hand down the swell of the mare’s stomach. “Hey, Kyle, can you come in here?”
“Something wrong?” Kyle asked, joining Ram.
“The paperwork says she’s only five months along, but that can’t be right.”
Kyle shook his head. “No, that’s right. It was May when Bellamy jumped the fence. Doc Springer confirmed her pregnancy two weeks later.”
“Did he use ultrasound?” Ram continued to map the horse’s stomach with his hands.
“Yeah.” Kyle chuckled. “Doc hates using it, but Gray insists on it.”
“Did he do a second one?”
Kyle took his hat off and brushed the wheat-coloured hair back from his forehead before resettling his Stetson. “Sorry, that I don’t know. I know he usually does them, but if he did a second ultrasound on Lady I wasn’t here.”
With a single nod, Ram dismissed Kyle. “Thanks.”
“Sorry. I hope I didn’t do anything wrong,” Kyle said on his way out of the stall.
“If there’s a problem, it isn’t yours.” Ram gave Lady one last stroke between the eyes before heading towards the house. He had a bad feeling.
* * * *
Gray took a sip of hot coffee before setting the cup onto the same desk his grandpa had used. It had been obvious from their earlier conversation that Ram was still mad about the previous night. When the front door slammed shut, Gray braced himself for a fight.
Ram appeared in the open doorway with fire in his eyes. “Is it only Thoroughbreds you care about around here?”
“Excuse me?” Gray wasn’t sure what horses had to do with Ram’s present mood.
“One of the mares is carrying twins.”
Gray shook his head. “Not possible. The doc’s supposed to ultrasound all the mares who’ve been bred.”
Ram jerked his head back towards the way he’d come. “Follow me.”
Without waiting for Gray to catch up, Ram stormed out of the house. Gray rose, took another sip of coffee and followed. The last thing Gray planned on doing was running to catch up with his manager.
Entering the stable, Gray stopped. “Where’d you go?”
“I’m in with Lady.”
Lady? Gray’s heart rate increased. Of all the mares on Sunset Ridge, Lady was his favourite. She may not have been worth a quarter of what the others were worth, but Lady had been born on the ranch. He entered Lady’s stall to find Ram checking out her back end. “What’s wrong?”
Ram dropped Lady’s tail. “Did your vet do a second ultrasound on her?”
“I don’t know. I can check her records if you’d like. Jim, the old manager, handled that. Why? Is there something wrong?” Gray asked again.
“I’d bet you a year’s pay this mare’s carrying twins.”
Gray’s stomach dropped. He knew how dangerous it was for horses to carry more than one foal. “I’ll get her file.” In the far corner of the tack room Gray opened the fireproof file cabinet. He searched alphabetically for Lady’s file but came up short. “What the hell?”
Gray knelt on the floor and opened the bottom drawer. In the back of the drawer was a hanging folder that was labelled stock horses. It was there that he found Lady’s information. Why it was filed incorrectly Gray would probably never know. He stood and set the file on top of an available saddle. Reading through Lady’s records, Gray couldn’t believe what he saw. Shit.
File in hand, Gray rejoined Ram. “Not good.” He handed the papers to Ram. “Jim and Doc decided not to spend the extra money on a second ultrasound for Lady since they didn’t consider her valuable.” He knew it was his responsibility as owner of the ranch to make sure the animals were well cared for. “I’ve no excuse for why things happened the way they did. I should’ve known earlier that Jim was no longer right for the job.”
“Before you go blaming yourself or your ex-manager, I’d take a good long look at the vet you have looking after these animals. I’ve not met the man, but as far as I’m concerned I don’t care to see him ever step foot on
“Something wrong?” Kyle asked, joining Ram.
“The paperwork says she’s only five months along, but that can’t be right.”
Kyle shook his head. “No, that’s right. It was May when Bellamy jumped the fence. Doc Springer confirmed her pregnancy two weeks later.”
“Did he use ultrasound?” Ram continued to map the horse’s stomach with his hands.
“Yeah.” Kyle chuckled. “Doc hates using it, but Gray insists on it.”
“Did he do a second one?”
Kyle took his hat off and brushed the wheat-coloured hair back from his forehead before resettling his Stetson. “Sorry, that I don’t know. I know he usually does them, but if he did a second ultrasound on Lady I wasn’t here.”
With a single nod, Ram dismissed Kyle. “Thanks.”
“Sorry. I hope I didn’t do anything wrong,” Kyle said on his way out of the stall.
“If there’s a problem, it isn’t yours.” Ram gave Lady one last stroke between the eyes before heading towards the house. He had a bad feeling.
* * * *
Gray took a sip of hot coffee before setting the cup onto the same desk his grandpa had used. It had been obvious from their earlier conversation that Ram was still mad about the previous night. When the front door slammed shut, Gray braced himself for a fight.
Ram appeared in the open doorway with fire in his eyes. “Is it only Thoroughbreds you care about around here?”
“Excuse me?” Gray wasn’t sure what horses had to do with Ram’s present mood.
“One of the mares is carrying twins.”
Gray shook his head. “Not possible. The doc’s supposed to ultrasound all the mares who’ve been bred.”
Ram jerked his head back towards the way he’d come. “Follow me.”
Without waiting for Gray to catch up, Ram stormed out of the house. Gray rose, took another sip of coffee and followed. The last thing Gray planned on doing was running to catch up with his manager.
Entering the stable, Gray stopped. “Where’d you go?”
“I’m in with Lady.”
Lady? Gray’s heart rate increased. Of all the mares on Sunset Ridge, Lady was his favourite. She may not have been worth a quarter of what the others were worth, but Lady had been born on the ranch. He entered Lady’s stall to find Ram checking out her back end. “What’s wrong?”
Ram dropped Lady’s tail. “Did your vet do a second ultrasound on her?”
“I don’t know. I can check her records if you’d like. Jim, the old manager, handled that. Why? Is there something wrong?” Gray asked again.
“I’d bet you a year’s pay this mare’s carrying twins.”
Gray’s stomach dropped. He knew how dangerous it was for horses to carry more than one foal. “I’ll get her file.” In the far corner of the tack room Gray opened the fireproof file cabinet. He searched alphabetically for Lady’s file but came up short. “What the hell?”
Gray knelt on the floor and opened the bottom drawer. In the back of the drawer was a hanging folder that was labelled stock horses. It was there that he found Lady’s information. Why it was filed incorrectly Gray would probably never know. He stood and set the file on top of an available saddle. Reading through Lady’s records, Gray couldn’t believe what he saw. Shit.
File in hand, Gray rejoined Ram. “Not good.” He handed the papers to Ram. “Jim and Doc decided not to spend the extra money on a second ultrasound for Lady since they didn’t consider her valuable.” He knew it was his responsibility as owner of the ranch to make sure the animals were well cared for. “I’ve no excuse for why things happened the way they did. I should’ve known earlier that Jim was no longer right for the job.”
“Before you go blaming yourself or your ex-manager, I’d take a good long look at the vet you have looking after these animals. I’ve not met the man, but as far as I’m concerned I don’t care to see him ever step foot on
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