Chapter 5
Henry Sutter
It was just sunrise on Sunday morning, and Henry was awake and about to tend to some of the chores at his house in Butte before taking his friend to church.
He had bought an older home, and he had several projects in progress, one of which was the floors in the kitchen.
He stood on subflooring while he waited for his coffee to brew.
Henry agreed, and week after week their routine had grown and evolved. Now they stopped for doughnuts, and then he accompanied her to Sunday school and church every weekend. It was a small, old Baptist church, and Donna's pastor was nearly the same age as she was.
But Henry enjoyed it, and they had gotten to know him at the church and the doughnut store.
He had a whole Sunday morning ritual. He would knock on Donna's door at eight-fifteen for Sunday school at eight forty-five and church at nine-thirty.
All he had to do between now and then was manage not to get too dirty.
Josh was going to the farm this morning.
He would let the horses into the pasture and then put them back later today.
Henry knew it wasn't necessary to go to the ranch.
He could take a day off and not worry about Candice or the others.
Josh had called him last night, saying how Candice had a breakthrough with one of those ranch guests, letting the woman touch her and pet her with no resistance. This was progress.
Today would be the first time for him to take a full day and not drive to the ranch at all. Henry smelled the coffee as it was brewing, thinking about how, when he was finished at church, he was about to use his day to get a hundred different things done around his house.
Just then, his phone dinged in a weird way that told him the barn camera was triggered. It was aimed at the common area of the barn, and none of the horses could trigger it, so it rarely went off.
He glanced at the clock.
Josh was supposed to come in this morning, but not for a few more hours.
Henry reluctantly picked up his phone and opened the app for the farm security cameras. There were several cameras on the property, but the one in the barn was set up to trigger the notification to his phone.
It only took him a few seconds to open it and see that someone was in there. It was dark in the barn, but he could see right away that it was a stranger. It was a woman who was not his mom, so he watched closely… Henry froze and blinked at his screen, unable to believe what he was seeing.
She didn't even hesitate.
She went straight for Candice's stall, opened the door, and walked inside.
Henry's heart fell.
He could only imagine the chaos that was about to ensue.
It had to be the woman from yesterday, the ranch guest that Josh was talking about.
He pushed the button to speak aloud from the camera, but it was mounted high and on the other side of the barn, so he didn’t have much hope that she would hear him.
She didn't.
He called to her several times from the tiny speaker and waited there to see if she would come out of the stall.
Nothing.
He watched for a few more seconds after that, thinking surely Candice would do something to make her leave the stall. The door did not open, and the woman did not come out.
Henry considered calling someone to intervene, but those horses were his babies, and he had to go over there himself.
He didn't overthink it. Henry poured his coffee into a thermos and slid on a pair of boots that were by the door.
He was in such a hurry to get to the ranch that it seemed like it took an hour, even though he was speeding and got there quickly.
He took the back way into the ranch, using the dirt road that took him straight to the horse barn.
He had to stop to open a small swinging metal gate, but it was still the quickest way in.
Henry was wound up, and he pulled up next to the barn in a hurry and walked in with a determined stride. He flipped on lights and yelled out as soon as he opened the door.
"Hellooo?" he called as he walked. "Hellooo?" he said again, louder this time.
Henry knew this barn like the back of his hand, and he wasted no time getting to Candice's stall. It was quiet in the stall, and he cringed as he approached, thinking about the scene he might find when he looked inside.
"Hello?" he repeated hopefully as he came near the door of the stall. There was Candice, standing, looking at him like nothing was the matter. On the other side of her were two human legs.
"What's going on in here? Are you hurt?" he asked, fearing the worst.
"No, I'm not." The woman peered out from behind Candice.
It was the one from his mom's bathroom. She still had a bruise on her forehead.
He was wearing a serious expression when he continued speaking to her. "You can't be in here. What are you doing?"
"Well, we were just loving on each other, but you came in with the lights and the yelling, and it made her stand up."
Something wasn't adding up. There was no way Candice would be lying down with someone in her stall. He knew she was lying. He stepped inside the stall with them and began inspecting Candice.
"What did you do to her?" he asked, checking out his horse.
The young woman could tell he was angry, and she got nervous and defensive. "What do you mean, what did I do? I was just hanging out with her. I'm sorry. I like her."
His eyes snapped to meet hers. "Candice doesn't hang out," he said in an irritated tone.
"Well, sh-she does with me. "
He shook his head. "That's just not true. What did you do to her?"
"Yes, it is true. She was napping when I came in here, and she relaxed again. She was just relaxing with me in here. We're friends."
Henry did not trust or believe this woman. He knew Candice. He had been working with her every day, and she did not make friends easily. She was temperamental and feisty, and there was just no way she would relax and hang out with a stranger in her stall.
"Did you drug her?"
She scoffed in disbelief. "Did I what?"
"You heard me. What did you give her?" He inspected Candice, looking for signs of foul play. "There's no way she would even be okay with both of us standing in here if she wasn't on something."
"On something? What do you mean? What do you even give a horse to make them docile?"
She was nervous and flustered, and Henry had caught her in a lie. "You should know that. Josh told me you were some kind of vet."
"Pre-veterinary medicine. Not even. I've dropped most of those classes. I'm a college student."
"You would still know what to give a horse if you're in vet school."
"Yes, but, I, I'm not, I don't, I didn't do anything to your horse."
She was so nervous and sputtering that Henry knew she was lying. He pointed at the door with a rough gesture and a stern expression. "I'm going to check on my horse. You need to wait for me outside this stall."
He was impassive, and she did as he said, slipping out of the stall door quickly. Henry took a minute to look at Candice who had stepped closer to the door to look for the girl.
Henry petted and patted and rubbed her down.
She was used to him being in her stall, and she let him inspect her.
She didn't seem to be hurt or altered in any way, but Henry still took a minute to check her out.
By the time he finished, she was standing at the stall door, and he had to squeeze around her to get out.
Henry made eye contact with the girl who was on the other side of that door.
She was straight-faced and scared, and his eyes fell on the bruise on her forehead.
He felt bad that he had been the one to cause that thing.
She was a delicate-looking female, and he wanted to be gentle with her, but he was still wound up from her being in there.
She was the one breaking and entering here.
Frankly, he didn't know her, and he didn't trust her running loose on the ranch.
It was bad enough that she almost got a concussion on day one.
She could have been seriously hurt in that stall with Candice.
He felt his heart drop when he imagined a different outcome.
This small, delicate woman could have been completely trampled.
"I've got to get back to Butte," he said, staring at her. "I'm going to take you in my truck over to my parents' house and tell them what the deal is before I go."
"You don't need to take me to your parents."
"Yes, I do. They need to have a heads up. I wasn't planning on coming here at all today. I'm not planning on coming back. They need to know what's going on so that I can relax and not worry about my horses."
"You don't have to worry about your horses or me. I'm fine."
"You could have been seriously hurt in there."
"But I wasn't. Candace likes me, and she wanted me in her stall, or I wouldn't have stayed. It's all fine."
"This attitude is exactly why I'm bringing you to my mom.
I can tell you don't have regrets. You'd probably would go back in there if I drove off right now.
You are a guest at our ranch. I know you're paying to be here, but you don't have free rein.
My mother promised she would make that clear with all the guests. "
"She did. Please don't go to your mom with this," she said. "It's seven-thirty in the morning. We're not supposed to be at breakfast until ten."
"Well, I don't know what to tell you. That's what happens when you break into barns."
"Just drive me back to my room."
He walked toward the open area of the barn, looking back to make sure she was following him, which she was. He tried not to feel bad for her.
"I'm not going to let you…" He hesitated, trying to think of some sort of compromise.
"I don't want to bother them this early, but I also can't wait any more.
I need to get back to Butte. If you want to ride with me, I'll come back.
I have to go pick up my friend and give her a ride somewhere.
But I can come back." He paused and glanced at his watch, sighing when he thought about being late for Ms. Donna.
She would be at the door, waiting for him in her Sunday best.
"I have to go back right now. Just come with me. I'll come straight back here. I can have you back by nine, and we won't have to wake my mom up."
"Fine," she said, shaking her head.