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He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree.
– Roy L. Smith
Jordyn was surprised how much she enjoyed herself and how many faces she recognized from earlier years. Of course, some of those faces had been teenagers when she’d last seen them and now had children of their own. Others had been parents and now had grandchildren in tow.
She lost track of time as the room continued to rock with the laughter of revelers and the joyful appeals of children to open their presents early. Around ten o’clock someone came in and announced that it was snowing hard, causing everyone to rush for the door. Sure enough, big fluffy flakes fell, landing on the spreading limbs of the tall fir tree and enveloping it in a sea of swirling motion. A hush grew over the crowd as they stared at the magnificent site, and then the majority of the crowd hurried off to their private cabins to enjoy the rest of the evening with their families.
Jordyn stood outside in the cold night air, shivering but happy. She loved to watch it snow and loved the picture it would paint the next morning when the rugged landscape would be transformed into a crystalline vista of snow-covered tree limbs and an endless sea of white. A true winter wonderland.
“If it keeps snowing like this we’ll be able to build a snowman in the morning,” she heard one of the children saying as they gazed around in wonder.
Jordyn went back inside, dug her boots out of the closet and threw on her coat. “I’ll be right back to help clean up,” she yelled to her mother as she grabbed a handful of cookies. “Just want to check on the horse.”
As she tramped her way through the snow that was now beginning to stick to the ground, she couldn’t help but smile. Even if the snow was gone by tomorrow, the image of seeing all those people with smiles on their faces was something she would never forget.
Walking past the vet’s truck, she slid open the door and heard the sound of two men talking in the stall. The overpowering fragrance of Trixie’s flowery perfume assaulted her as soon as she entered, but she didn’t see her anywhere. Jordyn usually loved inhaling the deep, earthy smells of the barn, but the overriding scent of roses made her wrinkle her nose instead.
When she got close enough to see inside the open door of the stall, she gasped in surprise. “What happened to you?”
Chad had blood all over his hands and splotched on his clothes. Her gaze swept the horse who seemed to be doing fine, and then to the veterinarian. “Nothing to worry about,” he assured her. “The IV just became unattached. Luckily Chad discovered it in time and was able to fix it.”
Jordyn looked at Chad again, but he had turned away and was writing something down for the folder they kept on each horse. “Doc’s got her all fixed up, and she’s doing fine.” He nodded toward a pile of manure that had been scooped up and put in a wheelbarrow.
Jordyn nodded with relief that the horse was on its way to a full recovery, yet something had happened that neither man seemed willing to explain.
“Nice to see you again, Doc. Sorry you couldn’t make it up to the Lodge.” Jordyn held out her hand to the vet. “Here’s a couple of cookies, but there’s plenty of food left if you want to stop by.”
He took one cookie and laughed. “I think I’ll do that. I’d like to wish your mother a Merry Christmas since I’m here.”
Jordyn offered the remaining cookies to Chad, which he accepted. “Thanks. Didn’t get a chance to eat.”
“I’ll go get you something.”
“No...I...ah, need to talk to you.”
The vet zipped up his coat and picked up his bag. “Call me if anything changes. Nice to see you again, Miss Jordyn.”
Chad stopped him before he left. “And you’ll keep this quiet, right?”
He nodded. “Sure. Not a word.”
Confused as she was, Jordyn said her goodbyes and then re-entered the stall. “What’s going on?” She could see Chad was tense and had a strained look on his face.
“I only left the barn for a few minutes,” he said as if to explain the answer to a question she hadn’t asked.
Jordyn nodded as her mind went back to Trixie. “So?”
“When I got back, the IV was wrapped all over the place and torn out, blood everywhere.”
“Things happen...” Her eyes went back to the horse. “But I thought I did a really good job of taping it to make it secure.”
“You did.”
Her gaze went back to his. “What are you saying?”
“I knew I wasn’t going to be able to stay here all night and just watch the horse, so I brought one of our foaling cameras over.” He nodded to the small, barely noticeable camera that sat on the edge of the stall between the bars. “That way I could keep an eye on her from my phone.”
“So you saw her twisting herself up and got here right away.” Jordyn nodded. “That’s good.”
“Not exactly.” Chad held out the camera. “Actually, I saw this.”
He punched a button and Jordyn tried to make out the blurry images. It was hard to see, but it was obvious that someone entered the stall, pulled the tubing apart and then wrapped it around the mare’s neck to make it look like the horse had gotten tangled. It only took a matter of seconds.
“Who would do that? Bell would have died from blood loss if you didn’t have this camera on her.”
Chad’s face was grim. “Look again.” He started the video again, as Jordyn stared harder, trying to identify the person.
“Look closer. Right here.” Chad pointed to the man’s neck. The color was not decipherable in the grainy black and white image, but the way it was tied and the height and movements of the man made it suddenly clear.
“The checkered bandana...”
Chad nodded. “Strikes again.”
“I’ll go have him pack his things and get out of here right now.” Jordyn turned to leave.
“Hold on.” Chad grabbed her hand to stop her. “I was thinking the same thing, but maybe we should wait.”
His touch was gentle, but affected Jordyn like a branding iron. She pulled away and then stared at her arm before raising her gaze to meet his.
“Wait? For what? Someone or something to get hurt or killed?”
“What if it’s more than just him?” Chad asked. “And why is he doing this? There’s something big going on here. If you just get rid of him, we may never find out who else is involved and what they’re up to.”
Jordyn nodded, seeing his logic, but not feeling confident about the end result.
“The fact that we know who to keep our eye on might help us get to the bottom of this.”
“He’s trying to hurt us,” she said. “Hurt the ranch.”
“Yes, I think we can agree on that. But why?”
Jordyn shrugged. “I don’t know. Why would anyone want to hurt Mom...or ruin my father’s reputation?
Chad was silent for a long moment. “You may have just hit the nail on the head.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Ruin your father’s reputation.”
“I still don’t follow.”
“I guess it’s probably not so much that someone wants to ruin your father’s reputation. Maybe they just want to ruin the ranch’s reputation.”
“That doesn’t help any. Why would they want to do that?”
“So they can buy it at a cheaper price maybe?”
Jordyn’s hand went to her heart and she struggled to catch her breath as she remembered the conversation with her mother earlier.
“What’s wrong?” Chad noticed the reaction.
“Nothing.” Jordyn shook her head. “I mean, I guess that makes sense.” She looked down and then back up, not sure how much she should tell Chad.
“Why? Have you heard something?”
Jordyn nodded, knowing she could trust him, and wanting to have his help. “Mom got a letter with an offer to buy.”
“Are you kidding? Was it for a good price?”
“Under normal conditions, no. But with everything that’s been going on the last six months, I actually think she’s talked herself into it.”
“We can’t let that happen.”
Jordyn glanced up at him. The tone of his voice was so confident and assertive that she felt an instant wave of relief.
“I’ll tell you what we’re going to do,” Chad continued. “The isolation shed is empty right now.”
“So?”
“It’s far enough away that no one should go down there. Let’s put Bell in there so that whoever did this thinks he was successful.”
“You mean, let him think the horse is dead?”
“Look, only you and me and Dr. Litton know the horse is fine. Maybe someone will slip up and reveal something.”
“I guess it’s worth a shot.”
“Can you take her?” He pulled a rope from the stall door and hooked it to the horse’s halter. “I have a few other things to do to cover our tracks.”
“Sure.” Jordyn took the rope and glanced in the stall. “There’s enough blood in here to make someone think the worst.”
“Yeah, but Doc said she’s fine. We just need to let her rest and take it easy for a few days.” Chad handed her the camera. “Plus, I’ll be able to keep an eye on her.”
“Okay. I’ll set up the camera, get her settled, and then head back to the Lodge.”
“Don’t tell anyone,” Chad warned. “Not even your mother. The less she knows the better.”
Jordyn nodded but her heart sank. She didn’t want to lie. She hoped with all of the excitement, her mother would forget to ask.
