Whirlwind (The Champions 1)

And right now, the timing couldn’t be worse. Between the recent deaths in the family, the money problems, and the threats to the ranch, Tess was stressed almost to the breaking point. But given the forty-week gestation period, if calves were to be born in the spring, the cows would need to be bred soon.

Before bringing the matter up, Lexie resolved, she would do some online research—check out available stock for sale and semen prices. If she could come up with a solid plan to take to her sister—and maybe get Ruben on her side—Tess might be willing to listen.

The aromas of coffee and frying bacon drifted to her on the breeze. Back in the house, breakfast would soon be ready. Lexie still needed to check on the cows and calves, the younger bulls, and the beef cattle, but now that she had a plan in mind, she was eager to start her research.

Nudging the mare to a trot, she made a circle around and above the pastures, a route that would give her a view of each group. Everything looked fine. No animals loose, stranded, or down, and no sign that the phantom intruder had been prowling on the property.

Skirting Aaron’s place, she cut back along the narrow road that led to the ranch house. The earth was still muddy from the rain. Water, beginning to dry, glimmered in the hollows of yesterday’s tracks. One distinctive set looked as if it had been made after the rain stopped. Lexie could see where Aaron’s Kubota had come from the direction of his house, turned around and gone back, then done it again a second time. Strange—but not hard to explain. Maybe he’d heard something in the night and gone out to investigate. Or maybe he’d dropped something on the way home and gone back after the rain to look for it.

By the time she’d returned to the yard and put the mare away, Lexie had forgotten about the tracks. She finished her late breakfast alone, helped Callie clean up, and then headed for the desktop computer in the ranch office to begin her research. Tess had driven to Ajo for a dentist appointment and some other errands, so she’d be gone for several hours. Lexie would have the place to herself.

Logging onto the computer, she resisted the urge to check her e-mail, which would only frustrate her and waste time. Instead, she brought up Google and did a search for bucking bull semen. The results were jaw-dropping.

She’d heard bull semen referred to as “liquid gold.” She was just beginning to understand why.

Bucking bull semen was stored and sold in plastic straws, which were kept frozen in liquid nitrogen until ready for use. A single ejaculation from a healthy bull could fill as many as thirty straws. The value of a single straw depended on the bull and could range from a few hundred dollars for a proven bucker, to more than a thousand for a top bull and several thousand for a world champion like Bushwacker.

Inseminating even a few of the best cows, with the help of a vet, would be expensive, and there was always the risk that the process would fail. But in order to compete with other breeders, the ranch needed new, high-quality bloodlines. This would be the cheapest way to get them—cheaper than buying a new bull or paying stud fees for breeding.

Now all Lexie had to do was convince Tess that it was the best way to go.

By the time she’d exhausted her research, it was noon. She could hear Callie in the kitchen, the radio tuned to her favorite country music station, as she made sandwiches for Ruben and the boys. Lexie would make her own sandwich later, if she was hungry. Right now, a mail notice had popped up in the corner of the screen. Probably just a sale ad or donation request, she told herself. Still, her pulse quickened as she clicked on the notice and found herself looking at an e-mail from Shane.

Hi, Lexie,

Here’s hoping you made it home before the storm. I promised to give you an update on Corey. Here it is. I haven’t been to see him yet because I was moving out of Brock’s place. But I did give him a call at the rehab facility. Sorry the news isn’t better. He sounded pretty bad—still dealing with the reality that he won’t likely ever walk again, let alone ride bulls. And Rianne hasn’t been to see him since he left the hospital and went into rehab. He can’t reach her by phone, and he’s getting worried. As you might know, his parents are gone. She and the baby are all the family he has.

Could you possibly check on her and let me know—maybe give her a call or even go see her folks if you know them? I plan to visit Corey first thing tomorrow. It would help if I could have some news for him.

Hoping to see you and Whirlwind in Pueblo.

Shane

Lexie reread the message. Whatever she’d been expecting, this wasn’t it. Their wild night in Albuquerque, and whatever was or wasn’t to follow, was overridden by concern for his friend. Of course, she would help. She was worried, too. She sent a quick, noncommittal reply.

I’m on it. Stay tuned.

She’d tried to phone Rianne on the way home from Albuquerque but had gotten nothing but voice mail. Now she tried again, hoping for a decent signal. She heard the phone ring on the other end, but again, there was no answer.

The easiest way to check on her friend would be to call Tess in Ajo. If she was still in town, she could stop by the family home and ask about Rianne.

She was about to call her sister’s cell when Tess pulled into the yard, driving the pickup with a load of groceries in the front and other supplies in the back.

Lexie hurried outside to help her unload. “You’re home early,” she said.

“The dentist had to cancel and couldn’t get word to me.” Tess climbed out of the truck, her arms loaded with grocery bags. “So I just picked up everything we needed and came home.”

“Well, your timing’s good.” Lexie told her sister what had happened with Rianne. “I need to drive the truck back to Ajo. I should be home before dark.”

“Fine. You’ll need to get gas before you start back. Make sure you’ve got the credit card.” Tess carried the bags inside.

Lexie helped unload the supplies, including the two dozen twenty-pound bags of Total Bull feed that Tess had picked up at the freight office. After stacking them in the shed, she climbed into the truck and set out on the hour-long drive to the isolated town that served as a lifeline for the ranch.

* * *

Decades ago, Ajo, pronounced ah-ho, had been a copper boom town. The boxlike company houses, laid out on formal streets that radiated from a central plaza, were still there, as was the huge open pit on the outskirts and the long row of tailings that stretched as far as the eye could see. After the mine closed, the town had almost died. Now it was thriving again as a retirement community and artist’s colony.

Lexie hadn’t been to the home of her childhood friend in several years, but she had no trouble finding the small, neat, stucco house with desert landscaping in the front yard. But a dark premonition crept over her as she parked the truck and walked through the front gate. It was as if she were about to learn something she didn’t want to know.