Page 80 of Her Guarded Hero

Dalton could see Crystal’s wheels turning. “So, you plan to go pay Freddy a visit?”

“Oh yeah.”

“And you want me to make sure that Aurora doesn’t go with you.”

“I’m morally opposed to laying hands on a pregnant woman, even if it’s for her own good,” Dalton said.

“Were you here last night?” Crystal asked.

“Yes.”

“Then don’t bullshit me, because I’m betting there was a whole hell of a lot of laying on of hands going on.”

Dalton bellowed out a laugh and looked into Crystal’s twinkling eyes.

“I don’t kiss and tell,” he said.

“Okay, Dalton, thanks for filling me in. I’ll keep her ass planted here at Valhalla. Are you expecting trouble down at Sutter Creek?”

“We always prepare for the worst and hope for the best,” Dalton answered. That’s why we’re all going to go pay a little visit.”

“Not Lindy though, right? She needs to stay with us. It’s been too damn long since she’s been in town, so you don’t get to have her,” Crystal said as she planted her fists on her hips.

“Whatever keeps you happy Crystal. You scare me.”

* * *

Aurora watched and listened to the two men on the Skype call. She was impressed with their knowledge about the horse industry on the West Coast. She was amazed how they had been able to zero in the Windsor Breeding Stables near Sutter Creek. For God’s sake, she knew Freddy Windsor, she’d talked to him six months about breeding one of her mares with one of his stallions. She damn well knew that she’d warned him that Ned Little was bad news. Fine, Ned hadn’t given him his real name, but she’d sent Freddy his picture. He should have known better.

The Navy SEAL, Jack Preston, was talking. “Dad had our foreman call around to ranches all around the Western United States. His cover story was that he’d run up against a new form of animal abuse at our ranch and that we’d just had the asshole prosecuted for harming the horses. Our foreman, Enrique, was calling around to other ranches to find out if anybody else had found inhumane practices that were being done to horses by any of their employees that had floated under the radar. When the foreman called Windsor, they were told nothing had happened.”

“I’m not surprised,” her uncle Tate said. “Windsor has a good reputation.”

“Well it won’t for long,” Jack said. “Two days later, Enrique talked to their former foreman who had moved to a spread in Arizona, the man explained how an employee by the name of Brett Sanders was caught using a wire-snaffle bit on some horse.”

“God no.” Aurora’s hand shot up to cover her mouth.

“What’s that?” Dex asked.

She looked around the table and saw that her grandfather and uncles looked as sick as she felt. “Depending on the gauge of the wire, to the horse, it’s like using barb wire in their mouth as a bit. They’ll stop on a dime, move in any direction at the slightest pull on the reins just so that the bit doesn’t go deeper into their mouth. How’s the horse?” She asked Jack Preston.

“Not good,” Jack answered.

Aurora remembered when she’d found Lily hang-tied in the trailer. She should have just shot Ned and buried him in the woods. Dalton squeezed her hand underneath the table. She looked up at him, had he read her mind?

“Why did the foreman think that was Ned Little?” Gunnar asked.

“He said that Freddy’s policy was to hire people under the table, so false names were normal. Enrique texted over a picture of Ned Little to this guy in Arizona and he said Brett and Ned were the same guy.”

“I don’t get it,” Aurora said. “Why would Freddy be covering for him?”

“We’re going to have a little talk with him today and find out,” Dalton said.

“I can’t wait to see what he has to say for himself,” Aurora growled.

“Whoa there Sunshine. You’re not going anywhere,” Dalton said squeezing her hand again.

She shook it off and pushed her chair away from him. “What are you talking about?”