Page 22 of Steers and Stowaways
She grimaced, knowing he had ears, too. From the smirk on his face, he hadn’t missed her little slip of the lip.
The truck lumbered closer to them, revealing an ancient Ford emblem on a hood that was half-covered with slush. The driver steered around them, pulled abreast of Tucker’s door, and rolled down his window despite the icy downpour. A heavily bearded face appeared. It belonged to a man in his late fifties or early sixties, who motioned to Tucker that he wanted to talk.
Tucker rolled his window down halfway. “Hey, sir!”
“Hey, yourself.” The bearded man had heavy creases at the edges of his eyes, either from age or working long hours in the sun. Maybe both. “The policeman on the highway called to say he was sending a cattle trailer my way. Conrad Cavender’s the name. We’ll jaw more later. But from one rancher to another, you need to get these animals somewhere safe first.”
To Mallory’s surprise, Tucker didn’t correct the man’s assumption that the cattle he was transporting belonged to him. Instead, he snatched his cell phone off the dashboard and started fiddling with it again. “I take it you’ve got a place in mind, sir?” He held up his cell phone and squintedbetween Mr. Cavender and an image on his phone screen that looked just like Mr. Cavender.
“Yep.” The rugged rancher tipped his Stetson at them. “Follow me.” He didn’t wait for an answer. Rolling up his window, he backed up his truck and curled around in the direction he’d come from.
“Whelp.” Tucker sent Mallory a crooked half-smile. “As the old saying goes, we’d best not look a gift horse in the mouth.”
“You’ve gotta be joking,” Cruz exploded, leaning forward between the two captain’s chairs. “After everything that’s happened to us, you think it’s safe to follow a perfect stranger anywhere?”
He had a point, so Mallory kept silent.
Tucker shrugged and pressed down on the accelerator, keeping Mr. Cavender in sight. “According to the website I just pulled up, he looks identical to the owner of the town we’re heading to.”
“Whatever.” Cruz still didn’t sound happy about the turn of events.
A well-lit entrance sign blazed on the right side of the road, welcoming them to the town ofEarp Springs, population 273.
“What a crowd,” Mallory murmured sarcastically.
“Mostly employees,” Tucker informed her. “Everyone else who passes through here are tourists. Or so it says on their website.”
The outlines of buildings on both sides of the road soon replaced the empty landscape. They weren’t ordinary buildings, either. Their clapboard facades were reminiscent of the gold rush era in the Old West. Several had windows that were lit with flickering LEDcandles.
It was like stepping back in time. Or driving back in time, in their case.
“What is this place?” Mallory mused under her breath.
“A glorified RV park, more or less,” Tucker supplied. “With a souvenir shop, small service station, mom and pop restaurant, and farmer’s market. It’s a full-blown tourist trap.”
His description of the town puzzled her. “I thought you said Mr. Cavender was a rancher.”
“He’s that, too.” He gestured vaguely at the road with his cell phone. “Like I said earlier, he owns the whole town. It’s a pretty big spread.”
Chip gave a low whistle. “Must be nice to own a town.”
They drove past the touristy stuff and continued on toward a towering ranch entrance made of logs. As they passed beneath it, Mallory read the words on the sign. “The Double C Ranch. For Conrad Cavender, I presume.”
From the corner of her eye, she watched Cruz snap a picture of the sign. At least, she was pretty sure that was what he did before lowering his phone to his knee.
She eyed the fenced-in pastures that stretched on both sides of them, and the pair of barns rising in the distance. “What a nice spread!”
“A lot bigger than Evans Ranch, that’s for sure.” Chip wagged a finger at the window. “Working at a place like this is my parents’ dream job.”
Really?“I bet,” Mallory murmured, trying not to let his words hurt her feelings, but it was difficult. She couldn’t bear the thought of losing him and his parents to a bigger ranch. The way he was shooting off at the mouth almost made her miss the painfully introverted version of him. During today’s drive was the most she’d ever heard him speak.
Her angst about his parents’ ambitions faded as she caught sight of a chopper parked on a helipad behind the farmhouse.No way!She pointed excitedly. “Do you see that?” Its lights were still flashing, and its blades were still spinning, telling her it had recently landed.
“Sweet!” Chip’s gaze followed where she was pointing.
Tucker didn’t say anything, but Cruz snapped a picture of it. This time, she was sure she saw him do it.
Ahead of them, the doors flew open to the nearest barn, and a pair of ranch hands emerged from its well-lit interior. Waving light sticks like airport runway attendants, they guided Tucker to park against the right side of the barn.
