Woman's A Cowboy

2

The day continued on in a flurry of rules and expectations.  After a few hours of the boys making rounds within the crowd,  one of the boys and his father,  reached the four of us.

They squinted at the Trio,  clearly recognizing them,  "you with them,  kid? "

I shook my head,  wiggling in the saddle.  Buck lifted his head,  burrowing his nose into the son's chest. 

I tugged slightly on the reins and Buck returned to his grass,  snorting his frustration with me.  "No,  sir,  we just met. " I inserted. 

"Well,  I hope ya got grit,  boy.  You got a lot of competition.  What makes you think you got a shot? "

The son looked at me and I felt incredibly uncomfortable,  but I didn't move,  I didn't show him I was affected.  Instead I straightened,  "my pa worked me hard.  I may not be the biggest,  but I'm hoping to stand out. "

This seemed to interest Rhett, "what's your name boy? "

"People call me Clem. "

"Well,  kid,  Im Rhett and this is Will.  Hopefully you prove me you're worthy.  I have a feeling I'm gonna like you,  and that'll make it hard if you can't do your job. "

I pressed the brim of my hat,  "I'll try and keep up. "

"Well,  since you are already mounted,  you won't need to stay up any later.  From the way ya look,  you could use a good wash before tomorrow. "

I shook my head and swung from my saddle,  "I'm not worried about myself,  sir,  but Buck here could probably use a drink. "

He beamed,  "trough's out back. "

Leading Buck to the back of the barn,  I found the trough.  I noticed a man standing alone.  He wore a white vest and black bandana over his face,  along with a black hat.  I'd seen the man before but I couldn't peg where...

I quickly led Buck back a bit so we wouldn't be seen.  I patted his neck and peeked back around the side of the barn. 

Light caught a bottle the man was holding.  Liquid fell from the bottle into the trough.  The man placed a cap back on the bottle,  and looking around to see if anyone had seen him,  split back around the other side of the barn. 

I tugged on Bucks reins and walked to the trough.  Buck ducked his head but I caught him and pulled his head back up. 

My father had gained enough enemies over the years.  I'd seen every kind of sabotage in the book.  One such are happened to be a liquefied hemlock mixture that "found" It's way into the horse troughs or feed. 

I recognized not only the small plants floating,  but the smell it gave off.  I quickly ushered buck away and removed the water as quickly as possible. 

I looked up,  mid dump,  to see the youngest Tucker boy,  turning the corner.  He couldn't have been any older than fourteen,  but he stood almost as tall as I did.  His Stetson blew upward and he caught the brim.  His bright green eyes flashed in suspicion. 

"Hey,  what do you think you're doing? "

I squinted,  continuing to dump the water.  Buck tossed his head and grunted from his position tied to a nearby fence post.  "Someone poisoned the horses. "

The boy ran forward,  leaning over the bucket.  I pointed to the flecks of hemlock that littered the bottom of the tin. 

"Sure enough.  Why'd someone go doing somethin' like that? " His face scrunched up.

I shrugged and began filling more water,  rinsing the bottom and dumping it into the grass.  "Well,  I don't know much about you,  but I assume you're family is fairly well off.  Frankly,  any rancher who is fighting for power can reach the point of sabotage. "