Taking Charge (Lone Star Burn #4)(61)

Wyatt countered, “I believe we should focus on the reason Ron is here in the first place.”

Ron looked to the sheriff for support. “York says town needs a cleanin’ out for things to be right again. Ain’t that right?”

The sheriff reached for his handcuffs. “We’ll talk about this on the way in, but I’m guessing you’ll need a lawyer.”

David raised a hand. “I’m not pressing charges.”

Wyatt said, “He came here to—”

“People do stupid things when they’re drunk. I’m not saying what he did was right, but it looks like he’s already received his punishment for it. Let’s sober him up and see if we can help out.” He nodded at one of the men. “Get the vet out here.”

The sheriff looked at David in surprise. “Don’t you mean the doctor?”

David shook his head. “No, we’ll get Ron medical attention and call his wife, but first I want to follow up on a hunch I have. I think I know what’s wrong with the horse.”





Chapter Nineteen


On the way back to her ranch, Lucy had decided to talk to David about why he’d looked into the land maps, but when she pulled into the driveway, he and Wyatt walked out of the barn to meet her.

David gave her a quick kiss, but he seemed distracted. Wyatt had the same look about him. “Is everything all right?” Lucy asked.

“Everything’s fine,” David assured her quickly. “Why don’t you go inside and get some work done. This should be over before dinner.”

“Over?” Lucy folded up the list she’d carried from the car to show him and stuffed it in her back pocket. Wyatt and David exchanged a look that only served to make Lucy more convinced they were hiding something.

A truck pulled up behind Lucy’s. The local vet, Ben Farms, stepped out and headed toward them. He was a good-looking man with sandy-blond hair and dark-brown eyes. Locals joked that half his business came from women who said their animals were sick, but just wanted to see him.

Suddenly, David’s reluctance to let her into the barn made sense to Lucy. David didn’t want her to witness what was most likely the vet putting down one of the horses. Lucy tucked her hand into David’s. She hoped it wasn’t the mare he’d spent so much time with. She knew he was emotionally invested in that horse. Even while facing something like that, David was trying to shelter her from seeing it. What David had obviously forgotten was that Lucy had grown up as a rancher’s daughter. Her father hadn’t hidden the harsher side of raising animals from her. “Which horse is it?” she asked softly.

David looked down at her as if trying to read her expression. “I called him out to look at Tia. That’s the mare’s original name. It fits her.”

Lucy leaned against David’s arm in sympathy. There had been chatter among the men at the ranch about how best to deal with the mare. Had David finally agreed with them? Her father would have come to the same conclusion a whole lot sooner. “I’m so sorry.”

“I’m not putting her down,” David said. “In fact, I have an idea what’s wrong with her.”

Lucy would have asked more, but the veterinarian joined them, shaking hands with the three of them in turn.

Ben said, “I brought my portable X-ray machine, but I have to tell you, I’m not going near that horse unless we sedate her first. From what I hear, you’re lucky she didn’t kill Ron.”

David looked at Wyatt as if to say he was disappointed he’d told him.

Wyatt shrugged. “Even if Ron deserved what he got, that horse is too dangerous not to warn Dr. Ben about her.”

To Ben, David said, “Get the sedative; I’ll give it to her. Then we’ll take that X-ray.”

Ben nodded and went to the back of his covered truck to retrieve his supplies.

Lucy tugged on David’s hand until she had his attention. “Are you talking about Michelle’s Ron? When was he here?”

David didn’t look like he wanted to answer at first, then he said, “He’s still here. He’s in the bunkhouse sobering up. He tried to move Tia from one paddock to another this morning, and it didn’t work out well for him. Though Doc Erfe says he looks more banged up than he is.”

“Did you hire Ron to work here?”

“No.”

“Then why would he be here at all?” Lucy didn’t like how no one answered her question. “Does Michelle know?”

“We called her,” Wyatt said sadly. “She said she couldn’t bear to see him like that, so we kept him here instead.”

Lucy went over in her head the conversation she’d had with Michelle that morning. “He’s staying at Ted’s place right now, anyway. Michelle was telling me about it this morning. She was worried for him.”

David watched Ben going to his truck while he answered, “She was right to be.”

“She said Ted’s place is like some kind of dangerous cult.”

Wyatt said, “I doubt there’s much religion over there, but he definitely knows how to get inside a man’s head.”

Ben returned with a syringe and metal box he had suspended from a handle, and Lucy temporarily dropped the subject. The four of them turned and walked into the barn. They stopped in front of the stall where Tia was being kept. David said, “I hope I’m right about what’s bothering her.”