Nora had the uneasy feeling she’d hurt Seth. But she’d been perfectly honest since the moment she’d arrived, hadn’t she? Her home wasn’t in Furnace Falls, in spite of her shakily mended family fences. She had an apartment in Colorado, her work with the donkey rescue. She clung to the belief that Felicia would heal and whoever was after them would be exposed and caught. When that happened, Felicia would restart her life with her mother and perhaps Zane, and Nora would refocus on herself, her work, the next phase of her life. She would be the strong, independent Nora, the woman she wanted to be, and that didn’t include a romantic entanglement.
There was no reason to give up what she’d built to return to Death Valley, as wonderful and kind and sweet as Seth was, she told herself. Her heart twisted. She would never reveal that her feelings for him exposed weak and vulnerable places, places she did not want to acknowledge. It was natural to want to get away from that kind of angst, wasn’t it?
Yet her soul felt tamped down and burdened as if she’d committed some kind of grievous mistake. As Seth watched from outside the corral, she refocused on Bubbles. The donkey had been exhausted enough to allow herself to be led by a rope the night before and Nora wanted to build on that progress.
With the jenny occupying a corner, Nora simply stood still next to her. Bubbles was less antsy, she thought. Certainly, she did not look worse for wear for her impromptu walkabout. Nora took out a coiled rope she’d stuffed in her back pocket and let the donkey see it. When that didn’t provoke undue fear, she touched Bubbles on the side with it. Quick touch, remove, quick touch, remove, until she was able to rest the rope on her neck for several minutes.
When she tried to slip it around Bubbles’s neck, the animal flinched. Nora pulled a horse cookie from her pocket. Nostrils quivering, the donkey accepted the treat and the rope, which Nora left on only for a few moments before she removed it.
Progress.
She administered the last injection while Bubbles munched away.
“Time to refill the vitamins with Doc?” Seth said, coming up beside her.
When she nodded, he palmed his keys. “Next stop, vet’s office.”
His tone was light, but his smile looked forced. You’re imagining things. He might be mildly disappointed that she wasn’t staying, but he had plenty of other things going on. Besides, when she left town, he wouldn’t need to worry about protecting her, squiring her around or sleeping on a sofa for guard duty. Much better for everyone.
When they arrived at the veterinary clinic, Jude’s squad car was parked outside Doc’s office along with another familiar vehicle.
“Zane’s here?” Nora’s stomach flipped. “What now?”
They entered the office to find Doc flushed and sweating, squared off with Zane. Jude occupied the space between them, his arms raised referee style. Doc’s wife, Renee, watched in round-eyed disbelief from the corner, holding the leash of a handsome pointer who was barking madly.
“That’s my dog. That’s Barney,” Zane shouted, stabbing a finger at the pointer. “And Doc’s a lousy thief. That’s why I called you, Chief.”
“Take it down a notch,” Jude advised. He turned to Renee. “Can you put him in the back for a minute?”
She ushered the dog into an exam room, his barking now muted by the door.
“All right. We’re going to discuss this calmly,” Jude said.
“Why should I?” Zane snapped. “This so-called veterinarian stole my dog. I was driving by and I saw Barney running out of the clinic after him. Otherwise, I never would have known Doc had him.” He turned to the vet. “And don’t even try to tell me he ran away and you found him. That dog is tagged and you full well knew it was mine.”
Nora gaped. Seth looked equally shocked.
“You don’t care about these dogs,” Doc said, eyes blazing. “You wanted Fred dead anyway.”
“Have you lost your wits?” Spot of color highlighted Zane’s cheeks. “You’re talking nonsense.”
“You wanted me to put Fred down for no reason.”
“No reason? He became aggressive, remember? Went after me. I fell and busted out my front tooth. Cost me $400 to have that repaired.”
Jude stepped closer to Zane. “I will sort this out. Step outside until I’m ready to talk to you.”
Zane’s hands were fisted at his sides. “Why should I leave? He’s the thief. Bad enough Olivia thinks me and my brother are the dregs in this town. Now I have to be treated like I’m the villain here?”
“Outside,” Jude said, volume low but intense. “Now.”
Zane stalked out and slammed the door behind him.
“Do you want us to leave too?” Nora asked.
Jude shook his head then gestured them into chairs and pointed to one for Doc, who slumped into it. “No, I need your collective memory for a second. Do you recall that, on the night of the ATV attack, Zane mentioned his dog was missing?”
Nora frowned. “Not really. I was sort of in shock.”
“I do,” Seth said. “Something about Barney running off. A champion hunting dog or something. Zane said the animal was acting out because his companion had to be euthanized.”
“Fred,” Doc said. “The other dog’s name is Fred.”
“Fred and Barney, right.” Jude turned to Doc. “Is there something you need to tell me about Fred?”
Doc shrugged, silent.
“Look,” Jude said. “We’ve known each other a long time, Doc, and I’m inclined to believe you had good intent for whatever went down, but you have to tell me the truth. I’m not going to ask twice.”
Doc looked at his wife and nodded. She hurried down the hall, opened a door and in a moment another pointer bounded in, went straight to Doc and laid his head on his knee, hind end waggling frantically. Doc stroked the silky muzzle. “Jig’s up, Fred. Ole Doc couldn’t come through for you.” He looked up and blew out a breath, still caressing the dog. “This here’s Fred. He’s an amazing dog. Not as good a hunting animal as Barney, maybe, but a loyal soul. I’ve treated him since he and his brother were puppies.”
“I’m trying to figure how we got from friendly town vet to dognapper,” Jude said.
Not unkindly, Nora thought.
“It’s because my husband has a heart of gold,” Renee said.
“Don’t,” Doc said.
“I will say my piece,” Renee said, mouth pinched. “Zane brought Fred in and asked Doc to euthanize him. Said he’d become aggressive. We couldn’t believe it, but Zane was insistent. Doc tried to talk him out of euthanasia, offered training, and even said we’d take him, but Zane refused. So...” She blinked back tears. “Doc pretended he’d done it and we kept Fred on our property, but the dog loves Doc. It’s like he knows Doc saved his life and he escapes the yard and follows Doc everywhere.”
Jude nodded. “Okay. So how does Barney fit in?”
Renee jerked a thumb at the exam room. “Barney in there is bonded with Fred.”
Doc nodded. “He started running away from the date farm, trying to find Fred. The first time he showed up at our home, I brought him back during the night.”
“That’s why there were motorcycle tracks on the property.”
“Uh-huh, but Barney is a tracking dog. He showed up again the next day at the clinic, barking for Fred. How could I explain that? So I...took him too. Tried to secure them both in my yard, but it was getting ridiculous with all the barking and I thought the neighbors would figure it out, so I began bringing them to work and keeping them in the back. Today I got busted when Zane saw Barney run outside to me.” Doc wiped a sleeve over his brow. “It’s kind of a relief, actually. All the lying and sneaking around was getting to me.”
Jude frowned. “Why do you think Fred bit Zane?”
Doc snorted. “I don’t think he did. This here dog’s gentle.”
“Why would Zane make that up the whole business about his tooth and everything?”
Doc pursed his lips. “I been thinking a lot about that. What if Kai was sneaking around and Fred tried to run him off? I figure either Zane’s been covering for his brother and they’re involved in something together, or maybe Kai’s threatening Zane into keeping secrets. That’s the only way I can explain why Zane would destroy a dog he’s loved since he was a pup.”
“What sort of plot would Zane and his brother be involved in?” Jude said.
“I dunno.”
Nora remembered Doc’s earlier words.
Blood tells. Maybe poor Fred had attacked Kai and Zane had to get rid of him.
“All right. I need a few more details. For the moment, I’m going to ask my cousin Austin to take the dogs until there’s some clarity here. A neutral party, okay?” When Doc nodded, Jude looked at Nora and Seth. “You two can go.”
“Wait,” Doc said, retrieving a bag of preloaded syringes for Nora as Fred scuttled alongside as if glued to his ankle. “Bubbles needs her vitamins.”
Nora nodded her thanks. Outside, they found Zane leaning against the wall.
“I can’t believe he stole my dog,” Zane said.
“Wild,” Seth agreed. “Why do you suppose Fred became aggressive?”
Zane looked confused. “I don’t know. I’ve always had a way with dogs, but all of a sudden Fred changed.”
“He changed? Or was he surprised by a stranger?”
“What’s that mean?”
Seth looked straight at him. “Zane, are you covering for your brother?”
Emotion flashed across Zane’s face, quickly concealed. Fear? Anger? Resentment? “No, like I told Olivia. Why would I do that?”
“Because you’re scared of him,” Seth said.
Nora gasped. That was a motive she hadn’t thought of. What if Kai was terrorizing Zane into keeping his presence in town a secret? It would explain the dog bite if Zane tried to intervene between Fred and Kai. The dog hadn’t attacked his master intentionally, perhaps.
Zane stared back for a moment before he shook his head. “You didn’t know my brother. We were opposites in every way. Right-handed versus left-handed. Kai was athletic and I was the brainy one. He loved swimming, I was into climbing. He struggled in school, I aced everything. But in spite of all that, we were close, really close, until he got sent away.”
“And then you inherited what he felt was rightfully his,” Seth suggested.
Zane shrugged. “He was angry, but that doesn’t mean he’s some sort of deranged killer.”
“Have you had contact with him? You told Olivia you hadn’t. Was that the truth?”
“Yes,” he said, but Nora noticed he wasn’t quite making eye contact until he turned to her. “You messed up years ago, right? You can’t escape that in a small town. You caused that crash all those years ago and wrecked Felicia’s knee, right?”
A lick of guilt chilled her heart. “Yes, I did.”
“But you aren’t a bad person. You weren’t then and you aren’t now. You made mistakes, is all. Same with Kai.”
“What happened to Nora and Felicia this week wasn’t a mistake,” Seth said. “It was attempted murder, and Felicia thought Kai was responsible.”
“She was mistaken.”
“Felicia said, ‘He came back... He’ll kill us both,’” Nora said. “Accept it or not, that’s your business, but if Kai is behind the attacks on me and Felicia, you have to tell Jude. If Kai’s threatening you, Jude can help.”
Zane smiled grimly. “Thanks for your concern, but I can take care of myself. I’m real good at it.”
Jude opened the door then and gestured Zane into the clinic.
When the men had gone inside, Nora pulled the high school photo from her pocket, since she was no longer comfortable leaving it in the Bronco. Again she examined it.
“Think he’s telling the truth?” Seth said, looking over her shoulder.
“I don’t know. There’s something bugging me, but I can’t figure out what.” She stared at the photo until her vision blurred. What was the missing piece?
She had to figure it out or neither she nor Felicia would ever be safe.
Seth was locked in a battle in his mind the whole way back to the ranch. Jude kept his word, delivering the dogs to his cousin Austin until the case was sorted out. Seth was undecided. Did he believe Doc or Zane? He never had the chance to decide because as soon as they reached the Rocking Horse corral, Nora gasped.
“Bubbles is in labor,” she said as she sprinted from the vehicle to the corral.
He rushed to join her. Bubbles was on her side in the mounded hay. “I’ll text Levi,” he said.
Nora clutched the fence rail. “I can see the head and front legs of the foal.”
Bubbles wriggled and panted and then went limp.
“She can’t do it,” Nora said. “She’s too weak to push the foal out all the way.”
Seth checked his phone. “Levi’s three miles from here on horseback.”
He heard her suck in a breath. “Then it’s on us. Are you up to deliver a foal?”
Was he? It was about time to find out. “I’m game if you are.”
They approached cautiously. Bubbles struck out her hind hoof to keep them away, but her efforts were half-hearted.
“Steady Bubbles, if you can,” Nora said.
Seth applied firm pressure and kept Bubbles as still as he could while Nora freed the foal’s head from the placental sack. Seth hadn’t been on the ranch long enough to witness any of the horses giving birth. Nerves bubbled up his spine as he tried to soothe the donkey. If things went bad, what were they going to do?
“How do we...?” he started.
The question remained unfinished as Nora seized the emerging donkey’s front legs and pulled. “Switch places with me,” he said as the effort made her grimace, no doubt from her sore ribs, but Nora did not seem to hear. She kept pulling steadily until the foal’s head and front legs were free. Stopping to catch her breath for only a moment, she grabbed hold of the slippery foal again. “Come on, sweetie,” she groaned.
Sweat dampened her forehead. Once she lost her grip and tumbled backward, only to resume her position before he could even move.
“Almost there,” she said through clenched teeth.
And then the foal was out, sliding into the clean hay.
Seth gaped at the spindly newborn. He watched with breath held as Nora checked for signs of life. She rubbed it on the muzzle and wiped debris from its nostrils. “Breathing,” she said with a sigh of relief. “How’s mama?”
Bubbles had flopped down on the hay, eyes closed.
“Exhausted, I think.” He stroked her neck. “You did great, Mama Bubbles. Just look at that gorgeous kiddo.”
“I’ll move her baby closer.”
This time he overruled her. “I’m doing it.” He gingerly lifted the foal and carried her nearer to Bubbles’s head. Nora scraped away some of the sticky straw.
“It’s a female, I think.” She knelt a few feet away. “Come on, Mama Bubbles,” she whispered. “Say hello to your baby girl.”
Seth knelt next to Nora, the scent of straw strong in his nostrils. He could not resist wrapping an arm around her. Together they watched in perfect silence for a few minutes.
“She might be too weak,” Nora fretted, worrying her lip between her teeth. He squeezed her shoulder and said a silent prayer for the delicate newborn and her mother. Tears welled in Nora’s eyes as she watched them both lying motionless.
“You were incredible,” he murmured to Nora. “Fearless and incredible. You did everything you could.”
Then Bubbles stirred, opened her eyes and extended her nose to nuzzle her baby, licking and sniffing her.
“Look at that,” Nora cried softly. “They’re going to be okay.” The joy in her voice gave him goose bumps. He looked at her, sweaty, straw stuck in her hair, clothes filthy, and he knew he would never see a more beautiful sight if he lived to be one hundred.
“Thank you, God,” he said, voice strangled.
“Yes,” Nora agreed. “Thank you, God.”
Inching back, they stayed there for a long while, watching the new family. His elation ebbed away as another realization took its place. Since Bubbles had foaled, and Felicia was in Las Vegas, there was no reason for Nora to stay on the ranch much longer.
His spirit dropped, buried under a weight as heavy as a ton of desert sand.