keep away from me, but every time he rode up, he would just spook one of them and then drop back laughing.
“Oh boy,” Rubin said beside me. “Looks like we have a straggler.”
I looked over in the direction he was looking and saw one of the cattle far off in a shady grassy area. He was clearly eating and taking a break, and as Sawyer said, we were supposed to leave them be and just wait for them, then herd them back to the group. It was why there were always two people in the back.
“I’ll get it,” I said, pulling my reins toward it.
“No, no, I got it,” Rubin said, taking off toward it.
“Rubin, no,” I protested, but he was already galloping ahead. I watched him reach the animal and inexplicably get off his horse. I looked around wildly for the rest of the group and heard Uncle Lucien call out for Colt.
Sawyer, far in the distance, turned Smoke around and began galloping toward him.
“Rubin, what are you doing?” I shouted as I got nearer to him, trying to keep my eye on the rest of the herd.
“Rubin,” Sawyer shouted from a bit of a distance. “Get back on your damn horse!”
Rubin seemed to pay no mind to Sawyer or anyone else. Even Uncle Lucien was barking at him that he was being an idiot showoff and needed to get back on his horse. Rubin was creeping up on the cow, making exaggerated stepping motions like a cartoon villain.
“Shh, everybody,” he said. “I’m huntin’ heifers!”
He got closer to the cow, and I could see she was in distress. She wasn’t enjoying having her personal space encroached on by anyone, much less a cowboy without his horse. The horses kept the cows in line. It was part of the hierarchy of the ranch, as Colt had said early on. A person on a horse could herd cattle, but a person standing six feet from a cow is just a person shouting at a cow.
Rubin continued to faux-sneak up on the cow, whose tail was swishing angrily from side to side.
“Stupid cow,” he said. “I got my rope here, see? And what’s going to happen is I am going to lasso me a cow!”
“Rubin, you moron, get back on your horse,” I shouted. It did no good. He was advancing on the cow, his lasso opened up, and his arm beginning to twirl it overhead.
I could see the danger coming. Something was about to happen, and it would be ugly and possibly even fatal for my dumbass cousin. I looked around for Sawyer and saw him coming up the flank. His jaw was set and he had a look in his eye that seemed like it could kill.
Rubin had pissed Sawyer off all week, and last night was the worst of it, but it was always aimed at Sawyer himself. Sawyer was an easygoing guy and seemed to be able to take that in stride, like it was just part of the job.
But the cattle were sacred. The land was sacred. The work was sacred. Those were the three things that he wouldn’t be easygoing about. He couldn’t be.
As he galloped toward Rubin, I realized that he was absolutely right about all of it. And I just hoped he could get to Rubin in time, before he did something so colossally stupid to himself or one of the animals.
Rubin was just inches away, and the cow huffed, pawing at the ground. Sawyer was almost to them, leaning forward on his saddle instead of sitting down. Something was about to happen, and it would be big.
Chapter 29
Sawyer
“Dammit, Rubin,” I muttered to myself as I rode hard up the flank of the cattle, heading toward the moron standing in front of the cow with a stupid look on his stupid face.
He had no idea what he was in for. I’d seen cows attack before, and it wasn’t pretty. Cows were mostly docile creatures, preferring to avoid conflict when possible. But when they felt like they were backed into a corner or in some danger they didn’t see another way out of, they could do massive damage to just about anyone and anything. Not the least of which would be six feet of stupid wannabe cowboy.
The distress on the animal’s face was obvious. She was not in a good mood, which was why she had pulled off to get some time in the shade and something to chew on in the first place. She