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Erin waved a hand while Ryan scooped ice into a glass. “Babe, Wiz hiked the Sapphire Crest trail today.” He handed the mocha to Erin, and she placed it on the counter. “How was it?”
Wiz took the glass and sipped. “Delicious.” She raised the glass to Ryan, and he bowed.
Erin laughed. “Do tell. I need a vicarious wilderness experience today.”
Wiz took another drink, the smooth, milky chocolate and coffee mix cool and refreshing. “It was very nice to start, but it got... interesting.” She couldn’t find a better way to describe the experience.
“Oh?” Erin’s eyebrows rose.
“I found a horse. A horse with a saddle and a bridle. So, I caught it, which wasn’t hard, and continued up the trail, and I found the owner. The horse had bucked him off, and then he twisted his ankle. I splinted his ankle, got him back on the saddle, and led the horse back down to my house, loaded him in my van, and took him to the hospital. Then I was driving by here and thought a mocha would taste good.”
Erin and Ryan both just stared at her for a minute, then at each other and back at her. It was kind of funny, but she didn’t smile. She wasn’t sure she remembered how.
Erin blinked. “Really? You didn’t just call out Search and Rescue?”
“No. Why would I do that when I had the capability to help him myself? That would be a waste of taxpayer dollars, and those people are volunteers.” It was funny that they were so amazed, but then she’d shocked herself. Probably why she felt the need to stop here and share. The whole day was unusual and well outside her normal routine.
“Good for you. What did you do with the horse?” Ryan put away the milk.
“Took off the saddle and bridle and left it in my outer perimeter. He said he’d send someone from the ranch to pick it up.” She hoped it was soon because she didn’t have a water bucket out there. An irrigation ditch ran through part of the field, though. The horse could probably find it.
“Ranch? Which ranch?” Erin asked.
“The Rocking B Ranch, which borders my property to the west.”
“Oh! So you met the neighbors. Good for you.” Erin’s grin grew. “What’s his name, anyway? Maybe we know him.”
“Thomas Borde. His dad owns the ranch, and he said he came ‘back’ to help him. He didn’t specify back from where.” But she’d find out. Which made it even stranger that she stopped for a drink; she should be desperately searching through databases. She should call her therapist.
Erin nodded. “The Borde family has been here forever. I think there were Bordes ahead of me in school, but there weren’t any in my class. I’m not sure where Thomas fell in the age range.”
“I will look him up. I looked at his father and his ranch hands and there was nothing troubling in his background. The father has been a rancher here his whole life except one tour in Vietnam.” Her shoulders tightened, and she rolled them back.
“What do you define as trouble?” Ryan wiped the counter.
“Arrests, financial trouble, suspicion of things like arson, assault, sex crimes, domestic abuse, those kinds of things.” Anything that meant a threat to her or her house. Her sanctuary.
Erin shrugged. “That’s a good definition of trouble. You haven’t found anything on anyone in your area, have you?”
“No.” Or she wouldn’t have bought the house. It was too big for her but the best available. She hadn’t wanted to take a year to build a custom home, either.
“Good.” Erin tapped on the counter. “You know, you’re always welcome to hike with us if you want to.”
Wiz shivered. “You go on the weekends, and it’s crowded then.”
“Good point. Still, what if you get in trouble?”
“I have my cell phone, a satellite phone, and an emergency beacon.”
Erin and Ryan both laughed. “Keep us on speed dial. We’ll come rescue you if you ever need it.”
“I think calling Tom Borde might be more practical. He has horses to carry me back.” She wouldn’t, but she wanted to see their reactions.
They both laughed again but looked at each other with eyebrows raised in obvious surprise. Erin turned back to her and frowned. “You trust this guy?”
Too big, too scary. “No. Not really.” She couldn’t hold back a shudder. “But he seemed to be very intelligent, and he now owes me a favor.”
“Yeah, a big one.” Ryan chuckled.
