She sighed heavily. “I don’t know what to say to Royce or John about this. How do I deal with this in a way that they’ll listen? Royce is an ass and clearly still nursing a wounded ego after I shut him down two months back. He mentioned his dad was ill back then, but surely, he can’t still be.”
This Royce guy sounded like a grade-A asshole. “Gabs, I don’t want you going up there by yourself. I’m at my folks’ place so can’t be there for at least an hour. Is there anyone else you can call to go with you? One of the guys you work with?”
“I’ll be fine. Royce is all bark and no bite, always has been. He’d never physically hurt me, however I’m pretty sure he won’t listen to me. And those horses mean the world to his dad. I’m worried something’s happened to him.”
Her flippant attitude toward this man set my teeth on edge. “Don’t be reckless around this guy, Gabs. He might be more dangerous than you think. Give me directions and I’ll get Liam to come over. I don’t want you going up to that house alone.”
Silence echoed down the line, and I worried I’d overstepped once again. I wasn’t anything to her anymore. She had no reason to listen to me. I was about to have another attempt at convincing her when she spoke.
“Please, Bo, just give me an idea of what to say. That’s all I need right now.”
I wanted to reach through the phone and shake her. So damn stubborn and independent.
“Gabs, you can lean on me, okay? I know we’re technically not together or anything, but I want to help you. Be there for you. I’m concerned about that Royce guy, that you’re not taking the threat he poses seriously. If he’s willfully neglected those horses like he apparently has, he’s not going to have any more respect for human life. He could really hurt you.”
“He won’t hurt me, Boone. And I’ll be careful, I promise.”
Realizing she wasn’t going to budge on going in alone, I did my best to guide her on what to say.
“All right, just stick with the facts. Lay out that if the horses aren’t taken care of, the SPCA will come in. That’ll mean fines and potentially the animals being taken away. Even if he doesn’t care about the horses, he should care about his bank account. Once you’ve said your piece, you get out of there.”
“I need to head into Silky Ink for a few hours tonight anyway, so no worries there. By the time I get done mucking out the stalls, I won’t have much time left before I need to go in.”
Closing my eyes, I rubbed the bridge of my nose.
“Can you text me every half hour and again when you get home afterward? Let me know you’re all right.”
Her voice softened. “I can do that. Thanks, Bo.”
She hung up and as I slipped my phone into my pocket, I rubbed the ache in my chest. Damn, I missed her something fierce.
Gabs
Ending the call, I leaned my head against the side of the barn and bit back my sigh. While Boone’s protective side was something I liked about him, the last thing I needed right now was to start some kind of Alpha male war between him and Royce. I was grateful he was at his folks’ place and too far away to rush straight over here. At least, that was what I was telling myself.
“Men…”
Shaking my head, I set a timer to go off every half hour for the next three hours then got back to mucking out the last stalls. By the time I finished, I’d texted Boone three times. After putting in several large flakes of hay so they could continue to much for several more hours, I got all the horses back in and settled for the night. I even managed to get Whiskey back into her stall, although I couldn’t latch her gate shut properly. I hoped she’d stay put until I came back in the morning.
Stroking each of their faces as I closed their stall doors, I spoke to each one.
“I’ll be back in the morning. I won’t let you suffer anymore.”
After closing the broken barn door as best I could, I made my way up the hill to the house. I’d hoped my temper would have cooled off by now, but I wasn’t any calmer. There was no need for the horses to get to the point they were. I would have happily kept looking after them.
I was about to climb the front stairs when the sound of an approaching vehicle filled the air. Turning, I saw Royce come flying over the grass toward the house on an ATV. The closer he got, the more of him I could see. I frowned. He was not only covered in dirt but looked tired and worn out.
Royce had never done more than he’d absolutely had to. The fact he’d been clearly out working in the pastures all day didn’t make any sense. I just couldn’t accept that he would have changed this much.
I didn’t say a word until he’d parked and walked over to me.
“Whatcha doing over here, Gabs? Did something break at your place?”
I shook my head, in shock that he’d act like he hadn’t threatened me last time we spoke. This wasn’t how I’d expected him to behave.
“My place is fine. I’m here because when I got home earlier today, Whiskey was waiting for me.”
“Whiskey? A drink was waiting for you? I really don’t know what you’re on about, Gabs, but I’m too damn tired to deal with it.”