Page 32 of Tempting Fate
“Well, what do you know? The crazy bitch lives. I was starting to wonder if you’d given yourself rabies and died.”
She balled her hands into fists and kicked herself a thousand times for answering the phone. “Make this quick, Butch, I’ve got stuff to do.”
“I hope one of those things is picking up your horse, because there’s no more room at the inn. If he’s not out by tomorrow, I’m selling him to the highest bidder.”
She’d been offered fifteen thousand dollars for the gelding and Butch knew it. And he was just mean enough to sell her prized horse right out from under her.
“Tomorrow, give me a break. It’s Sunday. The deal was you’d keep him until I found a stable to board him.”
“Not indefinitely, and your time is up. Get him or kiss him goodbye. I’m not kidding, Raylene. I’ve been trying to reach you for days. I’ve got two new quarter horses that need that space.”
The man was a jackass. “If you sell Gunner I’ll go back to court, so help me God.”
“Good, talk to the judge, Raylene, because I’m not listening.” Click.
Gabe watched her tuck the phone back in her pocket. “What was that about?”
“He’s giving me until tomorrow to get my horse from his ranch in Colorado or he’s threatening to sell him.”
“You got a plan?”
She lifted her face to the roof of his SUV and let out a sigh. “No. I don’t have a trailer, a driver, or a place to board him.” Or any money. “And I’ve got my brother’s wedding in three hours.”
* * * *
With three phone calls, Gabe solved the problem. But just for kicks he’d like to fly to Denver himself and beat the shit out of Butch. He got it; Raylene was no cake walk. But only a special kind of douchebag threatens to sell a person’s beloved pet.
“Weezer said he’d do it?” Logan flipped the toggles on a pair of cuff links.
“Yep. He’s living in Boulder now and can score a trailer. He also said ‘fuck you’ for not inviting him to your wedding.”
“Seriously? The fire marshal cut us off at one hundred and fifty people. Annie has a million friends.” Logan nudged his head at the longneck Gabe held between his legs. “You going to drink that?”
Gabe handed it to him. “Nervous?”
“Nope.”
“Then how come you’re sweating?”
“It’s hot in here.”
Gabe got up and cracked a window. “We just need a place for Wilbur, and I’m guessing Annie doesn’t want him eating her crop of hay, so the farm’s out of the question.”
“Maybe Flynn or Clay have room at their places until we can build a corral.”
“We?” After the wedding Logan and Annie were on their way to a sandy beach in Hawaii. “Don’t worry, I’ll handle it.” The problem was he didn’t know if Flynn or Clay would be accommodating once they learned it was for Raylene. Lucky was certainly out of the question. But Logan didn’t need to worry about Raylene’s horse less than an hour before his wedding.
“How’s it going in here?” Nick came through the door, dressed in a tux, looking like a million bucks.
“You two need some alone time?” Gabe asked.
“Yeah, beat it.” Nick opened the door and squeezed Gabe’s shoulder on the way out.
Gabe figured Nick wanted to do some father-son bonding before Logan took his vows and went in search of something stiffer than a beer. Downstairs, he found Chad stuffing his face with cheese and crackers.
“What? I’m starved.”
“I didn’t say anything.” Gabe opened the pantry, grabbed a bottle of Glenlivet, and poured himself two fingers. “You want one?”
