“What are you doing here?” she asked calmly.
He held a cigar in his hand and raised it to his lips. “I came to see you,” he said after expelling a puff of smoke.
“You can’t smoke in h…here,” Lou stammered.
“Looks like I can do just about what I want,” he replied, raising the cigar to his lips again.
“You’re going to set the whole place on fire. There’s too much hay in here for sparks,” Lou protested as he flicked his ashes on the cobblestone-lined walk that ran down the center aisle of the barn. She stomped them soundly.
“Set the place on fire. Now there’s a great idea,” he replied as he ground the cigar out with the bottom of his shoe. He sighed sarcastically. “But not today.”
“What do you want?” Lou asked with more bravado than she actually felt. “How much?”
“All of it. I want all of it.” He spread his hands wide. “My boss is not willing to bargain. He will accept no less than $50,000 in cash and that other little item.”
“That other little item is not here. You tried to get that last night and failed. So, it’s in a safe place.”
“What are you talking about?” He stiffened.
“You tried to steal my daughter but you failed.”
Lou heard footsteps outside the building at the same time Wes did, if his reaction was any indication, along with the soft whistle of a man. Wes quickly disappeared into the shadows of the barn and slipped out the back door just as Brody walked in through the other end.
Lou leaned over the stall door again, pretending to be talking to the mare.
“How’s she doing?” he asked casually as he walked up behind her, placing his hands on her shoulders.
“They both look great. See.” Lou managed to keep the tremor out of her voice. “Healthy as a horse.” She rubbed her neck again, her brow scrunched.
“Do you have a headache?” Brody asked quietly, gently rubbing her shoulders.
“Boy, do I ever,” Lou moaned.
“Well, come on. I’ll get you something for it. You could probably talk me into a neck rub, too, if you ask me nicely.”
“Aw, shucks. I have to ask
you nicely?” She covered his hand with hers and turned to walk to the house. He slipped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close.
“Hey,” Brody said. “What’s that smell?”
“What’s it smell like?” Lou asked.
Brody sniffed again. “Cherries?”
“Oh. Must be those new mints John buys. I just gave a couple to Lady.”
“Oh, that must be it,” Brody replied.
****
Wes snuck out the backdoor of the barn, careful to keep to the shadows as he skirted the two hay barns. The path around the barns led to the trail through the woods that would take him back to his car. As soon as he was out of earshot, he pulled out his phone and dialed.
“Jerry’s towing,” a silky voice answered.
“Let me talk to the boss,” he said, his voice quivering slightly.
“What do you want?” the voice snapped in his ear.