Boots and Bareback: Ugly Stick Saloon, Book 3 (16 page)

“Bingo.” Audrey’s eyes lit.

“Good grief.” Tanner flung his hands in the air. “There must be a hundred ranches in a fifty-mile radius.”

“Then we better get to guessing.” Sean nudged Tanner in the side. “We don’t have all day.”

“If you were to ask me where Isabella worked before she came to the Ugly Stick Saloon, I could answer that.”

Tanner blurted, “Where did Isabella work before here?”

Audrey propped her hands on her hips. “The Circle C.”

“The Circle C Ranch?” Gabe questioned. “As in the big racehorse ranch on the other side of Hole in the Wall?”

“That’s where she used to work.” Audrey laughed. “There, I didn’t spill the beans on where she went. I only told you where she worked.” She frowned. “What are you waiting for?”

Tanner beat the other two to the exit, slamming through and running toward the truck. He slid into the driver’s seat and took the wheel, holding out his hand to Gabe. “Give me the keys.”

“I’ll drive.” Gabe stood in the door, keeping Tanner from closing it.

“Give me the goddamn keys.” Tanner refused to budge. “We need to find Isabella. We can’t lose her.”

Gabe tossed him the keys and scrambled into the back seat of the crew cab. “Go!”

Tanner broke every speed limit between the Ugly Stick Saloon and the Circle C Ranch.

"I'll bet the Circle C is the ranch Isabella got fired from." Gabe sat in the back seat hanging onto the oh-shit handle, praying they’d arrive in one piece. “She ever tell you why that happened?”

Tanner and Sean shook their heads.

“The owner’s son put the moves on her. When she didn’t satisfy him, he fired her.”

Sean slammed a fist on the armrest. “Bastard.”

Tanner growled. “She’s not going back to work for them.”

“Let’s hope not,” Gabe said.

“No hope about it.” Tanner’s jaw tightened. “She’s
not
going back to work for the Circle C.”

“Why else would she return to the ranch she was fired from?” Sean asked.

“I’m not sure,” Gabe replied. “But in her apartment she had a picture of a horse. Maybe she’s going back to get the horse.” He hoped like hell Isabella wasn’t going back to the coward who fired her. Gabe would pound the punk into the dirt before he let Isabella go back to that lowlife.

Tanner spun sideways when he took the turn onto the road leading up to the Circle C Ranch. They passed under a fancy arched gate with an iron horse in the design.

The drive wound through green pastures dotted with long-legged thoroughbreds prancing with their heads held high.

Gabe appreciated fine horseflesh, and the animals on the Circle C had good confirmation and were groomed beautifully. He couldn’t fault the animals, even if the owners didn’t have a lick of sense.

As Tanner pulled into the stable yard, Gabe’s stomach plummeted.

“I don’t see her truck,” Sean stated the obvious.

A well-dressed young man and older woman standing beside a corral turned as the brothers’ truck came to a halt.

Tanner shifted into park. “What do you want to do?”

Heat spiked in Gabe’s chest as he realized who the two people were. “I want to talk to the owners.”

He jumped down out of the truck and strode toward the pair, coaching himself to keep his cool.

The older woman smiled graciously. “I’m Margaret Cooksey and this is my son, Daniel. Can we help you?”

Gabe held out his hand to the woman and shook her hand. “I’m Gabe O’Brien, these are my brothers, Tanner and Sean.” He pointedly dropped his hand without offering it to the woman’s son. He was too afraid he’d deck the guy.

Tanner and Sean moved up on either side of him.

His brothers’ presence gave Gabe the incentive to continue without causing a scene. “We were looking for Isabella Severs. Has she been by here?”

The young man frowned. “Why? What do you want with her?”

Digging deep, Gabe forced a smile to his face when he’d rather plant his knuckles in the young man’s sneering countenance. “We wanted to hire her to work on our ranch.”

Neither Tanner nor Sean flinched at Gabe’s lie. God, he loved his brothers.

The old woman smiled. “Izzy was here a few minutes ago. You just missed her.”

“Why would you want to hire Izzy?” the young man asked.

“Daniel, where’s your manners?” Mrs. Cooksey admonished. “Izzy is wonderful with horses and a really hard little worker. I miss having her around.”

“As her future employer, could you tell me why Isabella left?” Gabe knew the answer, but wanted to hear what Daniel and his mother would say was the reason.

Daniel’s eyes narrowed. “It’s none of your business.”

“Don’t mind my son, he can be so brusque.” Margaret’s brows furrowed. “I don’t know why she quit. One day she was just fine, working with the horses and seemingly happy. The next day she left. I was stunned she didn’t even stop by the house to say goodbye.” She glanced up at Gabe. “Not a very good recommendation, I’m sorry to say.”

“Maybe she had good reason to leave.” Gabe glanced at Daniel.

“Yes, but I couldn’t believe she’d leave Sundance,” Margaret offered. “She was very attached to him.”

Tanner frowned. “Sundance?”

“The thoroughbred she sold to us when her father died. She came to work for us the day we bought him.”

“What happened to Sundance?” Sean asked.

Margaret laughed. “That’s the funny thing—”

“That’s enough.” Daniel stepped between his mother and Gabe. “If you don’t have business with the Circle C, I suggest you leave. You’re trespassing on private property.”

“I might just have business with you…” Gabe stood toe-to-toe with the owner’s son, “ …if you can tell me where this horse Sundance can be found.”

“What does it matter?” Daniel shrugged. “Like Izzy, he’s not here.”

“Don’t be so rude.” Margaret stepped to the side of her son. “Daniel decided that since Sundance hadn’t placed in his last two races, he should be sold. I wanted to give him another chance. The poor dear had been acting strange since Izzy left. Those two were inseparable. Why, shoot, she raised him since he was a colt.” She smiled sadly. “But that’s neither here nor there. He went to the auction in Dallas two days ago. Which is quite a shame considering Izzy just offered us as much as Sundance brought, so we could have saved time and money getting him there.”

“Mother,” Daniel said through gritted teeth, “you talk too much.”

“I supposed I do sometimes.” Her smile broadened. “Would you boys like to come up to the ranch house for some iced tea? I’m headed that way now.”

Gabe shook his head. “Sorry, ma’am, we can’t stay. We have work to do.”
And Isabella to find.
“Thank you for your time.”

He waited until the woman climbed into a golf cart and drove away before he faced Daniel.

As soon as his mother was out of earshot, Daniel glared at Gabe and his brothers. “I suggest you boys leave before I call the sheriff and have you all arrested for trespassing.”

“Now that you can’t hide behind your mother, I want to set the record straight.” Gabe stepped up to Daniel. “Isabella is a beautiful, sexy woman, filled with warmth and love…” He paused and stared hard into Daniel’s eyes. “And more than capable of being satisfied by the right men. If she wasn’t able to come for you, it wasn’t because of her.” Gabe stepped back, afraid he’d hit the man if he didn’t.

Sean came forward and spit on the man’s boots. “Obviously you weren’t man enough for her.” Sean spun away.

“What the hell did that whore tell you? She’s nothing but a lying bitch.”

Tanner shook his head. “You shoulda kept your mouth shut.”

Before Gabe could grab him, Tanner swung hard, his fist connecting with Daniel’s nose.

The man dropped to his knees. “I’ll sue you for this,” he blubbered, clutching at his face.

“Yeah, you do that.” Gabe kicked dust in the coward’s face. “While you’re at it, we’ll have the sheriff come out and haul your ass to jail for sexual harassment of one of your employees.” He spun on his boot heels and headed for the truck, holding out his hand for the keys.

Tanner handed them over, no argument.

Once all three men were inside the truck and on their way back down the drive leaving the Circle C Ranch, Gabe let it out. “That son of a bitch.” Gabe smacked his hand on the steering wheel. “You know what we have to do, don’t you?”

“Go back and finish pounding some manners into that little weasel.” Sean raised his fists.

Tanner rubbed his bloody knuckles. “We need to find Isabella.”

“No to the pounding. The man’s not worth any more of our time. Yes to finding Isabella, but not yet.” Gabe pulled out onto the highway and pressed the accelerator to the floor, sending the truck rocketing toward the Rockin’ O Ranch. “First, we have to find that horse.”

“Honey, you can’t lie in bed for the rest of your life.” Audrey sat on the edge of the mattress, stroking Isabella’s hair away from her face.

Isabella had blown through a full box of tissues in twenty-four hours. “Why should I bother? That bastard sold my horse and had the nerve to laugh in my face.”

“I hope you kicked him in the nuts.”

“No, I told him he was the loser.” Isabella’s lips twitched in a brief smile. “You should have seen the look on his face when I told him I’d been having sex with three men and all of them had given me an orgasm.”

“I’d have paid money to see that.” Audrey grinned. “That’s the Isabella I know and love.”

“But it’s no use. My affair with the O’Briens is over.” Isabella flopped onto her back. “And now that Sundance is gone, I have nothing left to live for.”

Audrey snorted. “Don’t be so melodramatic. You have a lot to live for.”

“Name one thing.”

Audrey stared around the room. “You have your health…”

“That doesn’t count.” Isabella draped an arm over her face. “I lost Sundance, the only friend I had.”

Audrey crossed her arms, a frown wrinkling her pretty brow. “What does that make me?”

“Oh, Audrey, you’re such a good friend.” Isabella gave her a weak smile, and more tears welled in her eyes, spilling down her cheeks. “And I don’t deserve you.”

“You’re right. You don’t. Not the way you’re acting now.”

“See? I’m a failure.”

Audrey rolled her eyes. “You have a job, should you decide to come to work.”

“I told you,” Isabella pulled a pillow over her face, “I have to leave town,” she said, her voice muffled.

“You’re running away, Isabella.” Audrey yanked the pillow off her face. “That’s no way to handle your troubles.”

“It’s the only way. I can’t stay.”

“Why?”

“I just can’t.” Isabella rolled away from her friend’s penetrating stare.

“Because you love three men?”

“That sounds so wrong,” Isabella wailed.

“If it’s how you feel, how wrong can it be?” Audrey pressed her shoulder, forcing Isabella to lie on her back. “Look at me.”

“No. You can’t fix this.”

“There’s nothing to fix, silly.” Her friend smiled down at her. “Just let them love you.”

“But their father wants them to marry. He told me so.”

“So, marry one of them, but love all three.”

“I can’t.”

“Why?”

“None of them has asked. And I’m not sure it’ll work. What if they fight? What if they get jealous of one another? I don’t want to break up their family. Please. Go away and let me wallow.”

“No. You’re getting up and coming to work with me. I’m short some girls. I need your help.”

“I don’t work for you anymore.”

Audrey planted her hands on her hips. “Who took you in when you were flat broke?”

Guilt gnawed at Isabella’s gut. “You did.”

“And you’d let me down after all I did for you?” Audrey glared at Isabella and turned her back. “Some friend.”

“Don’t ask me to do this…I…I…just can’t.” Audrey had done a lot for her. More than Isabella could ever repay.

“Now’s the time when you should be saying ‘I’m sorry, Audrey. Of course I’ll come to work for you’.” Audrey glanced over her shoulder, her brows raised, utterly relentless.

Isabella sighed. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me. You’ve been nothing but kind to me and I’ve been a complete heel.”

“You don’t have to grovel that low, but that’ll do for a start.” Audrey spun, grabbed the edge of the sheet and yanked it back. “Now, get out of bed and get dressed. We open in one hour.”

Isabella rolled over the edge onto her feet, groaning, her eyes filling with tears yet again. “How will I be able to serve if I can’t see through my tears?” She ran for the bathroom and tore off several sheets of toilet paper and blew into them.

“You’ll manage. You’ll see.” Audrey smiled. “I think you’ll feel much better once you get to the Ugly Stick Saloon.”