had already turned sideways and was only looking at him because he kept moving around her so he’d be in front. Her head was shaking hard from one side to the other and she was pawing at the ground. If Rubin couldn’t tell she was upset, he was the dumbest man alive.
But I didn’t think he didn’t know. He knew. He just didn’t care.
He was being cruel on purpose.
“Big dumb animal,” I heard him shout. “Look at me!”
The idiot. That cow could pummel every bone in his body in a matter of seconds. And we were far away from any medical care. Even getting Gia out here with the truck to take us to the main road would take twenty minutes and then would be the ride to the ranch and then to the hospital.
Even if we could get an ambulance to meet us at the ranch, it would be a half hour or more, and that was if we got extremely lucky and Gia was even home and ready to run out there. This was no time for an injury.
The cow was between Rubin and a tree, trying to find a way to turn so Rubin wasn’t in front of her. There was no such luck. Rubin had, for whatever ego-driven reason, decided to play Russian roulette that day and was determined to press his luck completely. He might escape with his dignity intact if he backed off right that second, but if not, he was looking at getting gored and trampled.
As I got closer, I waved Jane off a bit. She had been getting closer to Rubin, and I didn’t want her interfering. I knew she meant well, but shouting at Rubin was only going to make things worse, and the more people that got involved at that moment, the more likely we spooked the poor animal. She backed up and rode out to the side a bit, giving me more room to get closer.
I yanked on the reins a dozen feet or so behind Rubin. The last thing I wanted to do was spook the poor animal and cause her to charge. Smoke obeyed as he always did, and I pulled sideways so I was facing the same way as the cow, should she run. Rubin, the idiot, was now standing just feet away from her, in front of her.
“Rubin,” I yelled with as much bass in my voice as I could. “Get back on your horse and leave the cow alone or you’re going to get trampled.”
Rubin laughed and started hopping on one foot. He looked ridiculous, like a cartoon character come to life. If it weren’t absolutely infuriating, it might have been funny.
Maybe if I was back at the ranch on the couch watching one of those TV shows that showed stupid people doing stupid things and getting hurt doing them, it would be one thing. But this was my animal he was messing with, and anything that happened to him on this ranch was absolutely my problem.
I wasn’t sure going to court with the defense of “he’s a fucking idiot, your honor,” was going to hold up terribly well, although it absolutely should.
It certainly described this situation pretty damn succinctly.
“What, this thing?” Rubin said in a mock shocked voice. “No way. No slow, stupid animal like this can do anything to me. She’s just a dumb cow!”
“You’re dumber than she is, Rubin,” I said. I knew it likely wasn’t going to help that mythical star rating for our tours, but it was the truth and about time someone told him. “You have no idea what you’re talking about. That cow could turn your bones into dust in a second. Now get back on your horse and get out of the way so I can herd her back with the rest of the cattle and get on with our drive.”
“Rubin, I think you’ve had enough fun,” Walter said in a voice that bordered on abject disgust. If there was one thing that I thought he might dislike more than the idea of me fooling around with his daughter, it was Rubin disrespecting his entire family and their name itself by acting a damn fool. He came to the ranch to get the girls closer to their roots, not to have to put Rubin down in some roots six feet under.
“You know what I think?” Rubin said, still hopping from one foot to the other and inching closer to the cow. “I think you don’t know