Page 42 of Rabid

Reality Sucks

Ten minutes after Willow left a message for Louisa, she called. “We’re in the valley for a doctor’s appointment,” Louisa said. “Is Daisy, okay?”

Willow hadn’t told her about the writing on the barn. “She’s doing better,” Willow answered honestly. “Dale is on his way back, and we’ll be okay until he returns.”

“Is the leg broken?”

Dale had told Willow that Louisa was a rancher’s wife, and there were no tougher women born on this earth.

“I don’t think so, just deep cuts, but in one, I can see bone. Dale will know more about it than me.Daisy seems comfortable for now.”

“Give her two aspirin if it’s not bleeding heavily.”

“I wrapped it, but no blood is showing on the outside. I’ll give her the aspirin.”

“Okay. Call if you have questions and send a text when Dale gets there.”

“I will, promise. And thank you for calling me back.”

“We gotta stick together. I’ll let the ranch board know that someone put out a leghold trap. They’re illegal, and we’ll find who did this. They better hope it’s not me who comes across them first. He won’t have a strip of skin left on his backside.”

That made Willow smile.

“They’re calling Roger to the back, so I gotta go.”

“I’ll text as soon as Dale is here,” Willow said.

After disconnecting, she walked to the bedroom window that looked out at the barn. Who would do this? Her father had no family, or at least no one who claimed him. Willow didn’t know anyone around but Dale, Louisa, and Roger. She’d said hello to a few people in town but hadn’t made conversation.

She thought about prison. Because she kept to herself, she was considered conceited. A few of the older inmates stuck up for her because they knew she’d been inside since she was fifteen. Willow couldn’t imagine one of the idiots whotried to provoke her coming up here to terrorize her. They were women, and the print was larger than Dale’s shoes. It made no sense. She didn’t understand how she could have made an enemy.

An hour later, Dale’s truck rolled up. She sent a quick text to Louisa, unlocked the door, and ran outside. Dale pulled her into his arms, but she’d seen the look on his face when his eyes caught the painting on the barn.

“You’re okay,” he murmured against her hair. “I promise that son of a bitch won’t be.” His hold cut her panic in half.

Daisy limped outside and slowly made her way to Dale. He leaned over and picked her up, carrying her back inside the house. His angry expression didn’t change.

He called the sheriff’s department. Three hours later, a deputy arrived to take a report. He was young, maybe Willow’s age, and he showed no compassion for Daisy’s run-in with the trap. He also didn’t want Max anywhere near him, so Willow had to take the dog inside.

The deputy didn’t stay long.

“That moron was a wet-behind-the-ears rookie when I left. Now he’s an arrogant prick.” Dale’s face reddened. “Pardon my choice of words,” he said.

Willow smiled more to relieve Dale’s worry than for herself.

“The deputy barely paid attention when Itold him about the shoeprint and peeping Tom,” he continued. “The entire department is worthless.”

Louisa and Roger showed up soon after the deputy left. Louisa examined Daisy.

“She’s lucky,” Louisa assured them. “Those traps can really injure an animal. I hunt, but I’d never use one of those things, they’re evil.”

Dale slept in the house that night. He used the pullout couch, which had to be uncomfortable, though he didn’t complain.

“We need to order a bed,” she told him the next morning while they drank coffee. “We can put it in the office so you have privacy. I’ll move some clothes and boxes out of the closet and store them in the barn loft so you can have space for your personal things.”

He gave her a long, assessing look. “You’ll get tired of me before you know it.”

Willow walked over, sat beside him, and rested her head on his shoulder. “You’re my grandpa. I’ll never get tired of you.”

---