AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I have some ideas, but nothing concrete. Can you give me some time to put a plan together?”
He chuckled and then said, “Spencer, believe me, I’m never going to complain when someone else wants to put a plan together instead of simply presenting me with a problem they want me to solve.”
“Okay, I’ll pull something together and get back to you.”
“Great. I’m looking forward to it.”
Nash
Murphy, Levi, and I were putting up a temporary fence on the left side of the barn in case we got in any new arrivals since all the current pens were taken. Once the new barn was built, we wouldn’t have this problem, but for now, we were making do as best we could. I was hammering in t-posts, and Murphy and Levi were coming behind me with fence panels when my phone buzzed with a text notification. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and checked it.
Spencer: Guess what, Daddy?
Me: What, cutie?
Spencer: I just got off the phone with the mayor about the situation with the local youth.
Me: Really? How did that go?
Spencer: Great. I think he’s on board.
Me: Good job. I can’t wait to hear all about it.
Spencer: I’ll tell you all about it tonight.
“What’re you grinning about?” Murphy stopped what she was doing and gave me a knowing look.
“Nothin’”
“Nothing, huh?” she said in a teasing voice.
“A nothing called Spencer is my guess,” Levi teased.
I rolled my eyes, but I didn’t deny it. When I’d suggested Spence could be part of the solution for the youth problem he saw here in River Gorge, I’d known he would figure things out, and sure enough, he was. I was so proud of him for being proactive instead of just complaining about it.
“Spencer’s working on a plan to give the teens here in River Gorge something to do with themselves instead of running the streets and getting into trouble,” I explained.
“Cool,” Levi said. “I didn’t grow up here, but the town where I was raised wasn’t much bigger, and there was never anything to do.”
The roar of an engine and tires spitting gravel interrupted our conversation. We weren’t expecting anyone today, so I didn’t know who it was or why they were speeding down the driveway like a bat out of hell, but all three of us put down our tools and rushed around the barn to see what was going on. We made it around just in time to see Elmer Walker slam on his brakes and skid to a stop.
He jumped out of his old truck, all red-faced and furious. My guess was he’d have spent the whole drive over here working himself up because I’d seen him mad before, but never like this.
“Nash, you shit,” he yelled. “When the sheriff showed up to take my horses, I should’a known then it was ‘cause a-you. Now give ‘em back.”
“Excuse me?” Murphy said, stepping forward.
He stepped around her, right up to where I stood. “Ya hear me. I want my horses back now.”
As soon as he stepped up in my face, the whiskey breath hit me. The man wasn’t just angry, he was also lit. Great. This made things ten times worse. Not only did we have to deal with his anger, but we couldn’t let him leave. He was a danger, not only to himself but potentially to others out there on the road.
“Elmer, I didn’t take your horses. The law did. I think you need to calm down.” Levi and Murphy were both standing behind us and slightly to the right, so I motioned with my head for Levi to go get Cruz. He nodded in agreement and took off. Now I just needed to keep things under control until Cruz got here.
“Calm down, my ass. Where are they? I’m taking back what’s mine.”
I glanced over at his truck and wondered how he planned to get nine horses back to his place without a trailer, but I was guessing, in his current condition, logic wasn’t a factor. Which was also why it wouldn’t do a bit of good to try to reason with him. All I could do was make sure he didn’t hurt anyone or any of the horses until Cruz got out here.
Because we’d placed the horses in the back paddock, he couldn’t see them from here, so I had that in my favor.
