitch snorted and Charles shook his head. “Looked like the damn rodeo had come to town early,” Charles said.
“We were stuck in the house for hours this morning with all those damn cows churning up our yard. Damn good thing thatbrother of yours was there to round them up, but who’s going to clean up the mess they made in town?” Mitch said. While the brothers were nearly identical in appearance and abundant use of the word “damn,” Mitch’s voice made him sound as if he’d smoked two packs of cigarettes for decades.
“The mayor’s office is taking calls about any damage, and Kingdom Ranch has already agreed to reimburse everyone for anylegitimatedamage caused by their cattle,” I said staring at the two of them. “Which means, don’t try sneaking in any repair costs for preexisting damage.”
“Of course, Sheriff,” Charles said, but looking at Mitch’s face, I already knew they would try. I made a mental note to let Lydia know that all claims would need to be investigated before they were submitted.
My frown deepened. “I mean it, gentlemen. My office will pursue any false claims made.”
Not waiting for a reply, I held the door to the diner open so they could precede me inside. The brothers immediately headed over to their regular table. Mitch whipped out a newspaper and they were already discussing the crossword puzzle while Caitlin poured their coffee.
I caught her eye and she stopped to fill a mug before walking to my table, her eyes alight as she smiled at me. I could get addicted to those looks. Her hair was growing out and she had tiny curls framing her face, giving her an angelic look that made my heart beat harder.
“That cattle drive through town is all anyone’s talking about,” she said, setting a Coke with extra ice down in front of me.
“It was only four cows,” I said.
“Four more than normal. I know it was an accident, but with all the videos and pics everyone’s shown me, having the rodeo’s headliner herding anything through town has to be great publicity, right?”
I hadn’t thought about it like that, but Caitlin was right. The smile she gave me when I told her that lit up the whole diner. I gave her my order and was staring at my phone when I heard a smattering of applause. I looked up to see Cal headed my way, but he kept stopping to say hello and shake people’s hands.
When he finally made it to my booth, we shook hands and I invited him to join me. “How’s it feel to be the man of the hour?” I said.
“Not gonna lie, that was fun,” Cal said accepting an iced sweet tea from Caitlin and ordering the same thing I did.
