Texas Lucky (21 page)

“Maybe nobody told you,” Buck said to Zeke, “but we treat this little lady with respect. You get out of line, and you’ll answer to all of us.”

Zeke spread his hands in surrender. “You got it all wrong. I was just asking about her horse.”

Buck countered, “Her horse is none of your business.”

Zeke looked from Buck to Tess as he smiled and said, “Well, he might be, unless she’s too big a coward to wager him in a race with mine. I’ve heard about her, all right, how she thinks her horse is so goddamn fast.”

“He is fast,” Tess said hotly.

Buck held up a hand for her to be quiet. “She’s not racing.”

“Why not?” Zeke challenged. “I’ve been watching that horse all day. I want him.”

With a sneer, Buck pointed out, “Well, if you think he’s so great and fast, what makes you think your horse can beat him?”

“It’s not a matter of my horse outrunning hers. I just don’t believe she’s a good enough rider to beat me.”

Tess could stand no more and cried, “We’ll see about that.”

“Stop it, Tess,” Buck ordered. “He’s not going to goad you into a race. Not now. You might get hurt, and we’ve got a roundup to finish.”

Tess hurried to step between them, anxious to remind Buck, “You seem to forget I had my share of falls back when I was learning to ride, but I always took my licks and got up for more. I didn’t do it to have somebody like him”—she cocked her head at Zeke—“say he can beat me because he can ride a horse better than I can.”

A crowd was gathering as the others had heard the commotion and wanted to know what was going on.

Buck took Tess’s arm and pulled her to one side to whisper, “This is silly. You’ve never raced before with Saber as the wager. What if you lose?”

She faced his fiery eyes with her own. “Then I guess I don’t deserve to have him, do I? But that’s not going to happen, Buck. If I can decide what kind of race it’s to be, I’ll do it. He’s probably thinking it will be flat-out distance racing, but I want barrels.”

At that, Buck gave an approving nod. “I’ll go along with that. I know how fast Saber can run barrels.” He called back to Zeke, who was watching them with a smug expression. “She’ll do it, but when she wins, what are you prepared to give her?”

“Two hundred dollars. It’s all I’ve got.”

“I’ll take you on,” Tess said, “if you’re willing to run barrels.”

A cheer went up from the men watching.

Zeke frowned. As Tess had predicted, he had thought it would be a standard race, but now he had no choice except to agree to what she wanted. “Barrels, it is. With a flat-out run to the finish.”

Tess did not waver, knowing all she had to do was complete her set of barrels first and then she could beat him to the finish line.

Excitement exploded as word spread and the men began to bet among themselves. Most believed Tess would ultimately win, but there were a few who were confident Zeke Whaley had to have more experience at the tricky riding, so the stakes became interesting.

Andy served up supper—fresh butchered steaks, ash-cooked potatoes, boiled beans, and hot fried dried-apple pies—only no one seemed interested in eating. The impending race was far more appetizing.

The stranger was cocky, and most had decided they did not like him, even if a few chanced betting he would win. Tess, on the other hand, was well-liked, and no one, regardless of how he had wagered, wanted to see her lose Saber.

“Tess, are you really sure you want to do this?” Buck asked as she began to saddle up. “I can put a stop to it, you know,” he reminded her.

“Why would I want you to do that?”

“If you lose—”

She gave his cheek a pinch. “Will you please stop worrying? I am not going to lose. Saber loves to ride the barrels, and once he stretches out, no one can catch him.”

Buck looked doubtful. “Well, I’ve been thinking. We don’t know anything about this Zeke Whaley. He might have a trick up his sleeve, and if something did happen and you lost that horse, Ben would never forgive me. Hell, he might even fire me—if he don’t kill me first.”

“Nothing bad is going to happen, I promise. And you know I wouldn’t dare wager Saber if I thought there was the slightest chance I wouldn’t win.” She stood on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. “So stop worrying, wish me luck, and go bet some more money on me.”

“I’ve already bet all I’ve got.”

She was about to mount up when Andy came rushing over to tell them, “Ben just rode in. He’s got thunder in his eyes and headin’ this way.”

Tess looked beyond him to see Ben striding toward them and moaned, “I wonder who told him.”

Andy suggested, “Probably one of the boys went back to get money for his bet and couldn’t resist spreading the word.”

“Well, I’m not sticking around to watch the explosion,” Buck said. “He’s liable to blame me for not stopping it.” He hurried off in the opposite direction.

A few seconds later Ben arrived on the scene, gasping and out of breath, his face the color of an angry sunrise. “Tess, what’s this I’ve heard? Have you lost your mind?”

“No, I haven’t,” she said gently, “and there’s no reason for you be upset. Remember, you said I was the best rider you’ve ever seen besides yourself.”

“True, but how can you risk losing Saber? It would break both our hearts.”

“It’s not flat out, Ben. Not to start with, anyway. We’re going to run the barrels first. We circle three, and then head for the finish line after the fourth.”

“Barrels?” His mouth slowly spread to a relieved smile. “He agreed to run the barrels?”

“He did.”

He continued to grin. “You’re small. Light. Give Saber his head, and he’ll take them barrels quicker than you can say jackrabbit.”

“I know that. But Zeke is counting on me falling off. He’s already said the race isn’t about speed—it’s about him outriding me.”

“Then go ahead and make a fool of him, but”—his eyes narrowed to scold—“I want you to stop trying to prove yourself, Tess, before you get in trouble.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Think about it. You’re always trying to outshoot, outrope, or outride somebody. I wouldn’t be surprised one day to hear you tried to outfight somebody, too. You got to stop it. I know you felt like a fool a couple of times when you first came west and now you want to show the whole world you don’t ever have to be ashamed or scared again. But that’s nonsense.

“Besides,” he went on, softening his tone and putting a comforting hand on her shoulder, “one of the most important things you’ve got to remember is that you don’t have to prove anything to anybody except yourself.”

She knew he was right. She probably did get a little reckless sometimes. And yes, maybe she was out to show she was strong—but to the wrong people, for it was likely she would never again cross trails with the one she wanted to prove it to the most.

Curt Hammond.

If only she could get him out of her mind…and heart.

“You go on now,” Ben was saying. “Win your race, and then remember what I said.”

“I will,” she promised and, giving him a big hug, swung up in the saddle.

Buck explained the rules to Zeke. Four barrels had been placed in two circles of the same size, equal distance between. When the starting gun was fired, both riders were to take their horses around their particular set of barrels as fast as possible. After the last one, they were to make a mad dash to the finish line, which had been measured off as accurately as possible to a quarter mile.

Everyone except Buck, who would fire the starting gun, and Ben, who stayed with him, had rushed to the finish line.

“Ready?” Buck’s eyes were on Tess.

Holding the reins tight and ready to cut against Saber’s neck to lean him into the first barrel as soon as they reached it, Tess sucked in her breath, held it, and gave a firm, quick nod.

“On three,” Buck said. “One…two…”

He fired, Tess dug her heels in, and Saber took off at full gallop as though eager to prove he was the best.

She did not look around to see how Zeke was doing, concentrating instead on her own performance.

Saber cut each barrel with ease, and then Tess gave him the reins, almost letting them go completely as she raised up in the saddle to throw herself against the great horse’s neck, letting him know he had his head and was free to run wide open.

And run he did.

It was only when the cheers exploded around her that Tess dared look over her shoulder.

She had beaten Zeke Whaley by at least three lengths.

Glancing around in search of Buck and Ben, wondering why they weren’t around to share in her glory, she tensed as Zeke came alongside her.

“I’ll see you get your money,” he said, lips smiling but eyes cold.

She wanted no hard feelings, especially since it appeared they were going to be working together. Sometimes on the range lives depended on the ability to do so. “There’s no hurry. I know you’re good for it.”

Suddenly his face became a mask of rage as he spat the warning, “You don’t know nothing about me, woman. Just like you don’t know I was actually hired to be the new foreman of the Bar M. So I’ll be running things from now on, and you better damn well watch yourself or I’ll chase your little butt out of here faster’n that horse ran that race. You understand me?”

Tess was too stunned to respond as her mind tried to grasp what he had just said. Tyler had hired him to be the new foreman? But why? Buck had been foreman for years and did his job well. Everyone knew it. It had to be a mistake. She had not heard him right, and—

She whipped her head about at the sounds of frenzied shouting amid thundering hooves.

It was Buck, and before he even spoke the words, Tess felt terror washing over her.

“It’s Ben. He just keeled over. I think it’s his heart.”

Chapter Sixteen

Tess stood at the grave, tears burning her eyes. She could not swallow past the lump of grief in her throat nor stop her lips from trembling.

Standing beside her, Buck saw her pain and wrapped his big hand around her clenched fist.

Portia and Tyler were on the other side of the grave. Even though Portia was wearing a black veil over her face, Tess could feel her fixed, icy glare and wondered, not for the first time, why the woman despised her so.

Above the roaring in her ears, Tess heard the preacher saying something about ashes to ashes and dust to dust as he sprinkled a clod of dirt over the coffin.

Tess opened her fist and squeezed Buck’s hand for courage to keep her knees from buckling and sending her toppling right into the grave with Ben.

Blessed Ben.

She loved him so.

She had rushed to the chuckwagon just as they were loading him into it. He was unconscious, and she had climbed in beside him as Andy set the horses galloping.

When they reached the house, Buck and Andy had carried Ben into the parlor. When Tess attempted to follow, Portia had turned her away.

So she had sat on the front steps with the hired hands, who had abandoned camp and rushed to await word about their revered boss.

A doctor had arrived as night dropped like a cloying shroud, and then the rain came, with wind blowing it onto the porch and soaking everyone. But no one seemed to notice, or care, as the silent vigil wore on.

Then, just before dawn, the doctor came out and told them Ben was dead.

Tess, who had sworn never to cry again, yielded to the tears that ripped from her very soul.

She had lost her best friend and would mourn him forever.

The funeral service ended, and as everyone began to leave, Tess remained where she was. Buck stayed with her.

The cemetery was a peaceful place, nestled on a slight knoll. Birds were singing, and a gentle breeze was blowing from a crystal-blue sky while the sun warmed the earth with its golden glow.

“A perfect day for a funeral,” Tess murmured sardonically as she watched the gravediggers move in with their shovels.

“His wife is buried next to him.” Buck indicated the grass covered mound. “Her name was Louisa, and she died of fever when Tyler was still a boy. He loved her so much he never married again.”

He gave her hand a tug. “Come on. We need to get back to the ranch. The boys are going back to the roundup. I’m surprised Portia let them take time off for the funeral.”

“Portia? You mean Tyler.”

He snickered. “Everybody knows she leads him around by his nose. I’ll be so damn glad to get out of here.”

“But you don’t have to leave. Tyler hasn’t said anything about your having to quit because he made Zeke the new foreman. And if Ben had lived, you’d still be foreman, anyway, and you know it. He wouldn’t have let Tyler get away with it.”

“Maybe. Maybe not. I know now he was sick, Tess, and Tyler was taking over more and more.”

She persisted, “But you can keep your job. You’ve told me enough times how bad you need the money so you and Katie can get married.”

“Yeah, I know. I’ve got to prove to her family I can take care of her, because they don’t want her to leave Santa Fe. Her pa has a nice spread there and wants me to work for him. But I tried that once. That’s how I met her—working for her pa as a wrangler. And he can be a real son of a bitch, so I didn’t stay.”