Whirlwind - Janet Dailey Page 0,64

we opened the new bag and filled the rest of the tubs.”

Things were beginning to make sense. “What did you do with the first bag—the empty one?” Tess asked.

“It’s in that trash barrel by the shed,” Chet said. “Hang on. I’ll go get it.”

He was back in a moment with the empty, crumpled bag. When Tess opened the top and took a cautious sniff, the odor of the residue that lingered in the bottom of the bag was unmistakable. Zinc phosphide, the deadliest ingredient in rat poison.

She could picture it in her head—the tubs of feed set out in the paddock, the bulls coming in through the gate, each one going at random to a tub. Any of the bulls could have gotten the poison. It was pure chance that the unlucky animal had been old Thunderbolt—a good bull who’d deserved a gentler death.

The fury that welled up in Tess was almost blinding. Someone with no conscience was out to destroy her beloved ranch, and she’d had enough. Whatever she had to do, she would find out who was behind these atrocities and stop them, once and for all.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

WHIRLWIND WAS IN THE CHUTE, SNORTING, BANGING, AND SO KEEN to buck that Lexie had needed help attaching the flank strap. She stood back now, letting the handlers do their job as Carlos Machado climbed onto the rails above him, preparing to mount.

Machado was currently the highest ranked among the Brazilians who’d come north to ride with the PBR. Raised on the vast South American cattle ranches, they were seasoned cowboys, darkly handsome, sleek and agile as panthers. Out of the arena, they tended to be polite and soft-spoken. Most wore crucifixes and prayed before each ride.

Lexie forgot to breathe as Machado lowered himself onto Whirlwind’s silvery back and settled into place. After the rope had been rubbed and pulled tight, he wrapped his glove, checked his position, and nodded.

Whirlwind flew out of the open gate. At the top of his bounding leaps, he arched like a cat, coming down with a body twist at the bottom. Once . . . twice . . . then a shift in direction, like the subtle click of a gear, and a drop into a sudden spin. Machado wasn’t ready for the surprise. With two seconds left on the clock, he lost his hold and was pitched off onto his side. He scrambled for safety as the bullfighters closed in to herd the bull into the exit.

Lexie was jumping, cheering wildly. Whirlwind had just bucked off the number three rider in the PBR. The bull’s score: forty-five points.

Casey caught Lexie’s eye and gave her a grin. She returned a thumbs-up before hurrying to the inside chute to unfasten her bull’s flank strap and release him back to the pen.

“Good boy! You did us all proud!” She scratched his ear, opened the narrow gate, and watched him trot back to the pens.

“I see you still haven’t sold him.” The deep voice, coming from the shadows behind her, made Lexie’s nerves clench. She forced herself to turn around and confront Brock Tolman.

“If you’re still wanting to buy my bull, Chip Harris is in line ahead of you,” she said. “But that doesn’t matter, because Whirlwind isn’t for sale.”

He loomed over her, a confident smile on his face. “How much did Harris offer you? I’ll beat his price by twenty percent. Hell, make it thirty percent.”

“Didn’t you hear me? Whirlwind isn’t for sale. Not at any price—and especially not to you. So get out of my face and stay away from my bull—and our ranch!” Lexie turned away and strode off before he could reply.

As she headed for the stands, she could hear him laughing. “Tell Shane I said hello,” he called after her. “Tell him I said he’s welcome to come back anytime.”

You don’t own him anymore!

Lexie was tempted to fling the words at him. But she’d only be wasting her breath. All she really wanted was to get to her seat so she could watch Shane ride.

She hadn’t seen Shane all day, but she’d known better than to look for him. Riding a bull involved as much mental focus as physical strength and balance. He didn’t need a woman distracting him from that focus.

She hadn’t seen any posted results of the draw, either, although she’d looked for a list on her way to the bucking chutes. But since Shane’s ninety-point ride on Whirlwind had boosted him in the rankings, he was bound to be in