Chapter 3

Kim first led the group to the staff's women's quarters. She showed Caitlin where she would be sleeping and introduced her to the other horse care taker, Sarah.

"Sarah would you please show Caitlin around and give her the duty roster?" asked Kim. "She'll be taking Lisa's place."

"Sure," said Sarah.

"Great," replied Kim. "This is her uncle Dom. He's going to be working with the cook."

"And who's this?" asked Sarah pointing to Hawke.

"Oh, I'm sorry," replied Kim. "This is an old friend of mine, Stringfellow Hawke. He's going to help me keep things going around here until I hire a new manager."

"It's nice to meet you all," said Sarah. "We can use all the help we can get around here."

Sarah was a young girl about nineteen years old. She eagerly took Caitlin in and showed her around the ranch. They visited the two main stables and saw all of the beautiful horses.

"Wow, this is amazing. How long have you been working here?" Caitlin asked.

"Oh, just about a year now," she replied. "It's a decent place to live and work. Have you had a lot of experience with horses?"

"Oh, I grew up on a farm in Texas," replied Caitlin. "I had several of my own horses. I miss them. I'm really going to enjoy getting a chance to ride."

"That's great," replied Sarah. "It's Tuesday night. All the staff goes riding down by the lake for a bonfire on Tuesday nights. It's one of Kim's ways to keep up employee morale."

"That sounds like fun," said Caitlin.

"It is," she replied. "We go right after dinner. Is your uncle Dom a good cook?"

Caitlin laughed. "Yeah, I think he is," she replied.

A few hours later, the group found themselves eating dinner in the staff quarters and talking about the upcoming horseback ride and bonfire. Some of the staff thought that with all of the recent events they should cancel it but Kim insisted that they continue on as usual. Hawke agreed with her and everyone began to saddle up for the ride.

Since Dom was introduced as Caitlin's uncle, he was able to spend time with her without suspicion. He stayed close to her as they followed the others down the path to the lake. Kim made sure she stayed close to Hawke. Once they got to the lake, a few of the staff members started the bonfire in the already made pit by the water. Caitlin watched as Kim pulled Hawke over to the water to talk.

"You're right," Caitlin said to Dom. "I can see how you think she's a bit clingy. She hasn't' left his side sine we got here."

Dom shook his head. "Yea, I noticed," he replied. "Don't worry String doesn't have any interest in her."

"Oh, I know," said Caitlin. "Hawke's not the one I'm worried about."

"So far, everyone I met seems pretty loyal to Kim," replied Dom. "I think it's going to be hard trying to determine if there's an insider trying to get her to sell out."

"I know what you mean," replied Caitlin. "Apparently employee morale is a big deal with her and she does all these kinds of events regularly to keep her staff happy. I don't think anyone would have quit if it hadn't been for those recent accidents."

Dom and Caitlin enjoyed the next several hours around the fire with the other staff members. They roasted marsh mellows, sang songs and drank beer. Finally, Kim called it a night and the group prepared to ride back up to the ranch.

"Caitlin, can we switch horses for the ride back?" asked Dom. "Mine was getting a bit rowdy on the way down and I noticed your horse was a little calmer."

Cait smiled. "Sure we can," she replied. "I can handle rowdy."

Dom laughed. "Good thing. I don't think my rear can take rowdy tonight."

As the group mounted and headed back to the ranch, Dom was one of the last to climb up. Caitlin mounted the horse Dom had previously ridden and was able to calm it instantly. Dom climbed up but before he could even move the horse forward, it seemed to panic and Dom was thrown off immediately.

"Dom!" screamed Caitlin as she jumped off of her horse and ran over to him. He was lying on his side holding his shoulder.

"Dom! Are you okay?" she asked in a panic. "Are you hurt?"

It took Dom several seconds before he could reply. "I think…I think I jammed my shoulder."

Hawke, Kim and the others heard the commotion and headed back down to the lake. Hawke jumped down and joined his friends.

"What happened?" he asked. "Are you okay?"

"I don't know," replied Dom. "Something seemed to spook my horse."

Caitlin and Sarah calmed Dom's horse and began to inspect the saddle. Caitlin was the first to notice something unusual. Sticking out from around the sides of the saddle were several burs. Caitlin gently pulled them out. Holding them in the palm of her hand she moved back over to the group.

"This is what happened," Caitlin said. "Somehow these burs got under the saddle."

"That's odd," replied Sarah. "There aren't any burs like that in this part of the ranch. I wonder how they got there?"

Dom got up slowly with Hawke's help. "I'm okay now," he said. "It's just a little sore. I don't think I broke anything."

Caitlin fixed Dom's saddle and helped him get back onto the horse. This time the animal was calm as everyone rode back to the ranch house. Before they headed in for the night, Caitlin gave Dom a hug goodnight. "I'm glad you're okay," she said. "I don't think that was any accident. We need to get Hawke alone tomorrow and talk to him about it."

"I agree," replied Dom. "Don't worry though, I'm fine." He smiled at her as they both went to their separate living quarters.

Caitlin opened her duffle bag and took out some sweatpants and a tank top to sleep in. She was happy that her roommate was Sarah since she was so personable. Sarah sat on her bed reading a book as Caitlin climbed into the bed beside her.

"You and your uncle are really close aren't you?" she asked.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that," replied Caitlin.

"You're lucky. I use to wish Aunt Kim and I were that close," said Sarah.

The comment took Caitlin by surprise. "Kim is your aunt?" she asked. 'I had no idea."

Sarah sighed. "She doesn't tell many people," she replied. "When my parents died last year she took me in. I was eighteen and had nowhere to go. She says she treats me the way she does in order to not show favoritism to the staff. I personally think she's resents having me here."

Caitlin frowned. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's okay," she replied. "I'm use to it. I plan to get out of here as soon as I save enough money. For now, the living situation is decent and so is the pay."

"Kim told us about the accidents before she hired us on," said Caitlin. "She wanted us to know what we were getting into. Are you worried about what's been going on?"

Sarah shrugged her shoulders. "Not really," she replied. "Accidents happen."

Caitlin lay in bed thinking about the events of the evening as well as Sarah's nonchalant attitude about everything. "I wonder if she knows more than she's saying?" thought Caitlin.