Chapter 7
Raj took his time glancing around as if making sure no one could overhear them before shoving both hands deep in his pockets and fixing his gaze on a spot to the right of Declan’s shoulder.
“I didn’t want to say anything if I’m wrong and get an innocent man in trouble, but if I’m right, you need to know. ”
“I won’t condemn anyone without solid proof, so go ahead.”
The man fidgeted uneasily until Luke placed a hand on his shoulder.
Raj dipped his chin in a determined nod. “That young hand you’ve got working for you—Logan. I met him last week at horse camp. Seems nice enough. Steady worker. But he reminded me of someone...”
He hesitated for long enough Luke gave him another nudge. “Go on,” he encouraged.
“Before I came to Silver Stone, I worked at a boarding stable outside Calgary. Lots of high-class people kept animals there. Some not-so-high-class, but they had money. One was a lawyer type who got in trouble—turned out he was helping keep gang members out of prison.”
“How does that connect to Logan?” Declan asked.
“When the guy got arrested, investigators came by with pictures. Wanted to know if we’d seen any of the gang members hanging around.
Trying to make connections, I guess.” Raj glanced briefly at Luke, then back to Declan.
“Your ranch hand was one of the faces they showed me. I’m pretty sure.
But it was nearly a year ago, so I could be wrong. ”
Christ. They’d suspected Logan had a rough past—the kid showed up at High Water nearly beaten to death. “I’m glad you said something. I’ll get to the bottom of it. But he won’t be in trouble unless he’s guilty of something. That’s a promise.”
Raj exhaled in relief. “Good. He’s a decent kid. I’d hate to see him in trouble. I ran into him when he was warning off a couple of the older campers who were sniffing around Sasha and Jinx.”
“What?” Luke’s voice sharpened. “I never heard about this.”
“Because nothing happened. The girls weren’t in danger. Logan made sure of it—told the guys if they stepped out of line they’d answer to him. Kid’s small, but wiry. I wouldn’t want to scrap with him.”
“Thanks for sharing that.” Declan offered his hand and gave Raj a firm shake. He turned to Luke, because as much as he wanted to head home and ask Logan what the hell was going on, this had to come first. “Now let’s turn off the power to this section of the barn and deal with your problem.”
He didn’t stick around too long. Just long enough to help open the wall and discover the disaster that lay beyond—wires snaking from a dozen directions, broken glass everywhere, and what looked suspiciously like felt lining.
The Silver Stone foreman was now on the scene, and he swore softly.
“I’m not positive,” Tucker said grimly, “but that could be asbestos.” The foreman took in the group of helpers who had gathered.
“That’s it for today. We tarp and seal the opening until we can get an inspector out.
Power stays off. If you’re working in this part of the barn, get used to using a headlamp. ”
Luke patted Declan’s back as he spoke quietly. “Thanks again for all your help. And you know we’ve got your back if this thing with your ranch hand needs handling.”
“You’re good neighbours,” Declan replied. “I’ll let you know. But I don’t think it’ll come to that.”
Except he fully intended to have a conversation with Logan. Immediately.
When he got home, Dixie stood outside the stall where Jinx was brushing down Rainbow. Logan was cleaning the neighbouring stall.
Dixie’s tail wagged as Declan approached, her world finally in order with Jinx’s return.
Jinx dropped the brush and ran to Declan to offer a big hug. “I got a text from Sasha. Tyler’s okay. They put his shoulder back in place. He has to wear a sling, but he’ll be fine.”
Declan hugged her back. “Good to hear. You and Sasha acted fast. I’m proud of you.”
Her mood shifted in an instant, and she sniffled. “He wouldn’t have gotten hurt in the first place if we hadn’t taken him up there—”
“That’s a load of horse hockey.” Declan’s tone sharpened. “How many times do you think he’s been up there before? Or Sasha? Or her sister Emma? That shaft’s been hidden long enough that Caleb might’ve even been a little tyke messing around with that disaster waiting the entire time.”
Her eyes widened. “Really?”
“I’m not glad Tyler got hurt, but I’m damn glad someone found that shaft. If that wiring had sparked the wrong way? Could’ve taken out the entire barn faster than anyone could react.”
She stared at him, visibly shaken. He debated sugar-coating it—but decided against it.
“Every old building’s got funky wiring somewhere. If you’re lucky, it’s near an edge. But that shaft was dead center. Would’ve been like a bomb going off in the middle of the barn. But it’s found now and they can fix it. Tyler’s young. He’ll bounce back like a spring colt.”
Jinx eyed him with suspicion. “Is this what’s called finding the silver lining?”
He snorted. “Pretty much.”
She patted Rainbow. “Had too much energy after we got back, but I think I can go to bed now.”
Logan’s lean frame disappeared into the tack room. Perfect.
Declan cleared his throat. “Before you go, I need to ask you something.”
Jinx closed Rainbow’s stall and turned to him. “What?”
“Stay away from Logan for a little while.”
She blinked. “Why?”
“Just for now. While I figure some things out.”
A flush touched her cheeks. “That makes no sense.”
“Sometimes things don’t,” Declan admitted. “But I want you to stay safe.”
“Logan would never hurt me.” Her voice cracked. She glanced toward the tack room, concern written all over her.
“Never said he would,” Declan replied softly. “Promise me anyway?”
She hesitated then straightened her spine. “Fine. But I trust him. And I want to know what’s going on. Soon.”
“You will.”
She left without giving him another hug, which was how Declan knew he was in deep shit.
He made his way to the tack room. Time to get this over with.
Logan looked up as Declan entered. “Everything okay over at Silver Stone?”
“Got work to do, but they’re all safe.” Declan leaned casually against the doorframe. “How’d things go at horse camp?”
Logan dropped a bundle of halters then scrambled to pick them up. “Good. Really good. Girls did well. I think Jinx could be a solid cowboy… if she wants to be.”
“I heard there was some trouble. You handled it?”
Logan froze. “You had someone watching me?”
“If I did, they said you did the right thing. I’m here to say thanks.”
The young man blinked in surprise at what must have felt like a ninety degree turn. “It was mostly bullshit guy stuff, but I didn’t want to take a chance.”
“Bullshit guy stuff sometimes turns nasty, so I’m glad you acted.”
“Hell, yeah.” Logan made a face. “I didn’t tell the girls. First because they were safe, but mostly because knowing about it would creep them out, and I didn’t want them to have that kind of memory messing up what was otherwise a really good time.”
Declan nodded. “Makes sense. I won’t tell Jinx either.”
Logan visibly relaxed and returned to straightening tack.
Declan considered the best approach. “You’ve been here a while, and we can all see you’re doing your best to fit in. We don’t demand everyone’s background at High Water. That’s part of how we help people move forward.”
Logan tensed.
“But I need you to think long and hard about anything in your past that might come back to bite us. Anything that could blow up in our faces, like that shaft at Silver Stone. We caught that in time. But an innocent kid still got hurt.” Declan spoke clear and sharp, gaze fixed on Logan’s white face.
“You don’t want to be the reason someone like Jinx gets hurt. ”
Logan didn’t move, didn’t say anything.
Declan turned on his heel and walked away. Sometimes you had to light the fuse and let it burn for a while. He had a gut feeling Logan would be ready to unpack that baggage pretty damn quick.
Sydney got back from the hospital late Sunday night after being pulled in to help with a few emergencies.
After a Monday spent catching up on everything she’d been putting off for a week, Sydney was more than ready for company by the time she arrived at the clinic Tuesday morning.
Lexie had beat her to the clinic, the older woman efficiently lining up the days’ health charts, although she did look up with a smile when Sydney walked in the door. “There she is. Our cliffhanging wonder.”
“Hopefully I’ll be yesterday’s news by the end of the week when something else more interesting turns up. You know, like a sale on ground beef at Independent Grocers.” Sydney pulled on her lab coat. “How did things go yesterday?”
“First day with the new hours? It was smooth,” Lexie said before laughing. “It was repetitive.”
“My goodness, you can say that again,” Edison announced as he slipped in the door and overheard the last bit. “Where is Dr. Jeremiah? I thought I’d be seeing Dr. Jeremiah. Dr. Jeremiah told me I needed to speak to her as soon as possible.”
“Nonsense. You’re exaggerating.” Sydney smiled as he made his usual air dance across the reception area toward the staff room. “I’m sure at least one of them called me the General.”
That got a laugh out of Lexie. “No one straight up said it, but I did have somebody tell me that they got marching orders from you, and they were following them to the letter.”
“Mr. Simms, yes?”
Lexie’s brows shot skyward.
“He refused to take the meds he needs for his high blood pressure, so I challenged him to a game of Battleship. If I won, he took his meds. If he won, I had to tell his wife he was allowed to have steak once a week.”
“Oh my.” Edison covered his mouth with his fingers. “Good thing you won.”
“Of course I won. I cheated,” Sydney deadpanned before dancing out of reach of his flickering fingers. “Okay, let’s figure out what’s happening this morning, because if everything goes well, I thought I’d do some house calls this afternoon.”