Page 43 of Tom's Chance
“If this is the second horse that is having the same problem, then there might be something in the pasture he’s keeping them in. I wonder if he would reject me telling him to move his horses to a different location until he can find what they’re walking on to tear their feet up like they currently are.”
“If he doesn’t like your suggestion, I’ll tell him what to do.” Erin interjected. “I know Jared, I don’t think he’s the type not to take direction from a woman, but you could always say that he’s throwing away good money on your services if he won’t investigate what they’re walking on.”
“There is that.” She nodded and Erin left them. “Damn, I was going to ask if you wanted to come to my place for dinner tonight? I stuck a roast with veggies in the crockpot this morning.”
“If you don’t mind me being in your house by myself, I can go there when I’m done here. I’m anticipating at least four hours of inventory. Maybe more.”
“Will you feed Rose and Baby?”
“I can do that.”
“Thanks,” she said and started to lean in and kiss him, but stopped halfway and laughed when he grabbed her and brought her the rest of the way to him.
“Until later,” he whispered against her lips and let her go.
Lorissa hurried to her truck, then swore when she realized she’d have to run home, grab her tools, then head out to Jared’s ranch. She nodded as she got into work mode and did what she had to do. On the way to her house, she made a mental note to make sure she had a medical bag in her truck at all times.
CHAPTER 17
Lorissa sighed heavilyas she lowered the horse’s foot to the ground and nodded when the horse didn’t favor it like she had when she had first arrived. It had taken her two hours to get to her destination, she’d worked for three hours on the horse, now she had another two hours to get home. She cleaned and sterilized her tools, packed them up, then looked up when Jared joined her.
“She should be okay now, I’ll swing by in a couple of days to check on her. I don’t know if you’re going to like this, but I have a suggestion.”
“What’s that? Because I’m going to tell you right now, if I have to call you out for another horse with the same problem, I won’t be able to afford your services.”
“Okay, now hear me out. You have two horses in a span of about a month that have the same problem.Based on what I saw of their feet, there is something in their pasture that is tearing them up. If you can, I suggest you move them to a different pasture, then walk the area and see if you can’t find what they’re stepping on, or even get one of those metal detectors to help you look.” She shook her head sadly when he went to speak. “Or keep them in their stalls. There’s something out there that is hurting your horses.”
“I agree, and I think I’ll leave them in their stalls until I can get that detector. I ordered one online a few days ago and should be here by tomorrow or the next day at the latest.”
“Good, at least you care enough to do something about it. I wish you luck and I’ll be back out in three days. Now, I’m going to head home, but I’m going to sit in my truck and call the person waiting for me at home that I’m leaving here. I don’t want them to worry.”
“Good, do you have a travel mug with you?”
“I do, why?”
“Because I have a fresh pot of coffee on. Let me at least fill the mug for your ride home. It was after four when I called you, and it’s almost ten at night.”
“That would be heavenly.” She picked up her bag and carried it to the truck. As she handed him the mug, she grinned. “Black, please.”
“Coming right up.” Jared left and after Lorissa climbed into her truck, she picked up her phone and dialed.
“Stolls,” came the deep reply after the second ring.
“Tom, it’s me, Lorissa.”
“Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m done. Jared’s filling my travel mug with coffee for the ride home. If you haven’t eaten already, go ahead and do so.”
“I did, and I’ll wait until you get home, if you don’t mind.”
“I don’t. I don’t think I’ll run into a lot of traffic this time of night, maybe through town, but other than that, I should be home by midnight.”
“I’ll be here.” He reassured her and they hung up. She looked up and rolled the window down when she spotted Jared still a few feet away.
“It’s not much, but here’s a package of crackers to hold you over.”
“Thanks, I had put a roast in the crockpot at seven this morning. I think it might be done by now.” They shared a laugh, then Jared stepped back as Lorissa got underway. It was a long, dark, no moon night, and the roads were empty. She drove with her high beams on, and never encountered another vehicle. When she entered the town of Fool’s Gold, she lowered her lights, drove the speed limit, and sat at the one traffic light in the entire town. As soon as it turned green, she passed Gunny’s bar, and still driving at the lower speed limit, she drove through town. About two blocks down from Gunny’s in the center of the business district, bright lights appearedin her rearview mirror blinding her. She didn’t jerk the wheel, but reached up to adjust the mirror, then screamed as she was hit from behind and lost control of the steering wheel. The last thing she remembered was screaming as she spun out from being hit again in the rear of her truck, then the side door where she sat came crashing in on her leg. She felt extreme pain and screamed louder than before. She would never remember doing it, but when she’d reached up to adjust the rear mirror, she’d hit the button to call for help. She never answered them, but they heard what happened, and called for help.
