Page 34 of Wyoming True

He laughed coldly to himself. He was certain that he never wanted to see Ida again.

CHAPTER SIX

“WHAT’SGOINGON?” Ida asked Laredo as she closed the front door behind him.

“We’ve had a break-in,” he told her quietly. “Somebody got past the security cameras and beat one of the horses. He’s got deep cuts on his flanks, just like Gold.”

“Again?” she exclaimed. “Which horse?” she added in horror.

“The one you call Rory,” he replied. “The saddle horse.”

She was sorry about Rory, but she was fondest of Gold and Silver, and she felt guilty at being relieved that it wasn’t Silver.

“What have you done about it?” she asked.

“Had the vet come out,” he said. “I figured that’s what you’d want me to do.”

“Of course,” she said. She bit her lower lip. “Did you call Sheriff Banks?” she added.

He looked faintly irritated. “No.”

“Well, do it,” she said angrily. “Bailey isn’t getting away with this! If there’s evidence that points to him, the sheriff is the obvious one to look for it. He has an investigator. Ask him to bring the man with him.”

“I’ll do that,” he said.

“Two horses with injuries within a month,” she said, her eyes blazing with anger. “I want security cameras everywhere. I don’t care what it costs! Get some of those trail cameras that hunters use. They’re Wi-Fi capable and they record everything. Make sure they have Wi-Fi and color and night vision.”

“Okay,” he said.

“Damn,” she bit off. “Any man who’d hurt a helpless animal should be put on the rack!”

“Wrong century,” he pointed out.

She glared at him. “Jail, then, and for years.”

He shrugged. “Some men don’t like animals.”

“Yes, but on this ranch, nobody is going to injure one. Get busy.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he said in his lazy drawl. “I’ll get right on it.”

He went out the door and Ida cursed until she ran out of bad words. It wasn’t until she’d gone to bed that she realized Jake had still been sitting in the yard in his limousine when she let Laredo into the house.

She groaned inwardly. That was going to look bad. The bodyguard was well built and handsome, and Jake already didn’t quite trust her. What had he thought? If he thought Ida had something going with Laredo, he might not come back.

That thought haunted her. She’d already become fascinated with Jake, who seemed to be everything a true man should be. But he didn’t trust her, and that was part of any relationship; there had to be trust. She wondered how in the world she could win his.

THEPAINHADbeen bad. She’d gone out to see Rory, her saddle horse, and winced at the deep cuts on his flanks. She stood beside the vet while he used a local and stitched them, muttering about the inhumanity of some people. She agreed with him, angry herself that it could have happened twice. She mentioned that to the vet, who said that he’d be happy to testify if she could find the scoundrel who was responsible. She said she’d talk to the sheriff the very next day and follow up on Laredo’s call to him.

Later, when she was certain that Rory would heal, and when she’d checked worriedly on Gold, recovering in a nearby stall from similar injuries, she’d taken the ibuprofen with a few crackers and cheese, and an antacid. It was helping. It didn’t stop the pain entirely, but it was effective. At least it would deal with the inflammation.

There were narcotics that would have done a better job for pain, but Ida wouldn’t ask for them. She had no wish to become addicted to something that probably wouldn’t work for very long anyway. Anti-inflammatories were quite effective, and the pain was something she’d learned to live with.

She closed her eyes and finally fell asleep.

The next morning she was awakened by a knock at the door. When she opened it, in her long, concealing thick robe, she found Sheriff Banks on the porch.

He tipped his hat. There was a quiet, friendly smile on his face. The sheriff was ultraconservative and he’d known Ida only by reputation when she’d first moved back to Catelow. He’d talked to Cindy, who filled him in about her reclusive neighbor. And the night Cody had talked with her, when her screams had led Cindy to call the sheriff, a lot of his misgivings about the divorcée had been laid to rest.

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