Page 2 of August’s Cowboy Braxton

“We know.”

Ruby leaned forward, resting her palms on the table. “That girl smiles too pretty when she's scared.”

I looked at her.

“She does,” Ruby insisted. “I've known Addison since she was sixteen. When something's wrong, she gets polite. When something's really wrong, she gets perfect.”

Orville nodded. “She dismissed the messages until the last one mentioned August. Then she agreed to let us bring you in.”

I scanned the schedule again. Addison was due at the queen trailer in fifteen minutes for a pre-event briefing. Then junior contestant photos. Then a vendor meet-and-greet. Then opening parade rehearsal. Then arena walkthroughs. Then a sponsor dinner.

Every event was public. Every location was exposed.

“She agreed to change her schedule?” I asked.

“No,” Orville said.

“Limit her appearances?”

“Also no.”

I closed the folder. “Then what did she agree to?”

Ruby’s mouth twitched. “You.”

Great. It pissed me off when my clients didn’t take things seriously enough. “Where is she now?”

Ruby checked her phone. “She said she'd be at the queen trailer twenty minutes ago.”

“And?”

“And Addison runs late when she's helping someone.”

I straightened. “So no one knows where she is.”

Ruby hesitated. “Well⁠—”

I was already moving.

The queen trailer sat near the main arena, gleaming white with RODEO ROYALTY WEEKEND painted in gold script along the side. The door hung open. Inside, two teenage girls in matching sashes sat on a bench, scrolling their phones.

“Addison Blake?” I asked from the doorway.

One girl looked up. “She left like ten minutes ago.”

“Where did she go?”

“Junior lineup. Some kid's horse spooked.”

I turned and scanned the grounds. The junior lineup area was a fenced pen near the livestock barns, but I didn't see a crowd or commotion.

The other girl added, “Actually, she might've gone to the feed room. Someone said a goat got loose.”

I headed toward the supply barn. How was I supposed to protect a woman who couldn’t keep to her own damn schedule?

The feed room sat behind the main livestock pens in a low metal building. I heard the crash before I reached it. Just a loud metallic bang, followed by a very polished female voice.

“Nobody panic. He can smell fear.”