Page 19 of The Undercover Cowboy

He jotted down a note to also talk to Taylor Keating about what he had been buying today. Could be nothing. Could be another clue to follow.

The next stock supplier on his list of suspects was the Jaripeo Ranch. No surprise that they were supplying the new shipment of fighting bulls. He scrolled through the contracts and their employees. He found a connection. Hector Ortiz, who was a current UPRC employee, had been hired around the same time as Ryan Chester. Hector had formerly been employed at Jaripeo Ranch in Guanajuato. No neck tattoo or brand that he could see, though. So probably no connections between those two. But they both moved up a bit on his suspect list.

Then he reluctantly brought up Shane Calland and the Viking Ranch. He didn’t like looking at Dolly’s brother-in-law for this, but he had to be thorough. Shane was a hothead and shared the Keller family’s dislike of Blevins, but Nash wanted to make sure he wasn’t discounting him because of Nash’s feelings for Dolly.

Nash’s eyes were burning and he couldn’t look at his computer or his board any longer. He needed to actually dosomething. If he was going to get fired tomorrow, he should make the most of his credentials now while he was still a part of the UPRC. It wasn’t too late to go back to the rodeo and look around and see if there was anything in the Rocky Ridge or Jaripeo areas that could be a clue. This time of night, the cowboys would be getting their drink on and not paying too much attention to the barns. Prime time to sneak around and maybe he’d get lucky and find something to pin on Ryan Chester or Hector Ortiz.

Chapter Seven

Dolly

It had beena long first day to the start of the rodeo season. Dolly wished she were back in her apartment in Dallas instead of spending the night in the Winnebago, but she was right to have planned for not wanting to drive the two hours home. She could barely afford the apartment, but she needed to be close to headquarters when the rodeos weren’t in session. Jefferson Laker’s hundred grand hadn’t lasted as long as Dolly had imagined it would. Five years later, it was all gone and she was trying not to live paycheck to paycheck. She got some residual payments from her old YouTube videos and, every now and then, she’d pull in a paid sponsor for her personal Instagram account. Mostly, though, they just sent boxes of crap that they hoped she would promote for free on her channel.

The scent of Loretta’s oil paints mingling with the ever-present aroma of the rodeo grounds and old coffee was comforting in its own way. The RV was her family’s second home, and she knew she should relish the quiet of being alone. With a family as big as hers, it didn’t happen often.

Still, she was feeling restless and she wasn’t ready for bed just yet. Loretta still hadn’t come home from her first date with Taylor, and Dolly didn’t want to do any more social media work while she waited up. She was starting to doom scroll and she knew from past experience that was a path she didn’t want to go down.

She could call her other sisters and see what they were up to. But Reba was probably tired from her shift at the rodeo and waslikely snuggled up with Shane at the moment. LeAnn and Dylan were probably out partying. Dolly considered getting all dolled up and hitting the clubs with them, but she didn’t want to be a third wheel. Besides, it was just too exhausting to be “on” right now. Her face hurt from smiling and she didn’t feel like putting on the act that everything in her life was Instagram-perfect.

Blevins was blowing up her phone again. He wanted her to meet him in his office next week so they could discuss more marketing ideas. Luckily, Shelby was running interference for her by telling him that she needed Dolly at the rodeos. Still, Dolly’s luck was going to run out when she was back in the office on Monday. Maybe, she could do a little investigating of her own by pretending to be interested in his nonsense. Who knew what he might slip up and say? She grimaced at the thought of being alone with him. Maybe she could keep the door open or invite Shelby to join them. When she’d told Shelby about Blevins being creepy, Shelby had told her to keep a log and screenshots for evidence. So far, he hadn’t crossed any lines.

A loud fast knock on the Winnebago’s door startled her. She glanced at the clock. It was almost eleven. Who the heck could that be? Her sisters would have just barged right on in. They all had keys. Dolly peeked through the curtain and saw a figure hurrying away. Opening the door, she was going to call out to them but then noticed there was a gift-wrapped package on the RV’s step.

Bending down, she picked it up and brought it inside. It was addressed to her. She wondered if it was a swag bag from someone who wanted her to promote their goods on social media. Dolly hoped it was food, preferably something with peanut butter and chocolate.

She admired the wrapping, running her fingers over the thick, glossy black paper. This was the good stuff. Maybe she should do an unboxing video? Nah, she could always wrap itback up if it was out of the ordinary. If it was stickers, bandanas, or T-shirts, she didn’t want to waste the effort.

Maybe it was a gift from an admirer? She shook the package and peered at it from all angles. Would Nash have given her a present to apologize for leaving so abruptly? Dolly snorted. Yeah, that would be the day.

She carefully unwrapped the gift, making sure not to tear the wrapping. After sliding the box out of the paper, Dolly opened it up. She had to sit down before she fell down. Inside was a Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader uniform, but that wasn’t what filled her with dread. A business card from Leisure Industries was pinned to the skimpy blue top. With shaking fingers, she picked it up. Turning it over she saw that it said, “How much?” in block letters.

Son of a bitch.

She crumpled the business card up in her fist. Who the hell could have done this? Finn? She grabbed the uniform and checked the tags and the seams. It was authentic. Something a billionaire could easily afford and obtain—or a billionaire’s son.

Dolly ran out of the Winnebago, grabbing the baseball bat that she kept by the door. She sprinted in the direction she saw the figure go, but it was dark out and she was in the rodeo parking lot. Gripping the bat, she glared all around her, but she didn’t see anyone skulking around or hiding.

A truck door slammed nearby, and she nearly jumped out of her skin.

“You all right?”

Dolly recognized Nash’s voice and just barely stopped herself from swinging.

“Whoa, slugger. What’s going on?”

She would not cry. She would not cry.

“Dolly?” Nash’s voice was concerned. “Talk to me.”

She dropped the bat and launched herself into his arms.

“Okay. Okay,” he soothed as she clung to him.

Dolly held on tightly as he rubbed her back.

“You’re shaking. Come on, let’s get you inside.” He moved toward the Winnebago.

No. She couldn’t let him see the uniform and have him start asking questions about why someone thought it was okay to send it to her and expect her to wear it for him. Tomorrow, she could spin the story into something that would hide her escort past. But right now, Dolly was too raw to think up anything on the fly.

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