Vetted Again

by K'Anne Meinel

  Table of Contents

  VETTED AGAIN

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  THE END

  PIONEERING

  CHAPTER ONE

  TO BE CONTINUED...

  VETTED AGAIN

  A Novel by K’Anne Meinel

  E-Book Edition

  Published by:

  Shadoe Publishing for

  K’Anne Meinel as an E-Book

  Copyright © K’Anne Meinel November 2018

  VETTED AGAIN

  E-Book Edition License Notes:

  This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author’s work.

  K’Anne Meinel is available for comments at KAnneMeinel@aim.com as well as on Facebook, her blog @ http://kannemeinel.wordpress.com/ or on Twitter @ kannemeinelaim.com, or on her website @ www.kannemeinel.com if you would like to follow her to find out about stories and book’s releases or check with

  www.ShadoePublishing.com or http://ShadoePublishing.wordpress.com/.

  Dedicated to anyone who

  thinks I’m writing about them.

  I am.

  K’Anne

  CHAPTER ONE

  Allyssa didn’t remember much about the ride back to the ranch. Their intended shopping trip was forgotten as Fiona rambled on and on about being pregnant together. Finally, sensing Allyssa’s quiet and unease, Fiona pulled over at the end of their driveway and asked, “Are you okay? Aren’t you happy about your pregnancy? This is what you wanted, isn’t it?”

  The shock was wearing off, and Allyssa stared unblinking at her wife for a moment as the sense of what she was saying began to penetrate. “Of course, this is what I wanted. I just thought it wasn’t meant to be. When my test came up negative, I just accepted the result. I didn’t think to question the result, and what if how I’ve been living—riding and going about my day as though I wasn’t pregnant—has harmed the baby?” She suddenly touched her stomach wonderingly, remembering the feeling of being pregnant last year and knowing this was completely differently.

  “You are awfully quiet,” Fey pointed out gently, worrying about Allyssa and her mood swings.

  “I just realized...How in the world are we going to cope with two babies at the same time?”

  “Just like any other new parents of twins cope with two babies, I guess.”

  “They won’t be twins,” she pointed out. She worried about all the complications they could face when the babies were born, but Leslie had assured her she was healthy and the pregnancy progressing normally. She had also explained that no two pregnancies were the same, and Allyssa needed to take care of herself, not only because of what had happened the previous year but also because of her activities on the ranch. She had given her some prenatal vitamin samples and a prescription for more.

  “They are not considered twins because we are each carrying one, but they are from the same daddy, so brother or sister or both are going to be raised as though they were twins,” Fiona pointed out in return. She had gone along with the double implantation for the sake of her wife’s well-being but really hadn’t thought both would take. She’d humored Allyssa and now, look at them. They were both pregnant. She wondered if their health insurance company would be suspicious.

  “That’s true,” Allyssa fretted, sounding distinctly unhappy.

  “It’s a little late to change your mind,” she tried teasing her wife out of her grumpy-sounding mood. She was also trying hard not to get angry. The two pregnancies had been Allyssa’s idea. She only went along with the idea to please her wife. They had both became pregnant, and now, she wasn’t happy?

  “I know. I know,” she answered, staring out at the hills and fields on both sides of their driveway. Mentally, she told herself she would have to put in some snow fences this year. She promised herself she would install them last winter and had forgotten.

  “What’s the matter with you, hon?” She was feeling exasperated with her young wife. They were both pregnant, and there was nothing they could do to change it now. They had wanted this, hadn’t they?

  “I’m sorry, Fey. I know I should be excited by this, and I am happy.” Allyssa stroked her own belly while also looking over at her wife’s rounding tummy. “I guess I really didn’t think it through, and I’m just shocked that it worked. I mean, what a stereotype...two lesbians pregnant at the same time.”

  Fey laughed. It was a stereotype, but they were the only ones that knew. “Do you want to keep it quiet until you are further along? Technically, you are beyond the first trimester and you could tell people if you wanted.” She glanced around at the greening fields and wondered if their tenant would want to dig up any of them. She couldn’t recall her grandparents plowing this far out on the ranch. They’d only farmed around the homestead and out from there.

  “Oh, yes. Let’s not tell anyone just yet,” she answered, a little relieved. She hadn’t known that telling people was bothering her at all until Fey asked. “I guess I’m just worried that I’ll lose it again like last year.”

  “Well, it is a little soon to get pregnant again,” she pointed out, wishing she had been a little more insistent back in January about waiting, but she had been so relieved when her wife wanted back in their life. She would have given her anything at that moment, including these children they were both carrying. “Your body does need time to heal.”

  “I have youth on my side,” Allyssa quipped and then realized how that sounded. She tried to make amends, “I mean...I don’t think...”

  “It’s okay. I know I’m older,” Fey answered. Her feelings were not hurt. She wasn’t so old that she couldn’t carry a child to term and give birth safely. Still, in her job she had to be very careful. She was relieved the interns would soon be there to help.

  “I’m sorry, Fey. I’m not making this easy, am I?” Allyssa asked, feeling like she was being a real shit to her wife. She’d had so much happen to her in the last couple years. She’d grown up a lot, but apparently, she still had some growing to do.

  “I worry sometimes, if it is all too much,” she answered, her hand gesture taking in the many acres of land before them although a small line of subtle hills was hiding the beauty of their valley from them at that moment.

  “You don’t think I can cope?” she asked, worrying that Fey was losing confidence in her abilities.

  “Well, you have the ranch to run along with the office, the house, and the rescue. You also volunteer with the rehab and the 4-H. And now, you are going to have to raise your baby and mine!”

  “Fey, I thought they were our babies, not yours or mine?” she asked quietly, sounding much younger than she should.

&nbs
p; Fey immediately realized she had misspoken and nodded. “Yes, they are our babies but there will be two of them. How will you cope with everything?”

  “I know you won’t be around all the time because of your job, but you will be there for me and for us,” she indicated their two bellies, reaching out touch Fey’s, “when we truly need you. We’ll just have to figure it out. We have time,” she said, sounding a little relieved as she pulled her hand back.

  “We’re having a baby,” Fey said softly, wonderingly.

  “We’re having two babies,” Allyssa nearly sobbed, looking in her wife’s eyes as Fey caressed her rounding belly. They shared a smile of understanding, glad they had discussed it.

  Fey nodded and put the Jeep in gear to drive home. “Hey, didn’t you want to shop?” she asked, suddenly remembering.

  “You know, I would rather just go home for now,” she admitted. “Do you have to go back out?”

  “Let’s see what’s waiting for us both before we make any more plans.”

  They headed up the drive and when they crested that last hill, they surveyed their little valley containing their new, red, two-story farmhouse with white trim. Their home had been burned down twice, and they had rebuilt it twice. Their huge, wooden barn looked warm and solid, and next to it were corrals that housed a llama, horses, and a donkey. Between the barn and the cabin with an add-on out back was a shed that had been converted to a chicken coop. The chickens were clucking outside the wire after having escaped their pen. In the middle of the ranch yard, creating a natural island in the drive that people drove around, was a fountain in a pool with a statue of a horse in the middle. On the porch of their cabin stood their dog, wagging his tail as he recognized their Jeep.

  Next to the cabin, parked in its place of honor, stood an EarthRoamer XV. This was the ultimate RV that they had converted into a mobile vet office for Fey. She was able to work and sleep in this RV for her job. It could keep her going for weeks on the road, if necessary. It was compact, and being solar-powered, it was also energy efficient. It was built to go anywhere with its four-wheel drive and powerful turbo diesel engine. Both women smiled when they saw the pictures of the cartoon characters on the sides of the RV. They were various animals that Fey might have as patients—everything from a rabbit having a belly laugh to a dog scratching its ear in an awkward pose. There was also a cat with a satisfied look (as though it had just eaten a canary) and a cute and cozy-looking lamb. There were so many characters, the effect was almost overwhelming and yet it was also very endearing. The characters were funny and playful and were also great advertising for their business with “HERRIOT VETERINARY SERVICES” stenciled on the door and “Vet-Mobile” and their phone number displayed in smaller letters below their company name. The back door of the truck cab showed a herd of realistic-looking horses in full gallop.

  “I love that RV, baby,” Fey mentioned, not for the first time.

  “We are lucky, aren’t we?” Allyssa agreed, reaching across to squeeze Fey’s hand. She mentally resolved not to bum her wife out again with any sad thoughts, fears, or negative thoughts about her own pregnancy. They had so much to do before the babies came and it wouldn’t do to upset either of them. She remembered the saying: fake it until you make it, and she resolved she would pretend to be happy until she really was happy.

  Fey pulled up by the cabin just a bit short of the steps since a chicken was in the way.

  “Wanna help me round them up?” Allyssa asked, exasperated with their chickens, who had become such great escape artists.

  “Absolutely,” Fey agreed, turning off the Jeep and immediately getting out to trap the chicken that had stopped her from pulling up next to the steps. Both their dog on the porch and the other dog that came up to greet her were interested in the fluttering chicken as she grabbed it. “Hello, Rocky,” she greeted the Great Dane. “Are your parents here?” she asked as she tucked the chicken under her arm and reached to pet him. He looked down to the barn where their two therapists were working with a child mounted on a horse and wearing a helmet. Woody Franklin and Rhonda Blecher were the therapists renting space on their ranch to work with people on horses as well as rehabilitate the horses Allyssa and Fey had taken in from a rescue.

  “Hi there, Rex,” Allyssa said to the dog who had laid back down on the porch, his tail thumping against the wood. In fact, Thumper had been his original name for just that reason. Allyssa had accidentally hit him with her car, and later, she not only saved his life but also adopted him. Rex’s accident was the reason she had met her wife.

  “Hey, Doc, Allyssa,” Renee came outside to greet them.

  “What’s up with the chickens?” Allyssa asked, trying to pick up another that was eyeing her with a definite ‘No, you aren’t catching me’ look.

  “They revolted. I swear,” she responded, helping to cut off the chicken that would have run from Allyssa.

  “Well, if we don’t keep ‘em safe, the hawks and coyotes will get ‘em,” she said as she handed the chicken to their assistant and returned to the car to replace her gun on her hip. She had taken to carrying a gun back when they had to run off some rustlers nearly two years ago. It had often come in handy, but today, she had taken it off to go into the clinic and had forgotten to put it back on. She saw Fey catch another chicken and return it to the coop before heading for the cabin to fetch her own gun. She wore hers for safety as well but not as regularly as Allyssa. Hearing heroic stories of a vet willing to take on rustlers ensured they got a lot of curious calls from people in the area.

  After they had the chickens back behind the safety of their fence, Fey went down to talk to Rhonda and Woody. Rex went with Allyssa to the house and then later walked with her down along their fence line to look off into the hills. The view from their little valley was quite spectacular. Far off, they could see the Blue Mountains of Oregon and between the mountains and their newly-built ranch house was a whole lot of high prairie with a mountain-fed lake hidden within it. As Rex snuffled around at the various things along the fence line, Allyssa looked off into the hills that she wanted to explore. Unfortunately, riding was off her ‘to do’ list until after her pregnancy. Jeez, what had she been thinking? Last year, she had been so happy to be pregnant and now, she was scared. She rubbed her tummy thoughtfully as she stared off into the hills. She saw moving dots that she knew were cattle or horses since they had both on their range. Then, a speck of red caught her eye for a moment.

  “Penny for your thoughts?” Fey came up behind her. Rex wagged his tail in greeting but didn’t bother to approach the vet. He had serious messages to explore. Rocky, the Great Dane owned by Woody and Rhonda, joined them, and an intense snuffling went on as the two canines exchanged messages.

  Allyssa smiled. Fey was her best friend. She’d never had a friend like her before. She was also her wife, her lover, and in a way, her boss. But she was also more of a partner than Allyssa could have ever imagined. “I swear there is something out there,” she said, sweeping her hand over the fence towards the plains.

  “Always is,” Fey agreed, worrying about her wife’s mental and physical well-being. She just didn’t seem as happy about this pregnancy as Fey. Although both women had attempted to conceive at the same time, they hadn’t really believed both would take. “I used to imagine there were ghost horses out there.”

  “Ghost horses?”

  Fey nodded. “When I was growing up, I swear I saw horses that weren’t there. Even those mountains sometimes make me see things that aren’t there.”

  “Are you sure they aren’t there? Maybe the clouds are just hiding them.”

  Fey nodded in agreement. “Logically, I know some of the formations aren’t there, yet sometimes, I see things when I look out at them. I see things on the range too.” She also gestured to the range. “No bringing any ghost horses home,” she warned her teasingly. She squinted out on the range, a flash of red catching her eye as she turned to her wife.

  Allyssa laughed, as she was intend
ed to. She knew Fey was worried about her lack of enthusiasm, but she was afraid of letting Fey down. As she looked in her wife’s brown eyes, she thought about how lucky she was to have met this admirable, brilliant, and beautiful woman. Her wife was not classically beautiful, but she had an aura of self-confidence about her that made Allyssa wish to be a better woman. She smiled and leaned down to kiss her, turning it into a make-out session until they both heard a snort from one of the pens. It was only a horse clearing its nasal passages, but it sounded like a person snorting, “Enough,” and they pulled apart, both pleased with their mutual and impromptu display of affection.

  “It’ll be okay. We’ll figure it out,” Fey said softly, brushing Allyssa’s hair back behind her ear. She loved that the younger woman was taller than her. It felt good, it felt right, and she loved this woman very much. She was just concerned how she would cope with everything they had taken on.

  “We will,” she said, leaning her head down on Fey’s strong shoulder. They could do anything together and had proven it time and again.

  CHAPTER TWO

  “We should arrange for a roundup,” Fey told her wife a few days later. “We have too many wild cattle on our range and since we don’t ride out there regularly to check on them, disease could be an issue. I don’t want to take the chance.” She was responding to the letter they had gotten from the cellular company complaining once again about cattle that had chased one of their inspectors away from their cell site on Falling Pines Ranch land. Renting them space for their tower was a valuable source of income. It had only gone up last year, but their check had cleared, and Fiona and Allyssa were already anticipating receiving their yearly rent this fall. They didn’t want to lose the income.

  “I’ll ask a few people to help us arrange a roundup this fall. I think it will have to be after the crops are all in,” Allyssa mused as she considered the logistics. She knew most of the arrangements would be left up to her, but she didn’t mind. She loved the ranch and the fact that Fey trusted her with it all. “Do you want horses rounded up too?”