She had big violet eyes and was showing an insane amount of cleavage, and all the outrage Nora had been saving up since her conversation with Lee this morning merged with the realization that Todd living in Benson meant Todd dating in Benson. The sick feeling that had been in her stomach all day got worse, and all Nora wanted to do was go home. But before she could, Todd’s date saw her standing there gaping at them like a jealous, dusty fish. The woman leaned her shiny head in and murmured something to Todd, who turned around and spotted Nora.
“Hey,” he said, waving her over.
She didn’t want to be waved over. She wanted to sink through the floorboards of the High Country and disappear into the beery mud below. Her hair was in pigtails that hung down from underneath her ball cap. Below her shorts, her legs were dirt smeared and scratched. Dusty, clunky hiking boots completed the look. In humiliating contrast, Todd’s date was wearing a minidress and heels.
Outrage began building again, white-hot inside her. While his actions had Nora covering for him with lies and Lee frantically trying to salvage his job, Todd was here cuddling up with a date.
Her anger eclipsed her embarrassment. “I was hoping to speak with you, but it looks as if you’re extremely busy.”
“I am, but...”
“And I’m sure whatever you’re doing in here is very important and urgent.” She bit the words out.
“Well, I think so...” Todd’s brows were raised and he looked embarrassed. Probably for her. Which just made Nora angrier.
“Because that’s what you do, right? You run around and try to save the world, and your lofty goals are so important that you couldn’t possibly consider the consequences for anyone else.” The anger felt good, wiping out the guilt from lying to Lee today and the irritating jealously she was feeling now.
Todd glanced helplessly at his date, then back at her. He looked so bewildered, and that just made it all worse. He should know. He should have realized that after he let those horses out, the Department of Range Management would need to blame someone. And that someone was poor Lee.
“Look, Nora, we’re almost done here. Let me just go ahead and finish up, and then you can tell me what’s got you so upset.”
She hated his placating tone. As if she was some kind of crazy person he was trying to appease. And the worst thing was, she never got this mad. She was reserved. Famously reserved. She’d stayed calm almost her whole life. Except when Todd had left her. Except in the bar the other night. Except today.
Anger mutated to blinding rage. “Oh, I’m so sorry. I realize that finishing your date is so much more important than talking about how I had to lie for you today. Or how you might have ruined a good man’s entire life.”
Todd paled. She’d come close to spilling the secret he’d asked her to keep. But it served him right.
“Nora, this is my friend Tess Cole. She’s putting together a few ads for me.”
“Oh.” Great. She was his friend. To top everything off, now Nora had her filthy hiking boot stuck in her mouth. “An ad for the repair shop?” It was an inane question, but her mind was scrambled. Todd’s not-a-date was looking at her with a slight smile and the knowing eyes of a woman who could spot a big romantic mess. Except this mess wasn’t romantic. Far from it.
“Some PR for his charitable organization, The Mustang Protection Fund,” Tess explained. She held out her hand and Nora spotted the enormous diamond on her ring finger. “So nice to meet you, Nora.”
“Nice to meet you, too,” Nora mumbled, giving Tess’s hand a weak shake, trying to make sense of this new reality. Todd ran an organization to protect the mustangs? And she’d just accused him and his obviously married colleague of being on a date? It would be interesting to see if this day could possibly get worse.
Tess stood up, gathering her folders and giving them a view of her outrageously long legs and tiny skirt. “Look, Todd, I’d better get going. I’m meeting Slaid for dinner. And it seems as though you have some things you need to take care of. Just give me a call once you’ve looked all this over. And thanks for the drink.”
Nora could tell Todd’s face was red, even in the dim light of the bar. He stood up, as well. “Thanks for everything, Tess. I so appreciate it.”
“Hey, it’s for a good cause.” Tess gave Nora a big smile and a small wink. Then she stepped closer and leaned in, surrounding Nora with a cloud of expensive perfume. “He’s all yours,” she murmured. “He’s a pretty good guy, most of the time. We’d miss him around here if you ripped him to shreds.”
“I’m so sorry about the...misunderstanding.” Nora didn’t know what to call it. Her own temporary insanity?
“Please don’t worry about it. That was the most entertaining thing that’s happened to me in a while.”
Nora watched Tess until she disappeared into the sunlight outside and the bar door closed behind her.
“Nora, what the hell is going on?” Todd was still standing, with the small table between them.
“Your idiocy, that’s what.” She took Tess’s former seat and motioned for Todd to sit, as well. “The DRM is all riled up about the missing horses.”
“What do you mean?”
“The manager of the station, Lee, questioned me today. He knows my car was the last one in the lot that night. I had to lie and say I’d seen nothing.”
Todd looked stricken. “I’m so sorry, Nora. I honestly didn’t think it would be a big deal to them.”
“No? Well, you should have thought. Lee’s worried he’s going to lose his job over this. He has three kids to support. He can’t afford to lose his livelihood.”
“They won’t fire him,” Todd said more confidently. “The government has so many rules and regulations attached to hiring and firing personnel, there’s no way they can fire him without evidence.”
She raised her brows skeptically. “You don’t know that for sure.”
“I’m pretty certain. Look, I’ve seen this kind of thing before. They have to act as if they care. They have to investigate, but they’re just jumping through their hoops. I promise you that in a few days, it will all calm down. They don’t want those horses anyway.”
“How do you know?”
“Because they were planning on selling them to a broker.” Todd’s expression darkened. “And that broker is notorious for getting hold of mustangs and selling them for meat.”
“What?” Nora shook her head, trying to clear it. Trying to understand. “Nobody eats horse meat!”
“Plenty of people eat it. In Mexico, and in Europe. Even here in the States. It’s not supposed to be legal to slaughter horses for meat, but often the DRM just sells the horses to whatever broker comes along. They don’t care if that broker takes them to an illegal slaughterhouse.”
Nora tried to take in this new information. Slaughtering wild mustangs? It seemed almost sacrilegious. “I didn’t realize.”
“But you’re right. I didn’t think through the consequences of this very well. I don’t want you to have to lie and I don’t want the station manager to lose his job. If I’m wrong, and it doesn’t blow over in a couple days, I’ll figure something out.”
“Oh, that’s comforting.” Nora shoved her clenched fists into the pockets of her shorts so she didn’t do something dumb, like empty his drink on his dense head.
“What