CHAPTER FIVE
Jody spun on the worn heels of her boots and retraced her steps to the kitchen area. She glanced at her phone again. What if he didn’t come back?
The image of the kill buyer standing there looking her over as if she, too, were just a piece of meat kept coming back, making her want to gag. She cursed herself under her breath. Joe left after they’d talked only briefly about their meeting at the corral, then he’d said he needed to run an errand. And that he’d bring food back. She should have gone shopping when one of the neighbors had invited her to tag along a few days ago. Maybe he would have stayed if she’d had decent food. She swallowed hard. He was under no obligation to come back. He’d come to see Cowboy, but what reason would he have to help her figure out what to do next?
Time was running out. She’d heard that horses were shipped almost immediately from the holding pens in Eagle Pass to slaughterhouses in Mexico. She gripped the edge of the kitchen counter for balance. There were supposed to be vet checks and a rest period. But things happened. Lord knows, rules could be bent. She didn’t have faith that horses a truck ride away from being butchered were going to be treated with any kindness.
Those horses couldn’t leave for Eagle Pass. If she had to manage it herself—
Lights flashed outside, barely penetrating the wall of bougainvillea, and when Joe walked through the door, she wanted to cry with relief. Or hug him. Before she could do either, the scent of seared meat and fresh bread hammered her, making her take a step back. “Wow,” she said, and he laughed.
“I hoped I got it right,” he said. “I hoped your evil stepfather didn’t mention a steak place to lead me wrong.”
She pulled the bag away and headed toward the kitchen. “He’s not really evil.” She shuddered slightly, remembering Cowboy’s new owner. “Eric’s done horrible things. I don’t forgive him for some of them. But,” she sighed as she pulled out the takeout boxes, “he probably really believes he was doing them for me.”
He fished in a bag and pulled out assorted sodas and bottled tea, grouping them in the middle of the table like a centerpiece. “The food’s still fairly warm. Why don’t we eat?” He smiled, and for the first time, she noticed the dimples. “We can talk with our mouths full, if you want,” he added, and she realized he must be starving.
“You didn’t get this in Calumnias.”
“Nah. I’ve got a rodeo buddy with a ranch near Carrizo. He made a food run while I showered and talked to a couple of his hands. They know a lot about ranching. Hell, they know a lot about anything on hooves and everyone involved in any way. I asked them about Benton.” He noticed she hadn’t taken a box and waved at them. “Grab one.”
She took the nearest one and pushed the other closer to him, then reached for the nearest soda. “Did anyone know anything?”
“Benton isn’t a Texan. And he’s about as big a bastard as anyone could find.”
“We sort of guessed that,” she pointed out, disappointed. “By just looking at those poor horses.”
“But according to Ram and Chuy, the sheriff’s actually a fairly straight shooter. We were trespassing.”
“He didn’t seem worried about the lack of food and water. Or the way they were packed in those corrals.”
“Maybe he dealt with it after we left. Anyway, they figured Benton would feed them enough to get them through the inspections before they’re allowed to ship.”
She ate halfheartedly, trying not to think about Cowboy or the gruesome future facing all those horses. She couldn’t finish, but forced herself to stay at the table, letting Joe wolf down his food.
The sudden, electric glare of lightning striking nearby sizzled outside the window, followed by the roar of thunder. Jody jumped, spilling her tea.
“Where did that come from?” she asked, mopping the puddle of liquid with shaky fingers.
“Oh, sorry, I didn’t think to mention it.” Joe stood and started cleaning the table. “We’re under a tornado watch and flash flood alert.”
“Nothing we don’t have every summer.” Jody glanced at the window as another flash lit up the darkness before disappearing behind the dark wall of vegetation. “But this one caught me off guard.” Her voice wavered a little. “And Cowboy hates storms.”
She threw the sopping wet napkins away and leaned against the bar, watching as Joe finished throwing away his collection of trash. “What are we going to do? We need to move right away. I don’t think he’ll keep the horses there very long.”
“The easiest thing to do would be to try to buy Cowboy back,” Joe said slowly. “If Benton’s really any kind of a businessman, it should be pretty straightforward. Slaughterhouses pay pennies on the pound for horses. If it’s worth his while, I can’t imagine him not jumping at the chance.”
Jody nodded and turned back to the window. He made saving Cowboy sound so easy. And that’s what she’d meant to do when she saw the picture, just save him. But all those other horses…she forced herself to breathe deeply a few times and focus on composure. Joe Roberts was a stranger with no stake in rescuing any of the horses, Cowboy included.
“Jody, even if you saved every horse in that hellhole of a place, in three or four days the pens would be full again. Get involved with rescuing these poor things, and you’ll eat yourself up over the ones that have to be put down. You’ll save them, but it won’t ever be enough. Where will it end? If you even pull it off this time.”
His words stung, because they echoed thoughts that had plagued her all afternoon while he was away. But who was he to count out her out so quickly? She shrugged. “You’re under no obligation, Joe. But I’m finding a way to save Cowboy. I don’t care what it takes.”
Behind him, the window lit up again. “I wouldn’t bet against you, Jody.”
The praise warmed her, but turning around to look at him was hard. As she started to, rain abruptly slammed against the window and tin room in an unnerving explosion of sound. The lights flickered, then went out, casting the room in darkness. She caught her foot on a chair leg and fell forward.
She didn’t see him move, but he stopped her fall, and warm strong hands clasped her arms, steadying her until she regained her balance. She could feel his heat through the inches separating them, sense rather than see the brown eyes watching her.
It had been so long since she’d let a man hold her. Need flamed through her and her legs shook slightly. She wondered if he knew. She wanted to press into him, to feel his grip tighten around her. If the lights stayed off, she would…
As suddenly as they’d gone, the lights came back on. Embarrassment washed away need.
He had words before she could think of anything to say. “Twice in a day.” Joe grinned and brushed a strand of hair off her damp cheek. “And you know what they say.”
She didn’t have a clue what he was talking about.
His smile broadened and he winked at her. “Third time’s the charm, Jody.”
***
Third time’s the charm. Right. He shifted against the stack of pillows, trying to find a way to fit into a bed that was just too small. The lights had gone out again twice and the small house was hot and humid. He wished Jody hadn’t been so worried about him sleeping out in the truck. He’d have been more comfortable. Besides, she’d probably freak out if he got up and tramped through the bedroom at three in the morning. Truck doors and bougainvillea would have solved that problem.
He pushed himself up, deciding that there wasn’t much point in waiting. Besides, they’d agreed to drive to Eagle Pass and speak to someone in the sheriff’s office to get a feel for how closely they worked with Benton and try to get contact information on him. They’d tried for a couple of hours to come up with options to what he still saw as the only plan: to buy back Cowboy. Benton undoubtedly would ask an exorbitant price. He’d probably want to humiliate them, and if that made it possible for Jody to reclaim something as important to her as the horse was, he’d hold his temper in check. But as for the other horses…he just didn’t see how.
He tiptoed through her room. She had a nightlight on, and he didn’t know if she always used it or had left it for his convenience. He couldn’t resist glancing toward the bed as he passed, careful not to brush against the sheets and bedspread hanging over the edge. She slept on her side, knees slightly drawn up against a huge pillow covered with lace. She didn’t seem to sense his presence and he suspected that she’d cried herself to sleep, given the crumpled-up tissues clutched in the hand nearest her face.
He hated tears. His ex-wife had used them copiously when they first married, knowing their power over him. Later, Lorraine’s tears had disappeared, giving away to coldness and manipulation. Then she was gone, and for the first year after she left, he would have done anything to coax her back. Now into the third year, he had promised himself two things—never to marry again and never to fall for another woman’s tears.
Jody didn’t cry for herself, though, he realized. She cried for the horses she wanted to save and couldn’t. Because she surely knew deep down there wasn’t any hope for all of them. He shook his head, used the john, and made it back to the couch without waking her.
Which was good. He wasn’t sure how far he would have gone to keep her from crying again.