Chapter 8 Brian
EIGHT
brIAN
“Anyone see them?” I spoke into the radio to my deputies.
“Not yet,” Mack said.
I heard a loud whistle and looked across the square to see Amy pointing down the street. “Looks like we might have a sighting,” I said. “North end of Main. Mack, circle around and approach from the supply store. Sofia, head toward Hastings. Parsons, stay with the foreman.”
Waking up to an avalanche of texts and phone calls was never a good way to start the day, especially since I’ve been burning the candle at both ends the closer we got to the rodeo. I drove slowly, looking everywhere I could.
Overnight, some cattle had gotten loose from Kingdom Ranch. Folks awoke to cows tearing up their gardens and yards. With a lot of help, we’d managed to get most of them rounded up and returned, but there were still four outstanding and they were proving elusive.
“It’s like a damn game of cat and mouse but with eight-hundred-pound mice,” Sofia complained into the radio, and I grinned at that.
“Times four,” Mack added. “Oh, I think more help is here.”
“What? Where?” I drove toward the north end of town where I could just make out a bunch of whistles and yips. Speeding up, I met up with my deputies, and we watched Cal come riding down the street, herding the elusive four cows in front of him.
As he rode past, he tipped his hat at me. “Where do you want ’em?”
I pointed toward the square where Kingdom Ranch had parked their trailer. “Over there, man.”
Cal waved his hat and whistled again, coming up alongside the cows to direct them toward the trailer. By the time I got over there, the cows were being loaded onto the back and the foreman, Kent, was shaking Cal’s hand.
“Can’t thank you enough, Mr. Pierce,” Kent said, pumping Cal’s hand harder than necessary.
Kent was talking a mile a minute about the competitions he’d seen Cal in and how appreciative he was.
My brother clapped him on the shoulder, and I watched him politely pose for a couple pictures before he joined me.
“How often does that happen around here?” Cal asked and I chuckled.
“Not that often, thankfully. I’m glad you were around for the assist.” I looked at the horse he was riding. It was a gorgeous black stallion. Definitely someone’s pride and joy. “Where’d he come from?”
“Doc Lett. She let me borrow him for a few minutes. Isn’t he a beauty?” Cal rubbed the horse’s neck and it whinnied, bumping his head against Cal’s shoulder. “I know, Twister. You were great out there, but I gotta get you back now.” He turned to look at me, “Unless you still need us?”
I shook my head. “Nah, I think we’re good.
” I watched Cal swing his leg into the saddle and ride off at a trot.
Folks waved at him and took pictures and he played along, waving back as if he were in a parade.
Julia Lett was one of the large-animal vets in town.
Well, she also worked on smaller, domestic pets, but in a town where ranching was a way of life, the ability to work with horses and cattle was a must.
Crisis adverted, the rest of the morning was uneventful.
I was thankful because I couldn’t possibly consume enough caffeine to snap me out of the fog I was wrestling with.
Giving up on doing anything remotely productive, I told Lois I was headed out for lunch and I made my way over to Bite and Brew.
The thought of digging in to one of Marc’s onion burgers had me salivating.
Walking up Main, I waved to the Alistair twins, who still lived in the same house they grew up in.
Now in their eighties, the octogenarians were two of the more cantankerous residents of Poplar Springs.
They weren’t malicious about it, unlike some of the others, but they did take some getting used to.
“Gentlemen,” I said by way of greeting. “What’d you think of the excitement this morning?”
Mitch snorted and Charles shook his head. “Looked like the damn rodeo had come to town early,” Charles said.
“We were stuck in the house for hours this morning with all those damn cows churning up our yard. Damn good thing that brother of yours was there to round them up, but who’s going to clean up the mess they made in town?
” Mitch said. While the brothers were nearly identical in appearance and abundant use of the word “damn,” Mitch’s voice made him sound as if he’d smoked two packs of cigarettes for decades.
“The mayor’s office is taking calls about any damage, and Kingdom Ranch has already agreed to reimburse everyone for any legitimate damage caused by their cattle,” I said staring at the two of them. “Which means, don’t try sneaking in any repair costs for preexisting damage.”
“Of course, Sheriff,” Charles said, but looking at Mitch’s face, I already knew they would try. I made a mental note to let Lydia know that all claims would need to be investigated before they were submitted.
My frown deepened. “I mean it, gentlemen. My office will pursue any false claims made.”
Not waiting for a reply, I held the door to the diner open so they could precede me inside. The brothers immediately headed over to their regular table. Mitch whipped out a newspaper and they were already discussing the crossword puzzle while Caitlin poured their coffee.
I caught her eye and she stopped to fill a mug before walking to my table, her eyes alight as she smiled at me. I could get addicted to those looks. Her hair was growing out and she had tiny curls framing her face, giving her an angelic look that made my heart beat harder.
“That cattle drive through town is all anyone’s talking about,” she said, setting a Coke with extra ice down in front of me.
“It was only four cows,” I said.
“Four more than normal. I know it was an accident, but with all the videos and pics everyone’s shown me, having the rodeo’s headliner herding anything through town has to be great publicity, right?”
I hadn’t thought about it like that, but Caitlin was right.
The smile she gave me when I told her that lit up the whole diner.
I gave her my order and was staring at my phone when I heard a smattering of applause.
I looked up to see Cal headed my way, but he kept stopping to say hello and shake people’s hands.
When he finally made it to my booth, we shook hands and I invited him to join me. “How’s it feel to be the man of the hour?” I said.
“Not gonna lie, that was fun,” Cal said accepting an iced sweet tea from Caitlin and ordering the same thing I did.
“Definitely looked like something you’d done before, which was surprising because weren’t you raised in the suburbs?” From what Cal had shared at a family dinner, his parents owned some sort of construction business and he was the only one in the family who didn’t work for there.
“I worked a few summers on a local ranch as a teen. It was a bit like muscle memory. Soon as I saw the cows, I knew what I needed to do,” Cal said.
More diner folks stopped by to say hi to the both of us, but their eyes were all on Cal.
A couple of the women leaned suggestively into him, and I watched him sidestep them before they got too close, all the while smiling and giving quick handshakes.
Once Caitlin dropped off our food, they left us alone and we ate in silence for a few minutes, but I couldn’t resist asking, “Does all that attention get old?” While I was generally a sociable person, what Cal seemed to endure was akin to a politician running for office.
Cal sat back, pushing the brim of his hat farther back so I could see his face better. It was still startling to see the ghost of Luke staring back at me even though, logically, I knew he was Cal, and not Luke.
“It’s part of the job, although I gotta admit, some competitors are better at it than others.
And well, there are some fans who seem to think they should have access to all of me for the price of ticket.
” He had a faraway look that he quickly snapped back.
“For me, I enjoy engaging with the kids more than anyone else. They have this excitement and joy about them that adults seem to lose. I’m sure you’ve seen that in Henry, right? ”
I agreed. My nephew still believed in Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy and I was going to be very disappointed when he eventually grew out of it.
Caitlin came over to check on us and clear our empty plates, and I watched how she interacted with Cal. She was completely professional and definitely didn’t have the same stars in her eyes that many of the other folks did.
Of course, I wouldn’t be jealous if she did. Much. No. I absolutely would be, dammit.
“Can I get either of you dessert? Marc was in a baking mood and we’ve got some fresh-made pies and tarts,” Caitlin offered but we both shook our heads.
“Just the check, darling,” I said. I watched her cheeks pink up at the endearment and resisted the urge to preen. At least I have an effect on her.
“Well, about that. Several diners have offered to cover your tab, so if you’ve changed your mind about dessert, I could box it up if you wanted it to go,” she offered.
“That sure was nice of folks,” Cal said loud enough for those around to hear. We looked around to see if anyone would acknowledge the gift, but no one said anything. He rubbed his stomach. “Unfortunately, I am much too full but thank you kindly to whoever paid.”
When we got up to leave, I reached into my wallet and pulled out a twenty to leave as a tip. Since I wasn’t paying for lunch, it seemed only appropriate to leave a larger tip. Cal let out a low whistle. “Pretty sure that’s more than half the tab there,” he said.
I stared at him. “And?”
He looked from Caitlin to me and back before saying, “Ah.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
Cal reached into his wallet and set down a twenty of his own, then shrugged. “Nothing whatsoever,” he said clapping me on the back. “Does she know you’re sweet on her?”
“We’re just friends,” I said as we walked out.
“Uh-huh.” Again, with the cryptic comment and the knowing look. “I saw the way you were watching her in the diner. And when you weren’t looking, she had her eyes on you,” Cal said.
“She did?” Shit. I hadn’t meant to say that out loud. Cal chuckled.
“I think we’re all too old to have that ‘birds and bees’ talk, but if you like each other, quit dancing around it and do something about it.”
Cal left me standing on the sidewalk, wondering who else might have keyed in to my attraction to Caitlin.
I certainly wasn’t trying to hide it, but the way gossip flew around in this town, I didn’t want to bring any unwanted attention her way.
I’d need to be more careful but with each passing day, my attraction to her only grew.