Wyoming True - Diana Palmer Page 0,15
“My poor girl!” She looked at the cuts. “This was no accident,” she said icily.
“Looks like somebody did this on purpose,” Laredo said. His eyes narrowed.
Her heart ran wild. Was Bailey here? Or had one of his shady friends come right onto her ranch and damaged her horse? It was the sort of low-down, sneaky, mean thing he would do, and she knew it. Laredo, judging by his demeanor, was thinking the same thing.
“Have you called the vet?” she asked.
He nodded. “He’s on his way.”
* * *
SHE WRAPPED HER arms around herself and winced at the horse’s pain. Gold was still shying away from Laredo, and she was making nervous whinnies. Nearby, she heard the palomino’s colt whimpering, as if he understood that his mother was ailing. Ida had become fond of the mare since she’d been living in Catelow. She rode her occasionally, as she rode Silver, another of her small herd of palominos with a beautiful white mane, and the colt’s sire, but the cowboys mostly took care of the horses. She’d always loved to ride, but now she was afraid of large animals, afraid of any more injuries that would require surgery. It had been so painful...
The sound of a truck pulling up outside gathered everyone’s attention. A young veterinarian came in the door, straight to the patient.
* * *
HE GREETED IDA, introduced himself as Dr. Mulholland and spent a few minutes examining the animal. He winced. “Well, I don’t find any more injuries, just these cuts. Who would have done this?” he added angrily, turning to Ida.
“At a guess, somebody sent by my ex-husband, who just got out of jail,” she said tightly. “He’s made threats.”
The vet’s eyes blazed. “He should be arrested and put back in jail.”
“Chance would be a fine thing,” she said sadly. “I can’t prove he was responsible. Not yet, at least.”
“If you can, I’ll be happy to testify.”
“Thank you,” she said sincerely.
He applied locals and stitched the cuts, then gave the animal an antibiotic injection, just in case, to prevent infection.
The vet sighed as he put up his tools. “If you don’t see any improvement, or if you see evidence of infection, call me, anytime. I’m always available. So is my wife, Ashley.”
“Thanks a million,” Ida said sincerely. “I love my horses.”
He smiled. “We both love anything with fur. Or without it.” He laughed. “I have one patient who’s twenty feet long and weighs over a hundred pounds.”
“Twenty feet long?” she exclaimed.
“He’s an albino python. Lovely creature, with white and yellow scales and red eyes.”
She shivered delicately. “I’m not a reptile person. I like warm-blooded things,” she laughed.
“It takes all kinds,” he said and smiled. “You call if you need us, okay?”
“That’s a deal. And thanks for coming so promptly.”
* * *
“SHE’LL BE ALL RIGHT, I think,” Laredo told her later when they were alone, in his deep, calm voice. “I’ll make spot checks out here at night. But our biggest problem is going to be who did it. You know who I suspect.”
She sighed wearily. “Yes, I know. I have the same suspicion.” She grimaced. “Why would anyone hurt a helpless animal?”
“Some men love it. They get a feeling of power. They get off on hurting things.” He wasn’t even looking at her. His hands were jammed in the pockets of his jeans and he was staring sightlessly across the pasture, reliving some trauma in his past, perhaps.
“What about Silver and the other horses?” she asked miserably.
“I’ve got a remote camera set up, and I sleep light. I’ll be watching.”
She nodded. “Do whatever you have to.”
“That I will.”
As she walked back to the house, she remembered what he’d said about men who hurt animals loving power and being aroused by it. Maybe something had happened to him, in his past, that had prompted his odd comment. But she didn’t want to get personal, even with a bodyguard, so she put it out of her mind.
* * *
A WEEK LATER there was a dinner party that she was invited to. She hadn’t really planned to go, but the hostess, Pam Simpson, was almost aggressive about it, pleading.
“You have to come. The numbers won’t work, and nobody else is free,” she lied. “Just for me, Ida. Please?”
Ida felt those words like bricks. Pam wasn’t malicious, but it was obvious that she needed a female body in place, not a friend.
“That was tactless,” Pam amended. “I could find somebody else, but I want you to come. Would you?”
“I’ll be accused of trying to