Searching For Love (Contemporary Cowboy Romance) (Carson Hill Ranch series: Book 2) (9 page)

“How many days out do you think we are from the auction in Missouri?” one of the vacationers asked Doug, a ranch hand, as they loaded gear for the day’s trip.

“I wouldn’t guess too much further, why? Aren’t you having a good time?” he asked, genuinely interested in the fun-level of the drive. He looked at the small sea of faces and detected weariness, most likely from having spent the last week sleeping on the ground, only showering every second day, and using the finest bathrooms nature had to offer.

“Oh, no, it’s not that,” he replied. “This has been really amazing. We never see landscape like this back home, and the stars every night…well, they’re just unbelievable. Yesterday’s trip to the river gorge was really great.” The man seemed a little too concerned with making Doug believe he was having a wonderful time, but his voice became lower as he continued, taking on a conspiratorial tone. “I just can’t help but notice that people keep dropping off like flies. Are they okay?”

Doug smiled at the concerned man, truly appreciative that this city boy, who’d paid a hefty fee to play cowboy for a while, was actually worried about some of the Carsons and their team.

“Yeah, they’re totally fine!” Doug promised, seeing a few of the faces start to relax a little. “You guys know we lost two of them right off the bat because they got married!” Some of the city people nodded with a smile at the memory of the impromptu wedding, while others who’d not known about it looked pleasantly puzzled. “And then we had two others head back to the ranch to take care of some unexpected business. It happens from time to time, and that’s why we bring the vehicles and have so many of the hands help out. You know, those little things that come up, like a broken water main or something. Someone has to go back and sign off on repairs, be there to talk to a contractor, stuff like that, you know?”

The group seemed more at ease until Karen spoke up, barking at Doug in an angry voice. “Oh, really? So why did our little friend, Amy, have to leave? Is she suddenly a part of the Carson family, or let me guess…she’s one of the contractors who’s gonna fix the roof? Personally, I think your boy twisted her arm into going with him, probably told her all kinds of B.S. and made a bunch of promises that he doesn’t intend to keep. We’re gonna find her at the airport, used and discarded, and nursing a broken heart and wounded ego, aren’t we?” Karen crossed her arms over her chest, her expression daring Doug to argue with her.

“No, ma’am, I promise you it’s nothing like that,” Doug answered kindly, sighing and forcing himself to not be rude. That was one of the old man’s most important rules about the drive and the city people, no one was to ever be rude to their guests. “Ms. McDade was not actually enjoying her trip and she felt very out of her element. And, of course, getting injured by her horse spooked her a little bit, made her a little afraid of getting back in the saddle right away. When she found out Mr. Carson’s son was headed back to the ranch, she asked to accompany him. I’m sure she’s sitting on the porch right now, fanning herself from one of the old rocking chairs and having a nice glass of sweet tea.”

Luckily for Doug, the group was more than a little tired of Karen’s constant male bashing and militant complaining. They were all too happy to picture the scene he described, mostly to spite Karen. They grinned and went back to their chores, readying for another day of riding and leading the herd. He managed to fight the urge to mumble under his breath until he was well away from the group, rolling his eyes as he stomped back to where his own work awaited him, passing Bernard on his way.

“Good morning, sir, any news from back at the ranch?” He asked quietly and with a cheerful expression plastered on his face, not wanting to alert anyone that something was wrong at home and certainly not wanting to upset his boss.

“Not much,” the man answered gruffly, keeping a tight lid on his updates from Carey and Anders. It was heartbreaking to him to even think about, but he’d grown wary of who he had working for him. Everywhere around him, he saw people he thought he knew, people he’d worked with for years. Now that he knew the truth about some of them, he couldn’t risk so much as a comforting word for fear that his words would be used against his family. Bernard had no idea who he could trust at the moment. “But they’re back at the ranch and seem to have everything under control. I hope I didn’t make it seem worse than it was, just needed Carey to head back and help Anders. You know how his asthma is at this time of year…” He left his weak excuse hanging between them before turning and walking away, leaving Doug to stare after him in confusion.

The drovers and their guests headed out for the day, watching carefully as most of the day’s route would take the cattle along and across paved highways and trafficked two-lane roads. The opportunity for a large vehicle to spook the cattle and cause a stampede was pretty great, so the ranch hands scattered themselves more along the flank of the herd and stayed in and among the city people.

“Dwayne, come in,” a squawking metallic voice said to the foreman over the radio.

“This is Dwayne, go ahead,” he answered, speaking into his earpiece’s oval microphone clipped to his shirt collar.

“I’m afraid it looks like we won’t be at the midday meet-up point, we have a flat tire on the truck.”

Dwayne swore under his breath, fighting to keep a pleasant look on his face. “What happened? I just had new tires put on the truck the week before we left! I bought them specifically for the drive! Did you run over something? A nail or anything like that?”

“Negative. It just went flat.” Static crackled through the voiceless radio. “We’ll get a tow in here to fix it, but we won’t see you guys before tonight.”

Dwayne looked around in frustration and caught Joseph’s eye. The younger Carson boy steered his horse in the foreman’s direction and came up beside him. “What’s going on?”

He explained to Joseph in a hushed voice about the tire, looking around to see if anyone had noticed his angry muttering.

“And you’re thinking it’s sabotage because a vehicle that drove on a major highway had a flat tire?” Joseph teased, a mischievous glint in his hazel eyes.

“I’m telling you, Joseph, someone is messing around with us. First, we have that problem with the water tank on the support vehicle, and no one can get a shower. Then, the propane hose on the food truck splits and there’s no way to cook the food. Now this. I don’t like it, not at all.”

“Is it possible all those things are just coincidences? Any of those problems could have happened back on the ranch, right?” Joseph asked, looking to Dwayne to confirm that his fears were unfounded.

“Sure, they could. But all three of them happening this week? I don’t like it, especially not with what’s happening back home. Think about it, that propane hose could have blown us all up if that’s what someone was going for.” Dwayne kept his eyes open for wandering cattle and eavesdropping ears.

“You can’t really think that Mack has followed us up here,” Joseph said with a derisive laugh, trying to point out how ridiculous that would have to be.

“Not for a second. But he could have someone who was already on the drive who’s setting us up.” Both cowboys looked around nervously for a second, eyeing the other drovers and the vacationers with suspicion.

“No,” Joseph finally argued. “there’s no way any of these guys could be out to get us. I mean, come on, really, I’ve known all these guys my whole life! And these new people, don’t get me wrong but I’m not sure they’d know how to cut a propane line! Or what propane is for!”

“I want to believe you and say you’re completely right, but I just have this nagging feeling that something else is going on. I wish I could shake it, I really do. It’s ruining this whole drive for me. I can’t even enjoy this part of the job, all I can think about is getting back home in one piece and making sure Amanda’s okay.” Dwayne looked around with a mixture of apprehension and sadness, watching the faces of each character within his sight.

“It’s gonna be fine, you’ll see,” the younger cowboy promised, before giving his reins a flick and nudging his horse back toward his position. “If it gets to be too much, just tell Dad how you feel. I’m sure the last thing he’d do is make you stay on up here if you really thought your wife was in danger. You know he thinks of all of you like family.”

Dwayne nodded morosely and spit out the toothpick he’d been nervously chewing on since breakfast, barely mustering up the energy to wave his hand to Joseph as he left. He realized he was spending as much time watching his co-workers as he was watching his cows, so much that he wondered if he’d actually lost half the herd when he wasn’t paying attention.

Little did he know, he’d get his wish to return to the ranch sooner rather than later. Within the hour, an older calf took off at a dead run away from the herd, heading out into a scraggly patch of dirt and scrub. With a loud, excited yell, Joseph took off after it, kicking his horse lightly to make it give chase, his hat flying off and catching to hang down his back by its leather chord.

The vacationers all turned to watch Joseph rope this calf and bring it back to the group, appreciative of seeing some real cowboy action instead of just staged rope tricks for their amusement. He veered to the animal’s right side to come at it from an angle, chasing it when it suddenly changed direction in its confusion.

As they watched in awe, his horse took off after the surprisingly fast calf, dirt from the two animals’ hooves kicking up in clouds as they ran and maneuvered. Finally, the calf turned back in the direction of the herd and sped up, eager to put his brief adventure behind him. Joseph’s horse stayed close enough on the calf’s heels to keep the smaller animal headed in the right direction but suddenly, his horse stopped short, sending Joseph flying over its head and crashing to the rocky ground with a sickening thud.

“Doug!” Dwayne yelled into his radio mic before kicking his own horse into action. He reached Joseph just as the other man’s voice answered on the radio. “Joseph’s been thrown, get the other hands to even out the line while I see how bad off he is.”

Dwayne hopped out of his saddle and came over to kneel by Joseph’s head, relieved that at least the boy’s eyes were open. Joseph had a hand clutching his shoulder, his face a mask of pain. He moaned loudly as he moved from side to side, wincing and grimacing as waves of pain radiated through his chest.

“Okay, now. Hold still. Let’s see how bad it is. Looks like maybe you have…oh, shit, that’s gross. Dude, your collarbone is sticking up through your skin! Don’t touch it!” Dwayne commanded, pulling Joseph’s arm away from the spot where he wanted to clutch the pain. “It’s open, you’re going to get dirt in it. Look at me, no, open your eyes and let me see your pupils.”

Joseph finally did as he was told, letting his unfocused eyes come to rest somewhere near Dwayne’s face and grinning foolishly. “Betcha think this is Crazy Mack’s fault, too, huh?”

Dwayne laughed at his own fears from earlier. “Well, it’s not entirely impossible. He could have released a snake in front of your horse or something. He could have planted a microchip in your horse’s ear that makes an awful sound and spooks it. He could have…”

“…and I could have been riding the dumbest horse we own. He probably saw his own shadow and decided to let that other horse go in front of him.” Joseph closed his eyes as the pain burned through his shoulder.

Word had gotten back to Bernard in the RV and his desperate voice called through the radio for an update. Dwayne spoke into his microphone and let him know they needed to halt the drive until medical help came, then switched his attention to giving orders to the ranch hands. “Luckily, we’re on pavement today, so call an ambulance and we’ll wait here. Go ahead and tell the others to put out some feed for the herd and get the water tanker up here to water them.”

He looked up in time to see an older woman walking toward him gingerly, picking her way through the scrub and stickers to get there. Sandra, one of the vacationers, approached and smiled. “Hi! I’m a retired nurse, can I do anything?”

“Be my guest, ma’am. It’s pretty obvious his collarbone’s broken, but it’s his head I’m worried about. He’s got the trademark Carson hard head, but this might have been too much for even his skull to take,” Dwayne said lightly, trying to keep from upsetting the older woman.

“Oh, it’s not his collarbone I’m worried about,” Sandra said lightly, opening Joseph’s shirt with her wrinkled, knobby fingers. “It’s this right here.” She pointed to an angry red patch on his side where a nasty bruise was already forming. “You might have yourself some broken ribs, young man.”

Sandra leaned her ear down directly to Joseph’s chest and listened. “Sorry for getting in your personal space here a bit, but I didn’t bring a stethoscope! Just bear with me.” She listened for a time, trying not to smoosh Joseph any more than absolutely necessary. “It’s just as I thought. I hear a really ‘wet’ sound in there, it’s possible one of his ribs has punctured his lung.”

“Oh my God!” Dwayne shouted, crouching back down next to Joseph protectively. “What do we do?”

“Well, we’re already doing it. We wait for the ambulance,” she said with a kind smile. “We’ll just need to let them know that when they arrive.”

After what seemed like well over an hour, an ambulance finally pulled around the bend in the highway and slowed down as it rolled to the edge of the shoulder. It slowly bounced along the rough dirt until it came to a stop nearby, sending even more dust up in the air. The paramedics jumped out and got to work, assessing Joseph’s injuries and taking his information.