Kyle

by Jennifer Ashley

  She had to wonder how many women had said it to him. He must be tired of hearing the phrase by now. How embarrassing.

  And yet.

  Anna knew she hadn’t exaggerated. She hadn’t been caught up in the moment. There was a reason she couldn’t stop thinking about Kyle’s broad smile, his amazing eyes, and the drawl that made her whole body tingle.

  There had been a reason she’d dressed up as a rodeo clown and been in the ring when Kyle had taken his fall. Not, as she’d told Callie when she’d first had the idea, to see what really went on behind the scenes at rodeos. Not entirely. She’d done it to make sure she could help Kyle when he needed it.

  There had also been a reason she’d raced to his ranch nearly every day after that, on the flimsiest of excuses. And a reason she hadn’t curled her lip and walked away when he’d asked her to dance at Ross and Callie’s wedding.

  Anna had wanted Kyle’s arms around her, his body swaying against hers as they danced. To hear his laughter, see his eyes upon her.

  She had to face it—Anna was totally and madly in love with Kyle Malory. Had been for a while.

  Back at the office, she tried to answer Janette’s questions about the billing that she’d texted about, but Anna could only stare at the computer as the numbers danced and made no sense.

  Janette was excited about starting classes at A&M in the spring, and they took a break from the billing to talk about that.

  “You’ll be forever labeled an Aggie,” Anna warned jokingly. “Despised in Longhorn country.” The rivalry between UT Austin and Texas A&M was legendary.

  “Worth it.” Janette gave her a grin. “Who says I’ll even be working in Texas afterward? I might go to California. Or North Carolina. Or somewhere I’ve never been.”

  The possibilities were endless at age twenty-one. “If you do large animal, you’ll end up in a small town in the middle of nowhere,” Anna said. “That’s where most large animals live.”

  “Racehorses don’t,” Janette said dreamily. “I could work on beautiful horses and save their lives and a grateful billionaire would marry me.” She twirled and laughed at her fantasy. “But I’ll more likely live in the middle of Nebraska and make sure the cows give good milk.”

  “A person can find happiness anywhere.” Anna tried to look older and wiser. “Even here in Riverbend.”

  “Like you with Kyle?” Janette gave Anna a sly grin. “He is hot, Anna. I can’t fault your taste.”

  “And this conversation needs to end.” Anna’s phone rang, and she lifted it gratefully. “Saved by the buzz. Hello, this is Dr. Anna.”

  Kyle? Janette asked silently.

  Anna shook her head as she listened to a rancher called Kennedy asking Anna in his slow way if she’d mind stopping by if she had time and looking at some of his steers that were down with diarrhea.

  “No problem at all,” Anna said brightly. “I’ll be right there.”

  Anna logged the call into their computer system, grabbed her bag, and headed out.

  Janette raised her brows. “You’d rather race off to a bunch of shitting cattle than talk about Kyle?”

  “Yep.” Anna bent her a severe look. “You’ll have to make that choice when you set up practice.”

  “Let’s see. Hot guy, cows with the runs.” Janette tapped her cheek. “Oh well, those are the breaks. Go on. I’ve got the office.”

  Janette waved her off, and Anna went, torn between mirth and mortification.

  The Kennedy ranch wasn’t far out of town. When she pulled in, the place appeared deserted, but she knew there’d be people around somewhere. She headed to the corrals behind the barn and found a few ranch hands with what looked like the steers in question.

  Hal Jenkins, who’d shown her the ropes as a rodeo clown, was one of the hands. He greeted her then got down to business in his characteristic reserved fashion.

  “I’ll load one into a chute for you,” he said. “Poor guy’s in a bad way.”

  A young steer went into the chute, bawling in terror. Anna soothed it, patting its shoulder while she took a sample of blood and then scraped up some of the feces readily flowing out of his backside. Rubber gloves were her friends.

  Scours again. Not uncommon, but not good if it was widespread.

  “If it’s a parasite or infection, it’s contagious, and these guys should be isolated for a while,” Anna said. The symptoms in these steers were very like the ones in the Hayneses’ cattle, which worried her. “Where were these guys pastured? Have they come into contact with anyone else’s cattle lately?”

  “Don’t think so,” Hal said. “But I do know some cattle have gone missing from here.”

  Anna gave him a sharp look. “Missing?”

  “Sure. Happens sometimes, especially when they’re young. We figured coyotes got them.”

  The men around Hal nodded.

  “How many, exactly?” Anna asked. “Can you tell me tag numbers? Brands?”

  Hal’s eyes narrowed. “Sure. Mr. Kennedy keeps good records. Why?”

  “I’m not sure yet. Might be nothing.”

  Hal frowned but gave her a nod and strode heavily toward the office.

  Anna medicated the steer and the others that the men patiently led into the chute for her. Hal returned after a time with a list that he shoved at Anna as she stripped off her soiled gloves.

  “If you can find them, Kennedy would be grateful,” Hal said. “And then you might explain why you won’t tell me where you think they are.”

  “Because I don’t know yet if I’m right. I promise, though, that if I find Mr. Kennedy’s steers, he’ll be the first to know. You’ll be second.”

  Hal scowled at her. “You’re lucky I like you, Anna. And trust you.”

  “Thanks, Hal,” Anna said sincerely. “That means a lot.”

  Hal helped her pack up and walked her to her truck. So different from working with the Haynes brothers, where she hauled her own stuff and fled as soon as she could.

  Hal lifted her heavy medical bag into the truck and looked in as she got into the driver’s seat.

  “Tell Kyle that if he dicks with you, I’ll kick his ass.”

  Anna gave him a weak grin. “I’ll be sure to give him the message.”

  “The Malory boys are trouble. Their sisters are the only ones worth anything.”

  “I have to agree with you about Kyle’s sisters,” Anna said as she started the truck. “Grace and Lucy are sweethearts.”

  “And seriously good looking.” Hal’s face softened. Interesting. “But Grace got herself hitched to Carter Sullivan of all people, and Lucy ran off to work with billionaires in Houston.” He shook his head, lamenting the loss.

  “Grace is deeply in love and very happy. Lucy, from what I hear, is having fun being a corporate executive.”

  Hal rolled his eyes. “She’s a small-town girl at heart. She just don’t know it.”

  “I am too,” Anna said. “But I had to figure that out for myself. And who knows? Maybe Lucy will take to big-city life just fine. A lot of people do—hence, why so many live in big cities.”

  Hal gave her a tolerant smile, as though he knew better about Lucy. He slammed the door and patted the top of the truck, his way of saying good-bye.

  Anna put aside the intriguing possibility of Hal’s feelings for Lucy and pushed the button on her steering column to dial her cell phone.

  “Hi, Kyle,” she said when he picked up. “I need to head to the Haynes ranch. Can you meet me there?”

  Kyle found Anna inside her pickup, which she’d pulled to the side of the road not far from the gate to the Haynes ranch. He slowed his truck to halt behind hers.

  The road remained empty, this stretch always quiet. Kyle figured he could set up a picnic lunch in the middle of it and be polishing off the food before another vehicle came by.

  He hopped out of his pickup and sauntered to Anna’s, leaning on her open window while she gazed ahead of her, lost in thought.

  “Hey, lady,” Kyle drawled
. “Can I check under your hood?”

  “So funny.” Anna turned to him, her beautiful eyes troubled. “I think the Hayneses are stealing cattle.”

  Kyle’s brows shot up. “Rustling?”

  While people might laugh and think cattle rustling had disappeared with the Wild West, they’d be wrong. It still happened, except with semi-trailers in the middle of the night instead of bandits on horseback—although there still could be some of that. A herd of cattle was worth a lot of money.

  Anna nodded. “I was just at the Kennedy ranch. Hal Jenkins told me they’re missing cattle, and their steers have the same problem as the ones I treated for the Hayneses. Hal didn’t notice the scours until now, but the cows have been out on the range a while, so who knows how long they’ve had it? I thought I’d better check things out.”

  “Damn.” Kyle pushed back his hat and wiped his forehead. “Any proof?”

  “I don’t know. Hal gave me the tag numbers of the missing steers. Plus they have the Kennedy brand, though brands can be altered.”

  Kyle acknowledged this. Crossbars or symbols could be added over the original brand or an N changed into an M, or something. The alteration wouldn’t stand up to extreme scrutiny, but most people didn’t look closely without cause.

  “I wish I could say I’m surprised.” Kyle adjusted his hat against the breeze that was growing stronger. “But you don’t have to confront the Hayneses if you don’t want to. I found another vet to take over their calls.”

  Anna blinked, startled out of the immediate problem. “What are you talking about? What vet?”

  “A friend of Margaret’s.” Kyle folded his arms on the open window. “He lives in Lampasas but doesn’t mind coming out here to help. He’s a big guy, like an ox, but loves animals and won’t take shit from anyone. Margaret called him.”

  “Oh.” Relief warred with determination in her eyes, and relief won. “That was nice of you. I might take you up on that. After I find out if they’re cattle rustlers.”

  “Did you call Ross?” Kyle asked.

  “Not yet. I’d rather have at least some proof before I do, so I won’t be just a paranoid vet complaining about bad clients.”

  “Commendable.” Kyle took off his hat completely, leaned in, and gave her a quick kiss. “And thank you for calling me to come with you.”

  Anna flushed, her lips parted from the kiss. “I’m sometimes overly confident and maybe rash, but not stupid. I’m not setting foot on their property without backup.”

  “Aw. I’m backup. That’s so sweet.”

  “Shut up,” Anna said softly. She looked at him as though she wanted to kiss him again, maybe stay out here and keep on kissing, but she squared her shoulders. “Come on. Let’s get this over with.”

  Kyle locked his truck and joined Anna in hers. She drove across the cattle guard that marked the boundary of the Haynes ranch, and down the dusty drive toward the corral and office.

  Blake’s shiny pickup was parked near the office but Kyle saw no one around. Anna turned off her truck and gazed ahead of her in dismay.

  “Where are the steers?” she asked in bewilderment.

  The corral she stared at was empty. Anna slid out, turning in a circle to take in the stables, corrals, and trailer that held the office. No animals could be seen except two horses who dozed in mare pens in the shade. Kyle expected the horses to yawn any minute.

  Anna took off for the office. Kyle leapt after her, jogging past her to reach the trailer before she could.

  “What were you saying about being rash and overly confident?” he asked in a quiet voice.

  Anna glared but made a show of stepping back and letting him go in first. Kyle knocked on the trailer door and pushed it open before invited.

  Virgil was there all right. A rodeo groupie with her shirt off knelt in front of him, Virgil’s cock in her mouth. She jerked back when she heard Kyle come in, and Virgil flinched. She must have bitten him in her haste.

  The young woman shot to her feet in alarm, arm over her bare breasts, then she recognized Kyle and relaxed.

  “Hey, Kyle.” She gave him a big smile. “Want to join us?”

  Kyle growled at Virgil. “You couldn’t lock the door?”

  Virgil scowled, eyes glittering in fury. He snatched at his jeans, trying to pull them up, but he couldn’t before Anna pushed around Kyle and caught him with his butt exposed.

  “Where are the steers?” Anna demanded.

  Virgil took his time settling his underwear and zipping up his jeans. Anna kept her eyes on his face, as though she hadn’t noticed him half naked and couldn’t care less. But then, she saw a lot of penises in her job, if not human ones.

  “What steers?” Virgil asked her, pretending ignorance.

  “The ones I was treating for scours,” Anna said angrily. “I told you to keep them isolated or your entire herd might get sick.”

  “Oh, they’re isolated. I just moved them.”

  “Where?”

  “None of your damned business.”

  Anna balled her fists. “How am I supposed to treat them if I don’t know where they are?”

  Virgil slowly buckled his belt. The young woman had sidled to Virgil’s desk and lifted a T-shirt from it, turning her back to put it on. Kyle stepped in front of the door so she couldn’t run off.

  “I thought you were done treating them,” Virgil said to Anna. “And mad at me for calling you a second time. And now here you are, out of the blue. With Malory. What the fuck is going on?” He blasted the last question at Kyle.

  Before Kyle could answer, Anna said smoothly, “I need to give them a booster or they could get worse. It’s only a dozen steers, but that’s money down the drain if they don’t get better.”

  Kyle watched the wheels turn in Virgil’s head. He didn’t trust Anna’s glib words but he hated the thought of losing money. Cattle he couldn’t sell were useless to him.

  “Fine,” Virgil said, his jaw tight. “They’re in a pen at the end of the farm road. Take a left at the dead end and go down a dirt track about half a mile. I’m holing them up there until I can turn them out.”

  “Good.” Anna gave him a satisfied nod. “I’ll give them a last dose, and they should be fine.”

  Virgil didn’t answer her. He folded his arms as he contemplated Kyle. “So why are you here, Malory? Or is she fucking you in her truck between jobs?”

  Anna rolled her eyes and marched out without another word.

  Kyle grinned at Virgil. “I should be so lucky. And to quote you, that’s none of your damned business.” He turned to the buckle bunny who hovered uncertainly. “Tina, how you doing? You need a ride back to town?”

  Tina glanced at Virgil for guidance, but he remained stonily silent. Kyle hadn’t noted any vehicle but the Hayneses’ on the property, so she likely was relying on Virgil for transportation. She might come to regret that.

  As Virgil clamped his lips together and didn’t answer, Tina said to Kyle, “Sure, if you’re heading that way.”

  Virgil finally glared at her. “If you leave with Malory, sweetheart, don’t ever come back.”

  Tina again wavered, but Kyle sent Virgil a pitying look. “Like that’s going to keep her awake at night. You ready, Tina?”

  Tina made her decision and nodded. She caught up a purse she’d left on the desk and hurried out, not saying good-bye to Virgil. Virgil watched them go, a silent hulk.

  Kyle wasn’t sure what Anna would say when he ushered Tina out, but she didn’t comment at all as Kyle opened the back door of Anna’s pickup and helped Tina inside.

  “Thanks for the ride, Dr. Anna,” Tina gushed as she settled in. “But you don’t have to. Virgil said he’d take me, or I can hitch.”

  Anna turned to her in astonishment. “No way am I letting you hitchhike. It’s too hot, and it’s dangerous.” She started the truck, and as soon as Kyle had buckled himself into the passenger seat, she pulled away. “But I have to find the steers first.”

  “No problem.
” Kyle gestured to the road they were approaching. “Tina can take my truck back to town.”

  Anna flashed him a puzzled glance, but after they grated over the cattle guard she slowed next to Kyle’s truck. Kyle handed Tina a fob with a single key.

  “Drive it to the diner and give the key to Mrs. Ward. I’ll pick it up later. You’ll be okay from there?”

  “Sure.” Tina beamed Kyle a huge smile as she took the fob. “Thanks, Kyle. You really are the best.”

  “That’s what they tell me. And hey, Tina.” Kyle spoke through the window as Tina jumped out and slammed the back door. “You can do way better than Virgil. Don’t trust him. There are plenty of other cowboys at the rodeo.”

  Tina seemed to at least listen to him. “Yeah, you’re probably right. See you, Kyle. Dr. Anna.”

  She flashed them another smile then jogged across the road to Kyle’s truck. Anna waited until Tina started up, did a U-turn, and drove away.

  “You just gave her the key to your truck,” Anna said. “And you think I’m reckless.”

  Kyle shrugged. “Everyone in the county knows that’s my pickup, so if they see her taking off with it, they’ll report it. Besides, Tina’s a good kid, just … misguided. Thinks chasing men is the way to have fun and be taken care of. She’ll park it at the diner, like I asked her to.”

  When Kyle finished, he found himself the object of Anna’s shining gaze.

  “What?” he asked, growing nervous.

  “She’s right, you are the best. You have a great heart, Kyle Malory.”

  The heart in question swelled with something almost like pain as Anna stepped on the gas and shot them down the farm road, heading into sunshine.

  Chapter Eighteen

  The steers were exactly where Virgil had said they’d be. Anna pulled over outside a large corral made of wooden fencing in the middle of a vacant lot.

  “No shade and a makeshift tank of water,” she said in disgust as she slammed her truck’s door. “Asshole.”