Cole dug in, eating quickly so that he could get to the office.
“What would you like for dinner?” Mrs. Gibbs asked as she sat down at the table with her own plate.
Dinner. On the table after work. One that he didn’t have to cook himself. Would wonders never cease? “I’ll leave that entirely up to you. I’m easy to please.”
“Hamburgers,” Sophie chimed in.
“We’ll see,” Mrs. Gibbs told her. “Now run upstairs and brush your teeth. It’s almost time to go out for the bus.”
Sophie got up from the table, smacked a kiss on top of Belle’s head, and headed up the stairs. Belle took off after her, limping only slightly from the gunshot wound she’d sustained last summer. After Sophie left, Mrs. Gibbs spoke quietly. “Young Angela isn’t very pleased with me.”
“She’ll get over it. She’s a good kid, but I think she’s gotten used to calling her own shots around here the past few months.”
“I’ll try to respect that. But I feel I must express my own opinion when I see something that the girls are doing that I don’t agree with.”
“Of course. And I’ll back you up when I can.” Cole might be desperate to have help around the house, but he wouldn’t turn over the raising of his kids to an outsider. “One thing I learned lately is that I’ve got to be involved with my kids, and we made a pact to communicate with each other. So I’ll have to express my opinions, too. Often you and I will agree. Sometimes we might not. Then we’ll have to work things out.”
Mrs. Gibbs gave him a skeptical look. “We shall see.”
It sounded ominous. “I’m sure we can work together. We just need to keep each other in the loop.” He pushed back his chair, ending the conversation. “Thank you for breakfast. That’s a mighty fine way to start the morning.”
“And what do you want for your lunch?”
“I’m used to a sandwich, but I can make that myself. I never know when I’ll be able to take a lunch break.”
“I’ll leave something made for you in the refrigerator.”
Clearly Mrs. Gibbs knew her way into a man’s heart. “Thanks. As long as I have fruit, chips, and sandwich fixin’s, I’m a happy camper.”
The kids came down the stairs together, Angie picking at Sophie’s hair in a teasing way but dressed in a more acceptable shirt. Cole decided not to comment on it, gave both girls a hug, and saw them out the door. They headed up the lane toward the highway to catch the school bus.
He felt autumn’s chill in the air and instantly thought of Adrienne Howard. He scanned the sky. Wispy gray clouds spread over half of it from the west, and they looked like they were filled with wind. As if proving him right, a light breeze lifted some dry leaves and scattered them across the lane. If a storm was brewing, the warm Indian summer might be coming to an end.
Leaving Mrs. Gibbs to her own means, he said good-bye, pulled his pickup truck out of the garage, and headed down the lane to his clinic.
Chapter 5
Cole’s assistant, Tess Murphy, arrived at the clinic shortly after him. He’d never paid much attention to the way his assistant dressed before, but the discussion at home must have triggered a new awareness. He noticed that today she wore a wild-patterned T-shirt under her white jacket, and her red hair stood up in stiff spikes.
“Hi, hi.” Tess gave him her usual twinkly greeting. “How goes it with Mrs. Gibbs this morning?”
“We’re getting along fine.” A private man, Cole had never liked to air his personal life, so he switched the subject. “What do we have on the schedule?”
The phone rang, and Tess answered. He looked at the schedule while Tess opened the computer screen for the intake of new clients. After tapping in information, Tess held out the phone, covering the speaker. “This is Carmen Santiago. New client—Dark Horse Stable. Wants to schedule an ambulatory visit for a sick stud horse. It’s way up in the mountains, so I thought you might want to prioritize.”
He nodded, tucked the phone against his ear, and headed for the treatment room to prepare for his first client of the day, a routine cat exam with inoculations. “This is Dr. Walker.”
“Carmen Santiago. I need an appointment as soon as you can work us in.”
“Tess told me you’re having trouble with your stallion. What’s going on?”
Her voice was low-pitched and melodious, and she had a slight Spanish accent. “He acts like he’s in pain. Stiff through the hind legs—doesn’t want to walk.”
“Are the muscles in his back and hind legs hard, like they’re in spasm?”
“Yes.”
“Did you exercise him right before the symptoms started?”
“Yes. We’d just finished his first morning workout.”
“All right,” Cole said. “He could be tying up. It’s a condition that sport horses can get after working out real hard. Are you familiar with it?”
“Yes, I’ve seen it before. But this seems different. There are also muscle tremors.”
“Those can occur sometimes. Do you have any pain reliever?” Cole mentioned a common analgesic that most horse trainers kept on hand.
“I do.”
“Start him on that.” Cole explained the dosage. “I’ll be up as soon as I can. Where is your place?”
“We’re located about twenty miles out. Go ten miles toward Hightower and turn north on Soldier Canyon Road.” She then described a series of twists and turns that led up into the high country.
“I didn’t realize you were so far out. It will take me about an hour to get to you. Make him as comfortable as you can.” He heard the front door to the clinic open and knew his first patient had arrived. “I’ll have Tess do some rescheduling. I can leave here in about twenty minutes.”
He made arrangements with Tess to reschedule his morning and took care of the cat. Then he checked supplies in the mobile vet unit that sat in the back of his pickup truck, climbed in, and headed west on the highway going through Timber Creek toward Hightower.
The first few miles were smooth sailing through lush meadows that swept away on either side of the road. Feeling a pang of guilt, he drove past his childhood home, a cattle ranch where his parents still lived. It had been months since he’d visited. His mother was a difficult lady, and he felt she was partially to blame for his divorce. He’d found out too late that his mother had criticized Olivia constantly, and his ex-wife blamed him for not stopping it.
Good Lord, how could I stop something I didn’t even know was happening?
After he turned off onto Soldier Canyon, the road forced him to pay attention to his driving. Covered in gravel and ruts, it climbed a steep grade through pinion, limber pine, and ever thickening trees. Finally, after ten miles, he topped the last hill. From this vantage point, he could see a clearing in the valley and the red metal rooftops of several buildings, one a large barnlike structure. He kept the truck in low gear as he made his way toward the place, down through the heavy evergreen forest and pockets of aspen with golden leaves that shivered in the breeze. It seemed like an isolated location for a training stable, but many folks loved the mountains enough to put up with the distance.
He found the entry to the stable easily enough. It was the only one along this stretch and was marked well with a log archway. A wooden sign swung from the top, embossed with the name Dark Horse Stable. He drove under the arch and followed a narrow lane a half-mile through the forest until a clearing opened up.
The lane split to the left where Cole could see a huge log home perched on a rise. Its vaulted roof rose above a wall of glass, exposing a forest view for its occupants as well as a view of the stable off to his right. He followed the right fork and drove toward the barn, made of solid red metal panels. After driving around it, he could see a flat space had been cleared on the other side where a well-groomed racetrack had been built. A bay thoroughbred streaked around the track, its black mane and tail streaming, running full out with a small rider perched on top. Cole shut down his engine and paused for a moment to enjoy the sight of the beautiful and powerful animal.