“If I need help, trust me, I’ll make it known,” Anna said. “By the way, I ran into Manny Judd. He’s a good kid. I wanted to tell you that out of the blue, for no apparent reason. Making conversation.”
Harrison chuckled. “My sister is a good judge of character … so far. But I appreciate you putting in a good word for him.”
“I’d love to see Manny have a chance,” Anna said. “He had an unfortunate start in life.”
“I know he did. Tracy’s a compassionate person who wants to help everyone she meets. I don’t want to see her disappointed.”
“I think between you, me, Callie, Ross, and the rest of this town, we can make sure he doesn’t disappoint her.”
Joe’s amusement continued. “It sure is different living out here. Everyone knows what I had for breakfast and what color my kitchen towels are. Anyway, you be careful. Isn’t there someone you can take with you?”
She thought of Janette, but Janette would be busy with billing and ordering and answering the phone while Anna was out on calls. “No one who has time to drive all the way to a ranch and watch me inject cattle. I appreciate you keeping an eye out.”
“Let me know when you’re done so I can call off the posse.”
“Sure thing. Take care, Deputy.”
“You too, Dr. Anna.”
Anna felt a little better after her conversation, and again when Virgil proved to be alone when she arrived. She saw no sign of Jarrod or Blake. While she wasn’t exactly comfortable with Virgil, handling one Haynes brother at a time was preferable.
“They aren’t getting well,” Virgil snapped at her. “What did you dose them with, tap water?”
“It was only yesterday,” Anna said. Never be intimidated by a client, the vet she’d worked for in San Angelo had told her. You’re treating the animals, not the dickhead owners. “Medicines take a while to work. It won’t hurt if I top them up, but you have to give it a few days.”
“Right, and I have to keep paying for the top-ups.”
Anna tightened her jaw. “Tell you what. I’ll charge you for the medication because it costs me, but not for the call out.”
“You’re damn right you won’t charge me for the call. And you’ll charge me half because I already paid for the first dose.”
Virgil towered over her, face red, big fists clenched. Anna lifted her chin and looked him right in the eyes, even if she had to crank her head back to do it.
“I’d turn around and drive out, but I want your cattle to recover,” she said clearly. “So you’ll pay me for the dose, or you can call another vet.”
“Ain’t no other vet in River County.”
“Then you don’t have a choice.” She bravely turned her back and walked to the corral where the steers watched her hopefully.
“You are some bitch, Lawler,” Virgil called after her. “How about this? I’ll pay you for the whole dose but you go down on me before you leave. We’ll call it even.”
Anna’s skin crawled. She turned around when she reached the pen and the safety of the big animals. “No, Virgil. Then I’d just have to charge you more.”
Virgil stared at her a long moment, then he laughed, a loud braying sound. “You have balls, woman. Fine. Whole dose. Put it on my tab.”
Virgil, chuckling at his own wit, disappeared into the office and slammed the door.
Anna slid into the pen and approached the first steer. “Let’s get you well so you can get back to the range and away from him,” she said quietly.
She wished the cattle weren’t so pathetic. The pen stank horribly from their runny manure and their misery.
These steers had ear tags, some handwritten, some printed. A few of the local ranchers had gone to electronic tags, although those were only good within a certain range, and she knew that a simple metal wall could interfere with the signal. Anna doubted Virgil would fork out for electronic tags and software for animals he was just going to take to a feed lot.
Anna finished medicating the animals and patted them, talking to them as she liked to. They responded to her voice, gazing at her with sad eyes. Jarrod and Blake never appeared, which was fine with Anna.
On any other ranch, she’d pop into the office after she washed up, letting the ranchers know she was done and on her way, and she’d email them a bill if they didn’t want to pay her now. But the idea of walking into the office where Virgil lurked made her queasy. And who knew when Jarrod and Blake would appear?
Whatever. She cleaned her hands under a spigot, the water pipe warmed by the sun, and fled to her truck.
Ray insisted he drive Kyle to the clinic so he could have his bruises checked. Kyle went without resistance, knowing Ray would give him hell if he didn’t, and to assure himself that Blake hadn’t cracked his ribs again.
Kyle’s doctor examined him without a word, but it was clear even he had heard about the fight and Kyle’s date with Anna. Kyle loved Riverbend, but damn, it was gossipy. The doctor at least cleared him, saying he’d staved off being too badly hurt, and prescribed acetaminophen for the pain.
The best thing about the day was Anna’s phone call. Kyle tried to play it cool when he answered, but her soft voice asking if he was all right made him buoyant.
It was too soon to ask her out again, Kyle had admonished himself, and simply ended the phone call. He repeated this throughout the day whenever regret hit him.
Ray left after lunch, saying Drew really needed more help. With the drywall, he added quickly.
“Drywall,” Kyle said, straight-faced, as Ray put on his hat. “Is that what you kids are calling it these days?”
“Shut the fuck up, Kyle,” Ray growled and slammed out of the house.
Kyle laughed at him. Something was going on there, and once Kyle figured out his own life, he’d pry it out of Ray.
Kyle spent the evening alone. He made himself stay home, take a hot shower to soothe his aches, and watch TV. The phone sat next to his hand. He kept staring at it, thinking he should call Anna.
No, too soon.
Why too soon? Were there rules? And who made them up?
If he called her, where would he ask Anna out to? The diner? A movie? The nearest movie theater was in White Fork, and it had one screen for its six-month-old films. Everyone in town would have streamed the movie before it ever reached River County.
There was Grace’s bakery, but it wasn’t open in the evening. Kyle could invite Anna to the ranch for dinner, maybe have Grace cater it, though she likely wouldn’t be able to spare the time. Grace had a husband and two kids, not to mention her bakery. Her own life.
Kyle could always throw something on the grill. What? Eggplant? Mushrooms? Zucchini?
Lame. If Kyle invited Anna over, she’d guess he wanted her to stay the night.
Would she say no right away? Or be happy to?
Shit, why couldn’t they just go for a walk or something?
Because he was sore, and she worked all the time. Hell.
Kyle threw his phone across the room. It landed on a chair and slid harmlessly to the rug.
He gave up and went to bed. Where he lay most of the night, reliving every glorious second of being with Anna. Her taste, her skin under his fingertips, her mouth on his, the wonderful sounds she made when she came.
Any sleep was filled with dreams of her, them doing it in impossible positions in weird places. The best parts of the dreams were her smile, her beautiful eyes, and the fact that she was with him.
Kyle woke in the morning, hard and needy. He went to the office, not looking forward to another long, empty day.
“Where the hell is Ray?” he asked Margaret when he sat down behind the desk.
Margaret blinked at him and made a show of looking around the room. “Not here. I assumed he was having breakfast. Or already in the barn.”
“Nope. I didn’t hear him come home last night. Hmm, that’s suddenly interesting.”
Margaret shook her head. “You boys. If he married her, he’d settle down and get ba
ck to work. You too.”
“We can’t both marry the new owner of the B&B,” Kyle tried to joke. “I think that’s illegal in this state.”
“You know I’m talking about Dr. Anna.” Margaret frowned, her tanned face creasing. “Buy her a ring, set a date. You waste so much time dancing around things, when you could be enjoying life together. Grace did the same thing with Carter, and now look at her. Radiant.”
Kyle listened in surprise. “I didn’t know you were such a romantic, Margaret. Who’s the guy?”
“Who was the guy, you mean.” Margaret’s expression softened, her brown eyes almost tender. “I had a wonderful marriage for twenty years, but we could have been together so much longer if we’d admitted right away that we were meant for each other and stopped fighting it. Seven years we dithered, thinking we had all the time in the world.” Her softness evaporated and she slammed a clipboard to the desk. “But we didn’t. Life’s a bitch, and diseases don’t care about your happiness. So don’t waste a single second.”
Kyle’s distractedness fled in a wave of sympathy. “I’m so sorry. I never knew.”
“That’s because I don’t talk about it, and I don’t wallow. Bill and I had a wonderful life, and I have no regrets. But watching you and Ray flounder around these women you obviously are in love with ticks me off. Stop wasting time and quit making such a big deal about it. And don’t stare at me with your mouth open. You look like a fish.”
Kyle obeyed. “It’s great advice, but only if the liking goes both ways. If I ask Anna and she blows me off …” He made a motion like scattering dust. “That’s it.”
“Then you’ll know, won’t you? Instead of always wondering?” Margaret glanced out the window. “Well, that’s lucky. Now’s your chance.”
Kyle looked up to see Anna’s truck with her shoeing trailer pulling in. He stared for one moment, his heart banging painfully, before he sprinted out of the office, the door slamming in his wake.
Chapter Fifteen
Anna felt Kyle’s presence behind her before she turned, planning a nonchalant greeting.
But when she saw him, every gorgeous inch of him, his hat shading his face, she couldn’t stop her smile. Then she tried to suppress it. She shouldn’t seem too eager. Should she?
“Hey.” Kyle’s word was casual, but he breathed hard, as though he’d been running. “What’s new? You know, since yesterday.”
Anna shrugged. “One of your horses threw a shoe. Margaret asked me to come put a new one on.”
“That is news. No one told me.” Kyle reached for the portable forge and helped her lift it from the truck and set it up on its stand. “Did you know Margaret was married before?”
“Yes.” Anna let him leverage the forge in place, then she checked the propane and brought the forge to life. “They lived in Austin, and her husband was a professor at UT. He died about ten years ago.”
“Shit. Where have I been?”
“Busy.” Anna smiled again, in spite of her best efforts. “Margaret didn’t tell me that—I heard it from a friend who knew them in Austin.”
“Figures. Not that I’ve been paying attention. Kind of wrapped up in my own life.”
“Easy to do,” Anna said as she adjusted the forge’s temperature. “I’ve been coasting along thinking Janette, my assistant, will be around whenever I need her, but she got accepted into the pre-vet program at A&M. Which is much more important than cleaning out cages and doing overnights with animals for me, but it will leave me in a tough spot when she goes.”
“Bet a few of the high school kids in Riverbend would be happy for a part-time job,” Kyle said.
“Yes, and I’d be grateful, but I need someone older and more permanent as well. The kids can’t check on animals at two in the morning.”
“True. I’ll ask around.”
“Thanks.”
While they talked, Kyle helped Anna lay out her tools and shoe blanks. She pointed out where things should go, and he positioned them with expertise.
He went to meet one of the stable hands who led out the horse, and then Kyle took over securing the horse while Anna went over its hoof with her rasp and began to fit the shoe.
They worked together so seamlessly that a warmth began in her heart. Too bad they couldn’t have a conversation that wasn’t stilted and awkward. Strangers on a bus spoke with more animation than Anna and Kyle.
“What have you been up to?” she asked as she worked. “Besides getting into fights at the feed store?”
“Oh, nothing much. Catching up on paperwork at the office. Healing. Exciting times.”
They’d gone out twice and had great sex, and now had nothing to say to each other. This sucked.
“I went out to the Haynes ranch again yesterday,” Anna said as she waited for the shoe to heat in the forge. “Virgil, the jerk, wants his steers to magically heal overnight. I’m thankful his brothers weren’t there and that Virgil was too busy to harass me much.”
She heard a profound silence. Anna tugged out the shoe with her tongs, tapped it on the anvil, doused it in water, and looked up to see Kyle with a face like thunder.
“What?” she asked. “I injected the cattle and left. Quick as I could.”
“I’m serious, Anna. Don’t go out to that ranch again. Not alone. Take Janette at the very least.”
Anna carried the shoe back to the horse. “Life isn’t that simple. One, it’s my job to look after sick animals. Two, it’s not the cattle’s fault their owners are jerks. Three, I told you, Janette’s leaving soon, and I need her at the clinic instead of babysitting me on my calls.”
Kyle’s scowl deepened. “The Haynes boys are dangerous and they wouldn’t hesitate to hurt you if they wanted. They think they’re unstoppable.”
“I know.” Anna needed to narrow the shoe a tad. She stuck it in the tongs again and thrust it back into the forge. “I went for the cattle’s sake.”
“You’re not obligated to take their calls. No one is forcing you to be their vet.”
Anna watched the shoe until its ends were red hot, then she dragged it out and set it on the forge. “I have a small window of time to tap this into shape, and arguing about the Hayneses isn’t helping.”
“I’m saying it’s smarter not to deal with them,” Kyle said in a hard voice. “Not because they picked a fight with me—we’ve been scrapping since we were kids. But Blake could have killed Sherrie and her horse and doesn’t give a shit. Only reason Virgil worries about Blake being found out is because she’d make a claim on his insurance—if they even have any—and if Blake gets himself thrown in jail, he can’t help out at the ranch. Thinking of you out there with them, by yourself … It makes me crazy.”
Anna banged on the shoe and then plunged it into the bucket of water, enjoying the satisfying hiss of steam. She rose with the shoe clutched in her tongs.
Kyle stood with his arms folded, his hat shading his scowling face. He was delectable, green eyes sparkling and animated.
Anna relented. “I’d tell you that you were an overbearing, overprotective shit, and that I can’t base my life on what will and won’t make you crazy … but I think you’re right. I talked to a vet I know in Llano County, trying to get him to take over the Hayneses as clients, but he refuses to deal with them.”
“Smart guy.”
Anna grinned as she took the cooled shoe to the horse and laid it against his hoof. Perfect. “We talked about luring an unsuspecting vet to River County, just for the Haynes brothers, but we couldn’t figure out who we could trick. We like the people we knew in vet school too much to do that to them.”
She hoped Kyle would laugh, but he remained stony.
Anna fitted the shoe and tapped one nail in. She reached for the next, and found it handed to her by strong, tanned fingers. Anna murmured a thanks and continued affixing the shoe.
They finished in silence, Kyle handing her nails and leading the horse back to its pen while she stripped off her work gloves and washed her hands under the n
earest spigot, applying the hand sanitizer she kept in her pocket. Kyle returned to help her put away her things, the two working quickly and efficiently.
Anna’s forge needed to cool down before she could load it, which meant she’d have to hang out for a few minutes. She usually spent the time answering phone calls and checking appointments, but Kyle put his hand in hers and led her to the house.
Once inside, Kyle hung up his hat and scrubbed off his hands in the sink. Anna started to say, “Are we going to argue some more?” but Kyle swiftly dried off and came to her.
Her words died as he gazed down into her eyes. Kyle cupped her face in his hands and drew her to him, taking her mouth in an abrupt and then lengthening kiss.
Kyle couldn’t get enough of her. Anna was hot and perspiring from her work, her body pliant beneath his hands, her mouth a place of heat. Her hands landed on his chest, and she parted her lips to kiss him back with enthusiasm.
Not a lady who took well to being pushed around. Anna pushed back.
But Kyle didn’t want her near men like the Haynes brothers. He wanted to wrap himself around her and protect her, to keep her from bullies and assholes all the days of her life.
Anna’s kiss was as strong as his, she rising on tiptoes to reach him. She clung to him, pushed at him, her body crushing into his and sending fire through his blood.
Kyle ran his hands down her back as the kiss eased to its end. “Wow. I should get you mad at me more often.”
Her voice was shaky, her eyes shining. “That’s not hard. Mostly you just have to talk.”
Kyle laughed softly. Somehow he’d ended up with his back to the kitchen counter, Anna against him. Not a bad place to be.
“Wanna stay for lunch?” he asked. “Or does lunch piss you off too?”
“I have appointments.” Anna looked up at him in consternation. “I think.”
“Just a snack then. Let’s see, what do we have?” Kyle reached for the refrigerator door a foot away and swung it open. His hand landed on a bottle in the door tray, and he pulled it out, closing the refrigerator and cutting off its pleasant chill. “There’s this. I used to suck it straight from the container when I was a kid. My mom would yell at me something awful.”
Kyle Page 13
