The Cowboy Falls for the Veterinarian: Western Romance (Miller Brothers of Texas Book 3)

by Natalie Dean

  Grumbling to himself, he headed to his truck and got in. He shouldn’t even have to go talk to her, and yet he knew he had to. Or at least he did if he wanted to…

  Wanted to what?

  He left that question alone and focused on driving.

  And it turned out that he certainly needed all of his focus because the storm really kicked in and it was almost impossible to see. He thought about turning around, because of course a capable woman like Elizabeth would know how to get herself out of danger. And yet he didn’t. He just hunkered down, slowing his speed to make sure he didn’t accidentally hit something.

  He told himself he just wanted to check that she was heading home. Although she was smart, he knew she was an incredibly hard worker. Not out of any loyalty to his family, of course, but for the animals.

  It definitely wasn’t the safest driving, and the closer he got to the pens, the worse the storm grew. He couldn’t see any other vehicles, so he was pretty sure that everyone had left, but what harm could there be in double-checking?

  His answer came to him as he nearly hit something, slamming on his breaks when he noticed headlights right in front of him at the last second. He said some words his mother would not have been proud of, then threw his car into park.

  The moment he opened his door, he was practically slammed into the side of his truck. After a moment he caught his breath, but it seemed like hell itself had come to town for a visit. He could hardly see anything in the maelstrom around him, debris flying every which way and rain falling sideways, but he was pretty sure he’d been driving right down the middle of the car path. So, the biggest question was who had left their own vehicle smack dab in the center of the road, lights not even on bright?

  He got his answer as he steadied himself and took a couple of steps forward. It was Elizabeth’s car, it was running, her door was wide open and being practically ripped off its hinges by the storm, but she was nowhere in sight.

  …what?

  “Elizabeth!?” he called out into the storm, the wind snatching away his words the moment they left his mouth. “Elizabeth!”

  No answer. For a moment he just stood there, dumbstruck and imagining about a thousand and one horrible things that could have happened to her, but then the tiniest of noise made it to him.

  He tilted his head, trying to catch it better. It wasn’t human, that was for sure, but whatever it had to be was quite piercing to make it all the way to him.

  “Elizabeth!” he called again, heading towards where he thought that haunting, lingering sound might be coming from.

  The going was not easy, with the wind buffeting him like it had a vendetta against him. Every time he lifted his foot, he felt as if he was going to be blown off his feet and taken to Oz. If the wind was affecting him that much, then what was it doing to Elizabeth? Sure, she was six feet tall and her frame was obviously very athletic, but he had at least fifty pounds on her.

  The sound issued again, louder but more desperate. He had no idea what it could be, and he was aware that he could be going towards an angry coyote or other small animal while Elizabeth was lost somewhere on the estate. But his gut told him that if there was an animal that was hurting, he could probably count on the veterinarian being there.

  There was a thunk from somewhere in front of him, sounding loud and heavy, but he didn’t pay it much mind until the toes of his boot collided with something hard. Jumping backward and opening his mouth to a spray of rain, he realized some of the metal roofing of their tool shack had been absolutely ripped apart, and a chunk of it was embedded into the ground right where he had been walking.

  …that was not good.

  That was most definitely not good.

  Being out in a storm with the wind whipping around and visibility at zero was one thing, but razor-sharp and jagged pieces of metal were entirely another. He’d heard horror stories about such things decapitating people, or livestock. It was not what he or Elizabeth should be out in.

  A voice in the back of his head, one that was oily and bright and slippery, whispered that he should just turn tail and go back to the safety of his truck. After all, Elizabeth was smart. She wouldn’t be gallivanting around in such dangerous weather. He needed to make sure he was safe, then he could look for her once the coast cleared.

  It was such an easy thought, and it would be nice to get out of the storm, to crank the heat in his truck on high and hunker down. And it would be a lie to say he wasn’t tempted. His heart was thundering in his chest and every step felt like his last.

  But he didn’t listen. He kept on. Moving around the metal and bending forward to keep his center low. He raised one arm, curling it over his head to hopefully block any blows to his neck or skull. Not that his arm would stop a piece of metal sheeting flying at high speeds, but it was worth the effort.

  “Elizabeth!” he called again, his voice seeming to go no further than a few feet in front of him before being gobbled up in the tempest. It was a greedy thing, hungry and wanting to snatch up everything it could. But it was wrong if it thought that it could beat him. Sterling may have been a lot of things, but he wasn’t a coward.

  …or at least he hoped not.

  He pushed on, one foot in front of the other. He rounded a stack of hay bales, using his hand against them to guide himself. And he came out the other side just in time for something to crash to the ground in front of him.

  “Elizabeth!”

  For a moment he thought he was completely imagining it. But wiping the rain from his face showed that it was indeed Elizabeth who was lying on the ground in front of him, filthy and her shirt wriggling strangely.

  His body was moving instantly, rushing to her side like there wasn’t any rain, wasn’t any wind. He didn’t think anything coherent, or at least not as far as he could tell, his entire mind just blaring that he needed to help her. Help her now.

  He gripped her under the shoulders, hauling her up. But as soon as he got her onto her feet, her knees started to buckle, so he swept his arm up under her legs until he had her in a bridal carry.

  “It’s the cats,” she said, her eyelids fluttering at him.

  “The what?”

  “I had to. Cats.”

  “Right. The cats,” he said. Clearly something was wrong, but he wasn’t a doctor. He wasn’t even medically inclined. Taking a deep breath, he marched back to his truck.

  It wasn’t easy. Although Elizabeth wasn’t exactly heavy, she was solid and long-limbed, with her legs and arms catching in the wind. It was only when he was around the hay bales again that he realized they weren’t quite alone.

  There was a cat, drenched and covered in mud, tucked into Elizabeth’s arm closest to his body. The thing looked up at him with doleful eyes, such a pitiful expression on its face that he kind of almost understood why Elizabeth was out there saving the little kitty.

  That still didn’t explain why the vet’s shirt was wriggling slightly, but Sterling didn’t have enough presence of mind to really worry about that. No, mostly he was worried about why Elizabeth seemed so out of it. Sure, the storm was awful, but that didn’t really give an answer for her disorientation.

  It was a fight back to his truck, but Elizabeth’s extra weight helped ground him. By the time he got her there, his arms were aching, and his back was burning, but he threw his door open and got her inside.

  She refused to let go of the cat, curling around it as he pushed her into the passenger side. Mud and water dripped down his seat and onto his floor, but he didn’t care. The only thing that mattered was getting her safe and warm and maybe a little less dirty.

  “I’m… the cats,” she said again as he gently pushed her up to buckle her in. Sure, maybe he was wasting time, but considering the weather and visibility, he wasn’t going to risk saving her just to accidentally kill her in some sort of vehicular freak accident.

  It was then that his hand brushed against her front and he felt something very wet, warm and… squiggly? Cautiously, he put a slight b
it more pressure on the spot only for it to mewl very quietly at him.

  Did she…

  Did she have kittens in her shirt!?

  That certainly seemed to be the case, and he very carefully picked the mass up through her shirt and lifted it above the pressure of the seatbelt. Once he was sure they were all nestled safely, he shut the door and rushed to the driver’s side, shaking his head.

  How was it, of all the times and all the places, she found a mama cat and kittens in need? She seemed to have a sixth sense for animals in danger, and it was kind of amazing.

  He just hoped that it didn’t kill her.

  No, that was far too morbid of a thought. Going faster than he should have, he raced back home. Part of him wanted to take her to the hospital, but he wasn’t quite sure they’d make it there considering the storm. Besides, Mom had been training to be a nurse before she married Dad, so she would be of more help than ending up upside down in a ditch.

  He had no idea how long it took him to get home. He didn’t have much of a mind for anything else but driving and making sure that Elizabeth was still breathing. She looked an absolute wreck, and he’d never seen her so mussed, not even when helping a pig give birth.

  Her hair tie must have snapped because her usual, no-nonsense bun was gone, revealing wild curls that were weighed heavy with rain and dirt. Her clothes were streaked in the filth and he couldn’t be sure, but there seemed to be a red stain growing on the side of her leg.

  Was she bleeding!?

  His heart was in his throat as he pushed his truck as fast as he was willing, considering the conditions and the slight fact that he didn’t want to kill her. But the last time he had been so terrified, so truly terrified had been when his brother Silas had grabbed that firework out of Sterling’s hands—shouting about safety and losing fingers—only for it to go off right in front of the older twin.

  At least Elizabeth didn’t smell like burned flesh and hair. Sterling didn’t think he would ever get that scent out of his mind. It had scoured his nose at the time, searing its way into his memory. He’d been so terrified then, and that same feeling was returning in full force.

  Even though it wasn’t his fault this time. Not like it’d been when they were kids.

  Except it still felt like his fault. Elizabeth wouldn’t have been out in the storm if he hadn’t hired her. And yet, she wouldn’t have a good-paying job or a chance to catch up on her bills without him hiring her. She’d made it quite apparent during their ill-fated lunch that she had a lot of financial troubles, and her previous job hadn’t paid her as well as it should have.

  Ugh, thinking about that meal did not make him feel any better, and he shut all of those thoughts out. He didn’t have time for them. The only thing he had time for was to get her home and safe.

  It seemed an age before he pulled right up to the side door, spraying the house with mud. Whatever. That could wait until later. Going back around to her side of the car, he pulled her out and carried her inside. She was muttering still, but it made even less sense than before.

  He rushed to their main sitting room, which was down the short wing. He wasn’t quite running, but he certainly wasn’t walking either, and by the time he erupted into the room, he was covered in sweat.

  “Mom!” he cried, seeing her sitting by one of the wide, bay windows that held a reading nook. She had one of the books that Sal had gotten for her last Christmas, the last in a series.

  “Sterling! What’s—oh, the mess!”

  “Never mind that,” he said, rushing over to the thickest couch and setting Elizabeth on it. As soon as his hands were off her, she tried to sit up on her own, and Sterling gently tried to get her to lay still. “We got caught in the storm. She’s hurt.”

  “Oh! Who is this?”

  “This is a vet I have on contract.

  Now will you please call 911 and ask them what to do? It’s too dangerous to take her all the way to the city.”

  “Right, of course. I’ll just—” She shook her head and rushed over to the nook she had been sitting on, grabbing her phone. As Sterling knelt beside Elizabeth, he heard her dialing up 911. For him bursting in suddenly, she explained the situation quite well, and soon she was rattling off questions to her son. “Is she conscious?”

  “Yeah,” Sterling answered, looking at Elizabeth’s face. “She’s awake, but she doesn’t seem to be very with it.”

  “They want you to ask her what day it is.”

  Sterling nodded, gently gripping Elizabeth’s filthy hands in his. “Hey, do you know what day it is?”

  “I…” She blinked at him, her eyes unfocused. “I… the kittens…”

  “The kittens? What is she talking about?”

  “She has them in her shirt, Mom.”

  “She what?”

  “Not now! Elizabeth, do you know what day it is right now?”

  “Uh? F-Friday. It’s Friday. I was going to go home, but there were… there were kittens.”

  “Yes, I know. And you got them all.”

  “They said to ask her how old she is,” Mom cut in, sounding quite worried.

  He didn’t blame her. He felt like he could hardly breathe.

  “How old are you, Elizabeth?”

  “That’s… that’s not a nice thing to ask a lady,” she said with the weakest little laugh he’d ever heard.

  “You’re right. I suppose I’ve never been very good at being polite. Huh, Lizzy?”

  There it was, that spark in her eyes that he was used to. “Don’t call me Lizzy.” That spark vanished as she groaned. “Oh, my head hurts. It hurts so much.”

  “Mom, tell them that she’s responsive now but still a little confused, and her head hurts a lot.”

  “I am standing right here, dear. I’m aware of what’s happening in front of me.”

  “Right… Just tell them that, okay?”

  She did, and they seemed to be having quite an exchange before she sighed and handed her phone to him. “They want to talk to you.”

  He took it, not removing his eyes from Elizabeth. “Hello?”

  “Yes, sir, it sounds like your friend might have a concussion. Do you know if she lost consciousness at all?”

  “I don’t. I mean, when I found her she was awake but I don’t know if she passed out for a second before I reached her.”

  “It would be best if you could get her here to see a doctor and have them examine her, but the weather is quite dangerous. We can send one of our heavier duty ambulances—we have a few natural disaster rigs. It’s on patrol right now, but it could take close to two hours to get to where your mother said you were.”

  “Two hours? That seems like a long time. Could waiting hurt her?”

  “There is a chance that waiting could possibly exacerbate an injury. But there is also a chance that traveling in this weather could be gravely dangerous.”

  “It’s fine. I’m bringing her in.”

  “But sir—”

  He hung up, standing up. “Hey Elizabeth, are you alright to walk on your own?”

  “Am I… am I what?”

  “It’s fine. Don’t worry, I got you. Mom, can you get a box and some towels?”

  “How will that help her?”

  “It’s for the cats, Mom.”

  “Right, of course. One moment.”

  She rushed off, and Sterling went about gently pulling Elizabeth’s work shirt from where it was tucked into her pants since he certainly wasn’t going the other way. One by one, he pulled the wiggly, very dirty kittens out, and finally the mama cat moved.

  Sterling’s mother was back a moment later with supplies for them. “Oh goodness, look at these poor things. Were they caught out in the storm?”

  “That’s definitely what I’m guessing.”

  “They were trapped,” Elizabeth answered quickly before wincing, both of her hands going to the sides of her head. “I had to help.”

  “It’s fine. I know you did,” Sterling soothed, feeling a strange kind of
emotion build in his chest. He wanted to soothe her, to comfort her. But mostly he wanted to go out and wrangle the storm itself for daring to hurt her. It was a bizarre sort of protectiveness that he’d never experienced before.

  “I’ll take care of these cats, dear. You help your vet friend,” Sterling’s mom said.

  “You’re not going to try to convince me not to go out in the storm?” Sterling asked.

  The older woman sent him a wry sort of smile, the corners of her eyes crinkling in something that wasn’t quite happiness. “Oh sweetie, I learned long ago there was no use in trying to convince any of you not to do something you’ve set your mind to.”

  “Fair enough. Hey, Elizabeth, I’m going to pick you up again. Just relax. I got you, okay?”

  Her eyelids fluttered; the movement exaggerated by her long lashes. “Can I have some headache meds? My head hurts.”

  “Once we get to the hospital, okay?”

  She said something else, but then he was picking her up and heading out. Thankfully she didn’t flail or otherwise struggle, and soon they were right back into his mud-covered truck. Last-minute he ran back inside, grabbing several of the long, thick towels from the mudroom, then rushed back out. Swaddling Elizabeth and making sure her head was cushioned, he finally felt better speeding towards the main road.

  Well, speeding was probably not the right word for it. Although it was easier to navigate closer to the estate, the world was still a dark gray with persistent rain going at practically a one-hundred-and-eighty-degree angle. It was the kind of storm that people would talk about for months, and it had come completely out of nowhere.

  There was going to be so much damage, both in the city and across the countryside, but at the moment the only thing he really cared about was if the woman quietly groaning beside him was going to be okay.