“You’re going with me. I’ll saddle Cinnamon while you get your stuff. Meet me at the horses and Tracy,” he glanced over her shoulder, “please don’t let Donna come with you.”
“You look drunk, Donna!”Winston Smith blared as he stared at the cell phone screen of his FaceTime call.
“I’m not!” Donna spat right back at him. “I’m hungover.”
“You’re still on that magazine job with her, aren’t you?” Winston spewed a chaw of tobacco out of Tammy Dalton’s truck window. Sitting behind the wheel and parked on the far side of the shed, he eyed Tammy’s little house. Having returned from the grocery store, he was holding four eggs to warm them, as if they came from the chickens. Luckily Tammy was ignorant about them being roosters. “Has theDalton Darlingfigured out you’re in cahoots with the magazine guy?”
“No, she’s too busy with the ranch owner.” It really bugged Donna that the Kit Carson newspaper had bestowed the darling pet name on Tracy with a front-page sendoff when she had landed the big-time magazine journalism job. “And just so you know, Ihadto drink to make it through the night in a freaking tent in a godforsaken woods. The only reason I’m still here is because you’re paying me to spy on her.”
“With a big payoff coming.”
“So you’ve been saying for months, Daddy dear,” Donna said sarcastically. “How much longer do I have to follow the little bitch around?” When her father didn’t answer, she glared into the phone at him and snapped, “How much longer?”
“I told you, until I get the old lady’s money in my hands and preferably her property in my name too.”
“What good does that do me exactly?” Donnademanded. “I sure as crap don’t plan to live in Wild Horse. There are no men within a thousand-mile radius.”
“Stop exaggerating. Besides, her property’s all mine,” he reminded her. He spewed tobacco again and wiped his mouth with the hand holding his newly purchased gun. “But with your share of her buried cash you can live anywhere and get any man you want.”
“Not any man,” Donna said and glanced away from the phone.
“Are you looking for Tracy?”
“Shit no,” Donna said. “I’m trying to spot that good-lookin’ rancher she’s writing about. I don’t see either one of them.”
“You gotta be Tracy’s best friend and stay close so you can keep me informed of her comings and goings, Donna,” he insisted for the hundredth time, admiring the gun from the pawnshop. Staring back at his phone, he said, “We agreed; keep your friends close and enemies closer. I’m doing my part. Do yours.”
“I’ve tried, she’s not buying it. And I think Cooper’s interested in her.”
Winston almost choked as he fingered the gun. “That’s all we need is for some man to intervene on her behalf before I get the money, if not the property. Sidetrack Cooper.”
“Cooper’s hotter than hell and I’d like nothing better than to sidetrack him away from Tracy,” Donna griped with a frown wrinkling her brow. “But he’s not buying it, either.”
“I’ve seen to it that Tammy fell and sprained her ankle. She can barely hobble around. I’ll try to speed things up. Work on being Tracy’s confidant, keep tabs on her, and make sure she stays away from Wild Horse. Like I said, do your part.”
“The only thing keeping her from visiting Wild Horse is Tammy telling Tracy everything is okay. Keep doing your part!”
“I’ve got an idea of how to buy some time and keep Tracy away.” He opened the console and put the gun in it. “Gotta go. If Tracy Dalton shows up here, you get zilch, Donna.”
“Screw you, old man.”
“Cattle showup on my ranch now and then,” Cash said.
Tracy was thoroughly enjoying this exclusive tour with Cash. Wearing her Elsa hat to shade her eyes, she followed his gaze. They’d watered the horses along Fish Creek and then veered off on what Cash told her was one of his favorite shortcuts. Shortly thereafter, he’d spotted a cow and her calf grazing down in the meadow. The valley rolled with sloping hills on either side and was populated by evergreens, wildflowers, and glimpses of the creek. As they sat atop Captain and Cinnamon, still a couple of miles north of Cash’s house, he explained the cows belonged to his brother, Chase, and had wandered off Triple C Ranch-Central.
“What a beautiful scene, Cash. It looks like something out of a movie,” Tracy said with a sigh, watching the animals graze. “I can certainly understand why your heart and soul belong to Triple C Ranch-East.”
“Yeah, it’s always been home. Do you miss your home?”
“I miss my grandmother.” Struck by the sound of his voice, interested and caring, Tracy turned to look at him. “I’ve been so busy with my job, I’ve not visited her. I talk to her often but I feel guilty for not making the trip to see her in person.”
“My guess is that she fully understands and wants the best for you.”
“Yes, she and my grandpa always encouraged me to leave Wild Horse. I stayed until I graduated with my online bachelor’s degree. That’s about the time Winston came knocking.”
“I’ve never been to Wild Horse. But I’ve heard it referred to as a ghost town.”
“Yes.” Tracy nodded with a sigh. “That’s a fair description.Wild Horse was founded in 1869, as a cavalry outpost. The Kansas-Pacific Railroad brought people through on their way to Denver. But there was a fire in 1917, which burned down most of the businesses. The Depression and the Dust Bowl of the 1930s helped wipe out what was left. There’s a former one-room schoolhouse, a post office, and a few scattered older homes.”
