Fresh-Start Ranch

by Leann Harris

  Tessa thought about it. “Could be, but I remember Mom had a manager she worked under who she didn’t like. The woman returned the feelings, but Mom endured the woman for close to a year without any real awkwardness until Mom got promoted to another department and didn’t have to work with that woman anymore.”

  Ethan glanced at her. “A couple of months ago, Pastor preached a sermon about praying blessings on those who you work with and you have a problem with. Pastor added that usually God changes our heart and rearranges our attitudes, so maybe your mom or Doc is in that position.”

  He did have a point, much to her relief. “Okay. I’m going to just let it go and not worry about it.” She studied Ethan’s profile. “Should I be concerned about an old cowboy who’s going to do some roping tonight?”

  “Yessiree, you need to pray for that cowboy. I’ve been practicing my roping on some of the cows we’ve got, and it isn’t as easy as it used to be. What happened?”

  “You got older.”

  “Don’t remind me,” he moaned.

  Tessa leaned back against the door. “I think you’re going to be fine.”

  “I hope so.” He reached over and covered her hand with his and gave it a squeeze. “I know your cheering will make the difference.”

  It was a nice thought. She prayed that Doc and her mom would also come to a peace.

  * * *

  The rodeo grounds were located in the southeastern part of Albuquerque. The competition would be held in the Indoor Horse Arena. Next door were the stables and the area for cowboys to camp. The adjacent building housed the concessionaires. Ethan parked his truck and set about unloading Ranger and settling him in the stall assigned by the rodeo authorities. After registering for the calf-roping competition and getting his number, they had close to an hour to kill.

  They went to the concessionaire building, and Ethan bought them barbecue sandwiches and bottled tea. The atmosphere of the rodeo reminded Ethan of his teen years, both the good and bad things.

  Tessa leaned forward and said, “Would you believe it’s been years since I’ve been to a rodeo?” She laughed and shook her head. “I feel like I’m a rookie again.”

  “So, you had rodeos in Kentucky?”

  “Please. You Westerners don’t have a corner on the market. The rest of the country has rodeos.”

  “Even Kentucky?”

  “Kinda. Rodeo competition was becoming popular with the high school kids last time I was there. And the state and local fairs had riding contests. Sometimes they would have demonstrations of roping, but racing in Kentucky is king. Thoroughbreds.”

  Ethan could understand about the thoroughbreds. “Well, in the West, rodeos are a way of life.” He told her about Zach and his experiences growing up. “Zach was on his way to having an all-around belt buckle when he joined the army. He intended on finishing it after he got out. But a roadside bomb changed that.”

  Tessa squirted more sauce on her sandwich. “He looked fine to me.”

  “Yeah? You’re going to make Zach’s day.”

  She paused and looked at him, waiting for his explanation.

  “His right leg is artificial. He lost it after a roadside bomb took out his vehicle. It wasn’t until he went to Second-Chance Ranch that he started riding again.” He explained the romance that developed between Sophie and Zach.

  “Horses are amazing.” She looked around at all the cowboys. “I’m looking forward to seeing you calf rope.”

  Ethan returned her smile. Then the figure entering the refreshment area grabbed his attention and Ethan’s expression changed.

  “Did I say something wrong?”

  His gaze came back to her. “No. I just saw Kevin walk in.”

  Tessa turned and looked for the man. She found him at the concession stand. “What is he doing here?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “I wonder if Mary has served him with the restraining order yet,” Tessa commented.

  Ethan turned to her. “So Mary got it?”

  “Yes.” She explained about the delay. “When the judge issued it, Kevin and William were ordered not to come near any of the horses we rescued.”

  “Good. Why don’t we go back and see how Ranger’s doing.” He glanced at his watch. “It’s getting time for me to start saddling Ranger for the competition.”

  They gathered up their trash and threw it away. Kevin, with his dinner in his hand, stopped in front of Tessa and Ethan.

  “Ah, what are you two doing here?” Kevin asked. “Here to watch the competition?”

  Smart attitude oozed out of his question, challenging Ethan.

  “Ethan is here to compete,” Tessa volunteered, pride ringing in her voice.

  Her confidence in him settled Ethan’s temper.

  Kevin’s look of surprise was comical.

  “What are you here to do?” Ethan asked.

  Kevin flushed. He glanced at his date. “C’mon.”

  They marched off.

  “I’d watch him,” Ethan said.

  Tessa nodded her head. “But for now, let’s go see Ranger, because I think you have a date with a horse and a calf.”

  “And I hope not the dirt.”

  * * *

  Tessa sat in the stands, watching the other contestants break out of the chute and go after the calf.

  “That was record time of twenty seconds for Scott Avery, from Tucumcari,” the announcer broadcast over the PA. “We won’t say how old Scott is, but I believe Roosevelt was in office when he graduated.”

  The crowd laughed. One woman beamed and waved as Scott walked out of the arena.

  “Our next contestant is number eighteen, Ethan McClure riding Ranger.”

  The crowd hushed.

  Tessa’s stomach tensed. The calf raced out of his chute, and Ethan and Ranger charged out of the next chute. Tessa didn’t breathe as Ethan twirled his rope over his head. He threw it and caught the calf around his neck. The rope brought the calf to a halt, landing the cow on its side.

  Instantly Ethan was out of the saddle, running to the calf, grabbing his legs and tying them in twenty-two seconds. Tessa was on her feet yelling and clapping with the rest of the crowd.

  Ethan stood and walked back to Ranger. The calf struggled, but couldn’t get out of the rope. Ethan mounted Ranger and walked his horse forward to relieve pressure on the calf. The arena helpers released the calf and Ethan pulled in his rope.

  There were eight others in the competition but at the end of the night, Ethan was number two. The top six contestants of the eighteen were going to compete the next night for the prize.

  Hurrying out of the stands, Tessa looked for Ethan inside the building, but didn’t see him. She walked over to the next building housing Ranger’s stall. There between the rows of stalls was a group of men talking and laughing. Ethan stood in the middle of them. Several of the men patted Ethan on the back. When Ethan saw her, he waved her to his side and introduced her to the group. “Tessa is the new partner in the veterinary practice near us.”

  Several of the guys stared at her, then looked at Ethan.

  “You’re funning us, ain’t you, Ethan?” Lance Mullen said.

  She knew what to expect, so why was she disappointed with Lance’s words?

  Ethan shook his head. “I wouldn’t go there, friend. The lady’s got a gift. I’ve watched her. And if you don’t believe me, ask my horse. You know how Ranger won’t let anyone near him?”

  Lance looked over at Ethan’s horse. “Yeah, I found out the hard way.”

  “The first time I met Dr. Tessa,” Ethan informed them, “she was examining Ranger after that bad storm we had several weeks back, and he was as docile as a lamb.”

  Lance’s nose wrinkled in doubt. “Maybe your horse’s mellowed.”
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  Ethan folded his arms over his chest. “Try.”

  Lance looked around and then took up Ethan’s challenge and walked to Ranger. The horse’s head came up and he danced away. The closer Lance got, the more displeased Ranger became.

  “Okay, Lance, that’s far enough. Come back here.”

  Lance joined them.

  Ethan grinned at Tessa and nodded his head. She walked to Ranger’s side.

  “Hello, big boy. How are you?” She rubbed him on his nose. “You did a good job out there tonight.”

  The horse bobbed his head, accepting the praise.

  The crowd of men gawked.

  “Can you believe it?” one man croaked.

  “Am I seeing things?” another man whispered.

  Lance shook his head. “Well, ain’t that something.”

  “She’s got you beat,” Marv Hanks said, slapping Lance on the back.

  Tessa leaned close and kissed Ranger on his nose. “Thanks, big guy, for your help.” She rejoined the group.

  Several of the guys nodded to her, respect in their eyes. Lance ran his fingers though his hair. “Sorry, ma’am. My mistake.”

  “That’s okay, cowboy. It’s nothing I haven’t faced before.”

  “You going to be here for the weekend?” Lance asked, smiling at Tessa.

  “Hey, cowboy, back off,” Ethan warned. His comment caught the guys by surprise.

  Tessa hid her smile of pleasure. Ethan’s attitude certainly had changed. “I have to go back to the clinic tonight, but I plan to be back to watch Ethan ride in the finals.”

  The men said their goodbyes and wandered off.

  “I’m proud of you,” Ethan told her.

  “For what? I’m the one who should be telling you congratulations.”

  “For handling all those guys so well.”

  “This isn’t my first rodeo, so to speak, and their reaction isn’t my first encounter with that attitude.”

  “Ethan, where are you?”

  Tessa and Ethan turned to the voice and saw Beth and Tyler striding toward them.

  Beth ran into her brother’s arms. “We got here in time to see you rope that calf. Why didn’t you let your family know you were competing? And you’re in the finals!” She grinned up at her brother. “You could’ve knocked me over with a sneeze from old Ranger there when I walked into the arena and heard your name called on the PA.”

  Tyler grinned. “She left me in the dust.”

  “Well, it shook me up and I wanted to see. I got to the top step and saw you charge out of that chute.”

  Tyler stepped up and shook Ethan’s hand. “Congratulations, old man.”

  Beth and Tyler turned to see Tessa watching them. “Dr. Grant, it’s nice to see you.”

  “Please call me Tessa.”

  “So how did you know Ethan was competing tonight?” Beth asked Tessa, a note of mischief in her voice.

  Tessa glanced at Ethan, silently questioning him as to what he wanted her to reveal. Before she could say anything else, Ethan spoke. “I asked Tessa here as my date.”

  Beth’s eyes went wide and a satisfied smile curled her mouth. “Oh.”

  Such a wealth of information was put into that one little word. Her gaze went from Ethan to Tessa. “A date.”

  “Don’t act so shocked,” her brother protested.

  Beth tried to look innocent but failed.

  “What are you doing here, sis?”

  “Well, I read in the paper about the old-timers’ events and I knew one of the guys who was riding broncos, so we decided to make a night of it. If you’d let me know you were competing, I would’ve been here in plenty of time.”

  Tyler leaned down and whispered in her ear, “It was a date.”

  Beth glanced up at her husband and grinned. “Your point?”

  Tyler shook his head.

  Beth chatted about the other contestants and Ethan’s chances. After several minutes, Ethan said, “I need a favor, sis. Since I didn’t count on being in the finals, and I don’t want to leave Ranger by himself or pack him up to take him home, would you stay here with Ranger while I take Tessa home?”

  “Oh, Ethan, don’t impose on them,” Tessa protested. “I can—”

  “Walk home?” Ethan asked. “There’s no taxi service out to the clinic.” He paused. “I guess you could drive my truck and bring it back tomorrow.”

  That thought didn’t sit well with Tessa. “I’ll call the clinic and have someone pick me up.”

  Beth waved off the idea. “No, don’t do that. We can take Tessa home,” Beth cheerfully volunteered. Leaning into her husband, she said, “Can’t we?”

  “Of course.” Tyler hugged his wife’s shoulders. “But maybe that’s not an option your brother wants.”

  Beth waved away the thought.

  Tessa’s choices were limited. Even if she called the clinic, Doc might not be there and she didn’t want her mother driving on dark, unfamiliar country roads.

  “Thank you, but what about the friend you came to see?” Tessa asked.

  “I think he’s up next. Let’s watch, then we’ll drive you home afterward.”

  They stayed for several more events. After they greeted Beth’s friend, Tyler said, “I think we need to get you home, Beth. You’ve had enough excitement for one night.”

  Beth took her husband’s arm. “I won’t break. Pregnant women do all sorts of things.”

  “True, but I wasn’t married to any of the others. Besides, I think Tessa would probably like to get home before midnight.”

  “Okay.” She kissed her brother, took Tyler’s arm and started walking away.

  “I hope you don’t mind?” Ethan said, stepping closer to Tessa.

  “Of course I don’t mind.” She stared at the snaps of his shirt. “You were good out there tonight.”

  “Who would’ve thought I could do it? I’ll admit, it wasn’t as easy as it used to be.”

  “But you looked impressive.”

  Ethan looked around and found a concrete ledge running around the inside wall of the building. He grabbed her hand and led her to the ledge. “Up.”

  “What?”

  He urged her to step up and when she did, he bent down and brushed a kiss across her lips. When he drew back, he said, “Thanks for the support.”

  Her brain wasn’t firing right. “For what?”

  “For being here.”

  “I’m glad you asked me.” She glanced over his shoulder to see Beth grinning. “We have an audience.”

  He shrugged. “I know, but I wanted to kiss you, and if I bent over...well, my back appreciates you being up on the ledge.”

  Her brow arched. “Not as young as you used to be?”

  “True. I’ll need the liniment I brought for Ranger.” He ran his hand through his hair. “This is not the way I planned to end our date.”

  “No?”

  “No. I wasn’t counting on my sister driving you home afterward.”

  “We’ll just say ‘to be continued tomorrow night,’ won’t we?”

  He helped her down from the ledge. “I like your thinking.”

  Beth stood waiting, a big grin on her face.

  “My ride awaits. Good night, Ethan.”

  As she walked out of the corral area to join Beth and Tyler, she felt Ethan’s gaze on her and remembered his unexpected kiss. She should be embarrassed Beth witnessed it, but somehow she wasn’t.

  * * *

  Ethan walked back to his horse trailer parked at the end of the row where Ranger was housed. The front of the horse trailer had a small compartment equipped with a bunk, small closet and dresser. Ranger’s bridle and saddle were in the closet, and Ethan’s things in the dresser.

&nb
sp; As Ethan shucked off his boots, his mind went to Tessa. He’d spotted her in the crowd before Ranger had burst out of the chute after the steer. Knowing she was out there settled him. He couldn’t explain it, but he felt they were establishing a bond that could lead to deeper things.

  Tessa was an amazing woman, with her determination to become a vet—and from what he’d seen, a good one.

  It didn’t matter that she had to stand on a stool for him to kiss her, it was worth the effort. He’d never had these feelings before. Taking off his shirt and belt, he stretched out on the bunk. Folding his arms behind his head, he prayed for God’s direction.

  The last thing he remembered before drifting off to sleep was the image of Tessa sitting in Lady’s stall, asleep.

  * * *

  “Ethan competing tonight surprised me,” Beth commented. “And what was more of a surprise was he didn’t let his family know.”

  Tyler, Beth and Tessa were cramped into the front seat of Tyler’s truck. Tessa got the feeling that Beth wasn’t surprised at her brother’s choice to bring her to the rodeo, but not telling his siblings about the competition.

  “I was surprised when he told me what he was going to do,” Tessa replied, hoping to defuse the situation.

  “He quit competing his senior year in high school. It was a mystery to us all why Ethan walked away from rodeoing. Now suddenly he wants to compete. I don’t understand.”

  Tyler reached over and patted Beth’s leg. “Quit trying to figure out your brother’s motives. He’s a grown man and entitled to do what he wants.”

  Beth wrapped her hand around her husband’s arm and rested her head on his shoulder. “I know, but I just find it curious that he’s acting so strange.” She glanced at Tessa, a calculated look in her eyes.

  “I’m sure he has his reasons,” Tessa offered.

  “True, but I’m just trying to understand,” Beth replied.

  Tessa recognized a sister’s probing when she saw it. “I can’t claim I understand everything he did tonight, either. For one thing, he didn’t tell me he was bringing his horse on the date.”