That night, I stayed in Dune's room, and the smell of his cologne was enough to get me through the night. When I awoke, however, I immediately missed the feel of his strong body against mine, and my heart ached for him. As I went through the motions of getting ready for the day, I yearned for the evening, when I could be wrapped in his arms again.
I placed the saddle on Arion's back, making sure it was in the right spot before letting the girth and back cinch drape down his side. As I walked around his rump to the other side, I glanced across Sadie's back. "So what's the plan for today?"
He glanced up from threading the cinch. "Apparently, we let a few of the sale calves go with the herd. It's not our fault, because the person in charge of the gates didn't lock it. But since that person was Ronnie, and he can do no wrong, we have to go back out and get them."
I turned back to my own saddle, automatically wrapping the cinch like I'd been taught. My mind turned over the facts. "That doesn't make any sense," I mused. "Because that would have been the day of the Ball. We were all double checking everything to make sure that everything was good to go. Even Boss checked the gates."
"I know," Joe replied. "But I guess this morning, Ronnie walked out to that pen, and the gate was wide open. He told Boss, and since our crew from yesterday took the herd, he thinks one of us may have bumped it."
I shook my head as I reached for the back cinch. "That doesn't sound right, either. We drove the cattle away from that gate; none of us were near it. Besides, someone should have noticed the missing cattle yesterday"
As I turned to grab my bridle, Joe stepped in front of me, placing his hands on my shoulders. "I know, Rylie," He said, his voice low, "I don't trust it. I've got a bad feeling about today." I lowered his head a little more, almost whispering his words. "This has Ronnie written all over it. I wouldn't be surprised if he tries to pull something out there."
I paled. "He's coming with us?"
He nodded. "He's gotta take Snipe's place. So I want you to keep your head on a swivel. Don't let him out of your sight, for anything." He blinked,as if remembering something, then pulled away a little. "And watch out for the bull, too. He's a little unpredictable the first few days after they go back out to pasture." With that, he turned to finish saddling Sadie.
I grabbed my own bridle, then quickly turned back to Arion. As he took the bit in his mouth, I watched Joe walk Sadie out to join the others. "Hope you don't mind the extra weight, boy," I chuckled as I patted his neck. "Because a rock just grew in my gut, and I think it's gonna be there for a while."
*
I joined Joe, Zane, Hasty, Mitchell, Simon, Butch, and Ronnie, and we rode out to the herd. While they usually bed down for the night, their time being contained in the pens had made them stir crazy, and they instead ventured under the stars. It was more than a few hours before we found them, nestled in the trees of the foothills. Even then, they all stood as we approached, and began ambling away.
We pulled up twenty yards away. "Weed out the young ones quick," Ronnie commanded, Buzz wheeling under him. "The sooner we get done, the sooner we all get back." He spurred his mount toward the front of the herd, causing a few cows to shy away.
Butch scowled. "Of course he wants this done quick. He wants to ge back and hide the rest of the day."
Next to me, Zane pushed back his hat. "Does anyone see the bull?"
Mitchell and Simon shook their heads. "He's probably on the perimeter," Hasty replied. "He's going to be more than protective after being away from the ladies." He began to walk away, heading in the opposite direction of Ronnie. "Joe, you're with me; Butch, follow Ronnie. The rest of you, pair up. We got nineteen calves to find."
Grumbling, Butch sent his horse after the foreman, setting an easier gait that didn't spook the cattle so much. Joe shot me a look before joining Hasty. Mitchell and Simon, without a word, led their horses straight into the mass of bodies, the black hides parting like the creek around a sandbar for the quiet riders. "I guess that's you and me," Zane chuckled.
I nodded, scanning the area again. The first four riders were already out of sight, working on the opposite side of the herd. I still couldn't see the bull, which made the nagging feeling in my gut that much stronger. Arion felt it, too. Underneath me I could feel him, tensed like a giant spring. As I nudged him forward he shied, chomping at the bit nervously, arching his neck and lifting his legs much higher than he needed to.
For the next half hour we wove back and forth along our side of the herd, searching among the sea of cattle for the tagged steers. Whenever I came close, they jumped away, weaving in and out of the trees as they moved deeper into the pasture. Even then, I expected to see a yellow tag flash by, giving up a stray. But none were to be found. Taking Joe's advice, I never went more than a few seconds without glancing above the herd, watching for the lumbering bull. However, he was still in hiding. So was Ronnie, who had disappeared beyond the edge of the herd as soon as we'd found it.
When I next met Zane, I flagged him down. "Switch me," I said. "I need to talk to Butch" He nodded, and continued riding past me down the herd, his eyes on the cattle. I kept my heading, following the black mass until Butch came into view. I called as I approached, "Found any?"
He shook his head. "This doesn't make any sense," He said as he brought his gelding alongside. We both reined in the horses, and did our best to keep them still. "If we're talking about nineteen cattle, then we should have found at least a few of them by now. "
As I scanned across the herd, I found myself shaking my head alongside him. "Something's not right." As my eyes found each of the members of our team, it took nothing but a quick glance to realize that none of them had a calf. But that wasn't the only thing wrong. The animals, both the cattle and the horses, were on edge, with one spooking the other easily. And both the bull and Ronnie were missing.
As I turned to look down the herd, there was movement from the corner of my eye. Turning, I realized that it was a horse and rider, heading straight for the herd. They were riding hard, and with one glance at the sky, I realized that they were coming from the Big House, and that the cattle had slowly turned in such a way that the rider was coming in from the side, not directly from behind.
When he got close enough, Butch flagged him down. "What's the rush, Dean?"
The hand pushed back the brim of his hat and wiped the sweat from his brow. "You're not gonna believe this," He panted as he held his horse next to us, "but Butch... " He shook his head, letting us know that we wouldn't like the next words he'd say. "Butch, those steers were in the barn."
The world around us seemed to slow down, to the point where it looked like the cattle were having to swim through molasses. I felt myself plummeting into a pit as fear overtook me. Butch, for his part, was rigid in the saddle, almost frozen. "What do you mean, they were in the barn?"
Dean shook his head. "Jus' exactly that. I was up getting hay from the loft, and I heard something from the stalls at the rear of the barn. When I looked into them, there they were: all nineteen steers had been shoved into seven stalls." He warily eyed Butch, whose chin was tilted down as he processed everything. "Honest, Butch, I told Boss as soon as I realized what they were. He sent me out here to get you guys."
Butch slowly brought his head up to meet my eyes. "Our stalls are never back there," He said, putting the pieces together in his mind. "In fact, those stalls haven't been filled all summer. It would be easy for anyone to put them in there without being noticed."
I felt fear creeping closer. "But why would anyone do that?" Butch stared at me, and I fumbled for a hold in the weird events. "There is no reason for anyone to put the cattle back there. They wouldn't be in any of the stalls. The only person to do it would have been-"
I froze. The only person would have been the same one to say they were missing. That same person was out here with us now, hidden from sight, doing God knows what.
Butch realized who I meant, and tilted his head. "Why would he go to the trouble of putting the calves in those stalls? That makes no sense."
Suddenly, everything came into sharp focus, and it hit me.
"He wanted to get us away from the barn."
With those words, the bubble seemed to pop, and everything was back at normal speed. The cattle were moving at a fast pace, making it seem even more urgent that I contact the others. I licked my dry lips, then with a short test, I let out a shrill whistle.
Dean, meanwhile, was scratching his head. "Why would anyone want to get everyone away from the barn?"
Butch had understood what I meant. "So they could cause an accident without Boss seeing. Rylie, what are you doing?"
I'd blown a second, long whistle blast, and was standing up in the stirrups, trying to hear over the din. My ears felt strained as I waited, holding my breath. "Come on, Joe..."
Finally, two long notes answered mine. He had heard me. I sighed, relieved, before sending out another whistle blast. Only one, the signal for distress. I turned to Butch. "Joe will probably get Hasty, and meet us-"
I was interrupted by the bone chilling shriek of an injured horse, joined by a pained cry. All of the horses spooked, and I felt my blood run cold, the rock in my stomach falling into a pit. But I didn't have time to be scared. I spun Arion around toward the call. "Yah!" I dug my heels into him, and he charged back down the herd.
It wasn't long before we came to the scene. The bull had finally come out of hiding, announcing himself by plowing into Zane's horse and throwing the rider. As Arion and I raced toward the scene, I stared, horrified, as Zane struggled to get his hands and knees under him, unaware of the bull running him down.
Just before we got there, the young hand came to his senses, and turned just in time to catch the bull's head. It might have looked from a scene from a children's book, the way his hands gripped the strong jaw, the bull pushing his forehead into Zane's chest. Instead, that monster drove the youngest worker we had into the ground like a nail, Zane's cry of astonishment turning into a howl of agony.
"No!" I screamed, and pushed Arion to the bull. It was so busy with its gory job that it never saw us coming. I had readied my rope, and as we grew close, I began swinging it wildly, lashing the black hide with the leather end like a whip. "Come on!" I shouted, turning back to glare, to challenge the beast.
It worked. Enraged by my attack, the giant Angus pulled away from its victim, finding me before bellowing and driving down on us. I wheeled Arion, coming at it again to strike it. I wanted it to bleed. The same bull that had ran down Adrian, that had just taken down Zane, was now seeking me out. And I wasn't about to go willingly.
Arion bravely doubled back under me, narrowly avoiding the brutish head and crimson eyes, allowing me to whip the bull a third time. It lunged after us, gaining ground, but Arion's adrenaline was powering him, and we were able to keep a safe distance away.
Suddenly, a body flew in from my side, and I turned just in time to see Sadie flash by, Joe crouched into her mane as he cracked a whip. The intruder took the bull by surprise, and just like I'd seen before, he headed after Joe. I turned to the other side to see Hasty coming in after him, looping behind the chase to pass across from the other side, whooping and hollering.
When the bull took to that chase, a little more rattled, I spun Arion toward the fray. "Come on, boy," I cooed, nudging him. "We have to help."
My horse obediently picked up a lope, gaining speed so that we were at a full gallop by the time we intercepted the bull on his rampage. Our pass was enough for him, as he shook his head, trotted after us a little, then snorted before ambling after the herd.
The victory was anything but joyous. As soon as the bull dropped the chase, I headed Arion back toward Butch, Dean, and poor Zane. The kid was lying on his back, his arms at his sides. Arion reined in a safe distance away, and I tumbled off in a rush to get to the others. "How is he?"
Butch shook his head. "Not good. I would say at least one rib's broke, if not two. He's also having trouble breathing, so I think he punctured a lung. Plus who knows what else."
Zane turned his head the slightest bit. "I'm fine, Rylie, really. I'm just a bit roughed up." His voice was weak, and had a rasp to it that I didn't like.
Hasty joined us. "Butch, ride back and get the doc." He felt Zane's forehead, then glanced up at Butch. "Get Mitchell and Simon. I doubt they realize what happened, they're probably looking for those damned calves."
Butch snarled. "There are no calves out here, Hasty."
The older hand snapped his head up. "What?"
"They're all back at the barn. Stowed away in the back stalls. Dean told us."
I thought Hasty was going to break his teeth, the way he clenched them. "Where's Ronnie?" When we all shrugged, he stood, nodding at Dean. "Thanks for letting us know."
Joe was swinging off of Sadie when he piped up. "Was that why you called, Rylie?"
I nodded. "I was talking with Butch about how it seemed weird we weren't finding any steers when he arrived. After he told us, I knew Ronnie had a hand in this, and was probably planning something. That's when I called you."
"When he heard you," Hasty said, "he flagged me down, and we started heading your way. Good thing, too." He glanced down at Zane, then turned back to Butch. "Well, go get the doc!" As Butch turned to his horse, he glanced around at the rest of us. "Dean, ride back and grab the truck. We'll stay here, and keep him comfortable."
As Dean rode away, I knelt beside Zane. "I'm sorry," I whispered, feeling my eyes well up with tears. "I'm so, so sorry."
^^^
Gasp! Oh no, not Zane! Not the innocent, young Zane! What's going to happen to him? In fact, what do you think will happen to Rylie, and Dune? And where is Ronnie?!"
I'll see you guys next week for the next chapter. Don't unbuckle your seat belts just yet; this plane is only just beginning to land, and you can expect some turbulence ahead. (;