Uncle Slade grabbed his Stetson off the hall tree and stormed out the front door. Wyatt followed him, so Erin did as well. They ended up at Violet’s paddock. Uncle Slade just stood there and studied the horse. Then he vaulted over the fence, collected the bubblegum container, and returned to where Wyatt and Erin were still standing.

“The only way I know to get her over being fearful of something dropped at her feet is to do it repeatedly,” he finally said. “It won’t be fun, and it sure won’t be pretty, but if you’ve got the heart for it, Erin, she’ll eventually stop blowing up when it happens.”

Erin didn’t know if she could do something that she knew would terrify the mare. “Won’t that just make her distrust me?”

Uncle Slade sighed. “Maybe at first, but over time, she’ll learn that the stuff you toss doesn’t explode, and she’ll lose her fear of it.” He turned the damaged container in his hand. “Don’t do it too often the first few days. No point in getting her all riled up and keeping her that way. Just, oh, I don’t know, maybe three times a morning.”

“Less,” Wyatt chimed in. “I saw her blow. She went completely berserk. Once, maybe, to start. Let her get used to the idea that nothing happens before you start conditioning her more often.”

Erin swallowed. Her throat felt raw with tension. “I’ll try.”

Uncle Slade leveled a look at her. “No try to it, honey. If you love her and want her to have a good life, you have to get her over her fears. Otherwise, she’ll be a danger to anyone who tries to handle her.”

“And if she doesn’t get over it?” Erin asked. “What’ll happen to her, then?”

Uncle Slade met and held her gaze. “That’ll be up to you. She’s your horse now. The only thing I’ve got to say is, proceed with caution. Don’t be inside the paddock when you toss something at her feet. I saw last night that she doesn’t want to hurt you, but a frightened horse is a—”

Erin cut him off with, “A dangerous horse. I know.”

Slade nodded. “And don’t you ever forget it, sweetheart. She’s a big, powerful animal. She could kill you in a blink.” He removed his hat and slapped it against his pants leg. “I’ll leave you two to cuss and discuss. I’ve got a phone call to make.”

After her uncle walked away, Erin looked up at Wyatt. “Who do you suppose he’s going to call?”

“The cops,” Wyatt said, his voice pitched low. “Slade already suspected that the Medford man doped the horse before he went to look at her. He couldn’t prove anything. But now, if it’s the same man I once worked for, he knows there’s been at least one complaint filed against him already.” Wyatt met her gaze and smiled slightly. “I wasn’t much more than a kid back then, and I was pretty much nobody in Medford. The complaints I filed with the authorities may not have been enough to launch a real investigation.”