Page 84 of The Talk of Coyote Canyon

She looked up in surprise. “Utah? What’re they doing going clear down there?”

“An old friend from Anaconda told Stuart about a pump puller that’s for sale. Since we need another one, he went down to grab it—was afraid he’d lose it if he delayed by even a day—and Leo wanted to go with him.”

“Why didn’t he call me to say he was leaving?”

Zeus came up beside him and nudged Hendrix’s leg, looking for a scratch. Hendrix complied as he answered. “He tried. You didn’t pick up.”

She pulled her phone out of her purse and must’ve seen the missed calls because she seemed satisfied. “How long will they be gone?”

“If all goes well, they’ll head home tomorrow.” Hendrix dug his key fob from his pocket and approached the door.

“Where are you going?” she asked.

He didn’t want to get specific. So many of the errands he needed to run should’ve been done Monday or Tuesday, when he’d been helping Ellen, and she might recognize that and call him out on all he hadn’t accomplished this week. “I’ve got a laundry list of things to do.”

“I wonder if Ellen knows about Jay’s well,” she said. “Sally told me someone wrote ‘Ellen’s a bitch,’ on the chicken coop.”

Her satisfied smirk irritated Hendrix, but he tried not to show it. “Jay didn’t mention that,” he lied. “So...was it meant to be an attack on her or on Jay?”

“Probably both of them,” she said.

And Lynn just happened to be mad at both. He wanted more information, but he knew that was all the clarity he was going to get—from her. She was already calling Stuart back. As he filled his water bottle at the cooler by the door, he heard her say, almost gleefully, “You’ll never believe what happened to the Haslem well...”

Twenty

Did you sabotage the well?

Ellen had typed that text, intending to send it to Jordan, but hadn’t done it yet. If it wasn’t him, she was afraid it’d be a mistake to engage him.

On the other hand, he might say something that would convince her one way or the other, and she was so eager to learn who’d poured that bag of concrete down the Haslem well she almost couldn’t stop herself from hitting Send.

“Did you do it?” she asked out loud. She was home alone, exhausted after staying up so late with Hendrix, then working in such a stressful situation all day—not sure whether she’d be able to save the well or not. She was relieved it had worked out but still angry at whoever had caused the problem in the first place. And she was tired enough that she wasn’t getting anything else done.

“I bet you did,” she said and finally hit Send.

She didn’t get an answer. She hoped that meant he’d blocked her and gone home, that the brief Jordan era of her life was over once and for all. It would suck not to be able to figure out who’d vandalized the Haslem well and written on the coop, but if it meant the dentist from Libby was out of her life for good, she figured she could live with the mystery.

She was just about to make herself climb off the bed, where she’d been relaxing since showering after work. She had to replace the pipes under the sink in her guest bath. Now that she had the parts, she’d been meaning to do that for the past several days. And it wasn’t yet seven o’clock. She hoped to accomplish a few more things before going to bed. But she decided to make a few calls in search of a new driller first.

She posted a couple of online ads but knew she could probably make something happen faster if she asked around to find out who the seniors were at Coyote Canyon High. Someone graduating this spring who didn’t plan on attending college might make a good candidate for a driller. That was how she’d found Ben. Brant knew Ben’s mother and had mentioned that Ellen was looking for help. Then Ben had contacted her to see if he could come and meet with her.

Maybe something like that would happen again, except...she was hoping to get an employee with a little more life experience this time. It would be better if she could hire someone who was a few years older, maybe twenty-two to twenty-four.

Propping several pillows behind her back, so that she could lean against the headboard, she sat up taller and dialed Ross Moore, who’d given her the opportunity to get into the business.

“There you are, girl. I thought maybe you’d forgotten about me,” he said when he answered.

She smiled at the rich baritone of his voice. He was a gruff old guy—had been drilling for years. But he had a soft spot for her, and she knew it. He wouldn’t have done all the things he’d done otherwise. She hadn’t been a likely candidate for a driller, especially at that age. But he’d taught her and encouraged her and had always rooted for her success. “I could never forget about you,” she said.

“Good. You back in town? If so, let’s grab some dinner.”

“Unfortunately, I’m not in Anaconda at the moment. I’m still in Coyote Canyon, but I would love to do dinner with you. I’ll call you next time I’m back that way.”

“Sounds good. I ran into your mother on Monday.”

“What was she doing? Should I be embarrassed?” He, of all people, knew what she’d been up against with Jan. He’d witnessed a lot of her mother’s dysfunction when Ellen worked for him. But he blamed Stuart for not taking care of his ex more than he blamed Jan for her own actions. Ross was generous with women; not so much with other men.

“No. You should be proud. She hit me up for a job.”

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