Chapter 10
The afternoon went quickly. It had been a long time since Cal had been so worn out.
It was a different kind of feeling, but one he didn’t mind.
His entire body ached—partly from imbibing the night before, and partly because of the work he’d done.
But it was a good pain. The kind that caused a man to feel as if he had made a difference in the world.
“When’s the last time you put in such a hard day’s work?”
He turned at the sound of Dillon’s voice. Cal had kept his eye on her throughout the afternoon, but she had managed to sneak up on him when he was putting away the feed buckets. He grinned at her. “Too long. It feels good, though.”
Her brows shot up on her forehead. “Oh?”
“Don’t look so surprised. My momma used to get me up at dawn to help her muck out the stalls before I got ready for school in the mornings.”
Dillon chuckled. “This was a little more than mucking stalls.”
“It was. I’ve moved muscles I haven’t used in years. No doubt I’ll be sore tomorrow, but this is a sight better than being thrown off a bull and wondering what bones I’ll break when I land.”
“I can’t promise you won’t break bones working here.”
“But I won’t have a bull chasing me.” He frowned then. “Or will I?”
Dillon laughed, an open-mouthed one that hit him straight in the chest. “We have two bulls. Caesar and Brutus. Dolly raised both from calves. They’re the tamest bulls you’ll ever meet. The only time you see them move quickly is when they’re randy.”
This time, it was Cal’s turn to laugh. “I can’t wait to meet them.”
“A ranger from the TSCRA will be here in the morning.”
“That’s good, right?”
She nodded and leaned against the stable wall.
He frowned at her defeated look. “Things are just getting rolling. You need to give the authorities time to track down the stallion.”
“I know where he is.”
“We can’t prove it.”
She shrugged one shoulder before putting her fingers in the front pockets of her jeans. “Maybe we don’t have to. Hank stole Legacy from me. I can get him back.”
“I wouldn’t advise that.”
“Why not?”
“You know why. Hank has security cameras everywhere. He would be able to see every inch of his ranch with a push of a button. He’d see you coming before you got two feet on the property.”
Dillon’s response was a slow smile.
Cal was more confused than ever. “What?”
“Hank has cameras.”
“So?” Cal asked with a shrug.
“Then he can show the ranger the area where the fence was cut. Where Legacy was stolen.”
Cal shook his head, amazed at her thinking. “He sure can.” But his smile didn’t last. “The problem is whether Hank will allow the ranger to look at the footage.”
“If Hank has Legacy on Ivy Ridge, then the ranger will need a court order to see the footage. If he doesn’t get it before he visits Hank’s, the footage will likely be erased.”
“If it hasn’t been already.”
Dillon dropped her head back and shifted so her back was to the wall. “Perhaps going to accuse Hank wasn’t the best decision.”
“I would’ve done the same thing. The proof is there. It didn’t help that he refused us access to check his property for ourselves.”
“He has a lot of land. Legacy could be anywhere on Ivy Ridge. We’d never be able to check it all.”
“Maybe we don’t have to.”
Dillon’s head lifted as she met his gaze.
An odd sensation filled his stomach when hope flared in her blue depths. He quite liked the feeling.
“What?” she asked.
“Hank won’t let us search, and he’d hear a helicopter from miles away. But he’d never hear—or see—a drone.”
“Why are you helping me? Hank is your friend going back decades.”
Cal looked away briefly. “It began as a way to pay you back for me trespassing. When I heard those gunshots and knew the bullets were meant for you, it changed everything.”
“You don’t know me. Nor do you owe me anything.”
“Someone is trying to hurt you. Any person who would turn their back on someone in need isn’t someone I want to associate with.”
Her powder blue eyes searched his. “You feel this way, even though I still don’t trust you?”
“I do. I’ll earn your trust.”
She pushed away from the wall and dropped her arms to her sides. “Did Emmett show you where the bunkhouse was?”
“He didn’t.” In fact, Emmett had ordered Cal to stay in the house with Dillon, but Cal knew that wouldn’t happen.
“I can take you.”
“You can point me in the general direction.”
Emmett came around the barn, shaking his head. “Dillon, you need someone in the house with you.”
“I’m fine,” she stated.
It looked like Emmett might be pressing his lips together, but it was hard to tell with how thick and long his handlebar mustache was. “Want to come to dinner?”
It took a second for Cal to realize that Emmett was asking him. “Thanks, but I’ll pass tonight.”
“Suit yourself,” Emmett said as he walked away.
Dillon grinned as she watched the older man. “He’s been a fixture on this ranch for as long as I can remember. He is rather set in his ways, though.”
“That’s generally what happens to everyone.”
“I always thought he had a thing for Dolly.”
Cal couldn’t imagine a young Emmett. “Did they?”
“I have no idea,” Dillon said as she looked at him. “I asked Dolly once. She rolled her eyes but never answered.”
“Did you ever ask Emmett?”
She twisted her lips. “I haven’t. Figured it was none of my business. He’s never spoken of a wife or children. Maybe my young brain imagined something that wasn’t there.”
“Or it could’ve been. Would explain why Emmett has been so loyal.”
“Maybe. Come. I’ll point you in the direction of the bunkhouse.”
He could smell the stink on himself and desperately wanted a shower. “I’d appreciate that.”
Cal followed her out of the barn and saw her pointing toward a distant dirt road.
“That last road. There’s nothing down there but the bunkhouse and Emmett’s place, though his is farther down. The bunkhouse will be on the right.”
“Thanks,” he said as he turned to go to his truck.
“Um. . . .”
He halted and looked at her over his shoulder. “Everything all right?”
“I know Dusty already went to town, and Emmett just left. I’m not great at it, but I’m cooking tonight. It’s difficult to make meals for one.”
Cal waited for her to finish. When she didn’t, he asked, “Are you inviting me for dinner?”
“If you want to come. But you probably want to get to town.”
“I don’t,” he hurried to say. Cal couldn’t explain why the thought of sharing a private meal with her excited him as it did.
A lot.
“Okay,” Dillon said.
He glanced at his truck. “Mind if I get out of these clothes and perhaps shower?”
“Definitely shower,” she said, not bothering to hide her smile.
Cal laughed. “Clean clothes would be good, too.”
“I would recommend that.”
They shared a smile. When he found himself staring at her as the silence lengthened, Cal cleared his throat and motioned to his truck with his thumb. “I’d better get going, then.”
“Indeed.” Her smile widened as she started toward the house.
Cal couldn’t remember the last time he was so excited—giddy even—about anything.
He’d spent years putting his body through hell, chasing a dream that wasn’t even his.
He’d ignored anything that even came close to normal because he’d thought the circuit was what he wanted.
Over the last few years, he’d begun to question what he wanted.
The problem he encountered was that he didn’t have an answer.
It was easier to keep doing what he’d always done rather than step outside the box and see what else was out there.
Not qualifying for the rodeo gave him no choice but to face the future.
His response had been to get drunk. Not exactly his finest performance.
He still had no idea how he’d gotten onto the Bar 4 property, but he was glad that he’d found his way to Dillon’s ranch.
The day had shown him what it was his soul had been hungering for. What he had denied himself for years.
He got into his truck and started driving to the bunkhouse.
The work was honest and hard, and he was looking forward to tomorrow.
Being with the animals and putting effort into the ranch made him feel as if he had a purpose.
As if he were doing something worthwhile.
The thought of getting back on a bull and putting his life on the line again was no longer appealing.
Maybe he’d followed in his father’s footsteps out of some attempt to connect with a man he’d barely known.
He’d thought he had the same love for the sport that his dad did, but Cal was beginning to suspect that he’d idealized bull riding because it was what his father had done.
But it was also something he’d had to do.
Just as he was working his future out now.
He spotted the bunkhouse and pulled up in front of two hitching posts that stood before the building.
Cal parked the truck and grabbed his leather bag before getting out.
When he walked inside, he was surprised to find a main living area with a sofa and a loveseat, as well as a large television to his right.
To his left sat a small kitchen with a table.
He spotted two bathrooms as he walked through the house. Then he found the bunks.
Cal looked at the six beds, three on each side, and noted that the farthest one on the left had been claimed. He dropped his bag on the first bed on the right and pulled out his toiletry bag and some fresh clothes. He planned to enjoy a nice, long shower to work out the kinks in his sore muscles.