“Yes, Champ’s granddaddy.”
Myrna went through the photos again nodding,then looked up at Duane. “This building is where Sally’s tack is. You walk in, and on your left is a door. Through that door is Sally’s tack. She had three blankets, two saddles, several halters and bridles. Along with a lot of other things.” She sighed and shook her head. “It might be better to have your friend call me through Skype, or Facetime, so I can see what they are getting when it comes to Sally’s things. Again, don’t judge me, but she’s a spoiled horse.” She grinned when everyone snorted a laugh and looked at Reid.
“What?”
“Nothing, but does she have any toys?”
“A ball, and three obnoxious squeaky rubber chickens. They are somewhere in her pasture. One is green, one is pink, and one is tie-dyed.”
“Okay.” Again, Duane wrote things down. They didn’t have anything else to say after that, and as they went to leave Duane looked at them. “I don’t know when you’ll hear from us again. We’re not avoiding you, Pedro and Shay are with you every day, and they are armed. I feel comfortable letting that continue.”
“We,” Clark said as he looked at the others. “Will be at the entrance of New Double twenty-four-seven until everything is clear.” He shook his head. “Don’t worry, we’ll be taking turns. There’s something we need to build, and we can work on that as we protect the entrance.”
“What are you building?” Duane asked with a confused look.
“Think of the cabins at Broken and New Double.”
“Okay.”
“Think twice as big, but no bedrooms. It will be a security office. Once this bull with Myrna is over,” he said, and whipped his head toward her. “I’m not saying it’s bullshit in that it’s your fault, it’s bullshit as in what Mosher is doing. Corrupt police sort of bull shit.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah, and once this is built, Erin’s got feelers out for a security guard.”
“Who?” Duane asked, and frowned when Clark grinned.
“Kevin.”
“Lassiter? Is he ready to retire?”
“Almost, and by the time he is, he’ll have his own office, just like you do, however, his won’t have horses close by.” They shared a chuckle, and Duane frowned. “What type of security would he have to do?”
“I can probably answer that,” Pedro said. “We have been running the horses for over a month now, and Naomi and Cole want to sell some. We’re going to have buyers, other trainers, and possibly jockeys come to check out the horses.”
“Ah, I understand.”
“Don’t forget,” Shay said. “Clem’s leaving soon to go look for help for RRR.”
“Damn, I forgot about that.” He looked at Pedro and Myrna and explained what Shay’s statement meant. “Yeah, I can see a need for shelter for him. I hope he comes to work here. I know Caleb would like that.”
They didn’t stay long after that, and when they left, Pedro immediately went to her and held out his arms. He sighed in relief when she slammed into his chest, and he held her tight. They stood there in the middle of the living space for almost ten minutes before she looked up at him.
“Thank you, it’s times like this that I feel so weak and helpless.”
He took her chin in his fingers and lifted her face to his. “This isn’t your fault. You were backed into a corner and did everything you could to survive. You got yourself and Sally to safety, that’s all that matters. The other things can be replaced.”
“Thank you,” she whispered as she rose on her tiptoes and placed her lips gently on his.
CHAPTER 9
Pedro didn’t hesitateto tighten his arms around her and deepen the kiss. He picked her up, and carried her to his bedroom, and laid her gently on the bed. When they broke apart, he stared at her.
“I don’t want to take advantage of you.”
“You’re not, I promise you. I can tell you that the last time I was with anyone it was Randy, and that was over two years ago when we had sex for the last time. In my entire life, I’ve only had four lovers.”
“Okay, I’ve had five, I can’t remember when my last relationship was.”
