"You idiot, you could have killed that dog!" she said furiously, using her training from drama classes to project her voice strongly without having to shout like a common person. Fists on hips, her chest heaving under the starched white riding blouse, she assailed him: "Why don't you watch what you're doing? What in God's name were you thinking of?"
"I was thinking what a great pair of tits you've got for a woman your age. Did you grow those yourself, or buy them?" was what Ranny wanted to say. But he knew his place, and he knew better than to stare at either her face or that chest, so he let his eyes drop to her feet in the shiny brown boots, and held his tongue.
"Sorry, ma'am," he muttered, stooping down and turning away from her. "Let me just clean up this mess."
"See that you do, and be more careful the next time you're around here," Cynthia hissed, as she went inside to comfort her dog. She didn't really like dogs, but in her circle it was expected that you have one, and she did not like to see any of her possessions being mistreated or disrespected.
Ranny swept up the chunks of dry dog food with his hands and put it back in the dish, picking out any stray leaves of hay. His neck and ears were heavily tanned from outdoor work, but he could feel the flush of shame and rage, and felt the eyes of passers-by and neighboring owners who had witnessed the accident.
How dare she speak to me like one of her hired hands, thought Ranny, enraged by the tone she had used. She didn't even notice me this morning when she almost caused me to have a car accident on the street, and now I let a bale of hay drop here and she yells at me like it was some big deal.
The anger he had felt this morning was now compounded by the public dressing-down he'd received, and Ranny was consumed with the need for revenge. As he wheeled the empty hand truck back, happy to leave the scene of his humiliation, thoughts of retaliation raced through his mind. Ranny wasn't sure what might work as a doggie diuretic, but maybe he could get a maximum-strength Ex-lax tablet, put it in a little piece of hot dog, and slip it to that wretched little animal of hers. With luck, the pill would do its work while she was holding the dog. He could locate her truck and trailer tonight and flatten all the tires, or put sugar in the gas tank, but he knew instinctively that a woman with her money would have someone else take care of the problem. No, for satisfaction he needed to do something which would affect her personally. He'd watch and wait, and he'd think of something.