Page 38 of Honoring Freedom
“Plenty.” Keller poured coffee from the thermos into two paper cups, and handed her one.
Desperate for caffeine, she readily accepted it. "Are all the other horses alright?"
“I made my rounds earlier. They all look good.”
The coffee made her feel more human. “Thank goodness. I can’t seem to wrap my head around this. Who would do something like this? My gut feeling tells me that Kent Downs is behind this, but even he wouldn’t sink to this level, at least I wouldn’t think so. Killing a horse? Attempting to kill another? This smells of someone who is unwell. What makes Kent so dangerous is that he is sane.”
“I can't see how someone could have trespassed and poisoned the horses without being seen."
“That would mean one of the hands did this.” That theory made things more difficult.
He shrugged. “I’ll see what I can find out.”
She nodded. “We should keep our suspicions quiet for now.”
“I agree. Didn’t you have something to do this morning? You were mumbling something as you were falling asleep last night about a meeting.”
“Oh no. I completely forgot. I’m late for meeting my sisters. They’re going to kill me since we’re already down one.”
“You go. I’ll keep an eye on Requiem. If anything changes, I’ll let you know.”
She walked backwards as she said, “I’ll see you later, right?”
“Definitely.” He saluted her with his cup.
She turned and hurried toward the farmhouse. She was breathing hard by the time to she made her way through the front door. The house was quiet so she thought she might have time to run upstairs to at least change out of her dirty clothes and brush her hair, but Honor came sweeping around the corner.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Freedom swiveled on the heel of her boots. “I was just coming to the meeting.”
“That’s what it seemed like. You’re fifteen minutes late.” Honor was on edge. “We’re in the sunroom and we’ve been waiting for you.”
“Can I have five minutes?”
“No. we have a long list of things we need to get done.”
Reluctantly, Freedom followed her sister to the sunroom. Justice and Hope were sitting at the table whispering about something. When they saw Freedom, they sighed in unison.
“It’s about time,” Justice huffed.
“Sorry, I was busy,” Freedom said as she sat down and reached for a couple of bacon slices from the plate. She was starving.
“Did you sleep in the barn last night?” Hope plucked a piece of straw out of Freedom’s hair. “Who is he?” She wagged her brows suggestively.
“He’s a powerhouse that had me up most of the night,” she answered with a straight face.
“Oh?” Justice smiled, leaning in, seeking more details.
“No juicy stories to tell. Requiem was sick.” She’d leave it at that.
“Too bad,” Hope said with a snicker. “At least one of us should be getting some.”
Justice shook her head. “The days of getting some might be over after Daddy’s little addendum.”
Freedom didn’t want to discuss the predicament. “Honor, have you heard from Liberty?”
“No, I haven’t.” Honor jotted something down into her notebook. Her anger at her twin was evident in her tight jaw.