Lincoln nodded and started to leave when he turned back to her. “Thanks, Roni.”
She nodded and watched as he walked out. He had grown into a good man.
The next morning, after Veronica performed the surgery with the help of one of the techs, she sat on the corner of Carrie’s desk finishing some notes in the file. She looked over when the door opened. A beautiful red-haired woman walked in carrying a cat carrier. She smiled at Veronica. She seemed familiar.
“Hi, Roni,” she said quietly.
“Oh, my gosh…Kennie! How is that you are even more beautiful than when you were in school?” Veronica hugged her old friend.
Kendra laughed. “Look who’s talking. You look great, Roni.”
“Carrie, this is one of my closest friends from school…Kendra Mattingly.” Veronica smiled.
“I’m Kendra Lang now.”
“Lang? As in…Cooper Lang?” Veronica couldn’t have been more surprised.
Kendra smiled at her. “Yes ma’am. I married Cooper this summer.”
Veronica was sure her mouth dropped open. “You married one of the bad boys of Dry River?”
Kendra laughed, nodding. “Yes, I’ve always loved Cooper and he finally came to his senses.”
Veronica laughed with her. “That’s wonderful. We’ll need to get together one night for dinner. So what’s wrong with your cat?”
“I’m not sure, I’m sorry, I don’t have an appointment, but he seems like he’s in a lot of pain. If you could just take a quick look, I’d appreciate it.”
“Let me look at him.” Veronica peered into the carrier.
Kendra explained how the cat had stopped eating and constantly seemed like he was in pain. She said that she was petting him when all of a sudden he let out a howl. Kendra explained that she tried to look into the cat’s mouth but every time she tried, the cat would have a fit and fight her. “I thought I’d better bring him in.” Kendra smiled at Veronica. “Besides, I’ve wanted to get in here to see you ever since I heard you’d taken over for Doc.”
Just then, the door opened and all three women turned to see Storm Bateman enter. He was bringing in his dog for an appointment. Storm smiled at them and nodded as he removed his hat. All the women smiled back, and Veronica almost burst out laughing when she heard Carrie murmur under her breath. “Good God. What’s in the water around here?”
“Hi, Storm. Be right with you. Kennie, come with me and I’ll have a look at your cat.” She led Kendra to the back as Carrie asked Storm to sign in.
It didn’t take long to discover the problem with the feline, and after explaining what she needed to do, she walked Kendra back out to the waiting room. Veronica glanced at Carrie. “It seems poor Snooky has an abscessed tooth, he’ll be staying with us for a bit.”
Carrie laughed. “First time I ever heard of that.”
Veronica laughed. She walked Kendra to the door. “As I told you, it’s not as uncommon as you’d think. I’ll give you a call as soon as I’ve taken care of it. He’ll be fine.”
Kendra smiled and thanked her then waved at Storm, and left. Veronica asked Storm to follow her, leading him and his dog to another exam room. She watched him lift his dog up onto the table. Storm was one gorgeous man, but he did absolutely nothing for her. The sad thing was that neither did Cameron anymore, and the one man she wanted, believed she had no interest in him because of something stupid she did as a teenager. Life was taking on a complicated feel she didn’t like.
Later, that afternoon, Veronica met with Patsy Murphy. She immediately liked the spunky, petite blond-haired woman, and was impressed with her qualifications. The interview went well and Veronica hired her on the spot.
“I’m so glad to get another position so soon. I didn’t know what I was going to do since the hospital was closing. I hated the idea of leaving here. I’ve come to love Dry River.” Patsy smiled at her.
“Where are you from?”
“Oregon. I met Isabella there. We hit it off right away. I love her like a sister.”
“She’s great and I can see how much she loves Mont.”
“Oh, she adores that man and the feeling is mutual. She was a wreck when she thought he was dead.” Patsy shook her head. “I didn’t think she was ever going to come out of that funk, but when she found out she was pregnant, she found the strength to go on.”
“She seems like a strong person. I like Isabella.” Veronica stood and put her hand out. “When can you start?”
“Is Monday all right? I need to finish up some things at the other place.”
“That’s fine. I’ll see you here Monday morning at eight.”
Patsy shook her hand. “Thank you so much for this opportunity.”
Veronica walked out with her and introduced her to Carrie. They shook hands and Patsy left with a promise to see them on Monday.
“She seems great,” Carrie said.
Veronica nodded. “I like her. I think she’ll fit in just fine.” She picked up a chart. “Time to get back to work, I guess.” She walked to the waiting room and called her next patient.
LINC SAT AT THE BAR drinking a beer with one of his best friends—neither of them speaking. He swiveled around on the stool and rested his elbows on the bar behind him. His gaze swept around the room.
“This is Friday, right?” He glanced at Storm.
“Yep,” Storm said without looking at him.
“Then where the hell is everyone? Is there something going on somewhere we don’t know about?”
Storm shrugged. He turned around on the stool and sat the same way as Linc. The bar was empty except for two old men playing checkers in a corner booth. Linc glanced at his watch. It was seven thirty and the place, usually crowded by now. He looked over his shoulder and signaled to the bartender to give them more beer. Leo Haines, owner of the Fireside bar, grabbed the beers and set them on the bar. He must have heard Linc mumbling about the place being empty.
“The fair started tonight. Don’t you two read the paper?” Leo shook his head as he walked away.
Linc and Storm looked over their shoulders at him. Linc started laughing. “Shit, I forgot about the damn fair. Let’s go.”
“Are you serious? You want to go to the fair?” Storm asked in a shocked voice.
Linc grinned. “I bet there are a lot of women there.”
“Well, there is that.” Storm laughed.
Linc smirked at the thought of the fair and it gave him a good feeling. It was as if they were back in high school again, instead of being grown men. They used to walk the fair, looking for willing girls. Only now, it was different because he didn’t want just a willing girl. He wanted Roni.
“Roni might be there,” Storm said with a sly grin on his face.
Linc glared at him. Storm shrugged. His friend had known how much he’d wanted her and how she’d broken his heart. All of his friends knew. Linc stood, chugged down part of his fresh beer, and left money on the bar for Leo. He looked at Storm, raising an eyebrow.
Storm sighed, and chugged part of his beer too. “Christ, all right. Let’s go. I’ll probably have to go again to take Mandy.”
Mandy was Storm’s little girl from a bad marriage. His wife had left him and their daughter behind when she ran off. Linc knew he would go to the fair again for Mandy because Storm adored his daughter, and he’d do anything for her.
They drove together to the fair in Linc’s truck. When he drove into the lot, a cloud of dust swirled around them and left a thin layer on the truck. They stepped out and walked to the entrance. They could hear screams coming from the midway rides and the sounds of games. Linc could smell cotton candy and other sweet treats permeating the air as they made their way through the crowd.
When Linc spotted Roni, he almost came to a halt and retreated, but didn’t. He’d done his best to ignore her lately. He knew he had to get past this. She was an engaged woman. Damn, that was a bitter pill to swallow. Storm was walking right in front of him when his friend stopped quickly, and L
inc almost ran into him. He looked over Storm’s shoulder and chuckled when he saw Melinda Brooks barreling down on them.
“What’s the matter, Storm? Something scare you?” Linc laughed. Storm spun around and glared at him. But Linc just kept grinning at him.
Finally, Storm sighed and chuckled. “No, nothing scared me.”
There wasn’t a person in town who didn’t know that Melinda had her eyes set on Storm.
“Here she comes. Get ready,” Linc teased.
“Fuck you,” Storm muttered as Melinda sidled up and stopped in front of him.
“Hello, Storm,” she said in a silky voice.
“Melinda.” Storm gave a terse nod.
She ran her hand up his arm and smiled up at him. It was all Linc could do not to laugh. He peered around Storm.
“Hi, Melinda,” he said.
“Oh…hi Linc.” She dismissed him immediately. He ran his hand over his mouth to hide his grin.
“Well, it was nice seeing you, Melinda,” Storm told her as he moved around her.
“Call me,” she said to his retreating backside.
Linc looked at her and shrugged, then followed Storm.
VERONICA COULDN’T TAKE her eyes off Lincoln. She watched as a woman talked to Storm, and Lincoln smiling at her. The woman only seemed interested in Storm, which Veronica could certainly understand because he was out and out gorgeous, but she only had eyes for Lincoln.
“Are you okay, Roni? What’s wrong? Did you swallow a bug or something?” Carrie asked her.
“I see Lincoln is here,” she whispered and felt Carrie look over her shoulder then back to her, and smiled. She’d told Carrie all about her past with Lincoln Cole. And how she wasn’t able to get him out of her mind.
“That Storm is sure one good-looking hunk of man too.”
Veronica couldn’t stop staring at Lincoln. “Yes, he is but he’ll break your heart.”
Carrie laughed. “He can break my heart anytime.”
“You’re terrible,” Veronica said with a laugh nudging her with her elbow.
Lincoln and Storm continued walking toward them until they came to a halt in front of her and Carrie.
Storm put his fingers to his hat with a tip of the brim. “Hello, ladies. Enjoying the fair?”
Veronica smiled at them both, but Lincoln wasn’t looking at her.
“So far we are. What about you?” Veronica looked toward Lincoln again. He finally looked at her. Her breath caught with a flash of those beautiful baby blues.
“We just got here. We forgot about it. We were sitting at the Fireside when Leo told us the fair was open.” Storm grinned.
“I know you’ve seen Carrie at the hospital, but never been introduced. This is Carrie Matthews. Carrie, this is an old friend, Storm Bateman, and you’ve met Lincoln.” Veronica motioned in Lincoln’s direction.
“So, where’s your fiancé, Roni? Didn’t he want to come to our little fair?” Lincoln glared at her putting her on edge. Why did he seem so angry all of a sudden?
“He’s at a conference in Glendale. He’ll be here next week. How’s Pitch doing? I’ve been meaning to call and ask you.”
“Have you?” Lincoln eyes narrowed.
Veronica nodded. “Yes, I have, but I’ve been busy. I did hear you got the stallion trained.”
As if sent by God to pull her from this increasingly awkward situation, Veronica saw Mont and Isabella walking toward them with Lucas, Emily, Cooper, and Kendra behind them. She smiled when they reached her.
Kendra hugged her. “How’s everything going, Roni?”
Veronica glanced at Lincoln but he was talking with Cooper. “Fine, Kennie.”
“Really?” Kendra murmured as her eyes shifted to Lincoln.
Veronica sighed. “As well as it can, is that better?”
Kendra laughed. “You’re not fooling me. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I just need to get my priorities straight,” Veronica said. “I am engaged.”
“Who are you trying to convince? Us or yourself?” Emily nudged her.
“Myself,” she said truthfully.
Isabella smiled at her. “Good luck with that.”
Veronica laughed. “I know.”
“He is certainly one handsome man. I thought so the first time I met him,” Isabella said.
Veronica took a deep breath and let it out in a frustrated huff. “I’ve always thought so, but I’m engaged now.”
The women laughed at her repeating herself. Veronica shrugged and laughed with them. Her gaze returned to Lincoln and his eyes met hers. Dakota Walker stepped into her line of vision and hugged her.
“I thought you left for Denver,” she said, smiling up at him.
“I might be moving here. I have a decision to make so I thought I’d hang around a bit longer.” Dakota grinned at her.
“What kind of decision?” She frowned.
“He’s thinking of running for the district attorney position,” Nathan Walker said, from behind Dakota.
Nathan was the sheriff of Dry River and another gorgeous man. She was beginning to wonder if Carrie was right about there being something in the water. He was also very happily married. Veronica hugged Nathan, and then he introduced her to his wife, Shelly.
“District attorney? I think that’s great.” Veronica said, returning her attention to Dakota.
“I think I have him talked into giving up being a lawyer in Denver, coming back home, and also helping me run the ranch. Shelly and I built a home on the ranch and I think Dakota should come home and take the main house. He just needs to convince Megan to come back with him.”
“Megan? Who’s that?”
Dakota chuckled. “Megan is the love of my life. Hey, so I fell in love.” He shrugged. “Nathan and I used to talk about us being in law enforcement together so I’m thinking I really want to do this. I think it might be a good place for me and I want Megan here with me.”
“Oh, my God, that’s a fantastic idea, Dakota.” Veronica hugged him again.
“Another one bites the dust,” Lincoln muttered.
“Haven’t you ever fallen in love, Lincoln?” Veronica tilted her head.
“The girl I wanted left town,” he told her.
Her heart slammed into her ribs. “Maybe you should try to get her back.”
Lincoln’s eyes held hers. “Maybe I should.” Then he glanced at Storm. “Let’s get going.”
Lincoln and Storm put their fingers to their hats in farewell, and then walked off. Veronica stared after him as he left. How could she be so lovesick over him when she was engaged to another man?
Everyone hugged, made promises to see each other soon, and then went their separate ways.
“I’m ready to go home,” she mentioned, suddenly feeling exhausted. Carrie didn’t question her. Veronica suspected she already knew her well enough not to say anything.
Hours later, the insistent buzzing of her cell phone woke her up from a very erotic dream about Lincoln.
Jesus! Shouldn’t you be dreaming of Cameron?
She reached for the phone and answered without looking at the caller ID.
“Dr. Bailey.”
“Roni? I need you to come out here.” It was Lincoln. She sat up and looked at the clock. It was nearly three in the morning.
“What’s wrong, Lincoln? One of the horses? Pitch?”
“I-I don’t know why I called you,” he said slurring his words.
“Is one of your animals hurt?”
“No. Never mind. It’s nothing.” He hung up.
She stared at the phone. What was that about?
Chapter Four
LINC STARED AT THE phone in his hand. Idiot! You almost told her you wanted her.
That’s what happened when a fool drank too much beer. Fuck.
He was too old to drunk dial a woman in the middle of the night, especially one who had no interest in him, who didn’t want him. Even drunk he should’ve remembered he’d always had that effect on Roni…ju
st like his mother. He groaned at the way he felt, but he deserved it.
He got up out of the chair and headed for the bedroom. When he got there, he tried taking off his clothes, but none of the buttons or snaps seemed to work. The hell with it! He fell across the bed and passed out.
The next morning, his head felt like someone was inside of it with a jackhammer. He never drank that much beer anymore so he wasn’t used to it. It was all Roni’s fault. He grunted. He knew better than that. She might’ve been the reason, but he was the idiot who got drunk. He took a long hot shower and had some coffee. It was the weekend, so he was alone on the ranch, which meant he had chores to do, and might as well get to it. He slammed his hat on his head and walked out the back door. The heat was staggering, or at least felt that way because it wasn’t helping his head any.
His narrowed eyes scanned the area as he walked toward the barn. The Big Horn Mountains sat regal in the distance and he knew in a few months, they’d be snowcapped. Linc knew it wouldn’t be long before snow arrived in Dry River. Today he would’ve been grateful for cool wind blowing down off the range. Walking toward the two red barns, he felt a sense of pride in his ranch. He just wished his dad were still alive to share it with him.
After entering one of the barns, he set about feeding the horses then shoveled out stalls, and after, he saddled his horse, Diamond, a big black Quarter horse that had a white diamond shape between his eyes—the only patch of white on the horse. Linc needed to check the cattle. Something he wasn’t looking forward to since his head still wasn’t sitting on his neck steady enough to bounce around on a horse. He put his sunglasses on and switched his cloth hat for a straw one. He knew he’d be soaked with sweat by the time he got to the pasture so he’d try to get ahead of it.
He rode up to the gate and opened it without dismounting and walked Diamond through it before closing it again. He hadn’t ridden far before he heard a cow in distress. He found her under a big tree, in mud. He let out a breath.
Of course, why the hell not? The way he felt, it just seemed to fit.
He dismounted, and dropped the reins on the ground. Diamond wouldn’t move with the reins touching the ground. Linc walked up to the cow and could tell she’d worn herself out by trying to get out of the pond. She refused to budge when he tried to guide her out. He wanted to herd her back to the barn so he could make sure she was all right. Great! He looked up to the sky.
Lincoln Bad Boys of Dry River, Wyoming Book 4 Page 5