Anna saw that the man who’d arrived with the horse trailer was Carter Sullivan. Always quiet, Carter said nothing as they loaded the horse, and he gave Anna a ready nod when she asked him to drive the horse to her office.
“See you there,” Carter said calmly. He climbed back into the truck and pulled out carefully, barely bouncing the trailer.
Anna knew she could have ridden with Carter to her office, but for some reason, she headed without hesitation for Kyle’s rental car, letting him open the door for her.
“You all right?” he asked as she slid inside.
“Sure,” Anna tried to sound like she did this every night. An emergency with an animal was nothing new, though it had never happened to her on a date. “A mess, but okay.”
Kyle flashed her a grin. “You look great. But I don’t think Chez Orleans would let us in like this, even if they had a spare table in their back hall.” He tugged at his suit coat, which was spattered with mud and possibly horse shit.
“Oh well. Maybe next time.”
“Tell you what. We’ll check Camden over and then I’ll take you to the diner.” Kyle shrugged at Anna’s surprised look. “You need to eat.”
Anna’s heart beat faster, but she kept her tone nonchalant. “Will that get me off the hook for the bet?”
“Mmm, I’ll think about it. Let’s take one thing at a time.”
Kyle shut her door and moved around the car to the driver’s side, leaving Anna to catch her breath. Her head buzzed with worry and tiredness, as well as disappointment.
But that was the way of things living in ranch country, and she’d pledged her life to taking care of its animals. They didn’t get injured or sick to anyone’s schedule.
She hoped Ross found the Hayneses, or whoever the other driver turned out to be, and kicked their ass.
Kyle kept Carter’s taillights in view all the way to Anna’s vet office. It lay just outside of town, a few miles from the Malory ranch, with a wide parking lot where clients could load and unload horses or cattle.
A small stable with a row of stalls, in which animals stayed for observation or recovery, lined one side of the lot. Anna’s office, where she did her paperwork or met with owners, was in a low-ceilinged room adjacent to the stalls, but her exams and surgery happened in the building behind the stables.
That building held her operating room and the prep room next to it, and a larger box stall where mares were inseminated and delivered foals if there might be a problem. Anna did her gelding out here as well. It was a good setup, put together by the previous vet. Anna had been grateful that she’d been able to start right in.
Anna had an assistant, Janette, a young woman who loved animals and hoped to go to vet school. Janette sometimes spent the night if they had to keep an eye on certain animals, and she answered phones, held horses, and helped Anna prep and clean up from surgeries. But Janette had gone home hours ago, the office silent and empty.
Carter parked and came around to help unload Camden. Kyle had said nothing at all after he’d offered to take her to the diner, and now he assisted Carter in lowering the tailgate so Anna could back out the horse.
She didn’t have the heart to call Janette in to work on a Friday night, and it turned out, she didn’t have to. Kyle began to help without a word, wincing from injuries only a little as he helped position Camden against the X-ray machine.
Kyle held Camden steady, the horse calming now that he was indoors and not moving. The tranq Anna had given him had such a good effect that Camden laid his head on Kyle’s shoulder and closed his eyes.
Lucky horse.
Anna finished quickly. The X-ray showed up on the computer within seconds, and she scanned through it.
“No fractures,” she announced with relief.
She left the computer and ran her hands over the horse again, looking for swelling and heat but she found nothing. Camden truly had been lucky.
“I think we can take him home,” she finished. “As long as he’s supervised overnight.” Sherrie wouldn’t be in any shape to do that, nor would her husband, but they had a head rancher who helped take care of all their horses.
Carter slid out of his truck, where he’d been patiently waiting, to open the trailer to load Camden. Both Kyle and Carter were being so nice tonight, but Anna realized they weren’t doing anything special for her. This was how they treated everybody.
Once they had Camden settled in the trailer, Carter rolled off with him, taking a right from Anna’s driveway to head out to Sherrie’s ranch.
“I should go with him,” Anna said as the taillights disappeared into the darkness.
“No, you should let Carter take care of it. He has a lot of experience, he knows the guys who work on Sherrie’s ranch, and he’s not on a date.”
Anna debated. The horse was her responsibility until she returned him to his owner, but there truly wasn’t much more she could do. Carter was an expert with horses and could explain the situation.
“All right then.” Anna glanced at her ruined dress in resignation. “I’ll go home. I’m a mess.”
“Nope. I told you—taking you to the diner. You’re wiped.”
“I am wiped,” Anna admitted. Her knees felt weak, and she knew she’d collapse soon from release from worry. “But I’m not fit to be seen, not even in the diner.”
“You go there for lunch after you’ve been out on ranches all morning. I see you. You don’t run home and scrub yourself down and change your clothes then, do you?”
Anna had to smile. “No, but I’m not wearing a wreck of a new dress. And I at least wash my hands.”
“You’ve done that three times since we’ve been here. This is Riverbend—we’re more worried about our horses than what we look like. I’m taking over as your physician, and I’m prescribing one of Mrs. Ward’s burgers with all the works.”
“I’m vegetarian,” Anna reminded him.
“Okay, then, a veggie burger with the works. She has them on the menu.” Kyle’s face when he said “veggie burger” made Anna want to laugh.
He was right about one thing—Anna was starving. She’d looked forward to fine cuisine at Chez Orleans, figuring a well-trained chef could fix a kickass vegetarian meal. But comfort food at Mrs. Ward’s would have to do.
“Fine,” she said, letting out a heartfelt sigh. “Let me lock up.”
Heads turned when Kyle ushered Anna into the diner. They must be an entertaining sight—Kyle in an actual suit whose pants were mud-coated, Anna in a torn and stained dress, bits of hay in her hair. Kyle had tried to scrape his shoes free of mud and whatever crap had been in the ditch with limited success. Anna had found a pair of sneakers at her office which she wore in place of the high heels she’d begun the night in.
Those in the parking lot had stared hard at the Lexus when Kyle had pulled up. Opening the door for Anna to step from the car, sexy legs first, had been a kick. Riverbenders would get a lot of mileage out of that.
Anna knew it, from the flush on her face. Kyle led her down the main aisle to the booth at the end, far enough from other diners so their stench of horse and ditchwater wouldn’t ruin their meals.
They slid into the booth and faced each other across its table. Anna had gone quiet, no more ribbing Kyle about … everything. The waitress, one of Mrs. Ward’s daughters, popped out of the kitchen in record time, setting down ice water and pulling out her pad to take their order.
Anna calmly ordered the veggie burger and iced tea. Kyle asked for the biggest cheeseburger on the menu with all the fixings, and an iced tea as well.
“You don’t mind if I eat meat in front of you?” Kyle asked Anna as the waitress walked away, a spring in her step.
Anna frowned as though trying to understand the question. “It’s my choice. What you eat is your choice.”
“So what do vegetarians eat?” Kyle asked in true interest. “Besides salad.”
“All kinds of things,” Anna answered readily. “Grains, vegetables, beans, seeds. I don�
�t follow any special rules, I just don’t base my meals around meat or dairy. A baked potato with bean chili is fine.”
“That actually sounds good.”
“It is good, if you make it right.” Anna took a sip of her water. “But I have to read labels closely. You’d be amazed at what meat and dairy gets into.”
“I thought you’d be eating, you know, tofu and stuff.”
Anna wrinkled her nose. “I hate tofu. Tastes like rubber, no matter what you do to it. And the fake meat is mostly disgusting.” She shuddered. “Veggie burgers are different. They’re beans and chickpeas, which fry up nicely. Like falafel. Love that.”
“Hard to find falafel in Riverbend.”
“That’s why I like to go to Austin whenever I can. They have great vegetarian restaurants.”
“And steak houses.”
“Yep,” Anna said without rancor. “Something for everyone.”
Kyle turned his water glass on the table. “You know, if we all become vegetarian, cattle ranchers will be out of business.”
“Like I said, I’m not trying to convert the world,” Anna said, sounding sincere. “It’s my choice. If you saw what went on after you sold your cattle to the market, you wouldn’t eat them either. But I won’t talk about it—don’t want to put you off your dinner.”
“Thanks,” Kyle said with a grimace.
Anna laughed. She was beautiful when she did that, her face lighting up, her laughter like silver.
The waitress delivered their meals after a time, and they both dug in.
Kyle liked watching Anna eat. She didn’t pick at the food and pretend she wasn’t hungry—she grabbed her burger with both hands and went for it. Sure, it was a veggie burger, but Anna bit into it like it was ambrosia.
“Mmm.” She closed her eyes and licked her lips. “Mmm. Mmm. They know how to make them here.”
Kyle grinned. “Did you teach them?”
Anna opened her eyes. “I did, as a matter of fact. It’s hard to be a vegetarian in Riverbend. Mrs. Ward is always up for something new, though. Your sister—she’s a great vegetarian cook. She gets it—a vegetarian meal is more than a green salad with rice.”
“Grace is awesome.”
Anna waited, then raised her brows when Kyle only took another bite of his very juicy, hot, well-seared burger.
“A brother proud of a sister?” she asked. “Admitting it?”
“Why not? Grace and I had our differences when she started seeing Carter, but we’ve moved on. Carter makes her happy. And he knows I’ll break his teeth if he doesn’t.”
“Your family is so close.”
Kyle caught the wistfulness in Anna’s voice. When they’d been kids in school, Anna had been quiet, sitting in the corner reading books instead of running around screaming like the rest of them. Kyle hadn’t paid much attention to her, which he regretted now.
Anna had blossomed into something beautiful, but her beauty had always been there, he realized. Just bottled away, waiting for someone to uncork it. Kyle remembered how surprised they’d all been when Callie Jones, the popular, poised debutante who won pretty much every “Most Whatever” award, had become best friends with Anna Lawler.
Callie, it turned out, had been the only one to see Anna’s worth. Kyle wondered where his eyes had been, but teenagers could be stupid and self-absorbed. At least, Kyle had been. He’d focused on horses, bull riding, and learning what to do with girls who weren’t his sisters. Anyone outside his radar hadn’t registered.
Anna was registering now.
He wasn’t sure how to respond to her observation that Kyle and his family were close. He shrugged. “I’m glad we get along. Lucy has gone a little nuts trying to be a big-city executive, but seems like she’s good at it. She’s making money, and she’s happy. I think. Kind of hard to pin her down about that last part.”
“She wants to do something on her own,” Anna said. “I have to respect that. I had to strike out on my own too. I love Riverbend, but job opportunities are few and far between.”
“Especially for women. If you’re not a rancher …” Kyle took another bite of his excellent burger. “Or a cook. I bet Callie could have found you a job, though.”
“Maybe. We talked about it. But I really wanted to be a vet, and I had to dedicate all my time to school to do that. Plus I needed to prove myself, mostly to me. I didn’t want to sit at home waiting for life to happen.”
Anna’s parents had moved to Houston after she’d gone off to A&M, in search of better job opportunities. It was true that if you didn’t have money or a job the town depended on, you could slide into hard times. Many ranchers between here and Austin had sold up to developers and gone to live with kids or grandkids in the endless suburbs.
Anna had been an only child, which might explain some of Anna’s quietness and shyness. Kyle’s house had always been full of family and love, even when it had been absolute chaos and everyone shouting at each other. But behind it, they’d all known they had each other’s backs.
“I remember how smart you were in school,” Kyle said admiringly. “Everyone knew you’d have no trouble getting into any college you wanted. And you didn’t. I had to practically beg to be let into UT and then work my ass off to stay there. I was never top of the class. But I made it. I’m proud of my bachelor’s degree—framed that and hung it up high in the office.”
“You didn’t major in partying?” Anna asked, looking innocent. “That’s what I heard.”
“Okay, so there was a little of that.”
“A lot, from what Grace told me.”
Kyle shrugged. “Grace wasn’t there. What does she know?”
“She visited you,” Anna said. “She said you could barely stand up and walk to class.”
“One time.” Kyle held up a finger. “She sprang on me the morning after a long weekend. My sisters, I swear …”
Anna laughed, again with the musical sound.
“Hey, Anna. Kyle. Sounds like you’re having fun.”
Kyle looked up as Christina Campbell stopped next to them, her daughter propped in the crook of her arm. The little girl’s name was Emma, and she had Christina’s big brown eyes and Grant’s stubborn look.
“Hey, Christina,” Anna said brightly.
Did Anna sound super glad to see Christina? As in So happy you’re here to rescue me from this asshole?
Anna reached up and poked Emma in the tummy. Emma’s smile blossomed. “Hi!” she shouted.
“Hi back,” Anna said. “You’re friendly.”
Christina bounced her daughter, her fond look heart-melting. “She’s learning how to say hello to everyone.”
Emma stared hard at Kyle then waved a chubby hand. “Hi!”
How did that arrogant some-bitch Grant Campbell have such a cute daughter? Oh, yeah, easy. Christina was her mom.
Kyle waggled his fingers at the girl. “Hi, Emma. How you doing?”
Christina looked back and forth between Anna and Kyle, noting their messed-up semi-formal attire and Anna’s harried look. “Oh, I’m sorry. I’m interrupting. Is this the famous date?”
“Uh, no,” Kyle said.
At the same moment, Anna said, “Yes, it is.”
Chapter Seven
“No,” Kyle repeated in a louder voice, his determination rising. “This is us eating ’cause we’re hungry.”
“It counts,” Anna said defiantly. “There was an accident on the highway and we missed our reservation at Chez Orleans. But the diner is good enough for me.”
“I see.” Christina gave them another long look while Emma continued to wave at Anna then Kyle. “I heard about the accident. Grant says Ross is sure the Haynes boys are responsible. Ross is pretty pissed off.”
“Me too,” Anna said. “We had to take care of Sherrie’s horse, which is why we’re here instead of a fancy French restaurant. But it counts.” She shot a glance at Kyle.
No, it didn’t count. Kyle wanted his date—a real one. But they’d have to argue about
it later.
“Well, I’ll leave you to it,” Christina said, her expression knowing. “Oh, there’s Ray.” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “Kyle, who is that?”
Kyle followed Christina’s gaze to the front of the restaurant, where his brother had just walked in, taking off his hat as the door closed behind him. His clothes were marked with white dust as though he’d been working with wallboard, and paint stained his boots.
That was weird enough, but then Ray politely turned to usher in a young woman Kyle had never seen before. She had dark hair pulled into a sloppy ponytail, a friendly face, and blue eyes that quickly took in the diner with some trepidation. She wasn’t from Riverbend, that was certain.
Behind her came a lanky, leggy girl maybe a little older than Faith. The girl closely resembled the woman, no debate that she was her daughter.
“I have no idea who she is,” Kyle said in irritation. “I haven’t seen Ray around much lately, which is getting aggravating.”
Anna turned in her seat. “Oh, that’s Drew.” She waved. The young woman noticed Anna, recognized her with some relief, and waved back.
Anna turned around again, blinking in surprise as she encountered Christina’s and Kyle’s puzzled stares.
“Drew Paresky,” she continued, as though explaining what everyone should know. “She took over the bed and breakfast out on the western road.”
“The derelict one from a hundred years ago?” Kyle asked. “Owned by that crazy old guy?”
“Fifty years ago. That crazy old guy was Drew’s grandfather,” Anna said. “She inherited the house when he passed away this summer.”
Christina studied Drew with interest. “She didn’t grow up here.”
Anna shook her head. “Her grandparents divorced, and her dad was raised by her grandmother in Chicago. Her father rarely came back to Riverbend, and Drew has never been here.”
“How do you know all this?” Kyle asked in amazement. He hadn’t heard a word about Drew Paresky, but then, he’d been penned up trying to heal for the last month. Ray hadn’t said a damned thing.
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