Wild Horses (6 page)

CHAPTER SEVEN

“H
EY
, N
ORA
,
DO
you have a minute?”

Nora looked up from lacing her hiking boots to see Lee Ellison, the DRM station manager, walking toward her. “Sure, what's up?”

Sometimes Lee liked to check in on the progress of her study, even though he wasn't her actual boss. She'd been hired by his supervisor, Trent Nixon, up in Reno. But Lee's background was in plant biology and Nora suspected he was a little envious of her job. As a government bureaucrat, he didn't do much science. So he often sought her out to have a chat, which Nora enjoyed. It was nice to talk with someone else who knew the difference between a stamen and a petal.

Lee sat down on the log next to her, but instead of asking about her recent survey results or her plans for the day, he just rested his arms on his knees and stared at his folded hands. Finally he spoke. “Have you heard about the horses?”

“No.” Nora tried to keep her voice casual—hard to do when she was lying. “Did something happen?”

“They're gone.”

“What do you mean, they're gone?” Nora twisted her head as if she was trying to see the corrals from where she sat. She couldn't, but it seemed like something someone who had just learned about the horses' disappearance would do. She was a terrible actress and she knew it, mentally cursing Todd every way she knew how for putting her in this position. She looked back at Lee, eyebrows raised in what she hoped was a surprised and worried look. “What happened?”

Lee sighed. “We don't know. When Vince stopped by to feed them on Saturday, the gate was still latched, but they were gone.”

“Is a fence broken?” She was pathetic at pretending. She just hoped this discussion ended soon.

“Nope.” Lee looked at her carefully. “So you didn't see anything?”

“No, I didn't.” Was her protest too strong? Nora's stomach was in knots.

“It's just that I've checked with everyone else, and they all say your Jeep was the last car in the parking lot that evening.”

“They're right about that. I got back really late Friday. I'd stayed down in Johnson's Wash way too long, lost the light and hiked back here after dark.” Had she said too much? Did she sound as if she was trying to give an alibi?

“And you didn't notice anything out of the ordinary?”

“Honestly, everything seemed quiet. And it didn't occur to me to go look at the horses. I was exhausted. I just wanted to get home.”
Honestly.
She couldn't believe she'd used that word. And she couldn't believe she was lying outright, for Todd Williams.

Lee sighed. “Look, while you're out there today, just try to think about that night and whether you remember anything. You're kind of my last hope here. Trent Nixon called and he's pissed as hell. I'd love to offer him some kind of explanation. I just hope he doesn't fire me over this.”

Nora stared at the dust around her feet. It would be awful if Lee got fired. He had three kids, two already at college and one heading there soon. Losing his job would be catastrophic for his entire family. “He can't fire you for something that happened when you weren't even here.”

“He'll find a reason,” Lee said. “It's not as if I'm the shining star of the DRM.”

It broke her heart to hear him talk that way. He was a good guy, which was a lot more than she could say for many of the redneck yahoos she'd met at this field station. “I really don't remember anything unusual.” That final lie was extra icing on all the layers of deceit. It was too much and it made her sick. She stood up, self-hatred, anger and guilt all roiling around inside. “But I promise I'll rack my brain and see if I can recall anything that seemed off.”

“Thanks, Nora. I'd appreciate it.” Lee stood up, too, straightening the tie that never looked quite right on him. “I'd better get back inside. Have a good day out there.”

His kindness just made everything worse. She swallowed the lump growing in her throat. “I will, Lee. You have a good day, too. Try not to worry. Trent would be crazy to fire you over this.”

“I hope so,” he said. And Nora watched him shuffle back to the building, shoulders dipped, looking even more discouraged than usual.

Nora grabbed her pack and swung it over her shoulder, her anger making her strides longer. Todd might justify his actions with bold statements about the rights of the horses, but what about the rights of someone like Lee? The right to do his job and to bring home his paycheck and to not have to take the blame for other people's stupid deeds? What about Nora's right to live her life without telling lies to protect her stupid ex-boyfriend?

Her feet hit the trail so hard that dust swirled around her legs. It was going to be a long, hot day and she had to focus on her work. But when she was done she was heading straight into town to give Todd a dose of reality. It was time that he realized how much his single-minded devotion to his causes affected other people's lives.

* * *

T
HE
KID
WHO
'
D
been sweeping up the repair shop when Nora stopped by after work told her that Todd was down the street at the High Country Sports Bar. But he didn't mention that Todd was there with a woman. A gorgeous woman with a fall of sleek blond hair—hair that cascaded over one shoulder when she looked up from some papers on the table. A woman whose lipsticked mouth showed perfect white teeth when she opened it to laugh at something Todd had said.

She had big violet eyes and was showing an insane amount of cleavage, and all the outrage Nora had been saving up since her conversation with Lee this morning merged with the realization that Todd living in Benson meant Todd
dating
in Benson. The sick feeling that had been in her stomach all day got worse, and all Nora wanted to do was go home. But before she could, Todd's date saw her standing there gaping at them like a jealous, dusty fish. The woman leaned her shiny head in and murmured something to Todd, who turned around and spotted Nora.

“Hey,” he said, waving her over.

She didn't want to be waved over. She wanted to sink through the floorboards of the High Country and disappear into the beery mud below. Her hair was in pigtails that hung down from underneath her ball cap. Below her shorts, her legs were dirt smeared and scratched. Dusty, clunky hiking boots completed the look. In humiliating contrast, Todd's date was wearing a minidress and heels.

Outrage began building again, white-hot inside her. While his actions had Nora covering for him with lies and Lee frantically trying to salvage his job, Todd was here cuddling up with a
date
.

Her anger eclipsed her embarrassment. “I was hoping to speak with you, but it looks as if you're extremely busy.”

“I am, but...”

“And I'm sure whatever you're doing in here is
very
important and urgent.” She bit the words out.

“Well, I think so...” Todd's brows were raised and he looked embarrassed. Probably for her. Which just made Nora angrier.

“Because that's what you do, right? You run around and try to save the world, and your lofty goals are
so
important that you couldn't possibly consider the consequences for anyone else.” The anger felt good, wiping out the guilt from lying to Lee today and the irritating jealously she was feeling now.

Todd glanced helplessly at his date, then back at her. He looked so bewildered, and that just made it all worse. He should
know
. He should have realized that after he let those horses out, the Department of Range Management would need to blame someone. And that someone was poor Lee.

“Look, Nora, we're almost done here. Let me just go ahead and finish up, and then you can tell me what's got you so upset.”

She hated his placating tone. As if she was some kind of crazy person he was trying to appease. And the worst thing was, she never got this mad. She was reserved. Famously reserved. She'd stayed calm almost her whole life. Except when Todd had left her. Except in the bar the other night. Except today.

Anger mutated to blinding rage. “Oh, I'm
so
sorry. I realize that finishing your
date
is so much more important than talking about how I had to lie for you today. Or how you might have ruined a good man's entire life.”

Todd paled. She'd come close to spilling the secret he'd asked her to keep. But it served him right.

“Nora, this is my
friend
Tess Cole. She's putting together a few ads for me.”

“Oh.” Great. She was his friend. To top everything off, now Nora had her filthy hiking boot stuck in her mouth. “An ad for the repair shop?” It was an inane question, but her mind was scrambled. Todd's not-a-date was looking at her with a slight smile and the knowing eyes of a woman who could spot a big romantic mess. Except this mess wasn't romantic. Far from it.

“Some PR for his charitable organization, The Mustang Protection Fund,” Tess explained. She held out her hand and Nora spotted the enormous diamond on her ring finger. “So nice to meet you, Nora.”

“Nice to meet you, too,” Nora mumbled, giving Tess's hand a weak shake, trying to make sense of this new reality. Todd ran an organization to protect the mustangs? And she'd just accused him and his obviously married colleague of being on a date? It would be interesting to see if this day could possibly get worse.

Tess stood up, gathering her folders and giving them a view of her outrageously long legs and tiny skirt. “Look, Todd, I'd better get going. I'm meeting Slaid for dinner. And it seems as though you have some things you need to take care of. Just give me a call once you've looked all this over. And thanks for the drink.”

Nora could tell Todd's face was red, even in the dim light of the bar. He stood up, as well. “Thanks for everything, Tess. I so appreciate it.”

“Hey, it's for a good cause.” Tess gave Nora a big smile and a small wink. Then she stepped closer and leaned in, surrounding Nora with a cloud of expensive perfume. “He's all yours,” she murmured. “He's a pretty good guy, most of the time. We'd miss him around here if you ripped him to shreds.”

“I'm so sorry about the...misunderstanding.” Nora didn't know what to call it. Her own temporary insanity?

“Please don't worry about it. That was the most entertaining thing that's happened to me in a while.”

Nora watched Tess until she disappeared into the sunlight outside and the bar door closed behind her.

“Nora, what the hell is going on?” Todd was still standing, with the small table between them.

“Your idiocy, that's what.” She took Tess's former seat and motioned for Todd to sit, as well. “The DRM is all riled up about the missing horses.”

“What do you mean?”

“The manager of the station, Lee, questioned me today. He knows my car was the last one in the lot that night. I had to lie and say I'd seen nothing.”

Todd looked stricken. “I'm so sorry, Nora. I honestly didn't think it would be a big deal to them.”

“No? Well, you
should
have thought. Lee's worried he's going to lose his job over this. He has three kids to support. He can't afford to lose his livelihood.”

“They won't fire him,” Todd said more confidently. “The government has so many rules and regulations attached to hiring and firing personnel, there's no way they can fire him without evidence.”

She raised her brows skeptically. “You don't know that for sure.”

“I'm pretty certain. Look, I've seen this kind of thing before. They have to act as if they care. They have to investigate, but they're just jumping through their hoops. I promise you that in a few days, it will all calm down. They don't want those horses anyway.”

“How do you know?”

“Because they were planning on selling them to a broker.” Todd's expression darkened. “And that broker is notorious for getting hold of mustangs and selling them for meat.”

“What?” Nora shook her head, trying to clear it. Trying to understand. “Nobody eats horse meat!”

“Plenty of people eat it. In Mexico, and in Europe. Even here in the States. It's not supposed to be legal to slaughter horses for meat, but often the DRM just sells the horses to whatever broker comes along. They don't care if that broker takes them to an illegal slaughterhouse.”

Nora tried to take in this new information. Slaughtering wild mustangs? It seemed almost sacrilegious. “I didn't realize.”

“But you're right. I didn't think through the consequences of this very well. I don't want you to have to lie and I don't want the station manager to lose his job. If I'm wrong, and it doesn't blow over in a couple days, I'll figure something out.”

“Oh, that's comforting.” Nora shoved her clenched fists into the pockets of her shorts so she didn't do something dumb, like empty his drink on his dense head.

“What do you mean?”

“You're going to just wait and see what happens, right? Well, what if Lee gets fired before then? You
have
to take more responsibility than that.”

Todd stared at her, as if seeing her in some new way. “You're right. I do. I really do. Look, I'll call a friend of mine tonight. He's a journalist, and he'll be happy to write a story that tells the truth about the broker the department planned to sell those horses to. A little embarrassment goes a long way with our public agencies. Once this story is out there, all the DRM will want is for the entire situation to disappear as fast as it possibly can.”

“I just hope you're right.” She thought of Lee, so weary and worried. “I
need
you to be right.”

“Trust me?”