the way she fussed over him. Fact was, he loved darn near everything about her.
She poured him a cup of thick black coffee, set it down on the kitchen table in front of him, then started scurrying around, opening the fridge, taking out the fixin’s to make him a roast beef sandwich.
“Any more trouble?” she asked. She was a slender woman with iron gray hair, but at sixty, she looked years younger. And she had always been pretty.
Charlie sighed. “One of the trucks broke down on the road on the way out of Llano. Had to call a tow truck. Didn’t take long to fix it, but it wasn’t cheap.”
“Seems like if it isn’t one thing lately, it’s another. But those things happen, I guess.”
“We been lucky over the years. I’d say we’ve had less trouble than most folks. I guess things just kinda started pilin’ up.”
“I suppose.”
“How things been goin’ here?”
Annie set a big Dagwood sandwich down in front of him made with homemade bread and piled with thin-sliced roast beef, then sat down in the chair next to his. “To tell you the truth, we been havin’ a little trouble of our own.”
He set the sandwich back on his plate without taking a bite. “What kinda trouble?”
“Some of the cattle’s come up missing. Maybe a dozen head. I called Sheriff Mills. He’s lookin’ into it.”
The sandwich sat untouched on his plate. Whatever small appetite he’d had was now completely gone. “A dozen, you say?”
“That’s what Ben says.” Ben Landers was his foreman, had been for nearly twenty years.
“I’ll talk to him, then drive over and see the sheriff this afternoon. Maybe he’s found out who took ’em.”
Annie stood up and walked behind him, leaned over and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. “Folks have problems, Charlie. Like you said, we’ve had less than our share.”
He caught hold of her hands, kissed the back of each one. “You and me, we’re good at solving problems. We’ll get through these, just like we always have.”
Annie nodded, straightened away from him. “Tell me about our boy. How’s Dallas?”
Charlie grinned. The man he and Annie had raised as a son was his pride and his favorite subject. Charlie launched into a replay of Dallas’s last few rides and for a while his problems were forgotten.
Charlie just wished he could bury them for good.
CHAPTER 5
Dallas kicked ass in Alberta. He drew a horse named Five Minutes to Midnight, a big black, Finals horse, scored ninety points and took home the purse, a fat one in Innisfail, one of the top pro rodeos around.
Then he’d called Charlie in Texas to tell him the good news, and the moment he had heard his uncle’s voice he had known that something was wrong. Under threat of torture, Charlie had finally told him about the breakdown on the road and the stolen Circle C cattle. Whoever had done it hadn’t taken many head, but Dallas knew that along with everything else, it was badly disheartening to Charlie.
And it bothered the hell out of Dallas. He wished he could be there to help
In Ponoka, he drew a good bucker, lost his concentration and landed facedown in the dirt. It hadn’t happened to him in a while. Maybe it was good for him, humble him a little and get him back on track.
After the rodeo, a sassy little redhead he remembered from the year before had invited him over to her place for a drink. He hadn’t really wanted to go, but his pride was bruised and he was worried about Charlie. He figured maybe some hot, no-strings sex would help him forget for a while.
Debbie—he thought that was her name—seemed to be up for the idea. Sitting on the sofa in the living room of her apartment, he watched her peel off her clothes.
“Come on, cowboy.” She tugged him to his feet. “Let’s go into the bedroom. I’ve always had a secret yen to make love to a guy wearing only his hat and boots.”
Somehow the notion annoyed him. Still, he let her drag him into the bedroom and strip away his clothes.
She poured him a cup of thick black coffee, set it down on the kitchen table in front of him, then started scurrying around, opening the fridge, taking out the fixin’s to make him a roast beef sandwich.
“Any more trouble?” she asked. She was a slender woman with iron gray hair, but at sixty, she looked years younger. And she had always been pretty.
Charlie sighed. “One of the trucks broke down on the road on the way out of Llano. Had to call a tow truck. Didn’t take long to fix it, but it wasn’t cheap.”
“Seems like if it isn’t one thing lately, it’s another. But those things happen, I guess.”
“We been lucky over the years. I’d say we’ve had less trouble than most folks. I guess things just kinda started pilin’ up.”
“I suppose.”
“How things been goin’ here?”
Annie set a big Dagwood sandwich down in front of him made with homemade bread and piled with thin-sliced roast beef, then sat down in the chair next to his. “To tell you the truth, we been havin’ a little trouble of our own.”
He set the sandwich back on his plate without taking a bite. “What kinda trouble?”
“Some of the cattle’s come up missing. Maybe a dozen head. I called Sheriff Mills. He’s lookin’ into it.”
The sandwich sat untouched on his plate. Whatever small appetite he’d had was now completely gone. “A dozen, you say?”
“That’s what Ben says.” Ben Landers was his foreman, had been for nearly twenty years.
“I’ll talk to him, then drive over and see the sheriff this afternoon. Maybe he’s found out who took ’em.”
Annie stood up and walked behind him, leaned over and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. “Folks have problems, Charlie. Like you said, we’ve had less than our share.”
He caught hold of her hands, kissed the back of each one. “You and me, we’re good at solving problems. We’ll get through these, just like we always have.”
Annie nodded, straightened away from him. “Tell me about our boy. How’s Dallas?”
Charlie grinned. The man he and Annie had raised as a son was his pride and his favorite subject. Charlie launched into a replay of Dallas’s last few rides and for a while his problems were forgotten.
Charlie just wished he could bury them for good.
CHAPTER 5
Dallas kicked ass in Alberta. He drew a horse named Five Minutes to Midnight, a big black, Finals horse, scored ninety points and took home the purse, a fat one in Innisfail, one of the top pro rodeos around.
Then he’d called Charlie in Texas to tell him the good news, and the moment he had heard his uncle’s voice he had known that something was wrong. Under threat of torture, Charlie had finally told him about the breakdown on the road and the stolen Circle C cattle. Whoever had done it hadn’t taken many head, but Dallas knew that along with everything else, it was badly disheartening to Charlie.
And it bothered the hell out of Dallas. He wished he could be there to help
In Ponoka, he drew a good bucker, lost his concentration and landed facedown in the dirt. It hadn’t happened to him in a while. Maybe it was good for him, humble him a little and get him back on track.
After the rodeo, a sassy little redhead he remembered from the year before had invited him over to her place for a drink. He hadn’t really wanted to go, but his pride was bruised and he was worried about Charlie. He figured maybe some hot, no-strings sex would help him forget for a while.
Debbie—he thought that was her name—seemed to be up for the idea. Sitting on the sofa in the living room of her apartment, he watched her peel off her clothes.
“Come on, cowboy.” She tugged him to his feet. “Let’s go into the bedroom. I’ve always had a secret yen to make love to a guy wearing only his hat and boots.”
Somehow the notion annoyed him. Still, he let her drag him into the bedroom and strip away his clothes.
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