Page 2

She managed to steer the Chevy over to the side of the road just before it died.

“Great. Just great.” She switched off the engine and tried to restart it. No dice. Only now there was white smoke rising from under the hood. She smacked the wheel again and cursed loudly.

Ahead of her, lightning split the deep blue sky and thunder rumbled viciously overhead. The interior of the car grew increasingly stifling, causing her to crank down her windows. But the outside air was just as stifling, and the acrid smell of the smoke made her cough.

She rested her head on the steering wheel, trying to think her way out of the predicament. She felt trapped, helpless, just like she had growing up in the foster care system. She’d had no control back then, no way out of those often times awful situations, and the feelings of déjà vu were almost overwhelming. She sat up and searched for her phone, but nothing came to mind as to how she could escape. She stared at the phone long and hard. Who would she call? What would she say?

Her roommate. She’d call Gayle and ask for her help.

She dialed her and placed the phone to her ear. But there was no connection. No service.

She threw the phone into the passenger floorboard and reached into one of the grocery bags. She dug out the Pepperidge Farm cookies and tore into the bag.

As she began to stuff her face with crunchy mint chocolate decadence, she closed her eyes and finally allowed herself to cry.

Chapter Two

“Vaughn, how you been?” Harry Townsend asked as he handed her her receipt.

“I’ve been getting by,” she said as she took her bags full of saddle butter, coat conditioner, and horse treats. Normally she would’ve said she was fine. Most folks said they were just fine. But Vaughn was aware that Harry knew better, and she wasn’t one to lie.

“Yeah?” he said, raising a bushy white eyebrow. “Anything you wanna share?”

Vaughn had known Harry Townsend all her life. He’d owned the feed and supply store in the Deer Valley area for over fifty years. He was a longtime family friend and she knew he was only asking out of concern.

She sighed as she adjusted her cowboy hat. “I suppose you heard about Ricky and Pedro.” They were her two latest hires, and as of this morning, they were MIA.

Harry looked beyond her to where his grandson Riley had just entered the store. He nodded toward him. “Say, Ri. You hear anything about those new ranch hands over at Vaughn’s?”

Riley sauntered over to the counter and pulled off his John Deere ball cap to scratch his head.

“They’re over at the Cherry Blossom.” He blushed, as if just saying the name of the run-down strip club was somehow sinning.

“The Cherry Blossom?” Harry let out.

Riley’s blush deepened. “Yes, sir. They been there since lunch according to Bobby Dillinger.”

Harry cleared his throat as if the name Bobby Dillinger had somehow choked him. “I wouldn’t put too much on that now, Vaughn. Dillinger’s no good.”

“He’s no good,” Riley said. “But he wouldn’t make something like that up. Besides, I seen Ricky’s old pickup in the parking lot of the Cherry Blossom when I went to fill up across the street.”

Vaughn sighed. “I should’ve known.” She shouldn’t have hired two men without decent references. But she’d been in a bind and needed the workers desperately. Now she was paying the price for taking such a risk while they were at the Cherry Blossom, eating cheap wings from the lunch buffet and drinking way too many cheap beers.

“It waddn’t your fault, Vaughn,” Harry said. “You were just trying to find some workers.”

“I’m afraid it’s a little more complicated than that, Harry. I been suspecting they were abusing drugs for some time now, the way they been acting on the job you see, so I told them I wanted a drug test. They refused and I threatened to fire them if they didn’t comply.”

“You did, did ya? Well, I don’t blame you none for that, Vaughn. But it looks like they decided to save you the hassle of firing them.”

“Seems so. They were mighty pissed when they left yesterday. So I can’t say I’m too surprised that they didn’t show today.”

“I reckon not.” He stroked his stubbled jaw. “You ain’t the only one hurting for good workers neither.”

“Yeah, I know.” Truth was, every business around was looking for people who were still willing to put in a hard day’s work. But they were few and far between since the COVID pandemic. At least that had been Vaughn’s experience.

“I’ll keep my ear to the ground for ya, Vaughn,” Harry said. “See if I hear as to what their plans are, if anything.”

“I appreciate that, Harry.”