‘That’ll make it easier to keep you tied withoutdamaging your arms. Oh… don’t worry,’ the blondeadded sarcastically, ...16;it’s not like I fucking care oranything, but what fucking use would you be if youcouldn’t do your chores.’ Miranda laughed at her ownjoke as she hauled the helpless woman to her feet. Theblonde then bent down and unclipped Jane’s ankle cuffs.She pulled a thick, metal chain from the bag andattached one end to each of the. When the others arrived they pulled down their skirts and set out for the stables. Everyone saddled up and got on a quarter horse. They rode out the gate and towards the trees by the spring a couple of miles away. It was less than an hour and they stopped to enjoy the valley views. At the springs they found some sheep that had gotten under the fence somewhere. A Basque herder rode up with his son to round them up. The rancher exchanged greetings with the neighbors and the Basque tossed him a. .. to ... for lack of a better word ... inherit me. Your mother’s declining health just shows how rough things can be and how quickly things can go downhill. In the event that something bad should happen to him, we don’t want to be caught off-guard.“We ... came up with a plan. It’s kinda crazy, but here it is. You can’t marry your own former stepmother, of course. That would instantly raise suspicion. Should something happen to your father, Svetlana and I will tie the knot. He’s discussed this. I just called to let you know that I will be working a double tonight. Somebody on the overnight shift called in. It's my turn for the mandated overtime. They didn't care that I was already working an extra shift on my day off." Ok. I guess I'll have to miss you tonight. Love you." I love you too. See you in the morning."With that she hung up. That would delay the inevitable. I don't know if the delay was going to be good or bad. If I could tell her quickly, I would have less guilt to deal.