A Cowboy of Her Own by Marin Thomas

Author:Marin Thomas
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2014-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

“You believe the driver has nothing to do with the missing bulls?” Carl Evans asked Wendy. Her boss had called her into his office late Wednesday afternoon when he’d returned from a business trip to Phoenix. This was the first chance they’d had to discuss the Del Mar case since she’d gone on the ride-along.

“Porter Cash is innocent of any wrongdoing.” Wendy had emailed Carl a copy of her report following the trip to Colorado and California—but she’d omitted the stop at Morning Sunshine Ranch. She was still trying to reconcile the Porter she knew from high school with the one who’d given money to a lonely old cowboy. The one who was no longer living life by the seat of his pants but had big dreams for the future.

“I’m disappointed,” Carl said.

“Why?”

“I wanted the culprit to be a greedy livestock hauler taking payments on the side. Now we have to investigate this Big Sam you said acted suspicious.”

“Have you shared my report with the sheriff?” Wendy had included a note detailing how she suspected Big Sam of trying to switch out a Del Mar bull with one from Bell Farms.

“I sent a copy to the sheriff’s office, but I don’t expect any action soon. His secretary said he’s knee-deep in a drug-smuggling case.”

When Wendy had taken over the Del Mar account, she’d learned that cattle rustling was more widespread than commonly believed, but unless a person was killed in the act of stealing livestock, the investigation process proceeded at a turtle’s pace. Missing cows were low on the list of priorities for law enforcement in a town located close to the Mexican border.

“If I don’t uncover concrete evidence that Buddy Davidson is trying to swindle us, I’m going to have to cut a check to Del Mar Rodeo,” Carl said.

“Porter mentioned that Buddy plans to buy a bull named Happy Hour. I saw the animal compete in King City.”

“Buddy’s always in the market for new bulls.”

“Maybe, but this one is special. Happy Hour’s value could be well over a million dollars.”

Carl straightened in his chair. “That’s why Buddy asked you to increase his insurance coverage.”

“We can’t accuse him of filing fraudulent missing-livestock claims until he collects enough money to finance a million-dollar bull,” Wendy said.

“We need to speak with Buddy. He’s bound to—” Carl narrowed his eyes. “How well did you get to know Porter Cash on this trip?”

The blood drained from Wendy’s face, then a second later flooded back into her cheeks. Had someone told Carl that she and Porter had shared a motel room? “What do you mean?”

“Cash may be our best bet for finding out what Buddy’s up to.”

“How?”

“Ask Cash to chat with Buddy. Maybe his boss will let something slip.”

Wendy didn’t like the idea at all. She didn’t want to put Porter in the middle of an insurance investigation. Besides, if Buddy became suspicious, he might fire his driver, and Wendy didn’t want to be responsible for Porter losing his only source of income—and possibly jeopardizing his ability to buy the ranch in the Fortuna Foothills.

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