Chapter Eighteen
“I knew when you hired them on, that they were gonna be trouble,” Kim Babcock said as she positioned herself to trim Holly’s frog. Vaughn had called her about Holly’s possible thrush, and Kim had come as soon as she’d had an available appointment time.
Vaughn turned over a nearby bucket in Holly’s stall and sat, glad Kim was finally there to take a look. “I wish you woulda said something.”
“What was there to say? Hey, that hand Pedro of yours keeps asking me out and he’s rather persistent about it?”
“Sure, I would’ve put a stop to that.”
“Well, it’s over now. He’s gone and I haven’t heard from him any.” She began trimming the frog and Vaughn watched as she worked, always amazed at Kim’s calming effect on the horses. Vaughn had been keeping an eye on Holly since she’d first noticed the thrush and Holly hadn’t exactly been too keen on her checking her frog a few times a day.
“Wish he would leave us alone,” Vaughn said.
“Aw, he will. He’s just ticked off at ya. He’ll eventually move on.”
“I was hoping this business with the police investigation would send him and Ricky in another direction completely, but I haven’t heard anything, and the damn officer we reported to is Ricky’s cousin.”
Kim paused and looked over at her. “You kidding me?”
“No, ma’am, I am not.”
“Wow.”
“Uh-huh.”
“I can see why you’re so concerned.” She refocused on Holly’s foot. “But they haven’t done anything since the fence, have they?”
“Other than hang on to my missing mare, Miracle, no.”
“Wait, they have Miracle?”
“Best we can figure. Benny and Greer and I followed her tracks well into the desert and they just disappeared as if she’d been loaded up into a trailer.”
“Oh my God.”
“And like I said, we haven’t heard anything from the police since we reported everything.”
“Geez, Vaughn, I’m sorry. But if I were you, I’d be calling that police department up and asking some questions.”
“Yeah, I’m going to call this afternoon after our midday interview with a potential employee. Gram and I have been interviewing like crazy. My head’s spinning with all the applicants we’ve talked to.”
“See anyone promising?” She moved on from the frog and began trimming the hoof itself of bacteria.
“A few. They’ll be coming by this weekend to meet the horses.”
“Any women in the bunch?”
“One.”
“That’s it?”
“Uh-huh.”
She finished and carefully placed Holly’s foot in a chlorine-based solution. Then she cleaned her hands and leaned on the stall to talk to Vaughn.
“So, who’s the woman I saw as I was driving in? It wasn’t Suzanne.”
“Oh, that’s Natalie. She’s staying with us for a while in the guesthouse.”
“She’s cute. She single?”
“I don’t think you’re her type.”
She grinned. “Vaughn, honey, I’m everyone’s type.”
Vaughn couldn’t help but laugh. Kim was a looker, she’d give her that. With her shoulder-length flaming red hair and wicked light blue eyes, she definitely turned heads. Not to mention her wild ways. Vaughn had heard stories about her numerous seductions of men and women alike. She’d even tried to get Vaughn’s interest at one point. But Vaughn had told her they were better off as friends and Kim had agreed and moved on.
“So, can I meet her?”
“Natalie?” Vaughn felt heat creep up her neck to her cheeks. She didn’t like the idea and she was trying to figure out why when Natalie strolled up.
“Hi.” She smiled from the entrance of the stall with her hands on the back of her hips.
“Well, hello,” Kim said, walking up to her shake her hand. “Natalie, right?”
“Right.” Natalie took her hand.
“I’m Kim.” She gave her a thousand-watt smile.
“Oh, you must be the farrier,” Natalie said.
“That’s me.”
Natalie looked past her to Holly. “How is she? Is she okay?” She stepped inside the stall and looked at her soaking foot. She carefully stroked her neck.
“She’s got a bit of an infection, but it should clear right up.” Kim watched her closely. “You like horses?”
“Oh, I love them. I just hope they like me in return.”
“Well, what’s not to love? I mean, you look pretty good to me.”
Vaughn stood, having heard enough. She didn’t want Kim hitting on Natalie. She told herself it was because Natalie was dealing with enough already with her ex-husband, but she knew deep down that it was more than that. She just chose not to search, at that moment, deep enough to find out exactly what it was.
“Natalie, will you go see if Gram’s ready for that one o’clock interview?”
“Sure.” She told Kim it was nice to meet her and she walked out of the stall. Kim watched her go and turned to Vaughn.
“Hey, what gives? She’s really cute. Even more beautiful up close.”
“Like I said, you’re not her type.”
“Well, how do you know that?”
“Because I do.” Vaughn walked to the entrance of the stall, unwilling to discuss the matter further. “You can bill me for the visit like you usually do.”
“Okay, Vaughn.” She tilted her head as she stroked Holly down. “I didn’t step on your toes, did I? With Natalie? Because if I did, I’m sorry I—”
“Don’t worry about it,” Vaughn said. “It’s all good.” She left the stall and headed for the house.
* * *
Vaughn walked into the house and saw Natalie standing at the kitchen sink with Gram, cleaning up after their eleven thirty lunch.
“She’s not quite ready for the interview,” Natalie explained. “So, I thought I’d help her finish up the cleaning.”
“Why’d you tell her to come check on me?” Gram asked. “You know I’ll be ready. All we have to do is log on to that contraption.”
“Just wanted to be sure.”
But Gram studied her and Vaughn could almost see the cogs of her mind turning. “It wouldn’t have anything to do with that Babcock girl out in the stables, now would it?”
Natalie’s face crinkled with question. “Kim? Why would it have anything to do with her?”
Gram smiled. “Yes, Vaughn do tell. Why would it have anything to do with Kim?”
Vaughn opened the fridge and grabbed a can of root beer. She cracked it open and slouched onto a kitchen chair and slurped. “It doesn’t.”
“No?” Gram said, pulling up the drain and turning to dry her hands on her apron.
“No.”
Natalie, too, finished drying the last plate and she turned to dry her hands on the dish towel. She looked so innocent and confused.
“Kim seems nice,” she said. “And Holly seems to trust her.”
“She’s a good farrier,” Vaughn said.
“But she gets around,” Gram added. Vaughn glared at her, but Gram continued. “What? She does. Everybody north of Phoenix knows it.”
“She gets around?” Natalie asked.
“Yes, child. That woman is known not only for her farrier abilities, but for her abilities of seduction as well. Hell, she even tried to bed Vaughn not too long ago.”
Natalie appeared shocked. “She did? You mean she’s…”
“Oh, she goes both ways,” Gram said.
“And you didn’t, did you?” Natalie asked, pointing the question to Vaughn. “You didn’t sleep with her?”
Vaughn wondered why she was asking. Wondered why she looked so troubled at the thought. “No, I didn’t.”
“She’s not Vaughn’s type,” Gram said. “She’s too wild.”
Vaughn sipped her root beer and hoped that would be the end of it. But Gram kept on. “Not that Vaughn hasn’t had a wild one or two from town from time to time. But they never last long.”
“Gram,” Vaughn said.
“What? You have had a wild one or two, haven’t you?”
“My personal life is not up for discussion.”
“Well, the girl is curious. Aren’t you, Natalie? And rightfully so.”
Natalie blinked rapidly. “I’m not trying to pry. And you don’t have to tell me anymore. Really.”
It was clear that Natalie was uncomfortable. And it was also clear that Gram wasn’t going to stop. So Vaughn stood and left the room, carrying her root beer into the living room to sit at the desk. She could check on the website and email as she waited for Gram to get her shit together and back off. She didn’t know why she was so hell-bent on setting her and Natalie up. Neither one of them had shown any outward interest. Vaughn knew because she hadn’t, and because Gram would’ve told her if Natalie had.
Vaughn logged onto the computer and checked the email. There was nothing new. She sighed as she heard Gram continuing to talk about Kim and some of her local conquests. Natalie didn’t seem that interested, staying mostly silent, but Gram kept on. Vaughn slid her phone out from her jeans and made the phone call to Theo. She figured she might as well get it over with and her curiosity was getting the better of her. He answered on the fourth ring, surprising her. She hadn’t expected him to pick up.
“Theo, it’s Vaughn Ruger.”
“Vaughn, hello.”
“I’m calling to see if you’ve made any progress on my case.”
“I’ve got a few leads I’m following up on.”
“A few? As in different people?”
“I’d rather not get into it just yet, Vaughn. I still have some investigating to do.”
“Well, when should I call again?”
“I’ll call you when I have something more.”
“My mare, she’s still missing. I’m concerned about her well-being.”
“I’m sure you are,” he said. “And I promise you I’m doing all I can to find her.”
Vaughn rubbed her brow, wishing she could believe him and let it go. But she couldn’t. She just felt like he wasn’t going to do all that he could because of his relationship to the number one suspect.
“I’ll check back with you in a couple of days,” Vaughn said.
“Now, Vaughn—”
She ended the call. She would be damned if she was going to listen to him. She wasn’t going to sit back and wait any longer. No. She was not only going to call when she saw fit, but she was going to do a little investigating of her own. She continued to rub her brow as Natalie entered the room.
“What did he say?” she asked, obviously having overheard some of the conversation.
“Not much. He said he’s got some leads but that he’s still investigating. So he won’t share them with me.”
Natalie rested her hip on the desk. “How frustrating.”
“It is.”
“Do you have a headache?”
Vaughn questioned her with a look but then lowered her hand. “A bit.”
Natalie left her and returned a few seconds later with a bottle of Advil. She opened it and poured two tablets into Vaughn’s palm. Vaughn thanked her and downed them with her root beer. She hadn’t even had to complain about her pain or ask for some painkillers. Natalie just knew and she handled it right away, being so kind and attentive.
“You’re worried about your mare,” Natalie said softly.
“Yes. She—we would’ve found her by now if she was out in the desert. Or she would’ve come back.”
“I’m so sorry. Is there anything I can do?”
Vaughn looked at her and fought getting lost in her caring gaze. Oh, how a part of her just wanted to get lost in her. To swim languidly in her kind and caring soul. But she couldn’t. Not now and maybe not ever. The thought made her throat tighten and raw tears threatened. Why am I reacting so strongly to her?
Gram had been right. Vaughn had had a few women in her lifetime, so she wasn’t exactly a novice when it came to attraction. But why Natalie? This stranger from Phoenix who had a crazy ex-husband and a mysterious life to boot? She didn’t want to think about it. She didn’t have time to think about it.
“No. But there’s something I can do.” She stood and headed into the kitchen. She found Gram putting away the dried dishes. “You’re going to have to do this next interview on your own or with Natalie.”
“Why’s that?” she asked, pausing as she lifted a dish to put away in the cupboard.
“I got something I gotta do.” Vaughn plucked her car keys off the key rack by the door and walked outside into the bright sun, leaving Gram alone with her questions.