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Chapter Thirty-one

Vaughn tipped her hat back to scratch her forehead. Then she readjusted it and looked back down at her clipboard. She was doing inventory, waiting for her new stallion to be delivered. Behind her, she could hear Em cleaning the stallion’s new stall, while Wyatt continued cleaning on down the line. The two new hands were helping a lot, but Vaughn was finding that they still weren’t enough, especially with the new business they were drawing, thanks to the updated website.

She’d sold four horses since the website had been up and she had two more people showing serious interest.

“You want straw alone in here, boss lady?” Em asked her.

Vaughn turned and examined the cleaned area, then looked at Em who was leaning on a broom brush.

“Or do you want a mix of pellets and shavings to welcome him in?”

“You’ve done your homework,” Vaughn said, impressed.

“I asked June. I know how important it is to surround a new horse with things he’s familiar with. And June said he’s used to sleeping on wood pellets and shavings.”

“Nice work. And yes, to answer your question, go ahead and use the pellets and shavings.”

“Will do.” She propped the broom brush up against the wall. “I could also make up a sweet mix for him to munch on. Might make the welcome a little sweeter.”

“Go ahead,” Vaughn said. “But don’t give him too much. We don’t want to upset his stomach.”

Em nodded and left the stall. She walked down the line of shelves and hoisted up a bag of wood pellets and carried it back to the stall. Vaughn watched as she slit the bag open with a small knife she pulled from her back pocket. Next she spread the pellets along the rubber mat on the floor, making a nice bed for their new stallion.

Em seemed to be getting along wonderfully. She was a farm kid, had grown up with horses on her family’s farm in Wyoming. She’d just recently moved to the Valley and she’d been looking for work similar to what she’d had back home. Vaughn had been impressed by her detailed résumé as well as her references. For a young woman of twenty, she had ten references singing her praises about her work ethic and know how. And from what Vaughn could see so far, those references had known what they spoke of.

“What’s his name?” Em asked as she walked down the line of shelves again, looking for shavings.

“Midnight,” Vaughn said.

Em chuckled. “Seems fitting, doesn’t it?”

“For this ranch? It sure does.”

“Well, maybe it’s a sign,” she said as she lifted two bags of shavings onto her shoulder. “That he’s meant to be here.”

“Maybe,” Vaughn said. Em slit open the bag of shavings. But before she spread them with the fork, she stood and unbuttoned her shirt. She peeled it off and tossed it along the stall wall. Wearing only a form-fitting white tank top, she began spreading the shavings on top of the wood pellets.

For a petite thing she sure was strong. And she had the defined muscles to prove it. Vaughn recalled being that young and boisterous, able to do almost anything without the stab of pain. But those were times long ago.

“Hey,” a voice said. Vaughn glanced over to see Natalie slowly leading O’Malley into the stables.

“Hey.”

She walked up and joined her, her gaze going from Vaughn to Em, where it lingered. “She’s working hard,” she said. But it didn’t sound like a compliment or an innocent observation. It sounded more like an accusatory statement, like Em was doing something wrong.

It confused Vaughn, but she shook it off, sure she’d just misunderstood her tone. Natalie had, after all, been acting a little differently lately. Vaughn had tried to read into her mood swings, but it had done her little good, because she still hadn’t been able to figure out what was wrong.

“Yes, she is,” Vaughn responded. “She’s a good worker.”

“Mm. I suppose.”

Vaughn raised her eyebrow, but Natalie moved on.

“I hear you bought a stallion.”

“I did. He should arrive here soon as a matter of fact.” She looked beyond Natalie and out into the ranch, searching for a truck pulling a horse trailer. She saw nothing but Greer in the corral grooming a horse.

“That must be exciting,” Natalie said.