Chapter 29
Cal sat in a back booth of the restaurant, fighting the urge to go to Dillon. He hadn’t slept at all during the night, wondering if she was safe.
And wishing he was holding her.
Cal put his elbow on the table and rubbed his forehead as he stared absently at the menu. His hat was upside down next to him. He kept glancing at the clock on the wall, waiting for the phone call. The instant he felt his phone vibrate, he pulled it out of his back pocket and saw it was Chet.
“Hey,” he answered.
“Don’t sound so happy to hear my voice,” the ranger said, a smile in his words.
Cal leaned back against the bench and sighed. “Very funny. Did you see her?”
“I did.”
“And?” Cal asked, not hiding his irritation.
Chet chuckled softly through the phone. “You’ve got it bad, son.”
“Please. I’m dying here.”
“She’s unharmed. I can’t say she’s fine because she isn’t. She thinks you took the deeds to the ranch.”
“What? I have no idea what she’s talking about.”
Chet grunted. “She’s hurt and scared, and things really got crazy when you showed up. You can’t blame her for reacting.”
“I don’t.”
“She’s convinced you’re a part of things with Hank.”
Cal closed his eyes. “Exactly what I told you last night.”
“And just like I told you, that’s going to work to our advantage.”
“I think you’re full of shit.”
“Eh, maybe. But not on this.”
Cal watched as a young couple with an infant walked into the restaurant. “What if this plan of yours doesn’t work?”
“It has to.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
Chet sighed loudly. “Did you ask yourself if you would stay on a bull each time you got in the chute?”
“Of course, not.”
“Then don’t do it now. The plan is solid.”
“We have no backup. I also have no idea how deep Hank’s influence is in the sheriff’s department,” Cal said.
The sound of a blinker came through the phone. “You’ve got to trust me. If you want to keep Dillon alive and save her ranch, stick to the plan.”
Cal glared at the phone after the line went dead. He knew Chet was right, but that didn’t mean he liked hearing it. Cal placed his phone beside him on the bench and glanced up as a plump waitress in her fifties with red hair and deep laugh lines came to his table.
“I’ve been waiting for you my whole life, handsome,” she said with a bright smile. “What took you so long?”
Cal twisted his lips as he shrugged. “I got lost.”
“That’s okay, sugar.” She winked. “What can I get you?”
“Um . . . what’s your favorite?”
She blinked lashes that were unnaturally long and full. “Not many ask me that. My personal favorite is the Reuben. Our corned beef is the best in Texas.”
“I’ll take your suggestion and a sweet tea.”
“A man after my own heart. I’ll get that right out, hon.”
He handed her the menu and drummed his fingers on the table as his thoughts immediately returned to Dillon.
He hated that she thought he was in league with Hank.
Cal wanted to shout from the rooftops that he was innocent, but that wouldn’t get Dillon’s attention.
The only thing that would change her mind was proof and the truth. And Cal intended to get both.
His attention shifted to a person who stopped at his table. Cal looked up and saw a lanky cowboy with a plaid button-down, frayed at the collar and cuffs. He wore a straw Stetson and a too-bright smile.
“Sorry to disturb, but are you Cal Bennett? The bull rider?”
Cal studied the man, trying to determine if he recognized him. “I am.”
“Oh, my Lord,” the man said to no one in particular, his voice pitched high with excitement. “I’m all giddy. Do you mind if I sit?”
Before Cal could reply, the man slid into the booth opposite him. Cal was instantly on guard, and he surreptitiously opened his phone to record the conversation.
The man never stopped smiling. “My entire year’s been made. I’m sitting with a real-life bull rider.”
“Cut the shit,” Cal stated, not amused by the act. “Who are you, and what do you want?”
The man chuckled and slowly leaned back. Then his voice changed, becoming deeper. “What’s the matter? Don’t like your ego stroked?”
“Who are you?”
“Names don’t matter.”
“They do to me. Tell me, or I’ll end this conversation right now.”
The man made a clicking sound with the side of his cheek. “Don’t get your boxers in a wad. I’m Mike.”
“What do you want, Mike?”
“You really don’t remember me, do you?”
“This is the first time I’ve met you.”
“Naw. We had a drink the other night.”
That’s when Cal had his confirmation that this was one of the men who had taken him from Ike’s that night. “Then you took me to the Bar 4 Ranch.”
Mike leaned forward on the table and dropped his voice low as his gaze searched Cal’s. “Are you shitting me?”
“Of course,” Cal said with a smile.
Mike let out a sigh and leaned back as he straightened one long leg out from beneath the table. “Damn, man. You had me going. Gomez said you weren’t too drunk to make that pact.”
Cal’s stomach clenched in dread. “I’ve got to maintain my cover.”
“What are you doing here then?”
“She fired me because she’s sure I’m part of everything.”
Mike’s eyes widened as his mouth formed a big O. “Shit. What are you going to do?”
“Get back in her good graces. I need to know what’s being planned so I can do that effectively.”
Mike started to talk but clammed up with the waitress’s arrival.
She shot Cal another smile as she put his order down, then she turned to Mike. “Anything I can get you?”
“I’m good, thanks,” Mike replied.
The waitress put Cal’s ticket next to his plate and winked at him once more before walking away.
Mike linked his fingers together and rested his arms on the table. “The shit is about to hit the fan. They’re salivating to get it.”
Cal had no idea what it was, and he wasn’t sure how to find out. He was sure he knew who they were, but the it was important. “There’s a lot about that night that’s fuzzy. What exactly are they after?”
“Oh, no,” Mike said with a shake of his head as he grinned. “I know better than to say it out loud. And if you know what’s good for you, you won’t ask again in public.”
“What are you afraid of?”
“You must not remember a lot about that night if you have to ask that.”
Cal fisted his left hand beneath the table. “Perhaps you should fill me in.”
Mike shook his head. “You want answers? You know who to go to.”
“That’s cryptic.”
Mike’s eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. “I’ve stayed alive this long because I’m not stupid. I don’t know if you’re playing me or not. If you’re with us, you’ll know who to talk to.”
Just as quickly as he had shown up, Mike was gone. Cal didn’t run after him. He stopped the recorder on his phone and stared down at his plate. Chet had been sure that someone would approach him now that he was by himself, and the ranger hadn’t been wrong.
Cal had hoped he would learn more than he had, but he had more information now than when he arrived at the diner. Mike—if that was his name—had been one of the men who’d claimed to be his friend at Ike’s. Had Mike driven him out to Dillon’s? Cal wasn’t sure.
What he did know was that he’d met with someone important. Was that someone Hank? It was possible.
Yet, the flash of fear Cal had seen in Mike’s eyes made him hesitate. Hank could be a hard-ass, but he wasn’t cruel. At least not that Cal had ever noticed through the years, and he would’ve seen something.
Chet surmised that whoever was after the Bar 4 wasn’t working alone.
And that there were two different kinds of attacks.
Once he had put them in writing, Cal had seen it all for himself.
At least two different people were assaulting Dillon, each with the same goal.
Chet had surmised that they were in a partnership.
The two names that kept coming up were Hank’s and the local lawyer, Isaac Gomez.
Cal took a bite of the Reuben as he recalled the bartender at Ike’s saying that one of the men Cal had left with worked for Gomez.
He had to be Hank’s partner. If that were the case, then Cal would have to tread carefully.
He had very little information, and he didn’t want to tip his hand that he remembered nothing of the night he’d been drunk.
He wiped his hands and sent the recording to Chet, then saved it to the cloud before deleting it from his phone. Cal took his time eating, hoping he’d get a visit from someone else or have an epiphany. Unfortunately, neither happened.
Cal pulled some cash out of his wallet for the bill and left it, along with a tip, on the table. He rose and settled his hat on his head. It felt weird not being out on the ranch helping Dillon. He missed the heat. The aching muscles. The sweat and dirt. But most of all, he missed her.
He walked out to his truck and opened the door. As he did, a piece of paper dropped to the ground. Cal looked around before bending to retrieve it. He unfolded it and read:
Come to the ranch immediately.
Hank
Cal glanced around once more before getting into his truck. There, he took a picture of the note and sent it to Chet with a text stating that he was headed to Ivy Ridge. Cal hadn’t wanted to go to Hank’s right away, but the note gave Cal the excuse he needed.
He backed out of the parking lot and turned his truck in the direction of Hank’s ranch.
He wasn’t leaving until he knew if his old friend had Dillon’s stallion.