Page 35 of The Breakdown

“Well?” Gram said again.

Vaughn stood. She slid the hoof pick into her back pocket. “Holly’s got thrush.”

Gram crossed her arms. “I’ll call the farrier.”

“I can do it.”

“Are you going to answer me?”

Vaughn stroked Holly’s neck. “I’m not going to respond to such a ludicrous question.”

“Ludicrous?” She laughed. “You’re going to be the death of me, do you know it, Vaughn Marie?”

“Just don’t tell her anything else, alright? She doesn’t need to know our business.”

“No, she’s only running the website and learning all the ins and outs of the ranch.”

“Exactly my point. It could be dangerous.”

“If you’re worried then you need to step up and do it yourself. Get over this whole thing with Jeanie. You know we have to have a presence on that inter web or whatever you call it.”

Vaughn narrowed her eyes. “Don’t tell me to get over it or anything else.”

Gram threw up her arms. “Fine. Don’t. But don’t come crying to me when people question your behavior and I have to tell them something so they don’t take it personal and run off when we need them the most.”

Vaughn wanted to argue with her, to tell her she was being ridiculous, but she couldn’t. Gram was making sense and it made her all the more upset. So she chose not to speak, clenching her jaw instead. Movement from down the stable caught her attention and she looked past Gram as Benny walked up, a look of tight concern on his young face.

Now what?

“We got a problem,” he said. “The east fence is down.”

“What?” Impossible, she’d just checked it yesterday evening.

“And it’s not just down. It’s been cut.”

Vaughn bunched her fists, left the stall and Gram behind, and followed Benny out to the Gator. She climbed aboard and he slid in next to her. They took off across the ranch, kicking up dust along the way. They rode in silence until they got to the east fence line where Vaughn slowed at the gaping hole. She climbed out of the Gator and stood looking at the hanging wires with her hat resting against her thigh. She looked up, beyond the fence, and decided to look for tracks. She stepped through the hole and examined the ground. Tire tracks ran back into the desert from the fence line. Big tracks. Like those of a pickup truck. There were also hoofprints.

She turned back to Benny. “How many horses got out?”

“I count four. Maybe more.”

“Shit.” She crawled back into the Gator and Benny followed. They sped back to the stables.

Greer and Gram were waiting for them. Vaughn started barking orders at the boys as she climbed from the Gator. “You two get on some horses and go track down the ones that got away. I’m going to work on repairing the fence.”

“Yes, ma’am,” they said in unison.

“What’s going on?” Gram asked as Vaughn walked up to her.

“Someone’s cut the fence. Left a big hole. Some of the mares got out.”

“Someone really cut it?”

“Looks that way.”

“You think Ricky and Pedro did it?”

“I don’t know who else would’ve.”

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