Page 65 of A Cowboy in the Streets

Steven snorted. “She gets a little banged up and runs straight to you. Of course. Should have seen this coming. Fucking slut.”

I moved. One hand grabbed him by the collar. I planted my other fist in his face. Once to teach him a lesson. The second punch was just for fun. Pure fury demanded a third blow, but before I could land it, Blaine was there, hauling me back.

“Enough,” he said. “You made your point—”

Steven took the opportunity to get in a blow of his own, getting me right on my jaw. My head snapped back, knocking against Blaine, who fell back only a step before quickly recovering.

“Seriously, man? You can’t take a swing at someone who’s being held back.” Blaine rubbed his forehead where we had knocked together and shot Steven a look of disgust. “I should kick your ass for that.” He grabbed him by the shoulder. “Count yourself lucky that I’m gonna walk your pathetic ass out of here instead. Let’s go.”

Finally showing a lick of self-preservation, Steven didn’t protest as Blaine marched him to the door.

Our eyes met on his way out. He touched his hand to his mouth, found the blood there, and wiped it on his jeans. “This isn’t over.”

“Stay away from James, or you’ll be begging me to finish it before I’m done with you,” I promised.

Blaine’s quick head shake held a warning, but I was too furious to care. James was off limits and the sooner Steven made his peace with that, the better for everyone involved.

But I suspected he meant what he said. This wasn’t over.

Chapter 27

James

Something was up. Steven hadn’t shown up for work this morning. He wasn’t my favorite person, but I could admit he was reliable. He always showed up on time and got the work done. When I asked Blaine if he had heard from him, he directed me to Adam. Adam had been avoiding me since Blaine’s ride on Belle yesterday, but I finally found him repairing a fence.

“Is Steven sick?” I asked. “Maybe someone should go check on him.”

Adam didn’t look up from his work. I couldn’t see his face beneath his ball cap. “Gone,” he grunted in a non-enlightening way.

“Gone?” I repeated. “Gone where? How long? For today? A week?”

“For good.”

My forehead furrowed. What the heck did that mean? “Is he dead?”

I was mostly joking, but then Adam muttered, “Not yet,” and that made me nervous.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

“We’ll talk about it later.”

“But—”

“Later.”

I knew Adam well enough to know I wasn’t going to drag it from him until he was ready to talk. “Fine.”

I stalked back to the barn. Now that Belle had proven rideable, it was time for her real training to begin. I set my sights on preparing her for a cow horse open reining class in Denver—an event big enough to get a feel for how she performed under pressure, but small enough that a bad showing wouldn’t be much of a hit to the ranch. That gave us a month to teach her the basics of herd work, rein work, and fence work.

It also gave us a month to find a rider. For that, I turned to Essie Price.

Essie had shown up at Lodestar Ranch bright and early to take Magpie for a ride and check on his progress. Watching Essie take Magpie around the barrels, I knew she was the one I wanted on Belle for her first show. Her hands were soft, her seat independent. She exuded grace and confidence, and I was sure she could convince Belle to do her best.

“What do you think?” I asked her after I had explained my plan for Belle.

She fingered the reins thoughtfully. “Maybe. I’m already one of the oldest on the barrel racing circuit, and I’ve been trying to figure out my next move. This could be a good opportunity to get a start in reining.” She grinned at me. “With one of the top trainers in the country, no less.”

I smiled back. “You and Belle would have my undivided attention for the next month.”

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