“We’ve traveled for about an hour, so we’re gonna let the horses drink from the creek and rest,” Jeff told them. “Then we’ll travel for another hour to our lunch site.”
Cash smiled at the excited remarks as they reached the creek. The ladies did well in dismounting and helping lead their horses to the creek for a drink. Back in the saddles they rode further down Fish Creek. In a grassy meadow that was a typical Tuesday stop for guests of the dude ranch, there were picnic tables under a wooden shelter. Once they arrived, everyone began dismounting and the wranglers showed guests how to tether their horses to tree branches, so they’d have a ride home.
“Who’s sharing a tent with you tomorrow night, Cash?” Donna boldly asked, sidling up on his right.
“Sam,” Cash replied stoically.
“Jacob can bunk with Jeff,” Sam said, joining them. “Ed and Larry will tent up as usual.”
Tracy had overheard and walking to them, she said, “Iassume we ladies share a tent with the person we’re teamed up with in our cabins.” She had directed her comment more to Donna than to Cash as if she’d detected Donna might be wearing on his nerves. “Right?”
“You’re partly correct,” Cash said. “There are two cots per tent. So the ladies who are three to a cabin now can split up and sleep two to a tent.”
Jeff, Ed, and Larry were unloading water from Eloise, placing red and white checked cloths on the picnic tables, and encouraging guests to walk around and take in the scenery. Tracy received a text and Cash saw the same expression of concern on her face, as he had when he’d asked her if everything was okay.
He strongly suspected something or someone in Tracy’s life was not okay. She struck him as a loner, with little help from anyone. Perhaps she was carrying a weight that was far too heavy and shouldn’t be on her shoulders in the first place. She could be a little brash and he wondered if that was her way of compensating for some insecurity. Maybe it’s how she kept herself moving forward. Since when did he try to figure out a woman? Never.
Tracy wandered away from the picnic area of chatting people and sat down on a large, flat boulder to text back. Cash gave her a few minutes and when she appeared to have finished her text, he grabbed her lunch and his. With water bottles in hand as well, he walked over to her. Cash wasn’t sure exactly why he cared or why he wanted to help her. But he did.
“Hey,” Tracy said, looking up from her cell at him.
“Hay is for horses,” Cash said. “And you can’t be too careful around horses. So before you get distracted and injured, why don’t you tell me what’s going on?”
“I’m fine,” she said.
“Yeah?” Cash noted that same slump of her shoulders she’d had when a call had taken her out of the stables. “So you’re always late to a job, miss safety instructions, and have to feed chickens?”
Her smile was halfhearted. “Not usually.”
“Fair enough.” Cash sat down next to her. On the flat surface of the rock, he placed their bag lunches between them. Handing her a water bottle, he asked, “How bad can it be?”
“That’s just it.” Tracy sighed. “I don’t know.”
Cash opened a lunch sack and handed her a deli-style sandwich. “Normally, cowboys eat dried meat, beans, hard biscuits, and dehydrated fruit when they’re out on the trail. Kellie takes pity on the guests and treats us to much better grub.”
“Let me make a note of those foods,” Tracy said and quickly flicked away a single tear before reaching for her pad and pen.
“I can remind you,” Cash said and placed his hand over hers as she held her pad and pen. “Is it my company that’s making you sad?” he asked with a grin, hoping she’d smile.
But instead of smiling, her eyebrows drew together before she looked away. Cash pulled his hand from hers and took a bite of his sandwich. After a moment she bit into hers. He chewed and waited, wondering if she’d confide anything. If not, he didn’t feel he could ask her a third time. As they ate, a summer breeze blew, catching long locks of Tracy’s hair and tossing them over her shoulder. Cash imagined those cinnamon waves would be as silky soft as they looked. When a lock blew across her face as she tried to take the last bite of her sandwich, he caught the red strand and moved it over her shoulder to her back. Yeah, even softer.
“It’s the company keeping someone I love,” Tracy whispered.
She’d said it so quietly, Cash wasn’t absolutely sure he’d heard her correctly. But he ran her words over in his head and his first thought was that she had a boyfriend who was cheating on her. If that was the case, what a fool the guy was. But how could a woman as beautiful as Tracynothave a boyfriend? A bunch of boyfriends. A sting of jealousy jabbedCash right in the gut. Then again, maybe he could be a shoulder for her to cry on.
“What does that mean, Tracy?” Cash noticed Donna staring at them as she swung her legs out from under the picnic table. He did not want the woman interrupting them and though she was technically a guest, he sent a frown her way. “Does the company involve a man?”
“Oh, yeah.” Tracy nodded but didn’t make eye contact.
“Look, it’s none of my business. I just want to keep you safe and focused this week.”
“Safe,” Tracy repeated the word and looked into the distance as if she were a million miles away. “I’m not convinced he’s safe company.”
“Tracy,” Cash said. Her glittering eyes met his. “Was that text from him?”
“Yes.”
“Is he threatening you in some way?”
