Christmas Conspiracy by Robin Perini

that kind of glare.
    The foreman picked up his Stetson, dusted it off and set it back on his head. “He’s all yours. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
    Kat eased toward the wild-eyed stallion. At first, he paced back and forth nervously, bolting once when she got too near. But slowly, her voice falling to a whisper, she gentled the animal.
    The horse’s flanks quivered as she came closer.
    “Easy boy. Everything is going to be just fine. They were just trying to rush things a little, weren’t they.” She held out her hand and moved within a few feet.
    The horse’s ears twitched, but he stayed still as Kat closed the distance between them. “That’s right. You don’t have to be afraid of me. I’ll take care of you.”
    Prancer flicked his head, then nudged her with his nose and she rubbed the velvety softness.
    “Yeah, those men don’t know how to take care of a big boy like you, do they?” she murmured, her hand slipping to his back. “No appreciation for the subtleties, hmm, you handsome animal?”
    The horse snorted and Logan grinned as his foreman’s mouth dropped open. Kat had the horse practically purring in a matter of seconds.
    “Me, too, Mommy!” Hayden called out. “I do it!”
    Logan’s gaze whipped to his son. Everyone had been so focused on the out-of-control horse they’d lost sight of Hayden. He’d toddled too close to the bull pen.
    The Triple C’s prized breeding bull, Sweetness, his red eyes narrowed, stared at Hayden. The bull was over twenty-five hundred pounds of mean. The animal snorted and pawed at the dirt.
    Logan’s heart sank into his belly.
    He raced toward his son.
    Hayden just smiled up at the bull and stepped closer. “Hi, han’som manimal.”

Chapter Five
    Logan scooped Hayden up in one arm and darted safely away from the bull. Logan’s knees shook as he carried the boy to the steps, sat him down and knelt in front of him. “Don’t…” Logan started, his heart still pounding wildly. “Don’t ever do that again. You never go near the animals like that, son. Do you understand?”
    Hayden stuck out his lower lip. “Mommy did.”
    “Mommy has training. And she’s an adult.”
    Kat came and stood by Logan’s side, visibly shaking as she confronted Hayden. “What did we tell you when we came out here? Stay with a grown-up. Time out. Now.”
    Hayden crossed his little arms in front of him. “Lanie’s not with a gwown-up. She’s with a kitty.”
    Logan looked around, searching for his daughter. “Where is Lanie?” His heart stuttered. He scanned the pens, the outside of the barn, the yard. No pink coat. His little girl was nowhere in sight.
    “Logan, I don’t see her. She was here a second ago!”
    “Find Lanie!” he shouted to his men, who split off to look.
    “Logan, where would she go?” Kat cried. “Where’s the kitten?”
    Gretchen came out on the porch. “What’s going on?”
    “Lanie is missing.” Kat carried Hayden up the stairs. “Gretchen, please take him in the house and put him under lock and key while we look for Lanie.”
    Gretchen took Hayden and turned toward the door.
    “Gretchen, wait!” Logan shouted. “Do you know where the orange barn cat had her litter? Lanie was playing with one of the kittens a few minutes ago.”
    Fear crossed the housekeeper’s face and she glanced over at the construction zone, with its huge piles of broken wood and old, rusty nails. “She always had her litters in the barn you tore down.”
    Cursing, Logan headed for the yellow construction tape. He’d recently had the oldest barn on the property torn down and there was still debris everywhere. During their tour of the ranch, this had been the one area Logan had absolutely forbidden the kids to go.
    Except the stacks of lumber would be a perfect place for a mother cat to hide her kittens.
    Lanie had behaved so much more passively than her brother, Logan had been more afraid that Hayden would cross the barrier.
    One by one, his hands came out from