Sunset Ridge (8 page)

“Missed you at breakfast this morning,” Gray said.

“Yeah, I just got back from the hospital. Uncle Bob’s going to sit with her while I try to get some work done.” Although Raleigh had something to do with Ram’s breakfast refusal, he also didn’t want to deal with his lingering feelings of unease around Gray. “Besides, I thought I’d stay out of the line of fire at the breakfast table.”

“No bullets fired this morning unless she used a silencer. I’m sure it’ll be a few days before she’s willing to talk to me again. I could’ve used the company.”

Ram refused to apologise for missing the meal so he kept quiet. He’d needed Gray’s company the previous night, but, once again, Raleigh had come between them.

“You still there?” Gray asked.

“Yep, just going over the vaccination schedule for the pregnant mares. It looks like three of them are due for their nine month rhino vaccination. Good planning, by the way, I’d say the foals should drop right near the first of the year.”

“Good. I’d like to go over the list of available brood mares and get them matched up with a couple of our newest stallions. Can you spare an hour or so?”

Ram had to remind himself that a daily meeting with Gray was part of the job. “Yeah, I’ll be up in ten minutes.”

“See ya then.”

Ram hung up the phone and took a stroll through the stables. He spotted Kyle, one of the hands, and headed his way. “Why’s Lady still in her stall?”

Kyle shook a load of manure off the pitchfork before turning to address Ram. “She didn’t want to leave this morning. I thought it’d be better to leave her until you had a chance to check on her.”

Ram walked back and entered Lady’s stall. Unlike most of the pregnant mares, Lady was purely a work horse. According to Gray, one of the stallions had jumped the fence and got into the pasture while Lady was in season. Ram ran a hand down the swell of the mare’s stomach. “Hey, Kyle, can you come in here?”

“Something wrong?” Kyle asked, joining Ram.

“The paperwork says she’s only five months along, but that can’t be right.”

Kyle shook his head. “No, that’s right. It was May when Bellamy jumped the fence. Doc Springer confirmed her pregnancy two weeks later.”

“Did he use ultrasound?” Ram continued to map the horse’s stomach with his hands.

“Yeah.” Kyle chuckled. “Doc hates using it, but Gray insists on it.”

“Did he do a second one?”

Kyle took his hat off and brushed the wheat-coloured hair back from his forehead before resettling his Stetson. “Sorry, that I don’t know. I know he usually does them, but if he did a second ultrasound on Lady I wasn’t here.”

With a single nod, Ram dismissed Kyle. “Thanks.”

“Sorry. I hope I didn’t do anything wrong,” Kyle said on his way out of the stall.

“If there’s a problem, it isn’t yours.” Ram gave Lady one last stroke between the eyes before heading towards the house. He had a bad feeling.

* * * *

Gray took a sip of hot coffee before setting the cup onto the same desk his grandpa had used. It had been obvious from their earlier conversation that Ram was still mad about the previous night. When the front door slammed shut, Gray braced himself for a fight.

Ram appeared in the open doorway with fire in his eyes. “Is it only Thoroughbreds you care about around here?”

“Excuse me?” Gray wasn’t sure what horses had to do with Ram’s present mood.

“One of the mares is carrying twins.”

Gray shook his head. “Not possible. The doc’s supposed to ultrasound all the mares who’ve been bred.”

Ram jerked his head back towards the way he’d come. “Follow me.”

Without waiting for Gray to catch up, Ram stormed out of the house. Gray rose, took another sip of coffee and followed. The last thing Gray planned on doing was running to catch up with his manager.

Entering the stable, Gray stopped. “Where’d you go?”

“I’m in with Lady.”

Lady?
Gray’s heart rate increased. Of all the mares on Sunset Ridge, Lady was his favourite. She may not have been worth a quarter of what the others were worth, but Lady had been born on the ranch. He entered Lady’s stall to find Ram checking out her back end. “What’s wrong?”

Ram dropped Lady’s tail. “Did your vet do a second ultrasound on her?”

“I don’t know. I can check her records if you’d like. Jim, the old manager, handled that. Why? Is there something wrong?” Gray asked again.

“I’d bet you a year’s pay this mare’s carrying twins.”

Gray’s stomach dropped. He knew how dangerous it was for horses to carry more than one foal. “I’ll get her file.” In the far corner of the tack room Gray opened the fireproof file cabinet. He searched alphabetically for Lady’s file but came up short. “What the hell?”

Gray knelt on the floor and opened the bottom drawer. In the back of the drawer was a hanging folder that was labelled stock horses. It was there that he found Lady’s information. Why it was filed incorrectly Gray would probably never know. He stood and set the file on top of an available saddle. Reading through Lady’s records, Gray couldn’t believe what he saw.
Shit.

File in hand, Gray rejoined Ram. “Not good.” He handed the papers to Ram. “Jim and Doc decided not to spend the extra money on a second ultrasound for Lady since they didn’t consider her valuable.” He knew it was his responsibility as owner of the ranch to make sure the animals were well cared for. “I’ve no excuse for why things happened the way they did. I should’ve known earlier that Jim was no longer right for the job.”

“Before you go blaming yourself or your ex-manager, I’d take a good long look at the vet you have looking after these animals. I’ve not met the man, but as far as I’m concerned I don’t care to see him ever step foot on the ranch again. Surely there’s another vet in the area.”

Gray nodded. “I’m sure there is. Dad always used Doc Springer so it never occurred to me to go looking for anyone else.”

Ram handed back Lady’s file before returning his attention to the pregnant mare. “Kyle told me she didn’t want to go outside this morning. Looking at her now, I’m worried she’s getting ready to abort, although I didn’t see any signs of bleeding or discharge.” He rubbed the horse’s extended abdomen again. “If they’d done another ultrasound they could’ve aborted the twin before it had time to attach.”

“I’ll go make some calls,” Gray replied.

After looking around, Ram stepped forward and reached for Gray’s hand. “Sorry if I was out of line earlier.”

“I’m not. You just proved to me that I hired the right man for the job.”

Chapter Five

Gray waited on the front porch for Ben Moore, a veterinarian his neighbour had recommended. The guilt over Lady’s twin pregnancy was eating him alive. How could he call himself a responsible horse breeder if something like this could happen right under his nose?

The phone call with Doc Springer had got ugly. By the end of their conversation, Georgia had come into Gray’s office to see what all the commotion was about. It wasn’t often that Gray raised his voice. Arguing at the top of his lungs was completely unheard of for Gray, but he’d let his temper get the better of him.

A white Ford F-350 Super Duty pickup turned into the long drive. Gray hoped like hell Dr Moore was as good as his recommendation.

The truck slowed as it neared the house, but Gray motioned towards the stable where Ram waited impatiently. Ram was another issue. Gray couldn’t help but feel he’d let his new manager down. Although Ram had told Gray he didn’t blame him for Lady’s condition, they both knew it wouldn’t have happened if Gray had been more involved in the daily running of the ranch.

Ben parked his truck and opened the door before Gray had a chance to make it to the stable.
Damn.
Ben’s long legs and broad chest looked better suited to a football uniform than a black Stetson and Wranglers. The blond ponytail hanging down his back seemed even more out of place for the conservative area they lived in.

Gray smiled. He hadn’t even met the man and already he could tell he was going to like him. “Thanks for coming on such short notice,” Gray said, reaching out his hand.

Ben shook Gray’s hand and peered down at him. “I’m glad you called. I’ve driven by Sunset Ridge for a couple of years now and always admired the place.”

“I appreciate that.” Gray spotted Ram standing in the doorway. “Ben, I’d like you to meet Jack Ramsdale, my ranch manager.”

Ram stepped forward and shook Ben’s hand. “Ram, please.”

“Nice to meet you,” Ben replied. “I hear you have twins on the way.”

“Well, that’s what we’re afraid of,” Ram began, leading Ben into the stable.

Gray held back. It wasn’t that he was uninterested in the conversation, Lady was like a member of the family, but Ram still seemed mad at him for running after Raleigh instead of spending the night in the cabin. Maybe it was better to let Ram cool off for a while. Gray already knew enough about Ram to know the man didn’t stay mad for long. He suspected it was a trait that made Ram a good manager.

He stood outside the stall while Ram and Ben checked on Lady. Within minutes, Ben came to the same conclusion. “Let me get my ultrasound machine out of the truck so we can see exactly what we’re dealing with.”

As soon as Ben left, Ram walked over to stand in front of Gray with the stall between them. “Does Lady have a history of conceiving twins?”

Gray shook his head. “She’s never been pregnant. Dad didn’t believe in breeding the work horses, so we always kept the mares away from the stallions.” He ran a hand over his face. “I can’t say that I’m not concerned for the foals, but right now I’m more worried about Lady.”

Ram did something unexpected and brushed a kiss across Gray’s lips. “Don’t. We’ll do what we have to to make sure she’s safe.”

“I thought you were mad at me.”

“Not mad. Disappointed. Not necessarily in you, just the whole situation. It’s hard to be around you and not have permission to touch you.” Ram kissed Gray again, adding a little tongue play before pulling back. “I guess if I want to work here I’ll have to get used to it.”

A noise stopped Gray from reciprocating the tender gesture. He stiffened as Ben cleared his throat. “Sorry to interrupt,” Ben said.

“No problem,” Ram answered, opening the stall door for Ben. Before Ram returned his attention to Lady, he winked at Gray. “I can handle it from here if you have something else you need to take care of.”

Gray didn’t, but he wasn’t sure what kind of help he could offer. “I’ll go make sure the hands are lined out. Is the schedule on your desk?”

“Yeah. Thanks.”

“Make sure you call me once you know something.” Gray felt Ram’s gaze like a physical touch as he walked away. It was one of those moments that had Gray rethinking his entire future. If he’d been out of the closet he would have openly sought comfort from Ram. Unfortunately, he was so used to living his life in secret he didn’t know how to survive any other way.

* * * *

It took everything Gray had to stand beside Ram at the small grave-side service and not offer physical comfort. He’d gone as far as brushing his hand against Ram’s, but even that made him paranoid.

The minister said his final words before gesturing to Ram. “Do you have anything you’d like to add?”

Ram cleared his throat. “Just that I appreciate you all coming. I have no doubt she’s holding Dad’s hand, looking down on me today with a smile on her face.” He let out an unexpected chuckle. “Although I’m sure she’s telling Dad I should’ve gotten a haircut.”