Innocence

No message received.

The hemlock was freshly pulled from the ground.

What did they want?

As I stirred, Jaxson’s grip tightened on me. We were on a cot outside of Sparkles’ since I refused to leave. Ty was staying with Pam and Levi tonight.

“How are you doing?”

“I think not receiving any type of message is driving me mad. What happened this time? I’m married. I’m happy. I want no part of Charles. It makes no sense. Unless . . .” A new thought formed. “Unless, it’s Crystal fucking with my life.” I turned to face Jaxson. “Do you think Crystal had anything to do with this since we’re married?”

The way Jaxson’s eyes tightened told me he had similar thoughts. “I’ve talked to my lawyer. We’ve had someone keeping tabs on Crystal. They lost her a day ago.” I gasped and closed my eyes. He continued. “They got an ass chewing for not telling me. I increased the security. Dad is reviewing all of the cameras from the last day. Hopefully we’ll have something by morning.”

Crystal wasn’t done with us. I hated the thought she was so close to where Ty and I came every morning. The very thought sickened me. “When were you going to tell me?”

“When I had answers. Or you asked.”

Ty’s mother was crazy mad. There was no reasoning with her. For some reason, the thought of Crystal scared me more than whoever was tied to Charles. It seemed all I had to do was stay away from Charles and the person left me alone.

“London, I wasn’t trying to keep it from you. I want you to know that.”

“I know. Tell me next time. You wouldn’t want me keeping something secret about Charles.”

He kissed me. “You’re right. I won’t.”

The grunt from my horse turned my attention back to the stall. She lifted her head as a joyful sob

escaped me. Scrambling off the cot, I went to her side. Jaxson stayed near us. “Hey, girl. Take it easy. You’re okay.”

She lifted her head again with more noise, the tube long removed. “Are you trying to get up, Sparkles?”

My spirits lifted as she tried again and made it. Jaxson and I put comforting hands along her neck as I praised her. “Good, girl. Oh, Sparkles, you’re going to be okay. You’re such a strong girl.”

Sparkles was unsteady on her feet as she walked toward the water bucket only three steps away; Jaxson was by my side watching her. Her coat gleamed with sweat. As soon as she was strong enough, we’d wash her off.

“She’s going to be okay, sweetheart.”

Eagerly, I nodded and watched. Going to the corner, Sparkles laid back down in her normal resting position. Jaxson’s chest pressed against my back. I took a deep breath. “She’s going to be okay.”

THE DAY OF THE MCCOLE Classic drew near. Every minute of the day was busy with preparation. We hadn’t told Ty yet, but we’d found a Golden Retriever puppy who would be ready to leave her mom in a week.

In a book I bought him, Ty fell in love with Golden Retrievers. His cousin, Mallory, gave him the idea of putting pictures of them in every drawer of the house to remind us of what he wanted. Needless to say, it worked.

The camera feeds confirmed Crystal was on the premises. She’d used an employee’s card to get access. The employee had been scared to report it being stolen.

The camera feeds outlined Crystal’s movements. After entering, she paused in front of the stalls reading the horses’ nametags on the front. How had she known Sparkles was mine? There was still no connection we could find. Goose bumps ran down my arms as I remembered her in a McCole baseball cap bringing the bucket to Sparkles’ stall. She’d known exactly when to come and the place was almost deserted. Perfect timing.

A warrant was issued for trespassing and a few other charges to increase the sentence regarding animal cruelty.

Of course, we were unable to find her. I wanted her out of our lives and away from our son.

I pushed the thoughts aside. Eventually, Crystal would reemerge when she needed something. Drugs drove people to do crazy things.

This afternoon, Ty and I were headed into town with Levi and Pam to get haircuts. It would be a miracle to get Jaxson away from the ranch with all he had planned.

This morning we were simply hanging out as a family. A much-welcomed rest time.

The doorbell rang.