Chapter 5
CHAPTER 5
T he next day, Lyris awoke before the sun, which was unusual for her. She dressed and braided her long curly hair to keep it out of the way while she conducted the physicals. She only had two mares and two colts to treat today, so the work shouldn’t take too long. Her biggest problem was Ted. She didn’t enjoy working with him and the feeling was mutual.
She entered the kitchen at five-thirty-five and found Ray, Maddy, and Ted already seated at the dining table.
“Sorry, I’m late. Time got away from me this morning.”
“Not a problem,” said Ray. “We’re just having juice and coffee. Help yourself.”
She didn’t need to be told twice. The juice was in the fridge and a pot of coffee in the Cuisinart Coffee Maker. She poured a cup and got a glass of tomato juice before returning to the table and claiming the open seat to Ray’s left. “So, what are everyone’s plans for this glorious Sunday?”
“I’m riding White Lightning. I want to get him into his best shape for the race on Saturday.” Maddy sipped her orange juice.
“I’m working with you…on a Sunday.” Ted groused before he looked over at Ray. “You do realize that most people have Sunday off, don’t you?”
Ray narrowed his eyes at the man, then took a sip of his coffee. “This is a ranch. No one gets weekends off here without requesting them. You didn’t make a request. Is there some reason you want today off?”
Ted shrugged. “Nothing in particular, but I could have slept in, if I had the day off.”
“When you want the day off, put in a request like every one of the other ten men on the ranch. You’re not special here, Ted. If you want to go somewhere that you get weekends off, don’t let me stop you. Otherwise, suck it up.” Ray turned his gaze toward the kitchen, where Amy was coming from, carrying a casserole dish.
“What have we here, Amy? It smells wonderful,” said Ray.
“It’s a chili relleno casserole with a little tweak. I added scrambled eggs and sausage to make it for breakfast. I think you’ll like it.” She set it on the hot pad in the middle of the table. Then she pulled a serving spoon from the pocket of her flowered apron. “I’ll be back with biscuits and gravy, another bowl of scrambled eggs and some bacon. Not one of you should be hungry after breakfast.”
“With all that food, I wonder if I should have worn stretch pants instead of jeans.” I am woefully unskilled in the kitchen. Amy’s abilities put mine to shame. Despite mother’s attempts to teach me, I never seemed to learn. If I was on my own, breakfast would be coffee and a Pop Tart…an untoasted one at that.
Amy laughed and headed back to the kitchen.
While she was gone, everyone helped themselves to the casserole.
It looked and smelled fabulous. Lyris took a bite, the eggs and sausage were complimented by the green chilis and the cheese. It was wonderful. “Mmm, this is great. I never would have thought about putting all of this together and having it taste this good.”
Ray chewed and swallowed before speaking. “Do you cook?”
Lyris nodded. “Actually, I’m a terrible cook unless you want simple country food. I make a dynamite sausage gravy, and my meatloaf is to die for.”
Maddy looked up and grinned. “I love meatloaf. It’s the one thing that Amy doesn’t do well, so she refuses to cook it.”
The woman in question entered the room at the same time. “That’s right, missy and don’t you forget it.”
Maddy didn’t acknowledge Amy’s admonishment, but kept her gaze on Lyris. “Can you really make it? Would you make your meatloaf for us?”
“Sure. How about tonight? I should have an easy day. I can pick up the ingredients after I’m done this morning.” She turned toward Amy. “Would you help me plan what else to serve?”
Amy smiled. “I’d love to. I don’t mind it when someone else wants to cook.”
“Great.” Lyris took a bite of the biscuits and gravy. It was perfect. Just the right amount of sausage in a creamy gravy. “Wow. I wonder if we can compare notes. This tastes almost exactly like what I make.”
“I’d like that. I’d like that recipe for meatloaf, too, if Maddy likes it.”
“No problem.” Lyris tackled her breakfast. She was tempted to put on her stretch pants, but figured after she walked around and began working, the full feeling would go away. Before she headed to the barn, she looked up the recipes in her phone. She’d discuss them with Amy at a later time, but she’d have them easily available whenever that time was.
When she got to the barn, she noticed the stallion Ted was leading out of the stall seemed rather frantic. He was sweating profusely, prancing, pulling on the lead rope, tossing his head and trying hard to rear up. “Ted. Stop. I want to take some blood from that horse. Bring him to my office.”
Ted seemed reluctant to bring the horse to her. “Why do you need blood from Stormchaser? There’s nothing wrong with him.”
“I disagree and since I’m the vet, I’m taking my opinion over yours. Bring him.” She headed to the back eastern part of the barn where her office was. She kept all her supplies here and locked them up when she was out of the barn.
When she reached the door, it was unlocked and slightly open. She slowly pushed it open, just in case there was somebody inside. There wasn’t. Someone had been here last night while she was out with Ray. The only person who might have been around then was Ted. But what would he need from her office?
She didn’t make a big deal of the unlocked door, though she thought Ted watched her a little too close for comfort. She would take inventory and then talk to Ray. Depending on what was missing, the results could be dangerous. Lyris plucked a large syringe and needle from a drawer and approached the horse. “Hold Stormchaser while I get the sample, would you please, Ted?”
“Sure. I’ve got him.”
As soon as she jabbed the needle into the horse, Stormchaser tossed his head and tried to rear up.
She lost her hold on the needle and had to grab it from the horse’s rear.
“Ted, hold him. What did I ask you?” She got a new syringe and needle, set the other aside to be disposed of in the red box on the floor next to her desk.
“I am holding him.”
“Tighter. I don’t want his head to move at all.”
Ted frowned and furrowed his brows. “Okay. I’ve got him. Just do your job.”
“I will if you do yours,” spat Lyris. When she saw Ted had the horse steady with his hand holding the lead rope near the horse’s mouth, she tried again. This time, she didn’t have any problems and took the sample without fanfare.
“You can release him now. Thanks, Ted.”
“Sure. Anytime.”
Lyris had a bad feeling about Ted, but she couldn’t put a name on why. “Will you hold him here while I run some tests?”
He shrugged. “Yeah. Fine.”
She went back to her office and took the test kit off the shelf. As she placed a drop of blood into the vial of fluid and shook it, she watched it change color.
She wasn’t happy with what she saw. Given these results and the horses antics, Lyris was sure that Stormchaser had been doped. But why? He’d just raced. Why dope him now, unless… She slipped her phone out of her pocket and called Ray.
“Stormchaser raced yesterday, right?”
“Yes, he did and it was a great showing, better than I thought possible. He came in second. He took first at today’s race. I guess the extra training we’ve been giving him is working.”
“I see.”
“What do you see?” Ray sounded confused. “Tell me what you think is going on.”
“It appears that Stormchaser was doped. He’s acting up, prancing, rearing and trying to toss Ted with his head as though he doesn’t want to leave the stall. Is he usually the type of horse to protest leaving his stall?”
“Never. He always wants to go outside, even if it’s just for a walk. He’s my prancer and always struts his stuff when he walks.” At the other end of the call, Ray was adamant.
Lyris could almost see Ray pacing and shaking his head. “Okay, I just wanted to know.” She ended the call.
“Ted, hold him still again. I need to administer some medicine.” She used her stethoscope and listened to Stormchaser’s heart, starting to count. The beats were racing. Someone had probably doped him before yesterday’s race and maybe for today’s race, too. The suspicion would fall on Ray if she couldn’t prove it differently. She walked into her office and got the activated charcoal and magnesium ready. The charcoal would hopefully absorb any leftover medications and the magnesium would help to get the charcoal out of his system after it’s done its job. It was the only thing she could do for him now and she wasn’t sure how effective it would be. Once she had the medicine prepared, she went back to where Ted held Stormchaser.
Ted frowned. “What are you giving him? I don’t think you ought to give him anything that might have an ill effect until Ray gets here.”
“Ray gave me jurisdiction to care for the horses as I see fit from a medical point-of-view. This is what I’m doing…as a vet. It you don’t like it, take it up with Ray.” She administer the antidote with a large syringe to get into the horse’s stomach, then patted the animal. “You’re a good boy. You’ll be back to normal in a little while.” She turned and looked at Ted. “Thanks for your help, grudgingly given though it was.” She held Stormchaser’s lead rope.
Ted turned on his heels and stomped off.
He was presumably going to find Ray.
Ray drove up in his fancy Lincoln Navigator and entered the barn.
Ted came in right behind him.
“Will someone tell me what’s going on here?” Ray looked between Lyris and Ted.
Lyris removed Stormchaser’s lead rope and closed the gate to his stall before turning to face Ray.
Ted was the first to approach Ray. “She’s been giving Stormchaser drugs.” He glared at Lyris. “Drugs I don’t think he needed.”
Ray lifted a brow. “Since when are you the vet?”
Ted plowed ahead. “I know the horses better than she does.” He crossed his arms over his chest, apparently not one to back down.
“Which is exactly why I took a sample and determined the problem. It’s still there if you want to look, Ray.”
Ray waved her off. “I don’t need to see. That’s why you’re here to do this job.”
“Thank you for that. It’s nice to be trusted to do my job.”
Ray waved off her thanks. “Now tell me what you suspected and what test did you run?”
“The test is for opioids and showed positive.”
“They can enhance performance, right?”
“Yes,” said Lyris. “They could also kill your horse, if given in a strong enough dose. I administered an antidote that I hope will help.”
Ray turned to Ted. He straightened his spine and threw his shoulders back. “Why would you doubt, Lyris? She’s the veterinarian, not you. She knows best and has my full confidence. Don’t question her actions again.”
“Yes, sir .” Ted crossed to where the rakes and shovels hung on the wall. “I guess I know what I’m good for…mucking the stalls.”
Ray raised his hand and stopped him. “You aren’t being paid to muck stalls. Where are the stable hands?”
“This is Rob’s day to muck, and he called in sick. That leaves it to me.”
“Does he do this a lot?” Ray crossed his arms over his massive chest, which only emphasized his muscular arms.
“Yeah, at least twice a month.”
“Why haven’t you replaced him? I don’t need lazy workers or stable masters who don’t do their jobs. Delegate this to the cowboy whose job it is tomorrow. Rob can take that man’s day. He won’t be expecting it, so he won’t call in sick. I expect you to fire him…after he mucks the stalls.”
“Yes, sir. I will.” Ted held himself straight, shoulders back, and chin up.
He wouldn’t show fear in front of Ray. Lyris admired that, as much as she didn’t like the man. “Ted, I shouldn’t have to tell you how to do your job. Being the manager is what I pay you for, and I pay you well. Do your job, or I’ll find someone who will.” Ray turned to Lyris. “Thank you for taking care of my horse. Stormchaser is a favorite of mine and Maddy’s. Her mother’s horse was his dam. My stallion, Great Ball ‘O Fire, was his sire.”
She gazed at Stormchaser. “He has very good lines and his lineage is impeccable. I would say that second place is not as good as he can do.”
“It’s not. This is his first year racing, and he’ll get better with more training. Your knowledge of horses is one of the reasons I hired you. Now, there are more.” He winked.
Lyris felt her cheeks heat not just from his wink, but from the memories of their night before. She knew she couldn’t let this go on. He was technically her employer, even if she was a contract employee. She knew better than most not to mix business with pleasure. Wasn’t that what happened three years ago? She’d let her heart rule her head and had been duped and nearly destroyed. Kevin Chandler was the love of her life, or so she thought. He was the son of the owner…the son of her employer. She thought they had a love that could last through the ages and it turned out that when daddy threatened to cut him off without a cent, he suddenly discovered the love of his life was Sarah Jacobs. The woman his daddy picked out for Kevin and when he met her, he’d done what his father expected and asked her to marry him. Kevin assured Lyris it was a temporary thing and Sarah would go away.
But Lyris was the one who went away after Kevin had the audacity to suggest they could keep seeing each other even after he was married. “You know, on the sly,” he’d said.
She’d been devastated. So much so, she’d marched up to the house and quit almost as soon as the words were out of Kevin’s mouth.
The situation with Ray was totally different, but she couldn’t take the chance if she wanted to keep her job. She needed to keep her heart separate from her work.
She released a deep breath she hadn’t even realized she was holding. At the first opportunity, she’d have to tell Ray. The job came first, and her heart would have to take a back seat. Now, if she could just keep her resolve.