Chapter 9
CHAPTER 9
L yris watched as Jason Finkleman, one of Ray’s ranch hands, loaded Stormchaser into the horse trailer.
Jason was an older man in his early fifties and clearly loved the animals he worked with. He was gentle with the stallion as he got him situated. He approached Ray and Lyris after he closed the back of the trailer.
“Where do you want me to put him? His gate still isn’t fixed. I’ll do that tomorrow morning.”
“Put him in the birthing stall on the left side of Majesty. He’ll need the bigger stall if his injury is worse than we think.”
Jason clenched his jaw. “Who would do something like this? There ain’t no reason fer bear traps down here or anywhere in Colorado. All they do is injure a healthy animal who will gnaw his own foot off to get free. It’s not right.”
“You’ll get no argument from us.” Ray waved an index finger back and forth between him and Lyris.
“None at all,” agreed Lyris. “Whoever did this wanted to hurt Ray’s horses. Probably Stormchaser most of all.”
Ray’s forehead wrinkled and he tilted his head to the side. “Why Stormchaser? He’s fast, but I have faster horses.”
“Think about it. You plan on putting him out to stud. With his record, he’ll bring astronomical fees for breeding. Someone wants to stop your breeding program. If you have any other horses out here, you need to get them back in and keep a close eye on your stallions, even when they are at the ranch.”
Ray ran his right hand behind his neck and put his left hand in his pocket, while shifting on his feet. “And we’re back to Marissa and Geoffrey.”
“Marissa? Marissa Holloway?” asked Jason.
“Do you know another Marissa?” snapped Ray.
Lyris placed a hand on Ray’s arm. “Calm down. I know you’re frustrated but don’t take it out on us.”
His face reddened and he let out a deep breath. “You’re right. I’m sorry, Jason.” He extended his right hand to the man.
Jason took it. “No problems, Boss. I understand, and I’d be in the same frame of mind as you. Anyway, I was gonna tell you I saw Ted and Marissa at the Grizzly Rose one night about two weeks ago. They seemed real cozy, if you know what I mean.”
“Cozy how?” Ray furrowed his brows and narrowed his eyes.
“Cozy like their heads were together at the table and they danced every slow song together. Then they left…together. That was Saturday, two weeks ago. I remember because me and the other hands asked Ted to join us at Red’s Tavern for some pool, but he said he had a date.”
Lyris thought it was odd that Ted and Marissa would be together. After seeing her with Scott, she couldn’t picture her with Ted. Never. She liked the good things in life and even though she’d snapped at Scott, there was no doubt in her mind that all would be well between them. Especially it seemed they’d been together since Ray broke off their engagement. “If you were at Red’s, how did you see him at the Grizzly Rose?” asked Lyris.
Jason’s cheeks colored. “I’d lost enough playing pool. I decided to find a lady and dance. The Grizzly Rose is the best place for that.”
Lyris looked at Ray. “I’m not familiar with the establishment but is it a place that Marissa would normally go? Do you think she met Ted there or did they come together?”
Ray snorted and then chuckled. “Marissa wouldn’t be caught dead in a place like that unless she had an ulterior motive. She must be recruiting Ted, and she would do whatever, and I do mean whatever is necessary to achieve her goal. Last as you saw at the gala, she’s still with Scott, so I don’t know what her end game is.”
Her shoulders sagged, and she shook her head. “I can’t believe anyone would go to such lengths to hurt your business.” She extended her bent arms, palms up. “Aren’t there other ways without hurting the horses? Or do they just not care?”
Ray put his arm around her shoulders and squeezed. “I hate to say it, but Marissa couldn’t care less about the animals. Hurting them is the means to an end, that’s all.”
She leaned into him for just a minute and accepted the comfort he offered, before she remembered she couldn’t get attached. But what if I already have?
Ray drove back to the ranch and arrived before Jason, who followed with the trailer.
Lyris hurried to the barn and her office, where she kept two supply closets. She gathered the supplies she needed.
When Jason arrived, Ray got the horse out of the trailer and into the third birthing stall.
Lyris was right behind him with everything she needed to treat the animal’s wounds. She cut off the bloody bandage and thoroughly cleaned the injury with antiseptic, paying special attention to the fetlock area in which the teeth of the trap had dug deep. Then she applied more of the antibiotic gel before wrapping the site heavily with gauze and then snugly with tape. She wanted the bandage to be as strong as possible, so they didn’t have to put him in a sling to keep him off his foot.
Hopefully by changing the bandage every day, she’d keep him from being hobbled permanently.
Ray watched the entire procedure from outside the stall. He stood with his arms crossed over the top of the gate; his face impassive as she worked.
She looked up a couple of times and knew she wasn’t able to keep the anger from showing.
When she was finished, she joined him.
He shut the gate behind her. “So, what do you think? Will he be all right?”
“I’m cautiously optimistic. But he still won’t race this season. Next season, if you want to race him, he’ll be completely healed.”
Ray clenched his jaw. “It’s just as well. I’ll put him out to stud that much sooner. Will he be able to do that?”
“Yes, give him a month and he’ll be pretty much healed.”
He let out a long breath. “Understood. I want Ted to be kept away. I’m going to make sure his assignments don’t put him in the barn.”
She couldn’t keep the irritation from her voice. “Why don’t you just fire him?”
“You know the old saying about keeping your friends close but keeping your enemies closer? That’s what I’m doing.” He ran a hand behind his neck and paced from the stall to the middle of the aisle and back again. “Besides, I don’t have any concrete proof that he’s working for Marissa. Yes, they were seen together, but maybe they really are dating…at least that is what they’ll say if confronted.”
She nodded in understanding. “I believe we definitely need him to stay away from Stormchaser. It’s only by the grace of God that we haven’t lost him to these accidents .” She used air quotes to make her point. “What are you going to have him doing to keep him away from the animals?”
Ray’s lips turned up at the corners. “I’m having him look in the pasture for more traps. That should keep him busy for a few days anyway.”
“Do you think he’ll really find any, since more than likely he’s the one who put them out there to begin with?”
“I’ll tell him that I know there are at least twenty more and he’d better find them. He won’t have a choice because he probably won’t remember where he set them. Plus, I’ll have other men out there so he can’t pretend to be working when he’s not.”
“Good.” I guess this solution is enough for now, though I would fire him if he worked for me.
Ray put his hands in his pockets. “Hey, um, thanks for saving Stormchaser.”
“I’ll do my best to watch him. I need to monitor and change his bandages every day anyway. Are you posting someone at night? I don’t trust Ted and I don’t know what his motivations are. Maybe it’s just money, maybe it’s sex, with someone like him, it’s hard to tell.”
He chewed the inside of his cheek before speaking. “Marissa is definitely up to something. There is no way she would date Ted other than to manipulate him.”
“You would know.” Lyris tried to keep the jealousy from her voice but knew she was unsuccessful.
Ray lifted a brow, looked at her and smiled. “Yeah, I suppose I would. But I also know she’s still living with Scott, so she is definitely up to something.”
“Stormchaser is fine, for now. I’ll change his bandage tonight and see how it looks. I also want to watch him for the rest of the day to view how he’s standing. I want to know if he’s putting weight on that leg.”
“I’ll be in my office in the barn, so I can watch him, too.”
She nodded. “Okay. I have to check on our babies. They seem to be thriving, but I’ll monitor them closely for at least a month.”
“Let’s head in to change clothes before we both catch our death. We can talk along the way.”
“Good idea. I’m freezing.”
“Well, at least the rain has stopped. It looks like it’s still windy though. Hurry and get into the truck.”
Lyris jogged to the truck and practically dove into the passenger side
Ray climbed in and started the truck and waited a couple of minutes to turn on the fan. Even though it’s July that wind can get very cold.”
Lyris nodded and put her hands between her thighs. They weren’t as wet as the rest of her clothes.
“Now, as to the babies. I do have a special pasture. It isn’t too big because I want to see the colts and fillies all the time. It gives the foals enough room to run and play. There’s enough grass for the mares to graze, too.”
“Good. I haven’t had a need to see it before now. Maybe tomorrow you can give me a more thorough tour of the property.”
“That can be arranged.” He pulled the truck into the six-car garage.
She was glad the guesthouse had an attached garage for when winter came. She hated nothing more than having to scrape ice from her Yukon’s windows.
She climbed out of the truck and hurried into the kitchen of the main house. The heat was welcome. Lyris turned to Ray. “You’ll have to excuse me if I don’t stay. I need to get out of these wet clothes. I’ll be back after a hot shower. Don’t wait dinner for me. If I don’t make it back in time, I’ll heat up leftovers.”
“I’m sure you’ll make it. I doubt you’ll be much longer than I will.”
She laughed. “Tell that to Maddy. I’m sure she takes longer in the bathroom than you do.”
Ray chuckled. “On second thought, I’ll see you whenever you get here. We don’t mind waiting dinner until you’re here.”
Lyris shook her head. “No, please don’t. Maddy will be hungry and so are you. I’ll be as quick as I can.” She didn’t wait for a response, just headed for the sliding door leading to the backyard and the guesthouse. Hurrying through the yard, she practically ran to the guesthouse.
Once inside, she locked the door and began stripping. She suddenly realized she wasn’t alone. She stopped tugging her jeans down.
Ted lounged in one of the overstuffed chairs in the living room. “Don’t let me stop you,” he drawled. “I always like watching a beautiful woman strip.”
“What are you doing in my house? Get out, Ted. Now.” She pointed toward the door.
He sat up. “Oh, don’t be that way. I’m here to offer you the opportunity of a lifetime. All you have to do is make sure Stormchaser never recovers.”
She narrowed her eyes but stayed right where she was. “Never. I will never hurt an animal on purpose.”
He stood and started toward her. “You’ll change your mind, or I’ll make sure Maddy has an accident like her mother.”
Lyris’s jaw dropped. “Stop where you are. Did you cause Francie’s accident? You killed her? Why would you do something so vile?”
He lifted his hand and rubbed his right index finger against his thumb. “Money. I needed money and Marissa had it. She wanted Ray, and Francie was in the way. He wasn’t even a billionaire then. He’d just bought this place.”
“I’ll tell Ray. I’ll tell him everything you’ve said.”
“It will be your word against mine. Who is he going to believe? The new vet? Or the man who’s been with him from the beginning?” He headed for the door. “Think about it.” Then he let himself out.
Lyris hurried and locked the door, throwing the deadbolt and the chain. She would have to start locking the deadbolt whenever she left the house. Suddenly, the place she called home was not safe, and she didn’t like it at all.