Page 59 of Unforgettable Cowboy
The deputy looked at Wade, who shrugged.“I don’t have either half of his horse.”
“Ask if you can search the place,” Chance challenged.
“Search away,” Wade said.Jordan, standing silently beside him, nodded his joint approval.
Hayes wished that they hadn’t called the bluff like that.The deputy wouldn’t have been able to search without a warrant, but now…
It didn’t take the deputy long to go through the barn and the outbuildings and to check the corrals where the other horses were quietly eating.“A palomino, you say?”
The veins were starting to stand out in Chance’s neck.“Yes.A damned palomino.”
“I don’t see a horse of that description.”
Neither did Hayes and he was, frankly, mystified.Had they taken the mare to Bailey’s place?
“They have her tied in the timber.Or in a far pasture.She’s here.”
The deputy let out a long breath, one hand resting on his utility belt.“The rodeo is in town, sir.I have other duties to attend to.”
Chance sucked in a breath, exhaled again, clearly dissatisfied with the way his ambush was working out.
“Do you have time to search Mr.Meyer’s vehicle for my missing silver?”Bailey’s words cracked the silence that had fallen over the group.
“That’s not going to happen without a warrant,” Chance snarled.But he didn’t seem at all disconcerted by the mention of the silver, which told Hayes that Bailey’s jewelry and buckles were long gone.“Oh, hell.Search.”
Hayes put a hand on the small of Bailey’s back, letting it fall away again after the deputy had finished a cursory search of Chance’s truck and trailer.
“The horse is on her property,” Chance said, unwilling to let it go.“Next door.”
Bailey glanced at Wade, but got no sign from the older man.She must have decided that no sign was a good sign.“If you want to waste the deputy’s time, I’m good with that.All you’ll find are broken-down corrals and a barn that’s about to fall down.”
The deputy nodded again.“I think we’ll end this here.”
“What they’re doing is illegal,” Chance sputtered.
“I’m not sure that they’re doing anything.”
The deputy was starting to sound impatient, and Hayes couldn’t blame the guy.
It was Jordan who put a cap on things.“Why don’t you ask Mr.Meyers to leave our property and we’ll call it a day.”
Chance’s face went dark as the deputy said, “I’ll follow you to the road, sir.”
He got into his truck without a word, revved the engine after he started it, then tore out of the driveway, his trailer going airborne as it went over the cattle guard.The deputy shook his head, then turned to the small group.“By the way, I’m Rafe Mendoza.”
“Mendoza,” Wade said thoughtfully.
“Estelle is my aunt.”The deputy answered the question no one asked.
“Chance didn’t call you?”Bailey asked.
“Nope.I got a recent tip that there might be trouble on this ranch, and I followed up.”He smiled a little.“If anything else goes down, just give me a call.”He started for his SUV then stopped.“There isn’t a stolen horse on this property is there?”
Wade shook his head.“There is not.”
“Good.”He got into his vehicle and started the engine.
Hayes waited until the SUV crossed the cattle guard before turning to his uncle.“Where is the horse?”
