by Kate Pearce
Turning on his heel, he walked back up the slope and started helping with the clean up shoving paper plates and cups into black sacks with the speed of a maniac. That was why he didn’t open up to people, because it gave them the opportunity to stab him in the back.
He tossed a full bag onto the growing pile and started on another. Hell, he’d expected better of Jenna. Sure, there was a line you shouldn’t cross with your family and he’d jumped all over that, but he’d learned from his mistakes, hadn’t he? And he would never let anyone walk all over him.
“You okay, BB?”
He looked up to see Ry leaning against one of the tables, a beer in his hand.
“I’m good, why?”
“Because you look like you’re going to rip someone’s head off.”
“Are you offering?”
Ry grinned and finished his beer, tossing the bottle toward Blue’s half-filled sack.
“Jenna’s pretty furious as well. Her sister was pretty.”
“Yeah.” Blue met Ry’s gaze. “Anything useful to say, or is this just a fishing expedition?”
“Depends on whether you’re taking the bait.” He shrugged. “Maybe I should go talk to Jenna instead. She looks like she could do with a shoulder to cry on.”
“She has January and Yvonne for that. No doubt she’ll feel better after she’s told them what a scumbag I am.”
“What did you do?”
“Nothing.” Blue scowled. “I was being sarcastic. I did nothing except exist and be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Oh, and I tried to offer some advice.”
“That was your first mistake.”
“Tell me about it. I forgot the golden rule. Never get between a woman and her siblings. They can talk shit about them all they like, but God help you if you join in. Suddenly you’re the bad guy.”
Even as he said the words Blue realized the truth of them. “Hell.”
Ry straightened and picked up about four of the bags. “I’ll put these in the back of my truck, okay?”
“Thanks.”
Blue continued to clean up until all the tables were clear. On the other side of the makeshift dais, Jenna and Ruth were working together on covering the remaining food. His grandma looked tired, and Jenna’s attempts to keep a smile on her face were obvious.
He straightened his spine and went over.
“Ruth, why don’t you call it a night and hitch a ride back with Ry? Jenna and I can finish up here.”
“We’re almost done.” Ruth stacked another box full of leftovers.
“Then go.” He took the box out of her hands.
She heaved a sigh. “Okay. I am a little tired.”
The fact that she was admitting that made Blue instantly worried. He turned to see Ry coming toward them.
“Will you take Ruth home?”
“Sure.” Ry’s gaze swept over Jenna. “You coming, too, Jenna?”
“No, I’ll get the rest of it done. It won’t take more than half an hour.”
Ruth patted Jenna’s arm. “Then come and stay at the ranch when you’re done. I’m sure you can put up with Blue’s snoring for a night.”
Jenna still didn’t look at Blue. “That’s very kind of you, but I probably should get home. I have to handle morning surgery.”
“I’ll make sure she gets home safely, Ruth.” Blue hugged his grandma and then turned her gently to face Ry. “Now go, and sweet dreams.”
* * *
Jenna kept her head down and concentrated on the task at hand. She should’ve gone with Ruth, but she hadn’t felt right leaving Blue all alone. Now it was just awkward. He worked silently beside her, loading the back of his truck with the boxes, which were destined for an overnight stay in the industrial-sized refrigerator in the mudroom and then distribution to the Morgantown retirement community luncheon the next day.
What was left to say? He’d been his usual interfering, overdecisive self and she’d told him to back off. Getting stuck between his and Lily’s powerful personalities hadn’t been a pleasant experience. And then hearing the pair of them discussing her like she was a problem to be solved? That had sucked.
“I think we’re done.”
It was the first time Blue had spoken since he’d walked away in the parking lot. He closed the tailgate of his truck and went around to the driver’s side. A moment later the engine started up loud in the silence. Jenna contemplated her options. Her vehicle was parked at the barn, so technically she could walk back to it, but she was exhausted. Blue seemed as reluctant to talk to her as she was to him, so surely she could stand ten silent minutes in his truck?
With a sigh she got into the passenger seat and settled in. His familiar scent with an added hint of beer and barbecue surrounded her and she closed her eyes. The truck bumped up the incline through the darkness, rocking back and forth, and she fought not to fall asleep.
She wasn’t sure if she’d succeeded because the next thing she knew, the truck had stopped. Blue was getting out and getting on with the business of unloading the truck. She stumbled down and had to steady herself against the door. He gave her a brief glance.
“I’ve got this. You go on home.”
She stared at his retreating back as he propped open the door and carried a stack of boxes into the mudroom. It felt wrong not talking to him, but what the heck was she supposed to say? At some level she was still mad, but she was too tired to have it out with him, and too confused.
“Jenna, it’s okay. I’ve really got this.” He paused. “Unless you are too tired to drive? If that’s the case, go on up and take my bed.”
“I can’t . . . do that.”
“Because we’re fighting?” He shrugged. “Then hang in my truck for a few minutes, and I’ll take you home. You can pick up your vehicle tomorrow.”
She nodded and he carried on lifting out boxes and taking them inside. She managed to walk over to her truck and then hesitated. How much had she drunk? After Lily left and Blue stormed off she’d had a couple of beers.
“Jenna?”
Blue was back and staring down at her.
“I think I’ve had too much to drink to drive home.”
“Then it’s your call. Either go up to my bed or I’ll drive you home.” He grimaced. “Hell, you already think the worst of me, so why don’t I make the decision easier for you?”
She yelped as he picked her up and headed into the house. His breathing remained even as they mounted the stairs and he kicked open the door to his room. He placed her gently on the bed and stood over her.
“Night, Jenna. You know where the bathroom is.”
She blinked up at him and then he was gone. Lying in the dark she could hear him working outside and then it all went quiet. She held her breath as the screen door closed, but then there was nothing. He wasn’t going to join her. She knew that in her bones. Despite everything, he’d still put her first. Shame washed over her. He deserved an apology. She’d lashed out at him because he’d gotten in the middle of the long-running saga of her relationship with Lily. Even as her eyes closed, she vowed to set things right with him in the morning.
Chapter Sixteen
“I’m done? I’m out?” Blue stared at Carly Hughes. “You sure?”
“Absolutely.” She grinned and offered him her hand. “Welcome to the real world. Mr. Morgan.”
He shook her hand and smiled right back at her. The last few days had been busier than he’d anticipated with friends to have a last beer with and his replacement to get up to speed. But it was done. He was finally free.
“There is one thing we’d like you to consider before we lose you completely.” Hang on. Carly was still talking.
“What’s that?”
“We occasionally run a horsemanship course for when special ops have to move through terrain that can’t be navigated by motor vehicles. We don’t run it regularly, and we do have one guy on staff who usually takes care of it, but we’d appreciate knowing you could act as backup if necessary.” She paused. “Y
ou did say you were a cowboy, right?”
“Do I get paid?”
“Yes.” She handed him a sealed envelope. “The details are in here. Let me know what you decide.”
“Thanks, I’ll certainly consider it.”
“I’ll miss you.” She sat back down.
“I’ll miss everyone here. I really will.”
She crossed her world-class legs. “When are you leaving?”
“Today if I can manage it.”
She pouted. “No time to take me out for a drink, then.”
“I wouldn’t want to waste your valuable time.” He hesitated. “I’m kind of involved with someone back home.”
Well, he thought he was. Not that he’d contacted Jenna after leaving her sleeping alone in his bed.
“Of course you are. Men like you aren’t allowed to run free for long.”
He snorted. “As she’s the local vet, I worry what she’d do to me if she actually caught me and held me down.” He nodded at Carly. “Thanks for everything, though. I really do appreciate it.”
“Off with you.” She made a shooing gesture with her hand. “Have a great life, cowboy.”
“Will do, ma’am.” He tipped his imaginary hat to her.
She sighed theatrically and clutched her hands to her chest. “Oh Lordy. Don’t do that.”
His smile faded as he left the HR offices and made his way back to his old desk. The new guy had already spread his stuff all over it, including a picture of his two kids and his wife. Blue’s possessions sat in a box on the floor.
“You off, dude?” Mel called out to him from across the room.
“Yeah.” Blue went over to give his old buddy a fist bump. “You’re going to come and see me this fall, right? Bring the kids?”
“It’s on my schedule.” Mel stood up and slapped him on the back. “Good luck, Gunny, we’ll miss your ugly face around here.”
A chorus of agreement rose from the rest of the team. Blue made a somewhat less-than-polite gesture as he left to a round of applause and good wishes for his future. Damn, his throat was tight. He loaded up his truck with all his remaining possessions and remembered to stop at security to hand in his badge and all the other crap he would no longer need.
It felt . . . weird.
He put on his sunglasses, started the truck, and headed home.
* * *
“He doesn’t want me to operate on his calf, does he?” Jenna faced Dave across the surgery table. “He doesn’t trust me.”
“It’s not that. He’s just used to me and Dad, and—”
Jenna stripped off her mask and started on her gloves. “Fine. Go ahead.”
“Don’t get all mad.”
“I’m not.”
Dave held up his hands. “You said fine. You’re a woman, therefore you’re mad.”
“I’m more worried about treating this calf. And if Adam wants you to do it, then get on with it.”
“Jenna—dude.”
She backed out of the room. Her hands were shaking and she wanted to cry, but she wasn’t going to give anyone the satisfaction of seeing she was upset. Meg raised her eyebrows as Jenna continued to take off her scrubs.
“You okay? I thought you were operating on that calf. I was just coming in to assist.”
“Dave’s doing it.”
Meg frowned. “But you were scheduled for surgical cases today.”
Jenna balled up her gloves and threw them in the general direction of the trash can. “And apparently, Adam Breton doesn’t want me touching his calf.”
“He’s an idiot.”
Jenna let out her breath. “No. He thinks I’m incompetent.”
“Mark Lymond has a lot to answer for.” Meg offered her a one-armed hug. “Don’t get upset, okay? We all know you’re perfectly capable. This is a one-off.”
“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.