The Maverick Cowboy(42)

"It's the second time this week," Jenna said flatly. "I don't want to sink the practice."

"You won't. Really. Those two guys are good friends of Mark's and they're just out to cause trouble. No one else cares." Meg reluctantly released Jenna. "I'd better get in there and do my job." 

"You go ahead. I'll check and see if anyone actually wants my veterinary skills around here, and if not, I'll head up to the Morgans'. They have a lame horse."

"Okay. Tell Lucille up front your schedule before you leave."

"Will do."

Jenna sat at the small table and found herself eye to eye with some kind of bird in a cage. The bird put its head to one side and observed Jenna through round yellow eyes.

"Loser."

Jenna looked at the bird. "Yes, exactly." There was a note attached to the cage that identified the owner as one of the Hayes family, who had more pets between them than the zoo. No wonder the bird was up on its insults. She dragged her hands over her face and stared down at the table.

Her week had only gotten worse. She'd woken up the day after the party to find that Blue had returned to his military base, and she hadn't heard a peep out of him since. And now this . . .

Maybe she should just give up and go home to LA. She'd ruined things with Blue so the job at Morgan Ranch was off the table, and Dave and her uncle weren't going to want her to hang around if their clients started objecting to her presence. What happened if there was an emergency and she was the only vet around, and someone refused to let her treat an animal? How would that feel?

With a groan, she got to her feet, grabbed her bag and her coat. At least Roy would be pleased to see her, and with Blue away, at least the ranch was a safe place for her to do what she loved, which was working with animals.

* * *

"Hey, Roy." Jenna dumped her bag on the barn floor and looked around the stalls. All of them were now filled, and the ranch had a dozen good horses ready to be ridden by the incoming guests. The plan was to add to that if the ranch took off. She was proud of her input on that, at least.

"Jenna." Roy's head popped up over one of the doors. "I'm in here. Blocky's not putting any weight on his rear left hoof."

"Do you want to walk him out for me?" Jenna moved to one side.

"Sure."

She watched carefully as Roy coaxed the gelding out of the stall and paraded him up and down.

"Yeah, definitely lame. Any idea what might have caused it? Any injuries to the other horses?"

"Not that I've noticed."

"Was he let out this morning?"

"He was out with the others yesterday afternoon. We brought them all in around sunset. Ry noticed he was standing awkwardly when he went to feed him this morning."

"Can you hold Blocky still for me, or do you want to tie him up?"

"I've got him. You go ahead."

Jenna approached Blocky from the front, made eye contact, and gently ran her hand down the gelding's neck along the sleek line of his body and then down his leg until she had to crouch to see what she was looking at.

"It doesn't look like he got kicked or nipped. There's some swelling here. I wonder if he was bitten? Seen any snakes around?"

"Good question." Roy frowned. "It's possible, I suppose."

Jenna resumed her examination. "I'll clean out the wound and give him a shot of antivenin just to make sure he'll be okay." She looked up. "His tetanus shot's up to date, right? We just did all those."

"Yeah. He's good."

Jenna cleaned out the wound and gave the shot. "He should be fine, but keep an eye out for any extreme reaction over the next few hours."

"Will do, and I'll get Ry and Miguel to take a look around that field." Roy took off his hat and scratched his head. "I can't say I've seen many snakes up this close to the house, but you never know. It's been really dry."



       
         
       
        

Jenna heard the sound of a horse coming in and turned to see Ry Morgan easing Nolly down into a walk. Like all the Morgan brothers, he rode like a dream.

"Hey, Jenna." He gave her a casual salute as he dismounted and patted his horse's neck. "Did you take a look at Blocky?"

"She thinks it might be a snakebite." Roy undid the saddle cinch, his fingers flying over the leather as he talked. "I said we'd take a look in that field."

"Not that you're going to see a snake sitting out there in the open," Jenna said gloomily. "If you do, we might have a bigger problem than we realized."

"Snakes in a barn." Ry took off the bridle and hung it over his shoulder. "I'd watch that movie."

Jenna repressed a shudder. "I'll talk to Uncle Ron and see whether he has any other suggestions as to treatment."

Ry paused to look thoughtfully at her. "Why do you need to ask him?"

She shrugged. "Just making sure I've covered all my bases."

"I thought you were the one with the most up-to-date veterinary degree in the practice?"

She met his gaze. "I don't know much about snakebites and their effect on horses. That's all."

He nodded but still looked skeptical and went into the tack room, emerging a moment later to pick up the saddle and blanket and put them away as well. It wasn't surprising Ry was looking at her funny. She hated the way Mark Lymond had made her doubt herself and obsess over every decision she made.

Roy put Blocky back in his stall and closed the door. "Chase and January are back today."

"Nice." Jenna crouched down to pack up her bag. "January's already been texting me about wedding details-not that I know anything about all of that stuff."

"All women know something about it." Roy chuckled. "It's in their blood."

"Sexist much, Roy?" Ry raised his eyebrows.

Roy snorted. "I watch Say Yes To The Dress, and I don't see many men on there. It's usually a big gaggle of females who all have very strong opinions. Sometimes I feel sorry for the poor bride."

Ry's amused gaze met Jenna's. "He does have a point."

"Maybe." Jenna picked up her bag. "Is it okay if I come inside and call the clinic?"

"Sure, you come on in." Roy patted her shoulder. "Ry and I will finish up here. Ruth's been wondering where you've been."

Jenna hesitated. Did that sound more ominous than it was? Had Ruth noticed something was up between her and Blue? She hadn't said anything when Jenna had come down into the kitchen still in her crumpled green dress except to ask her how many eggs she wanted in her omelet. And Jenna didn't think she'd let on how disappointed she'd been to hear that Blue had already left for the Marine base. 

She pushed open the screen door and went inside, relishing the cool air and the shade.

"Hey, Ruth."

"Morning, Jenna. I thought you were coming out here after morning surgery?" Ruth wiped her hands on her apron and put her rolling pin down.

"Dave ended up doing that, so I was free to come earlier."

Ruth pointed at a chair. "Take a seat. I'll get you a nice glass of iced tea."

"It's okay, I can get it."

"Sit."

Jenna did what she was told.

"I'm making you pancakes, so settle in."

Eventually even Ruth finished feeding her and took the chair opposite while they both sipped at their coffee.

"So Meg says Dave did the surgery because someone objected to you doing it."

There was no point in asking how Ruth knew this so fast. She knew everything.

"Yeah. Adam Breton. He's not the first either." She sighed. "Maybe I should talk to Chase about letting Dave do the work up here instead of me. Maybe I should go home."

"To Los Angeles? To do what?"

"Go back to school and work with toy breeds and pampered pooches?" She groaned. "That would suck so hard."

"My, you are feeling sorry for yourself today."

Jenna raised an eyebrow. "Is that your idea of a sympathetic and motivational remark?"

Ruth held her stare. "You're letting three crabby old ranchers derail your plans?"

"It's more than that. I don't want to damage the practice's reputation. Faith is coming back next year anyway, and they probably won't need me."

"What about the job Chase offered you up here?"

Jenna had nothing to say to that.

"What about BB?"

"He's not talking to me right now."

"And whose fault is that?" Ruth shook her head. "Actually, that one is probably on him. He has a tendency to run off his mouth like a fool."

"It was me." Jenna cleared her throat. "I owe him an apology."

Ruth sat back. "Well, wonders will never cease. If he accepts your apology-and he will-will you reconsider your options?"

"It's not about him, Ruth. It's about me. I have to work out what I want and whether there still is a place here for me as a vet. That's all I've ever wanted to be."

"One thing I've learned in life is that you can't please everyone." Ruth reached across the table and took Jenna's hand. "Have faith in yourself. If you want this life-with or without my grandson in it-then maybe it's time for you to fight for it."

* * *

Blue pulled up in front of the barn and smiled. The sun was setting behind the Sierras, plunging everything into complex shadows. Lights shone in the house, and from the barn came the sound of happy, settled horses. His new life. Now all he had to do was persuade a certain female veterinarian to share it with him. He'd had lots of time to think on the way home.