“Yes, ma’am. His DNA was under their fingernails. There’s no doubt about it anymore. He’ll be put away for a long time.”
“Good. I’d hate for it to happen to anyone else.”
“You’ll be called to testify against him. Will that be a problem?” He looked to both women.
“Not at all. The man deserves to be put away.”
“Not a problem, Agent Turner,” Patsy said.
Agent Turner stood. He really was very good-looking. He shook her hand, nodded at Patsy and Carrie, and then he and Nathan put on their coats. Veronica held the door for them as they ventured back out into the cold and snow. She swore she heard Agent Turner mutter damn pixie under his breath as he went out the door.
After shutting the door and securing the locks, Veronica turned to look at Patsy and raised her eyebrow in question.
Patsy shrugged. “What? We don’t get along.”
Veronica stared at her, nodded, and then burst out laughing. “Really? You could cut the sexual tension in here with a knife.”
“So not true, Roni, no way.” Patsy looked to Carrie but she was smirking and nodding her head in agreement. “He doesn’t appeal to me…”
“Who are you trying to convince?”
“Shut up,” Patsy said as she flopped back against the couch.
Veronica laughed and Carrie chimed in. “He’s quite handsome. If you’re not interested…”
Veronica heard Patsy gasp, and then quickly recover. “How do you know him?”
Patsy shrugged, and curled her feet up under her. “He was undercover with Mont when Mont met Isabella. I met him after Isabella thought Mont was dead.” She shrugged again. “We aggravate each other. You saw, we can’t even be in the same room together.”
When her cell phone rang again, Veronica ignored it but Patsy picked it up, probably to take the attention off her. She looked at the caller ID, and then handed the phone to Veronica. Veronica looked at it and her heart hit her stomach. It was Lincoln.
Veronica answered. “Dr. Bailey.” She put her middle finger up when Patsy snorted.
“Roni? I hate to bother you but one of the horses is down. It may be colic. Can you come out here? Or send Patsy?”
“I’ll be there as soon as I can. It might take a bit with the weather but try to keep the horse calm, especially if you can’t get him to stand.” She hung up and explained to Patsy and Carrie about the horse.
“Do you want me to go with you?” Patsy asked her.
Veronica shook her head. “No. Lincoln will help me if I need it. It’s too bad out for both of us to go to one place. I need you here in case something else comes up.” Veronica knew she and Lincoln would put their feelings aside to save the horse.
As she pulled out of her driveway, the snow started falling at an increased rate. She’d cleaned off her windows but it quickly accumulated again on the windshield. She turned the wipers on full but the snow was so heavy, the wipers had trouble keeping up. Taking a deep breath, and barely breathing, she drove slowly on roads covered in snow with both hands clutching the steering wheel. Finally, Veronica saw the turn for Lincoln’s driveway and turned the van carefully onto the snow-covered drive. Suddenly, all the memories of their time together came flooding back. The first time they’d made love, and the last day she was here. She realized she’d never returned for her things she’d brought here. Lincoln hadn’t even arranged to get her things back to her. She wondered just how long it would’ve gone on if Cameron hadn’t shown up and stirred things up. Men wanted what they wanted for as long as they wanted it, and then to hell with those who get hurt.
She parked the van as close to the barn as she could, climbed out, and trudged through deepening snow and into the warm barn. All of the lights seemed to be on inside. Horses were neighing and putting their heads over the stalls to see the new visitor. Veronica rubbed their noses as she moved past. She found Lincoln in the last stall. He was sitting in the straw, rubbing the horse’s ears and talking to it softly. Depending on what type of colic it might be, she needed to work fast. She looked at Lincoln and he stared up at her. He looked awful…like he hadn’t slept. Just like her.
She set her bag down and got out the stethoscope to listen to the animal’s breathing. It sounded labored. Colic was usually a gastrointestinal problem, but it could be deadly. The horse tried to get up, and Lincoln stood. The horse managed to get to his feet but as soon as he did, he immediately went back down. Definitely colic, she thought. The horse also kept biting at his stomach and moaning. She knew he was in pain and had to work fast. Veronica knew she was going to have to do a rectal exam because it might be a pelvic flexure impaction, which meant it was possible food had impacted in the large bowel.
“Talk to your horse, Lincoln. I’ll see what’s going on here.”
She moved to the rear of the horse. She could hear Lincoln talking to the horse in a low tone of voice. Her insides trembled with the memory of him whispering in her ear in that same soothing, calming manner as he filled her body. She checked the horse and found there was an impacted bowel. She administered medicine and told Lincoln to keep an eye on the horse for the rest of the night. She gathered up her things, and he walked her out to her van. The snow was piling up quickly.
“I’m sorry I had you come out in this weather, Roni. It’s getting worse. You really shouldn’t be driving in this. You’re welcome to stay here tonight,” Lincoln told her.
Veronica stopped. Her heart stammered, but she gathered the strength to look at him. “Not in this lifetime.”
The shocked look on his face was like a knife through her heart but something deep inside her wanted him to hurt as much as she was hurting. She knew it hurt him, and she didn’t care. She climbed into her van, and then she made a huge mistake. She looked at him standing there, the pain in his face so apparent. Tears burned her eyes before rolling down her cheeks.
Damn him! She shifted into reverse, and backed through the snow. As she drove down the long driveway, she hoped not to come back for a long, long time…because she did care.
Chapter Nine
THE NEXT AFTERNOON, Linc sat at the bar in the Fireside twirling a beer bottle around in his hand. He’d taken one sip but didn’t feel like drinking more. Why had he even bothered to come out on a day like this? It was too damn cold and the air had a snap to it that stole a person’s breath. More snow was moving in, and they had only just plowed the roads after yesterday’s storm. He blamed the way he felt on the winter blues, but it wasn’t that at all. It was Roni. Once more, the woman had ripped out his heart. This time by believing what her ex-fiancé had implied about him, not to mention using the same words that she’d known would be like a dagger in his heart. How could she believe the bullshit that ass spewed?
Linc shook his head as he stared at the beer bottle. Easy, he thought, her feelings for him weren’t anywhere near what his were for her. He flinched, nearly dropping the bottle when someone elbowed him in the ribs. He turned to find Storm seated on the stool next to him.
“Earth to Linc, what are you doing here?” Storm signaled to Leo to bring him a beer.
“Nothing.” Linc took a swig of his beer.
“Now, why is it I don’t believe you?” Storm tapped the top of the bar with his thumb.
Linc sighed. He loved his friends. They were like brothers to him, but they seriously needed to butt out of his life at certain times—like now.
“I really don’t give a shit if you believe me or not.” Linc met his friend’s stare. He saw the corner of Storm’s mouth curve into a smirk. He thought his bad mood was funny. Good friend.
“You drowning your sorrows or something?”
Linc blew out a breath. “I guess you could say that.”
Storm nodded at Leo when he brought him his beer. “Seriously? What’s going on, Linc? You and Roni…”
“There is no me and Roni anymore. Her fiancé came back and she dumped me.”
“Dumped you? For the fiancé…I don’t believe
that.” Storm picked up his beer and took a swig.
“Where’s Mandy?”
“Christ, what a way to change the subject. She’s with my mom. I had to come into town to get some feed before the next snow. I saw your truck here and decided to see what’s up.” Storm turned on the barstool and rested his elbows on it behind him. “So tell me.”
“Cameron came to the ranch and when he saw us together, he yelled at her about me being the reason she broke off the engagement. He hit me, and I hit back. I broke his nose. Anyway, he started telling her I was using her to get revenge.” Linc shrugged.
“That’s bullshit.”
“Yeah, I know that but she was real quick to grasp at the idea and the next thing I know, she’s slapping me and calling me a bastard. I can’t believe she’d believe that of me.”
“She believed it? That just floors me.”
“I just stood there in shock. I know I should have said something, should have denied it but maybe she was just looking for a way out. It wasn’t until she left with him that—”
“Wait. She left with him?”
Linc nodded. “Yeah, she had him follow her to the hospital to get his nose looked at. I suppose he’ll try to sue me now on top of ruining things with Roni.”
“He hit first, Linc.”
“I know, but what if Roni sides with him?” Linc took a long pull on his beer. “I should’ve known it was all too good to be true. After all, she’d been engaged to another man seconds before she…maybe it was all a game to her and that’s why she believed him. I’m such a fool for falling in love with her.”
“Did you tell her you love her?”
“No. I just assumed she knew.”
“You know what they say about assuming. Christ, Linc. You should have told her. Did you ever think she might have considered that ass’s suggestion as being truth since you’d never told her how you felt?”
“I guess I was afraid if I told her that she’d…you know, leave me like…” He glanced at Storm and when his friend nodded slightly, he knew he understood the pain. His wife had done to him what Linc’s mother had done to his father. “I know I should have told her but it’s too late now, she told me never to call her again. Only I did call her yesterday evening. I had a horse down. I told her she could send Patsy, but she showed up. Since the snow was getting heavier, I told her she could stay the night. Hell, I was praying she’d stay the night.” Linc glanced away from Storm, and then back to him. “She told me…not in this lifetime.”
“Shit. I’m sorry Linc, that’s rough. You know what I think…I think she’s pissed. I think she’s as much in love with you as you are with her.” Linc started to tell him he was wrong, but his friend put up his hand stopping him. “I’ve seen how she looks at you and she never looked at her fiancé that way. You need to beg, grovel, and plead with her. You need to tell her how you feel and see what happens. If I’m right, she’ll be back. Right now, you really need to be home, not out in this. I’ll follow you home. How many beers have you had?”
Linc lifted the bottle. “Been nursing this one for an hour.”
“Wow, I would’ve thought more considering the way you look. Let’s go then. You need to get some rest. You look like shit.”
Linc blew out a laugh. “Feel like it too.” He stood and pulled his hat, coat, and gloves on. “I’m not sure I have it in me to face having her shoot me down again, but I’ll think about what you said. Thanks buddy.” He nodded to Leo as he left some money on the bar then walked out of the Fireside with Storm.
Later, when he pulled up to the barn, he hated to get out of the truck. The thought of going into the house made his gut ache. He knew he’d see her everywhere he went. Even in the barn. She loved the horses, and the times she’d been there to help him with any of them, he’d love watching her work.
He smiled sadly when he thought of her coming out when the horse had kicked him and he’d needed stitches. She’d scolded him and he’d let her. That was the day he knew how much she wanted him, and knew he was more in love with her than he’d even first thought.
Roni was everything to him and now she was gone…again. Never to return to him. She was never yours. But then, he’d never told her he wanted her to be his. He should have told her how he felt. Would it have made a difference? Would she have believed Cameron if she knew Linc loved her?
He shook his head. Cameron knew what he was doing when he started telling her Linc was merely using her for revenge. Son of a bitch! He must have had one hell of a talk with Doc at the retirement party. He’d found out all he needed to know to undermine his relationship with her. He’d fed Roni a bunch of lies with just enough truth mingled in to make her doubt Linc. It wouldn’t have mattered if he’d told her he loved her after that. Or would it?
Veronica was a strong, independent woman. She’d made the decision to start her life over in this town even while she had a fiancé living far away. Maybe Cameron just got lucky with his accusations. She’d just escaped being tied down to an asshole and maybe Linc was just a good time while she settled in to her new life. Either way, he was alone—again.
It wouldn’t do any good to go after her now. She wouldn’t believe him, or probably even care that he loved her. She’d had her fun with one of the bad boys of Dry River. It was just like when he was growing up. People believed what they wanted to believe and treated him accordingly. The people of Dry River had always said he and his friends were no good and they’d believed it because they heard it all the time. They’d done their best to live up to it too, but now they all had grown into good men, and nothing the town folk could say would change that. Most had accepted them as adults, but not by all.
He hadn’t thought Doc would be one to spread tales, but then he had been drinking. Maybe Roni still believed the myth related to the old Linc and so believed he was just out for an easy time. Until she came back into his life, he was about that most times but he’d never considered revenge over a youthful rejection as part of the plan. Linc loved her. Yes, she’d hurt him all those years ago with her words, but it never stopped him from loving her. He’d never forgotten her and had hoped every day that she’d come back to town and that when she finally did, he’d have another shot with her. He’d had it, and he’d screwed it up.
Damn. He’d never regret his time with her. The memories were all he’d have now. Christ Cole, can you get any more maudlin.
He climbed out of the truck and walked into the house. It had seemed so empty to him after his dad died but now, he suspected it was going to be even worse without her. He entered the kitchen and slammed the door behind him. He thought about Storm’s suggestion. He should go to her, tell her the truth of his feelings, beg, and grovel but he was scared. Okay, he admitted it…he feared the rejection and abandonment yet again.
Damn, you’re a coward, Lincoln Cole.
A shot or two of whiskey sounded real good about now.
BY MONDAY, THE SNOW had finally let up. It had snowed all weekend leaving the roads slick and still covered. Most of the people, who had appointments for their pets, had canceled even before they opened today. Most didn’t feel they could get out, and some were just too worried to try with their pets in the car with them. Carrie rescheduled them without issue. Veronica had told her it was okay since none of them wanted to chance it with the animals either…unless it was an emergency. Veronica was standing by the counter looking over the cancelations when the door opened. Nathan walked in with Precious on a leash. Veronica smiled, pleased to see the duo.
“Hi, Nathan…and hello, pretty Precious.” Veronica ruffled her ear, and handed her a biscuit.
“Abby, Roni, her name is Abby now,” Nathan said with an air of annoyance.
“Whatever. She’ll always be Precious to us.” Veronica laughed. “I’m surprised you made it in. Well, bring her on back.”
She led the pair back to an exam room where she had Nathan put Abby/Precious on the table. Veronica frowned when Nathan kept staring at her.
&n
bsp; “Pardon my saying this, but you look like hell, Roni. Almost as bad as Linc does.”
Veronica felt her anger rise. She didn’t need him or anyone else sticking his nose into her business. “Are you here for her shot or to tell me how bad I look?”
“Shot.” He shrugged, folding his arms across his chest.
Veronica checked the dog over, gave her the shot, and told Nathan they were done. When he didn’t make a move to take his dog off the table, she glared at him. He simply stared back with a questioning expression. She raised an eyebrow at him.
“What’s going on Roni? You and Linc were inseparable just a few weeks ago. Now, you don’t even speak, and you’re both looking the worse for wear.”
Veronica glared at him. “It’s none of your business, Nathan.”
“The hell it isn’t. I don’t like seeing my friends hurting and Linc definitely is, and by the looks of it…so are you.”
“It doesn’t matter, Nathan. It’s over. It all fell apart.” Veronica’s voice caught and she was having trouble keeping the tears at bay.
“That’s where you’re wrong, Roni. It might be over for you, but Linc is crazy for you. Hell, I think he’s been in love with you since…forever, and he’ll go on loving you because he always has.” Veronica shook her head. Nathan grabbed her arms and shook her slightly. “Yes! My God, woman…how blind can you be?”
“I was just one of his women. Someone to pass time with until the next one came along, only he got a two-for with me because he’d be able to say he bedded me after I rejected him all those years ago.”
Nathan stared at her then burst out laughing. “That’s such bullshit, Roni. Think about it, you and Linc were together constantly for months. If he just wanted to pay you back, don’t you think he would’ve done it sooner? Just do a hit and run like most players do. Why would he continue to see you? If what you say is what you think he was doing, he had what he wanted the first time you slept with him.” He moved away from her. “I’ve never seen him hurting like this. Not even after the first time you broke his heart. He’s a broken man now, Roni. Maybe you were just looking for a good out, and so it was easy for you to let your past convince you the wrong way.” Nathan picked his dog up, set her on the floor, and led her from the room slamming the door behind him.
Lincoln Bad Boys of Dry River, Wyoming Book 4 Page 14
