What a tangle of threads to try to unravel. “The governor is coming on Sunday. It might be worth talking to her about it. Even though she’s the Alabama governor, the Collins family is a powerhouse even in national politics. And though Warren said tolook at Ben’s family, we can’t ignore the other avenues of investigation. They might know something about Ben’s family.”
“True enough.”
Blake came back her way. “The detective wants to talk to you.” His warm hand pressed hers. “Just tell him what you saw and what we were doing. It won’t take long, and we can get out of this wind.”
She headed for the unsmiling detective to get this over with.
Blake let his brothers run ahead of him to the corral at the Dillard Ranch while he walked beside Paradise. The distinct odor of horse mingled with the scent of newly mown hay from the field to their left. “They were so excited I don’t think they slept last night. I see Savannah and Simon.” He pointed them out by the barn, where they stood talking to Abby and Quinn.
“Abby’s looking for Drew,” Paradise said. “She must not know he went to talk to Rod at the Bon Secour sheriff’s station.”
The boys reached the corral and stopped to stare at the horses. “They’re bigger than I thought they’d be.” Levi took Blake’s hand.
“I want to ride that guy.” Isaac pointed out the biggest one, a black gelding. As if the animal understood, the horse clopped over to bump the boy’s hand with his mane.
Smiling, Abby’s daughter, Quinn, walked toward them and met them at the gate. Her long red hair hung down her back in a braid. “Come on in and meet the horses. Some people like to start with ponies, but our horses are so gentle. Ponies can be mischievous.” She opened the gate to let them in, then fastened it behind them.
“Glad you could make it,” Savannah said. “This is Simon’sfourth lesson, and he loves it so much.” She touched Isaac’s hair. “You ready to learn to ride?”
“I’ve wanted to do this since I was a baby.”
That wasn’t far wrong. Isaac had watched horse shows on TV since he was a toddler. Levi hung back, clinging to Blake’s hand. Though at seven he was the oldest, he wasn’t as daring as his five-year-old brother.
Paradise leaned over and whispered to Blake, “I should have come prepared to ride myself, but I didn’t want to make more work for Abby and Quinn. I remember my first lesson in this very spot.”
“Next time,” he told her.
Though Quinn was only ten, she was tall with an assertive manner. Blake knew she’d been riding since she was two, and it showed in her practiced movements bridling and saddling the horses. When all five horses were ready to go, she demonstrated how to mount and swing their legs up into the saddle. “You’ll all need mounting blocks at first. It’s hard to mount when you’re way shorter than the horse.” She patted the black horse’s nose. “This is Onyx. He was born at the ranch, and he’s super sweet.”
“I want to try!” Isaac approached the black horse and climbed on the mounting block. He mounted like Quinn had shown them in one smooth movement. He held hold of the pommel. “Look at me!”
“I see you,” Blake said. “Listen to everything Quinn and Miss Abby tell you.”
“I will.”
Blake kept hold of Levi’s hand and walked with him to a bay mare. “She’s beautiful, isn’t she?” He stroked her nose, and Levi let go of his hand and did the same.
“Her name is Cinnamon,” Abby said. “She’s a good girl.” She fed the mare a sugar cube, and the horse nickered.
“Ready?” Blake asked Levi, who nodded and approached the block with confidence. He made a false start once, then got his seat in the saddle. His huge grin warmed Blake.
Simon, Abby, and Quinn got mounted, and Savannah moved outside the corral to watch. The kids began to relax, and Blake wished his mom could have come to watch. Next time he’d stay home and work so she could watch the boys.
Savannah put one foot on the bottom rail of the fence. “Hez told me what happened a couple of nights ago. That had to have been traumatic.”
Paradise shuddered. “I keep seeing it in my head.”
“I understand. Hez had a thought this morning. Maybe Warren did business at the local bank where Abby works. She might take a peek at the records and see if any unusual deposits landed in his account in the past few months. She can’t really give you any personal information, but she could suggest the police get a subpoena to see the activity. I doubt the police will probe too much since his death was an accident, but if there’s a hint they could find clues to a cold case, they might do it.”
Paradise settled on the grass and curled her legs under her. “I thought about that too, and when Abby gets back, I’ll ask about it. Honestly, she might have already checked. It was a traumatic night for her too.”
Savannah joined her on the ground. “We might as well get comfy. They’ll be riding at least half an hour. You know Abby well. How’s she dealing with her dad’s death and his involvement in murdering Mary Steerforth?”
“We haven’t talked about it much. She moved in here though.”
“I heard her ex is getting remarried.”
“It hit her hard.”
