“Holy shit,” I breathed.
Jay looked horrified. “This is crazy.”
“That’s why we didn’t find it on our four-wheelers,” I added.
“There are four of them,” Tristan said, pulling up a series of thermal images he’d taken. “There’s one really close by that, from the looks of it, they’re actively maintaining even through the winter. I think they dug it below the frost level so it’s flowing freely. Just not to your ranch.”
I rubbed my face with a groan. “They’re actually stealing it.”
“Afraid so.” Tristan put his tablet on my island and sipped his coffee again.
Azura stood close to her husband, peering around him at the pictures. “Well, that solves the how. Now we need to prove the who.”
“How do we do that?” I asked weakly.
“Already did,” Tristan smiled confidently. “I followed the source to the Scott property.”
“Oh, God,” Jay said weakly.
I nodded, echoing his sentiment. “I was hoping Jay was wrong about that.”
“Good instincts,” Azura said to Jay. “But Arabella, this is good news. We have cause to send a cease and desist and pursue this with a little more tenacity than before. I’ll get your water back before spring. In fact, after this weather calms down and you have a decent day, you and Jay can head out there to destroy the dam diverting most of the water to his culvert.”
I nodded. “So, you’ll just be pursuing reparations.”
Azura’s beautiful features darkened with lethal acuity. “At the very least.”
I suddenly pitied the Scotts. I barely knew Azura, and I could tell she was going to sink her teeth into them without mercy. Tristan chuckled like his wife’s pertinacity was his favorite part of her personality. “Poor fools. Well, Arabella, it was a pleasure to meet you.” He shook my hand finally, gathering his tablet and helmet. “We’ll get out of your hair. I’m sure you’re busy.”
Azura agreed with a nod, looking between Jay and me. “We’ll get this sorted for you. Hang in there.”
“I’ve emailed you the locations of each dam,” Tristan said, tapping away on the tablet as he backed away. “The closest one is the lower dip in Lark River about a mile and a half away from the tree line. I think that’s your best bet for getting some water before spring.”
“Thank you,” I said honestly. Some of the pressure eased away from my chest, and I touched the phone in my back pocket again. I wanted to tell Spencer. I wanted him here. I wanted to move past the hurt and find a way to be happy. I just wasn’t sure how.
As Azura and Tristan left, I sank against the island, my mind spinning. I glanced at Jay, and he looked as shell-shocked as I felt. “Hey.” I nudged him with my elbow. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” he said distantly, and his hand tapped against his thigh. He seemed to shake himself out of his trance. “I’m going to feed and muck stalls.”
I checked my watch. “Can you handle it on your own if I help you in the evening? I’ve got a hoof abscess at the Martins’ ranch in an hour.”
“Sure,” he nodded, touching his ballcap. “Meet you later tonight.”
As he left, I brought my phone out and stared at the screen. The storm was picking up outside, and as my old fears climbed to the surface, I found myself more focused on my present, reaching not for old hurt but for future possibilities. I wanted to be strong enough to grasp them. I just had to find the courage.
Chapter twenty-nine
Spencer
Imanaged to keep busy for half the day before I got twitchy. I toured my building with Margot, and she showed me the furniture she had ordered for the waiting room. We went through an exhaustive list of equipment and furnishings we would need, and she had them drawn up with a budget that fit nicely with my projected startup costs. Margot was fastidious, and it should have been exciting and captivating to order physical items that would bring me closer to opening my practice, but my heart wasn’t in it.
She wanted to talk marketing strategies and budgets, and I wanted to sprint from the room and back to the ranch. She wanted to go over graphics and logos, and I wanted to pull a tall, pink-haired vet into my arms. She wanted to talk layout of the building, and I wanted to lay Arabella beneath me and kiss her tears and smiles until she felt whole again.
After a few hours, I called it quits, told Margot I trusted her implicitly, and left to grab a late lunch and take it to the chronic overachiever I knew wouldn’t have eaten yet. She didn’t have toforgive me—she didn’t even have to look at me if she didn’t want to. I just wanted to make sure she was okay.
As I pulled into the ranch, the weather had gone from light snow flurries to a downpour of whirling flakes that obscured my vision. I remembered what Arabella had said about her junior year and the snowstorm she’d survived. My fingers drummed the steering wheel as I rolled to a cautious stop, and I rubbed my chest absently. I was so goddamn worried for her, it hurt. I’d upset her, she hated snowstorms, and she was probably still stomping around this fucking ranch caring for everyone but herself.
I ducked my head and pushed through the freezing wind, squinting as snow pelted my face and slid down my collar. I ran to the covered porch, and with a shiver, I let myself inside. The lights were off, and the house was completely silent. I brought the bags of Thai food to the counter, but I didn’t bother taking off my coat. Ara wasn’t here, as I’d expected. I checked the bedrooms just in case, but sure enough, she was out there in the storm saving some poor animal’s life at the expense of her mental well-being.
