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Reed pulled some tack out of the trough, shaking his head at the ruined equipment. “Did you check the security cameras?” he asked Slade.
Slade rolled his eyes. “Of course I did. Whoever did this knew where they were and sprayed the lenses with black paint.”
“We’ll add the replacements to the list of costs they’re going to pay when we find them,” Brett said. “Even if it’s just kids playing a prank.”
“It had to have been an inside job.” Reed sent a pointed glance toward Keith who was hauling off an armful of damaged slats.
Slade let out a worried sigh. From all their applicants, Brett knew he tried to pick those who needed the work most, young men who were struggling to stay in college due to expenses and who weren’t afraid of hard, back-bending work to attain their goals. He hated to think any of the young men they had hired at the start of summer would betray them this way, but nothing would surprise him.
“Maybe,” Slade replied with a look that told them both to let that thought go for now.
Evan and Riley were with Keith when he returned, both eyeing the defilement with disdain. “Let us take care of this, boss,” Evan said, grabbing a rake. “I’m sure you have other things to do.”
“We do, thanks, Evan. When you’re done, take the rest of the day.” Slade nodded to Brett and Reed to follow him into the stable.
When they were out of earshot of the cowhands, Brett asked Slade, “Do you suspect anyone?”
“No, and I’m telling you both now, I trust those guys.” He jerked a thumb toward the corral. “They have enough on their plate with school and this job, so concentrate on teenage pranksters. The three of us did our share of pulling stunts,” he reminded them.
“None that were destructive. Dad would have had our asses, not to mention Mom,” Reed said.
“Okay, say it was kids and they took their fun too far. We can afford the loss, so let’s move on and get back to work. I need to run a check on the south well, then I can ride fences with you. Give me an hour.” They operated two oil wells on their property, Brett’s responsibility to maintain both their safety and productivity.
“Call one of us when you’re done and we’ll send our location.” Slade walked out, and Reed turned to Brett.
“He’s protective of the students, but I’m not dismissing them.”
“Me, either,” Brett stated. “But other than keeping a close eye out, neither am I going to waste time pursuing the culprits since it’s likely a one-time daring escapade.”
“Agreed. Catch up with you later.”
That made two annoying incidents Brett hoped he was done with now. He just wished he could be as sure Allie wouldn’t return to push her luck as he was the stable destruction was an innocent act of immature mischief.
Chapter Three
Allie awoke Fridaymorning grateful for the end of the week. Most weeks working as an actuary for the county office were even paced, running through the same statistics for each case. But when tax evaluations were due to go out, she put in longer hours and had to deal with unhappy homeowners who didn’t care for the numbers she gave them if they affected their property tax rate. She’d already put in forty hours this week and still had another day to get through. She only hoped she was done with dissatisfied clients, at least for this round.
