Cupid Cures: Small Town Western Contemporary (Return to Cupid, Texas Book 5)

by Sylvia McDaniel

  "Oh crap," he said shaking his head. "I don't think I'm happy to see you."

  "Most people aren't."

  Kyle stood staring at the woman doctor from the USDA. Everything he feared would happen seem to be coming true. The worst thing the old doctor from the USDA who use to come out occasionally and do an inspection must have retired. Now he had to deal with someone new. Oh no, this young woman not only was beautiful, but obviously had brains.

  Beauty and brains a killer combination. And this woman seemed to have it all, looks and intelligence. A dangerous mixture that could be quite entertaining.

  Shame she wasn't here on better terms. Because he didn't think for a moment, that she'd driven all this way to tell him carry on the test came out negative. No, the USDA didn't send out an agent, unless like a blip of trouble, you showed up on their radar.

  "The cow came out positive," he asked.

  "I'm here to conduct my own evaluation," she said, giving him a steady gaze.

  Oh yeah, she was here to do her own assessment because that old bull's sperm was in high demand, spreading venereal disease to every heifer injected.

  "Right now would probably not be the time to go out there and start testing the ranchers cattle."

  Her lips widened in a smile and her eyes twinkled, the green sparkling like emeralds n the light. "Didn't plan on chasing cows in the dark. If you men can tell me where I can find a hotel room, then we can call it a night."

  The sheriff raised his brows at Kyle. Oh no, he didn't like his thinking. Sure he wanted to be a good guy and help the woman out, but that would be almost like sleeping with the enemy. She would be right here underfoot the entire time conducting her investigation.

  How did he accept a government inspector here in the clinic making a decision on whether or not to put his friends and family's cattle down. He didn't want her here.

  Ryan stared expectantly at him. "There are no hotel rooms within fifty miles."

  "That's the next town," she said.

  He nodded, his conscious pricking him. Well, crap, what choice did he have? Let her sleep in her car or drive almost an hour one way? But she needed to leave as soon as possible.

  "My apartment over the clinic has two bedrooms and a bathroom. You're welcome to stay in the spare bedroom, here with me," he offered wanting her to say no.

  She stared at him, her eyes narrowing. "Do you dance naked around this fountain often?"

  Laughter rippled up from his chest and yet the thought of her watching him as he searched in the dark, bending over his buttocks shining in the moonlight brought heat to his face.

  "No. I promise you and Ryan, that tonight was an anomaly. No more dancing around the fountain ever again. No more fumbling trying to find the key without my clothes desperately wanting to get inside the apartment."

  "Shame," she said. "But the cowboy hat was an effective cover up."

  Grinning only slightly embarrassed he said, "Gotta leave something to the imagination."

  "If I don't stay, I'll be spending a lot of time on the highway."

  "That's right," Kyle said almost hoping she said no.

  "All right. Hopefully this won't take long."

  Long as in how many cattle would be quarantined or long as in how many cattle would be put down. Either way, it seemed that trouble had rolled into town and would be lodging at his place.

  Chapter 2

  Tempe had gone to bed that night, with a chair up against the door to her bedroom. If Dr. Lawrence felt the urge to go running naked through her room, he would find the door blocked.

  This morning she would examine a heifer that may or may not be affected by the terrible Brucellosis infection. Learn which bull in town inseminated her and how many cows he possibly could have infected.

  There were parts of her job she absolutely loved. Sticking her hand up either the animal's ass or her vagina, not exactly why she chose veterinarian medicine. And don't get her started on having to put down any creature. Even a sickly cow was hard to let go, when you knew a quick death was better than long drawn out suffering.

  Her love of the job was helping animals and saving them, taking care of them, loving them. Not the part that ached when she ended their life.

  Dressed in her Levi's and her official shirt that proudly proclaimed she was with the USDA, she fixed her make-up and walked out the door.

  "Good morning," Kyle said, looking up from his computer. "Rearranging my schedule for the day. Would you like some coffee?"

  "Yes, please," she said. "Black."

  "Oh, I bet you like it strong as well."

  "What's the point in drinking it if it's not thick enough to give you a boost."

  The rigorous days and nights of studying, she depended on caffeine to keep her awake. Glancing around the small apartment the walls were bare, no rugs, no pillows, no pictures. A hotel room had more personality than this small living space. Either he just moved in, there was no wife or girlfriend or only slept here and nothing else. The decorations were minimal,

  The memory slipped through her defensive armor of the mansion where she once lived. Blocking the remembrance she turned and asked, "You live here long?"

  "Since I bought the clinic," he said. "Dr. Greenwich and his son stayed here for a while, but he sold the practice and retired. When I heard he was selling, I jumped on the opportunity to own my own animal hospital."

  "Nice," she said.

  "What about you? How long have you worked for the USDA?"

  "About a year. Right out of school," she said, taking the coffee cup from his hand.

  A moment of awkward silence filled the room as she sank down on a bar stool around a counter that served as a table.

  Placing his hand on his hip, his other hand holding his mug, he sighed. "Look, this is a buddy of mine we're going out to see today. He's marrying my sister and he's my best friend. His herd is just getting started and I don't want anything bad to happen to him."

  "I'm not checking him out, I'm inspecting his sick cow."

  "I know, but if you find that heifer has to be put down, won't you insist on putting down the rest of his herd?"

  At this point there was no sense in speculating what could develop. Until she determined if the animal had the disease and the source of the infection, everything else didn't matter. First she needed to locate what she was dealing with.

  "If the cattle are diseased, I have no choice. Government regulation number--"

  "Stop, I'm aware of the rules. You don't need to recite them to me. But I will fight you, if you try to kill his herd."

  "So his infected cows can infect other animals in the area and spread the disease to the supermarket? Is that what you want?" she asked, holding her ground trying to subtly make her argument.

  Tempe followed the rules.

  "Let's not jump to conclusions just yet. Let's investigate and see what we find," she said softly.

  Charm boy would not keep her from doing her job. Regardless, he'd given her a place to sleep and some coffee. As an inspector, she was required by law to put down tainted animals.

  He ran his hand through his hair. "Let's go. Let me do the talking. Let me tell him why you're here. Then, you can follow your government regulations."

  "To the letter of the law," she said, standing up and grabbing her medical bag and her purse. Bad things happened when rules weren't obeyed. On their own, people made choices that hurt others, even their family.

  "Of course," he said in a tone that clearly let her know, he didn't agree.

  Pulling into the drive, he saw Cody's truck parked under the awning. Hopefully he was in the barn and not out in the pasture working. As he turned the car off, he turned to toxic Tempe, the government watchdog. Like a pit bull - stubborn and dogmatic, determined to protect.

  In the cab, she gazed at him, her emerald green eyes staring. "Look, I just want to tell you thanks for letting me stay the night. Hopefully today this will all be a false alarm and I'll be on my way back to Austin to fill out my r
eports."

  "Yeah, let's hope so," he said, opening the door and stepping out.

  Before they made it to the barn, Cody met them in the drive a grin the size of Texas on his face.

  "The newest Cupid dasher has arrived. And did you meet someone? Did your sister deliver your clothes, your phone?"

  Now was not the time to talk about this, but Cody didn't seem to catch on that something was wrong. Very wrong.

  "Early this morning. You're still in the doghouse. Payback will be swift and certain. This lady called the sheriff on me last night."

  Tempe stepped forward and offered her hand. "Doctor Tempe Tangier, from the USDA."

  Cody frowned, shook her hand reluctantly and glanced at Kyle. "What's she doing here?"

  This was one of those times when he wanted to spare his clients the bad news and couldn't. Nothing in school trained you for the first time you had to give a client a horrible diagnosis about either their pet or an animal they cared about.

  "This has nothing to do with last night. When I got back to the clinic, Dr. Tangier was waiting on me. " He sighed, wishing this was not happening, desperately wishing not to his friend. "This is about the tests I sent off on your heifer. The one I told you to separate from the herd. You did do that?"

  Nervously Cody wiped his hands on his jeans. "Yeah, she's here in the barn. After you were here last week, I kept hoping she'd get better. I thought maybe you were here to see her this morning."

  "We are," Kyle said trusting his instincts that this cow was seriously ill. Praying anything else besides Brucellosis could be wrong with her, knowing instinctively the heifer would not live much longer.

  "As a veterinarian with the USDA, I need to examine the heifer and run some of my own tests," Tempe said. "Do I have your permission?"

  Cody glanced between her and Kyle and he witnessed the questions on his friend's face. "What's going on? Why are you here to inspect my cow."

  Tempe sighed. "The blood work that Dr. Lawrence sent to the lab, shows possible Brucellosis. I'm here to conduct my own tests and make certain this heifer does not carry this disease."

  His friend glanced at him, searching his face for answers. Now he had to deliver the bad news. The really bad news.

  "Kyle, tell me what's going on. What happens if she's sick?"

  This part he knew Cody would have a hard time with. The same part he struggled with.

  "If she tests positive, she'll be put down. The rest of your herd will be placed in quarantine and we'll need to check them all to make certain they aren't also infected. This is highly contagious. When you called me, you said she was ailing and you didn't know why. Then when you said she kept losing her calves, I became suspicious and decided to do blood work."

  "How long have you had this cow?" Doctor Tanzier asked.

  "About three years," he said. "I bought her at auction."

  The doctor nodded her head. "May I examine her?"

  The realization of what this could do to his herd, settled over Cody and he tensed, his eyes widening and his shoulders pulling back. A stunned expression on his face, his mouth open in shock.

  "Wait a minute. Do I understand this right? Quarantine my entire herd. I won't be able to sell them, move them? Take them to market? For how long?"

  Tension filled Kyle like a bag of sand, heavy with a sinking feeling. No way would Cody like her answers. Already the man was starting to realize the effect on his herd, his livelihood, his ranch. Concern rippled across his face at the idea of all his cattle penned and taken to slaughter.

  "You don't want this disease to spread to your neighbor's cattle, do you?"

  "How do I know she didn't catch this from one of them? What kind of sickness is this?"

  The doctor drew her shoulders back and looked him straight in the eye. "It's a venereal disease that is spread through fluids."

  "But I use insemination. That's how she get's pregnant. She hasn't had anything to do with a bull."

  Then he swallowed and threw back his head. "Oh crap. Ed Smith's bull got loose in my pasture. That SOB tore down the fence and there's no telling how many of my cows he impregnated."

  "He's a champion," Kyle said in disbelief. "Ed demands big money for his sperm. He wasn't properly fenced?"

  "No, he gets away from Ed," Cody said.

  For just a second he wanted to find her blushing pink to the roots of her hairline at their frank discussion, Kyle glanced at Dr. Tempe. No, on the outside, she appeared unaffected. Her training was good.

  "Well, I got it for free, unless he spread his disease among my cattle." Sighing, Cody turned on his heels walking towards the barn. "Come on, let's get this over with. How long before you learn the results?"

  "I'll put a rush on the blood work, but at least two days. And she's been isolated from all other animals?"

  "Well, she's been in a stall," he said as they walked into the building where he kept his horses and all his tack.

  "If she's positive, we'll need to check all the animals," she said.

  "Great just freaking great," Cody said he led her to the stall where the cow watched them with beady eyes.

  "This is her," he said.

  In sympathy, Kyle stared at the heifer and felt certain his hunch was correct. The animal appeared even weaker than she had when he drew the first blood sample several days ago.

  Pulling on her gloves, Doctor Tempe stepped into the stall. "Okay gentleman, hold her while I do my job."

  As they pulled back in front of the clinic, Tempe sighed as she glanced over at the rigid man sitting beside her. On the way back into town, they dropped the samples off at the post office sending them overnight. Now it was up to the results of the tests.

  There was definitely something wrong with the cow, but she refused to come to any conclusions until she could read the report and verify the information. Soon, very soon they would know what they were dealing with.

  In the meantime, Doctor Kyle Lawrence, was not happy with her.

  "Now what?" he asked as he put the truck in park.

  "Now we wait. I've got to write up some notes and send an email to my supervisor."

  "Great, just great," he said, climbing out of the vehicle. "I'm going to work. I have a practice to run."

  "Understandable," she said, walking beside him.

  This was her dream. What she was working towards. To own her own hospital. The reason she had this stinking government job. It paid the bills, gave her some training in the profession, but it was only temporary.

  Opening the door, the receptionist came running to him. "Thank goodness you're here. Mrs. Thomas dog has gone into labor and she's having trouble with the delivery."

  A zing of awareness zipped along Tempe's spine. The call to help and heal radiated through her and she had to remind herself this was not her call.

  "What room?"

  "Two. And Doctor, she's been in labor for a while."

  "Do you need some help?" Tempe asked, wanting to do what she loved. Itching to use her competence for good rather than bad.

  "Sure, let's go," he said. "Why don't you let Belinda take you to the operating room and you can start scrubbing up. I'm going to calm my client and get our patient."

  Excited, Tempe followed his employee into the room and quickly suited up in a surgical gown. Automatically her training kicked in and by the time Kyle came in carrying the poor exhausted mother dog, she was ready.

  "While you scrub in, I'll prepare the patient for surgery," she told him.

  For a moment, he gazed at her like he wasn't certain whether or not to trust her, but then he relented. "I won't be long. Don't start the anesthesia until I'm here."

  "Yes, Doctor Lawrence," she said as she strapped down the helpless dog. Next she arranged all the tools they would need for the procedure, carefully laying them out. Last she put an intravenous line in the dog's leg to give her fluids. Everything was ready.

  Joy at helping the mother dog filled her and she knew this was where she belonged, where she lo
nged to be. If life had not ripped the rug, the foundation and roof over her head, out from under her, she would be running her own clinic at this moment.

  Kyle appeared beside her. Looking at how she'd prepared for the surgery, he gave a nod in her direction. "Nice work, DoctorTangier."

  They were back to that formal doctor language that let her know that he wasn't sure of her capabilities, but acknowledged she was a professional.

  "Thank you," she said. "How do you want me to assist you?"

  "Watch the monitors and take the puppies as I hand them to you. We need to do this quick before the anesthesia kills them."

  "Of course." Excitement bubbled inside her, not because the animal was hurting, but the chance to help the mother. The chance to save her babies. The chance to use her skills.

  "Okay, here we go," he said and gave the mother gas. Soon as she was under, he cut into her belly and soon had her uterus open. Placing his fingers inside, he removed the first puppy and handed it to Tempe. Immediately she began to clean the little dog's nose. The tiny animal squirmed in her hands, so fragile and precious.

  Then the second dog, cutting the umbilical cord and handing it to her. For the next ten minutes, they worked in rhythm together, with him pulling the babies out and her resuscitating them.

  "Is that all?"

  He glanced at her, his fingers in the dogs womb. "I think that's it. I'm not finding anymore. Now let's save the mother."

  Tempe monitored the mother dog as she swiped the amniotic fluid away and Kyle sewed the mother up. "No more puppies for this little momma."

  Tempe peeked at him, still working on the last baby. "Does the owner know."

  This animal didn't need to get pregnant again. Today the mother had a c-section, her uterine muscles would be weakened and a danger for her to carry another brood.

  "She agreed to it before I brought the mother in. If she doesn't want to lose her, this dog shouldn't have another litter. So we made the decision to spade her."