Page 42 of The Rancher

“Good morning, Will. Did you have the night shift again?”

“Yes, ma’am. Matter of fact, I was just about to call you. I think one of Junebug’s colts is sick. He’s been lying down all morning and not even his brother could get him up.”

She hurried to Junebug’s stall and saw the baby. Ray still hadn’t named the colts yet so they were baby one and baby two. Baby two was ill.

Lyris looked into the colt’s eyes and discovered the pupils were just about pinpoints. He’d been drugged. She ran to her office and got some activated charcoal, a universal antidote usedon humans, horses and other animals. She had it mixed with sorbitol, which acted as a laxative and hurried the poison out of the animal.

She mixed the charcoal with water and filled a large syringe, just as she’d done for Stormchaser. She wondered how the colt had gotten poison, then she remembered that sometimes they would cover the ends of a small handful of hay with the molasses, to give them a special treat.Was that what had happened here?

Wiping her fingers along the colt’s lips she felt the telltale stickiness left by the molasses.

“Will, I need your help to get the antidote into the colt, would you come into the stall, please?”

“Sure.” He left the shotgun outside the stall before entering and closing the gate behind him. “What do you need me to do?”

“Hold his mouth open so I can get the syringe in and put this into his stomach.”

“Gotcha.” He settled next to the colt and opened the baby’s mouth. “Here you go.”

Lyris emptied the syringe into the baby’s stomach. She looked over at Will with tears in her eyes. “Thanks. I appreciate the help.” Then she ran her hand over colt number two’s neck. “He’ll appreciate it too, hopefully soon.”

“Will you need me to be here to help with the next dose?”

“No, Ray will be here by then. You need to get some sleep. You’ve been up all night.”

He yawned. “Yeah, I could definitely use some.”

She watched Will leave and stayed with the colt.

Ray arrived quickly. He was slightly out of breath, like he’d run from the car.

He entered the stall and shut the gate behind him. “How is he?”

Lyris was sitting on the floor with the colt’s head in her lap. “I think he’ll make it but if Will hadn’t been so vigilant we could have lost him. Will’s a good man. You should promote him. He’d make a great stable master.”

Ray nodded. “I already did. He never complains even when he draws the late shift two nights in a row. Every other ranch hand complains. He’s good with the horses and even his coworkers. He doesn’t yell but always remains calm. I don’t think I could find a better stable master and I like to promote from within.”

She nodded. “I believe you’re right. He needs to make sure someone else gets the overnight shift. I know it wasn’t my place but I sent him off to bed. He deserves to get some rest.”

“Do you have everything you need for the colt?”

She petted the baby’s neck and down to his stomach. It was gurgling. She could feel it and that was good. It meant the charcoal was doing its job. “I’m good, and I’m hopeful this little one will be okay. We need to figure out how someone got in here and poisoned him. I mean, I think I know how it was done.” She explained about the molasses. “What I can’t understand is why? Why kill a baby horse?” She choked on the last words.

Ray went on his knees beside her and then pulled her into his arms.

She buried her face in his chest. She wanted to cry but more than that she was angry for what could have happened if she’d been any later. She pulled back and looked into his eyes. They were glassy with unshed tears.

Lyris realized then that he was as affected by the situation as she was.

Ray tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. “I don’t know why or how anyone could be so cruel. From now on, I’ll be locking the barn at night. And I’m putting my security team on it. I’ll make sure they have at least two men, one at each door tothe building, patrolling every night. No one will get in again. I guarantee it. I’ll have Will make up a new schedule.”

She nodded into his chest, not willing to let the tender moment end so soon. Finally, after a few minutes of just holding each other in silence, she pulled back and gazed up into his face.

He looked down and then lowered his head. His lips pressed against hers in a gentle kiss. Feeling him pull back, she placed her hand at the back of his head and kissed him deeper.

Lyris didn’t want the kiss to end. She swiped her tongue against his lips, and joy raced through her when he opened. She didn’t hesitate but entered and tasted him, dueled with him and loved him to the best of her ability in this moment. Her heart pounded as she looked up at him. She knew she loved him. He’d been so patient, waiting for her to discover it on her own.

“A penny for your thoughts.” He reached up and brushed her lower lip with his thumb.