Chapter Twenty-Three
Travis grimaced as he braced himself against the hen house, tipping it over until it was right side up, landing on the ground with a thump. He looked at his hands and saw the blood trickling from parts of his palm. He sucked the splinters out of them. They stung more than he thought they would.
At least the hen house was back where it belonged, and the chickens would be able to get back to normal.
He’d already managed to snag the eggs that were rolling free to keep them safe, although a couple had already been trampled by the birds.
He would find a basket for them eventually, once he secured the coop.
How had Edwin managed to get the hens back into the coop and not notice the hen house was upended? It wasn’t something you could miss. For someone who said he could run the ranch on his own, he was doing a poor job of showing it.
His thoughts went back to the two kisses, and he smiled. He hadn’t intended to do that, so he was surprised when he did. And the fact that Anna kissed him back was beautiful. It might’ve been just for comfort, a thank you for helping her, but Travis was certain there was something more.
He needed to return the favor. Somehow, he had to figure out how to show his appreciation. Anna might not want it, but he was going to try.
“Travis.”
Mrs. Mason was walking toward him, swinging a basket in her hand. Travis grinned at her.
“You’ve gotten tired chasing Edwin about, have you?”
“Honestly, that man! I swear he believes he’s entitled to everything, the greedy pig.” She shook her head with a scowl. “Two breakfasts, one of which was a special one! How did he think he would get away with that?”
“I suppose he thought he could try and didn’t think he would get that sort of pushback.”
“He knows we would refuse! Probably thought we’d be polite because of you.” Mrs. Mason scoffed at that. “Not a chance. I helped Anna make that for you, and she was happy with your reaction. I wasn’t about to let him ruin it.”
Travis smiled.
“That’s very kind of you, Mrs. Mason. And the pie was delicious. There’s plenty left as well if you want a slice.”
“I might save some for later. You can have it for dessert after dinner tonight.” She held up a basket. “I’ve brought this for the eggs. I thought you might need it.”
“Thank you. They’re near you, so if…”
Travis stopped when he saw the chickens.
They’d been moving about a little while he was fixing their home, but he hadn’t paid them much attention.
He’d assumed they were a little subdued because of the tornado and sleeping outside.
But now he could tell they were looking lethargic, and most of them were sitting down.
One of the chickens tried to get up and fell over again. And all of them were strangely quiet.
Something wasn’t right. This was more than a bad storm affecting them.
“Travis?” Mrs. Mason frowned at him. “What’s wrong?”
“Something’s happened to the chickens.”
The cook looked around, taking in the scene. She frowned.
“You’re right. Maybe they’re still in shock?”
“I don’t think so.”
Travis went over to the trough where they had their feed placed when it wasn’t scattered about. He wasn’t entirely sure what he was looking for, but as he looked into the trough, he could see large, hard pellets that were mixed in. They didn’t look like the feed to him.
“Can you have a look at this?” he called. “Does this look like your regular chicken feed?”
Mrs. Mason joined him. Leaning over, she picked out one of the pellets.
“No, that isn’t. I’ve never seen that before.”
“What do you think it is?”
“I’m not sure, but there are a lot of them. I don’t think this is our regular feed.” She straightened up, her expression grim. “I need to go and fetch Connor. He’ll know what it is.”
Taking the basket with her, she hurried off. A moment later, Travis saw Anna and Emily appear in the kitchen doorway. He bit back a sigh. If this were a problem, Anna would have to know about it, and there would be more pressure on her.
Hopefully, this was just a blip. But with everything going on, Travis had a feeling this was more sabotage.
“What’s going on?” Anna crossed the yard to join him, a frown across her face. “We saw Mrs. Mason hurry past the window.”
“The chickens look like they’re sick.” Travis pointed. “Something’s not right with them.”
Both women looked, and Emily approached one of the cockerels, reaching out to stroke him as he shivered. He made a crowing noise, but he didn’t react beyond that. Emily looked up.
“This one normally tries to bite anyone who comes near. The fact he’s not doing that…”
“I thought it was a reaction to the storm, but I found this.” Travis picked up one of the pellets. “Maybe Connor will know what it is.”
Anna stared at the pellet, her face paling. She practically snatched it out of his hand and inspected it more closely.
“Oh, no,” she whispered. “Not this. No.”
“What is it?”
“Can you smell it?”
She held it up to him, and Travis leaned in to sniff. A familiar scent he’d smelled plenty of times over the years filled his nostrils.
“Charcoal.”
“This is a charcoal briquette, made into small pellets so they can be less obvious. It would’ve been used on the other side of Vernon in a homemade charcoal kiln.” Anna swallowed. “This is poisonous to poultry. If they have too much, it could kill them.”
Travis’s stomach dropped. This was worse than he thought.
“Is there anything we can do?”
“I… I don’t know. I’ve not seen this before.” Anna dropped the pellet onto the ground and mashed it into the soil with her heel. “I don’t know if it was dropped into the trough or if it’s in all of the feed. We’re going to need to check.”
“Mr. Basinger would know what to do,” Emily said. “I could go and fetch him to see if he can help.”
“Do it.” Anna didn’t look at her. “We need to know if we can save my hens.”
Looking worried, Emily hurried off. Travis approached Anna.
“Mr. Basinger?”
“He’s a poultry farmer on the other side of Vernon. He was the one who gave us the new chickens.” Anna wrapped her arms around her middle. “I can’t believe this.”
The words hung silently in the air, neither of them needing to say them. This was still sabotage, and someone was making sure the ranch suffered. Travis wanted to put his arms around her, but she was already shying away from him, her thoughts turning inward.
He heard someone shouting his name and turned to see Connor, Mrs. Mason, and Edwin hurrying over. Connor looked horrified as he slowed, taking in the sight of the chickens.
“Oh, no.”
“Can we do anything for them? Emily said she’s gone to get Mr. Basinger.”
“We’re going to have to wait until he gets here to know what to do.
Right now, we need to get rid of that feed and check the rest in the shed.
” Connor’s expression was now grim. “Then we’ve got to get some more feed, and hope that we can get some from our neighbors until our deliveries come in again. ”
“I can do that,” Edwin offered. “I don’t mind sorting that out.”
Everyone looked at him in surprise, which made Edwin shake his head.
“What now? I’m just trying to help, that’s all. What’s wrong with that?”
“You want to help?” Mrs. Mason sounded suspicious. “I don’t believe that.”
“Do you want to stand around here complaining, or are we going to do something about it?” Edwin asked.
Anna held up her hands. “Enough.” Her voice was tight. “Connor, check the feed and then make sure the rest of the animals are safe and well. If we need to replace the feed, Edwin and Mrs. Mason can go and fetch them.”
“Me?” the cook squeaked.
“Well, I need someone I can trust to make sure nothing happens on the way.”
Edwin pouted.
“That’s one way to find out that you don’t trust your own family,” he grumbled.
Anna fixed him with a hard stare. She didn’t need to say anything.
Edwin hung his head and nodded, turning away and hurrying off, Mrs. Mason following him.
Travis was fascinated by how Anna managed to do that without saying a word.
Connor sighed and ran his fingers through his hair before putting his Stetson back on.
“All right. I’ll go and check the feed in the grain store.”
“I’ll get rid of this.” Anna waved a hand at the trough. “I’ll take it away and burn it all.”
“Let me do it,” Travis insisted, but she shook her head.
“I’ve got this. You just make sure the coop is secure, and the chickens are comfortable.”
“You should be resting…” he began, breaking off when Anna snapped at him.
“Are you telling me what to do now? Someone’s poisoned my chickens. If we stand around here arguing, they’re going to die. Do you want to keep going, or shall we get on with it?”
Travis stared at her, seeing the defiant glare in her eyes.
She was worn out, but she didn’t care. Her ranch was more important.
Swallowing back his rebuttal, he nodded and held up his hands.
Anna picked up the trough and began to carry it slowly away, lifting it over the wire fence. Connor watched her in bemusement.
“Don’t you want any help?” he called.
“I can manage!”
He winced and glanced at Travis.
“She’s going to really snap soon. I can feel it.”
“So much for trying to get her to rest.” Travis rubbed his hands over his face. “How did we not see this? What’s going on?”
“I wish I knew. But I’m sure we might get some answers from Mrs. Mason if she’s going with Edwin to collect more feed.”
“You think he’s the one who poisoned the chickens, do you?”
Connor gave him a stern look.
“Don’t you? Given that he was the one to look after the chicken coop yesterday, and he’s very eager to help right now. I wouldn’t put it past him.”
Travis couldn’t help but agree with that. Edwin might deny it, but it was getting harder to think he was innocent.