Page 8

“Okay, good. I don’t want to be there.”

“Any background on Pikeman, the mechanic?”

“Never laid eyes on him before Clay hired him.”

“I ran his name through the database, and he has no record. Is he local?”

“Never talked to him much. He’s a quiet guy and hardly says anything while he’s working on the vehicles.”

“Okay. Don’t worry about it. I’ll work something out to keep you out of it.”

“Best for me,” said Ted.

Wild Stallion Ranch.

As soon as Harlan and I got home from the station, we saidhito Billy then headed for the barn to saddle up for our ride. Harlan was determined to become a better rider so he wouldn’t look like an amateur when the girls came home.

“You think we’ll see the mustangs today?”

“I’ve seen them seven or eight times and you never know how many there will be in the herd. Sometimes one or two and other times, a lot more running together.”

We let the horses run and went for a long gallop to the very back of my thousand acres. No wild horses back there today, but the ride was great all the same.

As we cooled out Outlaw and Windrider and fed them, I noticed a lot of color in Harlan’s face. Being outside agreed with him and made me wonder how long he’d been locked up in Juvie that last time.

I closed the barn doors and as I was walking to the house with Harlan, he received a text and stopped to text back to the girls.

“I’ll go get ready and we’ll take Billy to the Dry Run for dinner.”

Harlan nodded but he was focused on his cell phone.

“We’re done for today.”

“Are you tired?”

“Yep. My butt is sore and my legs too.”

“How did Tammy do?”

“Pretty good. She’s trying hard.”

“Me and Travis went for a long ride right to the back.”

“Tammy is missing you guys bad.”

“What about you?”

“I miss you too.”

“See you Friday.”

“Seems far away.”

“Yep, it does.”

Dry Run Roadhouse.

All the talk at the roadhouse was about Tory Masters being found dead in his bed. Coyote Creek was a small northern town where everybody knew everybody else’s business and they seemed to thrive on it.