Chapter 5
It wasn’t that Dillon didn’t trust Cal. .
. . Actually, that was a lie. She absolutely didn’t trust him.
That’s why she hadn’t let him go looking for her stallion alone.
He had saved her, and she would never forget that.
However, that didn’t mean he got an immediate pass to being her best friend—or even someone she trusted.
She glanced over at him as they rode side by side. He had a smile on his face, and the contentment and pleasure took her aback. She was so shocked by it that she found herself looking at him again. This time, his stormy gray gaze met hers.
“Something the matter?” he asked casually.
Dillon shook her head and looked ahead. She managed to go all of a minute before glancing his way again. And, dammit, he was staring at her.
“Something is definitely the matter,” he said. “And don’t you dare tell me it’s nothing.”
She tugged hair out of her eye and tucked the strand behind her ear, hoping it would stay there. Her hair never did what it was supposed to. “I’m just surprised to see such happiness on your face.”
“Ah.” He was quiet for a moment as the clip-clop of the horses’ hooves filled the silence. “It’s been some time since I’ve gone riding. I grew up with horses, see them all the time at rodeos, but . . .”
“They weren’t your focus,” she finished for him.
Gray eyes met hers as he nodded. “I didn’t realize how much I missed riding until now.”
“Why bull riding?” she asked, unable to help herself.
His lips twisted as he shrugged. “Followed in my father’s footsteps. I’m not sure if my mother will ever forgive me for that.”
“She’s your mother. She forgave you the minute you made the decision.”
Cal snorted, though he had a smile on his face. “You don’t know my mother.”
Dillon found herself returning his grin. “When is the last time you saw your parents?”
“I’m ashamed to say it’s been too long since I’ve seen Mom. I call her. Check in as often as I can.”
“Bullshit.”
His head jerked to her, and his brows furrowed deeply. “Excuse me.”
“You don’t go because you don’t want to see the disappointment in her eyes, and you don’t call as often as you should because you don’t want to hear her tell you all the different things you could be doing instead of bull riding.”
Cal looked forward, a muscle clenching in his jaw. “Mom would like you. You don’t hesitate to state things just as they are. She’s the same.”
“She might not be on your side, but your father is. How does he feel about the situation with your mom?”
“I’m sure he’d be pissed. There isn’t much he can do, though, since he died when I was ten.”
Dillon closed her eyes, hating that she had let her mouth run away with her. “I’m sorry, Cal. I didn’t know.”
“It was a long time ago,” he said with a shrug. “Bull riding is a dangerous sport.”
She didn’t say more, even though she wanted to ask. Some topics were off-limits, and Dillon had touched on one. She drew in a deep breath and released it, making a mental note to stay away from talk of Cal’s parents.
“Dad’s death nearly killed Mom. She had been begging him to stop for a long time.
He’d suffered several injuries already, had a couple of surgeries, but nothing could keep him from getting back in the chute and on the next bull.
He was a good rider, but talent can only get you so far.
You have to draw good bulls. And, sometimes, that doesn’t happen.
You stop winning, the funds dry up, and a choice has to be made: Take what little you have left and give it to the family to pay bills and put food on the table, or .
. . use the money for a hotel in the next town on the circuit.
Bull riding was an addiction for my father. It’s kinda a tradition in my family.”
“Are you addicted?” Dillon asked.
Cal met her gaze and shrugged. “I don’t know. Some might claim I am. I know my mother would. Dad and I spent hours together training when he was home from the circuit. I didn’t realize it was in secret. Mom had apparently told him that if he trained me to ride bulls, she’d divorce him.”
“I can’t say I blame her.”
“Me, neither. I was just happy to be with Dad and doing something he adored. That last year on the circuit, I remember the times he called Mom. I heard their arguments and her begging him to come back so we could be a regular family. We had about thirty acres. Nothing huge, but it was hard work for Mom and me to take care of with her also working a full-time job. She ended up having to sell most of the cattle as well as her horse. I still remember hearing her crying in her bedroom after she’d loaded her mare onto the trailer for the buyer. My father had given her that horse.”
Dillon could well imagine Cal’s mom’s anguish.
He made a sound that was half-laugh, half-snort.
“Dad was having the best year of his career. He’d brought in a lot of money.
That eased some monetary stress for Mom, but her fear and worry over him getting hurt—or worse—never let up.
He called her right before he was about to ride.
Told her there were two more rodeos in the circuit, but he had qualified for the semi-finals in Vegas.
He told her that no matter if he won or lost in Vegas, he would retire so they could have the life he’d always promised.
Mom hung up the phone, happier than I could remember seeing her. That was the last time they talked.”
Dillon looked at Cal, but he was staring straight ahead.
“He’d drawn the best bull at the rodeo. Dad was all but guaranteed to win that night.
Years later, I saw the ride on tape. He did everything right.
It was like he could sense which direction the bull would twist and spin, so he never lost his balance.
It was the best ride of his life.” Cal paused, his shoulders rising as he took a deep breath.
“When he tried to dismount, everything went wrong. His hand got hung up in the rope. It happens. Bullfighters are always ready when something like that happens. Three immediately went to help my father, but they weren’t fast enough. ”
Chills raced up Dillon’s arm. She wasn’t sure she wanted to hear any more.
But Cal continued. “Whatever connection he had with the bull ended when he tried to dismount. The bull twisted and bucked, sending my father’s legs flying while his hand was still strapped to the animal.
He came down on top of the bull’s head and was flung again.
Sometime during that, Dad’s arm got pulled out of its socket.
A bullfighter grabbed the bull’s horns in an attempt to prevent him from goring my father while the other two loosened Dad’s strap.
Then everything went to shit. The bull’s horn speared one of the fighters.
Just as Dad’s hand slipped out of the strap, the bull turned and butted him, throwing him into the air like a doll.
Dad landed on his head, breaking his neck, and killing him instantly. ”
Dillon couldn’t find words. She stared at Cal, wondering why he would’ve watched his father’s last ride, but she knew the reason. Because she would’ve done it, as well.
Cal suddenly pulled back on the reins to halt his horse and dismounted.
He knelt beside something, but all Dillon could think about was his father and the horrific way he’d died.
There were proper words to say to someone after learning of such an event, but for the life of her, Dillon couldn’t think of them.
“The horses came through here,” Cal said. “And they weren’t alone. There’s a third horse with them. By the depth of the tracks, it had a rider.”
“Cal, I’m terribly sorry for what happened to your father.”
He flashed her a quick smile before he remounted and clicked to the gelding to start walking. “You couldn’t have known. Besides, it happened eighteen years ago.”
They rode for several minutes in silence.
Dillon wasn’t sure what to say, and she decided it was better not to speak.
For the next thirty minutes, Cal impressed her with his tracking skills.
Some of the places he found, she would’ve overlooked completely.
In fact, she had. But he showed her the outline of the horse’s shoe as proof.
Either he was a really good tracker, or he had been in on it.
Dillon had smelled the alcohol emanating from him when she’d found him. It hadn’t been spilled liquor on his clothes. It’d come from his skin—proof that he had drunk that much. If he had been in on the stallion’s release, he would’ve slowed them down for certain.
“You still think I’m part of this, don’t you?”
She glanced at him. “I didn’t say that.”
“You didn’t have to. I’d be thinking it. A stranger shows up on your property the same night a gate is opened, and a stallion gets out? Hell, I’d probably have a gun trained on me.”
“I already did that.”
He chuckled as he glanced her way. “It was certainly a first meeting I’ll never forget.” His smile faded. “I’m not helping whoever did this. I can keep telling you that, but you have no reason to trust anything I say. So, I’ll prove it to you.”
“Why do you want to help?”
Cal reached up and adjusted his Stetson.
“Let’s just say that I don’t have any other pressing obligations at the moment.
I also feel responsible because I was trespassing.
Not to mention, hearing and seeing how close that bullet came to you this morning.
Truth be told, I don’t think I’d leave now even if you asked me.
Someone opened that gate, knowing how much you depended on that horse.
And two riders took the stallion somewhere. ”
“The only place they could’ve taken them is Ivy Ridge. Hank’s property flanks mine on all sides. And there’s only the one road between us. Everything else is fence line.”
“Hank is a good man. I can’t imagine he’d take part in this.”
That was the second time he had spoken about Hank. “How do you know him? Did you work for him?”
“Nothing like that, though I’m sure he would’ve hired me had I asked.
He and my father were on the circuit together and became good friends.
Dad used to talk about how talented Hank was at bronc riding, but Hank didn’t have rodeoing in his blood like Dad did.
Hank was in it only for the money to buy his ranch.
The minute Hank got the cash, he quit. But he and Dad remained friends.
Dad asked him to keep an eye on Mom and me if anything were to happen to him. ”
Dillon guided her mare around a fallen limb. “And did Hank?”
“He came to the house several times, asking Mom if she needed anything. She’s a proud woman. She doesn’t like handouts.”
“Not even if it would have helped her child?”
“I never went hungry or without. We had family, and she leaned on them for everything but money. Over the years, Hank stopped coming by. Instead, he called. Eventually, I was the one he talked to. Mom allowed me to go to his place for a few weeks every summer. He was the one who gave me the last fifty dollars I needed for the rodeo membership so I could begin the circuit.”
Dillon wrinkled her nose. “I bet your mother wasn’t happy about that.”
“Not in the least. But I would’ve gotten there eventually. Hank just shortened my wait time.”
“When did you see Hank last?”
Cal shrugged. “It’s been a few years.” He glanced at her, a knowing grin on his face. “I’ve not spoken with him, either.”
“So, I’m supposed to believe that you just happened to be in the area and that you just happened to get onto my land?”
“Like I said, I plan to prove to you that I’m a man of my word. I swear I’m not helping anyone or in league with anyone to harm you or take away your ranch.”
Dillon wanted to believe because she could use someone like Cal on the ranch. He had a confidence that drew her, and a smile that made her breath quicken each time he flashed it at her. Something about him kept pulling her attention, but damned if she could pinpoint what it was.
The problem was, she wasn’t sure she could bring herself to believe him. Yet, her future and her life were on the line. Somehow, Cal was to be a part of that in some way. All she could do was hope that he was there to help her.