He’d made more than enough money to take care of his dad and himself, so he had contractors come in and rebuild the house from the inside out. With pride, his gaze wandered over the white vinyl siding which glimmered with the sun shining on it. The black shutters made the house look much as it had when first built with a large porch wrapping around the house on all four sides. There were bench swings on the front, and rocking chairs on the sides and by the back door.
Entering through the kitchen, he took pride in how completely modern it was. Linc had had the old kitchen cabinets replaced with new dark cherry cabinets and the floor redone in dark cherry hardwood. Black appliances replaced the old white ones. An island sat in the middle of the kitchen with stools surrounding it. The counter tops were black and white marble.
Linc took his hat off and hung it in the mudroom. He stripped naked and put his clothes in the basket of dirty clothes. He walked back through the kitchen toward the living room, glancing in. He’d replaced the old furniture with a new tan and brown couch, a wingback chair, and a matching recliner. The coffee table and matching end tables were dark mahogany. He’d had the large fireplace re-fitted so it provided better heat, a necessity during a frigid Wyoming winter. He remembered with a grin how all the workers had run from the house when the bats flew out of it and all around the living room. There were windows on each side of the mahogany mantel that allowed the sun to shine in and brighten the room. Linc had insisted on carpeting the living room because he wanted a cozy atmosphere. That thought drew his gaze to the large front window where he’d had a comfortable window seat installed. It was a good room.
Walking into the foyer, he glanced at the front door. It was a dark mahogany with a full leaded glass window. It was new, but looked old to match the house. A set of stairs reached to the upper level. Across the foyer was the dining room filled with antique furniture, which Linc had found in a loft at the back of the barn. He’d had it all refinished. A large dining table sat in the center of the room. A large window on one wall, a buffet on another and a china cupboard completed the room. The other wall had a doorway leading back to the kitchen with another set of stairs between the two rooms, which also led upstairs.
It was an old house but Linc and his dad had filled it with love. His heart ached with how much he missed his father. Sighing, the sound filling the empty space, he started up the stairs looking forward to a long hot shower. Before he reached the top step, his cell phone rang. He looked at it in his hand, deciding whether to answer or not. He answered when he saw it was one of his ranch hands.
“Yeah Sean, what is it?” Linc hoped there were no problems because he was damn tired, but it was not to be.
“That new stallion’s kicking up the stall and he won’t settle down. I hate asking, Linc, but can you come to the barn?”
Linc swore and told him he’d be there in a few minutes. He just hoped he wouldn’t need the vet as he returned to the mudroom to pull his jeans and T-shirt back on.
AFTER A WONDERFUL DINNER with Doc and Dottie, the three of them were walking down the street together when Veronica mentioned she needed to check into a motel until she found a place to live.
“A little house comes with the hospital. It just needs a good cleaning, but it’s a nice little place. We can show it to you now, if you’d like. It’s right behind the hospital,” Doc explained.
This caught Veronica by surprise because she wasn’t aware their house would go with the hospital, and told him so.
“Ah honey, we lived there when Jack first opened the practice all those years ago. We moved from there to the house we’re in now because it was so small,” Dottie provided.
Veronica nodded her head in understanding and was suddenly anxious to see it. They walked back to the hospital and Doc headed inside to get the key for the house. As she followed him around the back of the building, Dottie stopped to answer her cell phone when it rang. Doc and Veronica continued on to the little house. Doc opened the door and reached inside to flip on the lights. Veronica let out a small gasp, not of horror but of delight. It was in need of a cleaning just as Doc had said, but it was adorable too. She immediately fell in love with it.
“What’d ya think, Roni?” Doc looked at her anxiously.
Veronica walked through the house. It consisted of a good-sized living room with a stone fireplace, a small kitchen, and a bedroom at each end of the house. Both rooms had doors for privacy and each had its own bath. They were small, but with big old claw foot tubs. The entire back wall of the living room was nothing but floor to ceiling windows. The floors were all hardwood and she could just picture it being home once she cleaned it up. Some smartly placed rugs, plants, and furniture and the place would feel like a home in no time.
She turned to Doc. “I’ll take it.”
She was very excited about it, and was just about to thank him when Dottie appeared in the doorway. They both turned to face her and sobered at the sight of her frown.
“There’s a problem at BLC Ranch. He’s got a stallion that tried to get out of the stall and ran some splinters in his legs.” Dottie looked at Doc, and then Veronica.
“Would you like to go with me, Roni? This is one of my best clients. You’ll probably be seeing a lot of him.” Doc smiled at her.
Dottie put her hands on her hips and gave her husband a scowl. “I’m sure Roni’s tired and would like to get some rest. It’s been a long day.” She looked to Veronica as if expecting her to agree.
“I’d love to go, but I’m not dressed to help you,” Veronica exclaimed, eager to work.
Doc just waved his hand. “You won’t need to help this time. You just need to familiarize yourself with some of these ranches. As for this one, it’s mostly horses, but he does have two dogs and a few head of cattle.”
Veronica nodded her head and followed Doc out the door.
Chapter Two
LINC HEARD THE CAR pull up and told Sean to go get Doc and bring him back to the stall. The stallion’s two front legs were bleeding but he wouldn’t let anyone get close enough to look at the damage. Linc was trying to talk to him in a low tone of voice, but the horse wanted none of it.
This was going to be one of the more difficult horses Linc had ever dealt with, that he knew. The horse was a beautiful white stallion. The owner had said he bought the horse from a man who couldn’t control the animal. Then the owner realized he couldn’t control him either. When he heard about what Linc could do, he’d contacted him, and paid him an enormous amount of money to settle the horse down. Now after seeing how the horse was behaving, he wasn’t sure this horse could be settled down.
He slowly walked toward the horse, talking low. The horse pulled his ears back, and Linc halted because that was never a good sign. Linc slowly reached a hand out toward the horse. The horse moved back from him. Linc didn’t follow, but continued talking to him.
“I hope you settle him down enough where I can look at those legs, Lincs.” He heard Doc’s familiar voice behind him.
“I’m trying, Doc. Christ, what does it look like I’m doing?”
Linc turned to glance at him and was taken aback to see Veronica Bailey standing by the gate. She’d certainly grown into a beautiful woman. Her blonde hair was up in a bun with little wisps of hair framing her face. Although he hadn’t looked at her longer than a few seconds, he could’ve sworn someone had kicked him in the stomach. Those damn green eyes of hers were still as pretty as when she’d been a teenager. Shit! He’d just have to ignore her.
“You remember Roni, don’t you, Lincs?” Doc asked him with a grin. Well, hell. So much for ignoring her now. He turned and nodded to her then turned back to the horse.
“Hello, Lincoln. It’s good to see you again,” she told him.
“Is it?” He threw over his shoulder.
“Where’s your tranquilizer gun, Lincs? It might be our only option right now. He’s bleeding pretty good, and I’m sure I’ll need to pull some splinters out.”
Linc backed out of t
he stall keeping an eye on the stallion.
He hesitated when he came alongside Roni, but then he stepped around her. He couldn’t help but notice how he towered over her. The top of her head only came to his chin, if that. He walked into the back tack room and retrieved the gun, and a tranquilizer dart. He inserted it and started to leave the room when he stopped, and took a deep breath.
Christ, she was beautiful…even more so than before, if that was possible. Then she’d been just a girl, but now she was a grown up woman. A woman he wanted in his bed. A woman he wanted anyway he could have her. Taking a deep breath again, he left the tack room and headed back to the stall. He’d concentrate on the horse and nothing else.
Linc walked into the stall and raised the gun. Firing, he hit the horse in the rump. They waited a few minutes, and then watched as the stallion tried to fight the feeling of going down. Linc leaned the gun against the stall door and saw Roni’s hands on the doorframe. No fancy fingernails on her, she was a vet…but she had one hell of a diamond ring on her hand. Her left hand, which meant she was engaged.
For some reason, Linc couldn’t breathe all of a sudden. It hurt too much. He raised his eyes and looked at her. She was staring up at him so their eyes met. He dropped his gaze to her lips. She licked them and he almost groaned.
He turned from her and walked over to where Doc was treating the stallion’s wounds. He squatted down and watched Doc clean the wounds. Linc helped him pull out splinters and apply ointment. After he was done, Doc wrapped the horse’s legs in bandages, making Linc shake his head.
“He’ll have those off before the night is over. He’s a devil, Doc. I’m not even getting close to him.”
“How long’s he been here?” Doc asked him looking at the sleeping horse.
“Just a few days, but usually I have even the meanest one eating out of my hand by now.”
VERONICA CLOSED HER eyes. She could understand that. She’d eat out of his hand. She wasn’t sure what Lincoln did, but it had something to do with training horses. She’d ask Doc about it once they left. She watched as both men stood and moved away from the horse. They exited the stall, closed the door, and waited. It only took a few minutes for the stallion to start waking up. He got to his feet and stumbled a little, but he finally regained his composure and stood. Before long, he bobbed his head up and down and trotted around the stall.
“Why is he in such a small stall?” Veronica asked.
“He’s dangerous, and keeping him contained is something I hate doing, but it has to be done. I can’t take the chance the stallion would get out and hurt one of my other horses or someone else’s. I have five of my own and three others here belonging to other clients. No other horse is going to suffer, because I can’t control this one,” Lincoln told her. “I’ll do it or I won’t. There are no guarantees. The people who bring their horses to me know that but they also know that in the ten years I’ve been doing this, I’ve never failed.” He hesitated. “Until now, that is.”
“You haven’t failed yet, Lincs.” Doc slapped him on the shoulder. “That’s all I can do tonight. Call me if he does rip those bandages off.”
Veronica nodded to Lincoln and returned to the hospital van while Doc finished talking with Lincoln. She sat there waiting for Doc but she couldn’t stop thinking about Lincoln…and how great he looked now. He’d always been gorgeous but now…wow. His hair was still black as coal, but his body was muscular and strong. He had a chiseled jaw with a five o’clock shadow and a straight nose above a very sensual mouth. But it was his eyes, those eyes that filled her mind far too often over the years, that had all the girls crazy. They were a baby blue surrounded with lashes that most women would kill to have. When he’d moved past her in the stall, he’d smelled of fresh, leather, and straw. Why couldn’t he have gotten bald and fat?
LINC COULDN’T TAKE his eyes off her as she walked away down the aisle of the barn. He groaned internally when she disappeared from sight. He shifted his gaze to Doc and raised an eyebrow. “Why, Doc? Why’d you have her replace you? You, of all people, know how I felt about her and how she rejected me.”
“I know, Lincs, but I kept in touch with her all through her years in college and I knew she wanted her own practice more than anything. I had to offer it to her. Understand?”
Linc nodded, kicking at the straw on the floor. “Doesn’t matter anyway, I see she’s engaged. So where’s her fiancé anyway?”
“She said he’s still in Arizona. She said he just thinks she’s going through a phase. I’d like to talk to him because I know for a fact it isn’t. She’s dedicated and wants this so the same goes for you. Give her a chance to be your vet, Lincs. She’s good.”
Linc stared at him for a few seconds, gave a terse nod, and then turned and walked toward the back of the barn. He wanted to get as far away from her as possible. The smell of fresh cut hay didn’t make him feel better like it usually did, since he could still smell her perfume. The only thing he could think of was having Roni Bailey under him in the hayloft. He’d taken more than his share of girls up there when he was younger, but she’d never been one of them. She’d wanted nothing to do with him. Now neither of them had a choice unless he had the vet from the next town come over, and there was no sense to that. If Doc had confidence in her, then he needed to trust his judgment and let her do her job. He groaned with the exhaustion of the day as he entered the office in the barn, and closed the door behind him.
VERONICA WATCHED AS Doc climbed into the car.
“He’s changed. But he still hates me,” she said in a whisper low voice as if she thought Lincoln would hear her.
“Now why would he hate you, Roni? That was a long time ago. You’re both adults now. You can get past it.” Doc smiled at her.
Veronica nodded, but she didn’t agree. She knew by the way Lincoln had acted, he still remembered what she’d said to him. Not in this lifetime. It had to have hurt his feelings. She’d never forget the look on his face after she spat the words at him. She bit at her lower lip. She wanted to cry, but knew it wouldn’t make her feel any better or change anything. She took a deep breath to soothe her nerves.
“What’s he do, Doc? With the horses?” She looked at him.
Doc laughed. “That man is the best horse whisperer in the state and people from all across the country bring their horses to him to have him work with them.” Doc shrugged. “It started about ten years ago. Some guy was having trouble with a horse at a ranch where Lincs was working. The guy was ready to shoot the horse but Lincs wouldn’t let him. He took the reins of the horse and pulled it in close to him, and just talked to it.” He looked at her. “Talked to it Roni…in a soft, calming voice. The next thing everyone knew, the horse was following Lincs around like a puppy. It was amazing.” Doc shook his head. “Been doing it ever since and made his old man very proud. Barrett Cole was a good dad to Lincs. He never let his son think he was below anyone.”
Like I made him feel he was below me.
“Where is he now? Lincoln’s dad?” Veronica cleared her throat.
“He died about eighteen months ago from lung cancer. Lincs took it very hard, but at least his dad saw him become the man he is today.” Doc sighed. “I don’t think anyone in this town, except his dad, his closest friends, and Dottie and I had any faith that Lincs would ever amount to anything. He was a known hellion growing up…along with his five best friends.”
Veronica knew that was the truth. That was why most of the girls from the age of fifteen on up had it bad for Lincoln and his five buddies. She smiled remembering…especially her for Lincoln.
“Why do you call him Lincs? How’d he get that nickname?” She’d only known him as Lincoln.
“Barrett called him Lincs. I’d known Barrett for years, since before Darcy left him and Lincs. Poor kid, Lincs was only two years old. I’m not sure why Barrett called him that, he just always did. Just a loving father calling his son by a nickname, I suppose. They’d always been close. Barrett could’ve set down an
d felt sorry for himself and Lincs, but he had a son to raise and he wasn’t going to shirk that responsibility.” He was silent for a few minutes lost in his memories, Veronica assumed. “Lincs took his passing very hard. His dad was everything to him and I know how much he misses him. But Barrett was proud of him. I know that. No father loved a son more.”
Veronica quickly blinked the tears from her eyes. Lincoln had become something when everyone in town said he never would. He showed them. He stayed in the little town and showed them all. Even her, she supposed. She’d have to get used to seeing him. She’d have to take care of his animals when he needed her. She sat up a little straighter. She’d do it and maybe one day they’d become friends. Maybe.
DOC’S LAST WEEK AT the clinic went fast, far quicker than anyone could have imagined. On Saturday, the clinic closed its doors because the town was holding a retirement party for him at the town hall. Veronica tried not to shed a tear, but couldn’t help herself since Dottie cried all day Friday. They still managed keep up with patients though. Veronica performed two spays and three neuters for clients and they all seemed happy to see her back in town.
She’d called her parents, who were now living in Florida, to let them know what her new home number was, and the hospital’s number as well. They seemed happy that she was getting along well and fulfilling her dream.
Cameron was flying in from Arizona to attend the retirement dinner with her. Veronica couldn’t stop unconsciously chewing her bottom lip every time she thought about him visiting. She realized she wasn’t even happy about the prospect of seeing him. What did that mean?
It means you need to get Lincoln Cole out of your mind! That’s what that means.
Lincoln Bad Boys of Dry River, Wyoming Book 4 Page 2
