I scrambled into my clothes while he fired off a quick text to Clay. I followed Jake down the stairs. Bob met us in the living room.
“Sounds like our horse thief is in the stables,” he said grimly. My hands and knees were shaking. I didn’t want anything bad to happen to the horses, and I definitely didn’t want to have to confront whoever was behind this.
“Guess it’s time to put an end to this,” Jake said.
“I’ve summoned the deputies,” Bob added.
I pulled myself together as best as I could, and we headed out of Jake’s front door as quietly as possible. Outside, I pressed my lips together. They’d broken the lock on the stable door. A pang of worry clenched my heart as I thought of all the horses.
We went into the stable, tiptoeing. Bob had his gun drawn, and Jake had a crowbar. Two men were doing something to Louisa.
“Police! Hands on your head!” Bob yelled.
Two men turned around, and I gasped in surprise. Steve, who I’d worked with for three years at the sanctuary, stood beside Malcolm Gilders, the vet. I’d seen his picture in the paper a dozen times but I’d never actually talked to him.
“Shit!” Jake exclaimed.
Steve looked cornered. “Dylan, I’m glad you’re here! One of the ranch hands called us and said there was an emergency with a horse.”
I shook my head. Then Malcolm spoke.
“Dylan, tell these men we’re here to help.”
That voice... I’d heard it recently. My stomach contorted as I placed the sound.
“You!” I gasped. “It was you the other night!”
“I’m so honored you remember me.” He turned back to the horse while Steve stepped slowly toward Bob, with his hands out as if he were surrendering.
“Stop moving and put your hands on your head,” Bob said.
A dissonant sound came from the horse and I saw red. I ran at Malcolm Gilders and threw myself at him, gripping his shoulders as I attempted to headbutt him. He staggered under my weight.
“LEAVE THAT HORSE ALONE!” I bellowed. He was taller than me and tried to shake me off but I held on until he backed into the stable wall and slammed me into it, hard. The pain was sharp and my hands released of their own accord.
Dazed and in pain, the room swirled around me and I sat down heavily. The sounds of another scuffle made me think Jake, Bob or both of them were fighting Steve.
After that, things happened very quickly. Bob’s deputies arrived, and a few seconds later, so did Clay, Lawson and Barrett.
“We trusted you with our animals,” Clay accused, glaring at Malcolm.
Malcolm laughed. “And my buyers trusted me to sell them good horses, not retired old things that were about to die. It was the perfect crime.”
“I bet if we checked, every horse that went missing disappeared when Steve was working alone late at night,” I pointed out. “We all thought he was a saint, volunteering to work the late shift after we’d had so many thefts.”
“Sainting don’t pay well.” Steve shrugged.
“One thing doesn’t make sense, though. Why did you injure the horses before stealing them?” Clay asked.
“Once a horse can’t earn its keep, owners tend to call the sanctuary,” Steve explained, like it was obvious.
“From which it was easier to make them disappear,” Bob surmised. “Well, this is pretty open and shut.”
At some point, Bob arrested Steve and Malcolm, but I tuned the rest out because there was an injured horse to deal with. Staggering to my feet, I moved around Louisa until I saw what Malcolm had done.
“She needs a vet,” Jake said.
I shook my head. “Even if you could get one to take an emergency call outside their usual area, they won’t arrive until it’s too late. She’s losing blood.”
I felt too hot. Tears attacked my eyes. I was angry with myself for being so scared, even though I knew what I had to do long before Jake pointed it out.
“You’re a vet. And I think it’s time you remembered that.”
I felt sick. I couldn’t do this. It was identical to the last horse I’d operated on before I quit.
“Last time... I made a mistake. The horse died. It was all my fault. I missed something important and I’m not safe to do major surgery.” I shook my head. “I’m not a vet, I’m a failure.”
Jake gripped my shoulders, and the look on his face wasn’t adoration. It was determination.
“Louisa will die if you don’t do this. What’s the worst that can happen if you try?”
“I’m scared. This isn’t a little thing, like suturing Betsy. This is internal! I could hurt her more!” I protested.
“I can’t stand here and watch a horse die because you’re too afraid to help her. If you don’t try, I’ll have to. And then I’ll make a bigger mess because I have no idea about vetting.”
He was serious.
“Anyway, I believe in you,” he added.
I shook my head. “You shouldn’t.”
“Someone should, and you clearly don’t. Go get your vet bag. I know you’ve kept it in your truck this whole time.”
Was everything I did out in the open, laid bare before him? I got up and ran out. I opened my truck, wondering if I’d keep running. The moment my hand closed around the bag, I knew I was going to see this through.
I gave the horse some local anesthetic and a sedative while Jake immobilized her in a makeshift sling and tried to calm her down. When I began to work, I slipped back into the place where the only thing that existed was the task.
Eventually, I’d done what I could for the internal injury. I closed up the wound, took a few steps and flopped down on the hay.
* * *
Jake
My little vet was exhausted and I was proud of her, even if she’d taken some convincing to sort out Louisa. I made the drowsy horse comfortable, then turned my attention to Dylan. She’d tired herself out, and I knew I should carry her upstairs, but I didn’t want to disturb her when she was sleeping so peacefully. Instead, I lay down beside her and wrapped my body around hers, spooning her protectively and inhaling the sweet scent of hay as I closed my eyes.
We were together, and Dylan had listened to me when I’d told her to operate on Louisa. I’d thought for a while that all Dylan needed was a chance to prove to herself that she was a good vet, then maybe she’d renew her professional registrations.
Tonight had been the first time Dylan had opened up about why she’d stopped being a vet several years ago. She’d been hiding from her true career for longer than I’d known her, but anyone could see she was perfectly-suited to being a vet. Hopefully, now, she’d be able to understand that sometimes, animals died in surgery, and it wasn’t anyone’s fault.
I wondered if she’d stay with me, now the danger had passed. Without Malcolm, even though he’d been a terrible vet, we didn’t have anyone who could help take care of the day to day illnesses and injuries that happened on a working ranch.
Was Dylan ready to step up? I guessed only she could answer that.
* * *
Dylan
I awoke in a pile of hay. It was the soft sort, not hard, prickly straw. That was about all my brain could focus on at first.
Warmth surrounded me, and I looked around to see Jake behind me, holding me. Saving me from something. The events of the night before immediately came to mind. The horse thieves had been arrested, but not until they had hurt Louisa pretty bad. I’d had to deal with her injuries.
How was she? I tried to disentangle from Jake but he just held me tighter, mumbling in his sleep.
“You’re stayin’ with me.” He snuggled closer.
I tried to wake him by tapping his arm, but he was dead to the world.
I gave in and lay back against his warm, muscular body.
I’d done surgery last night for the first time since I’d quit my job as a vet. It felt surreal. When the time had come, though, I’d just gotten on with the task and tried not to think too much. At first,
I’d felt scared and a little squeamish. It wasn’t the blood or the organs that had bothered me. That had never been my issue. No, I’d been afraid of messing up and hurting Louisa.
As I’d worked, and nothing had gone wrong, I’d been less scared and more focused. Things I’d spent years training for had come to the front of my mind, and I’d known exactly what I needed to do. It was second nature.
I’d been at peace these past few years, working at the sanctuary, but there was still this huge part of my life which I’d walked away from. Day-to-day, it was rare for a vet to need to do surgery.
I was a rural vet; I’d never worked in small animal practice with cats and dogs, and most of the work on ranches was checking on more minor complaints and doing routine tasks like vaccinations, but a vet needed to be confident that they could take on the more complex cases during an emergency. It just wasn’t possible to refer all surgical work to another vet. That had been the reason I’d left, after I’d lost confidence in my ability to operate.
Now, I was wondering about going back into practice. But I wanted to stay here with Jake, and not think about anything more complicated than whether there was enough hay in the stables.
Anyway, how could things ever work out between us if I was earning a ton more money than him? I knew he wanted a submissive wife who looked up to him and depended on him. Could I ever truly be that person, and realize my potential as a vet?
The calm I’d felt when I’d awoken had turned into a big ball of worry and I couldn’t settle into this moment anymore. I made a bigger effort to disentangle myself from Jake, and I went to check on Louisa.
* * *
Jake
We’d been so cozy together all night long, then Dylan had stirred a little and I thought I’d calmed her down. Soon after, she was practically fighting to escape. I let her go. Again.
Slowly, I sat up and looked around to see what was so important that Dylan had to see to it instead of staying with me. Getting to my feet and shaking hay out of my shirt, I followed the sound of her voice. She hadn’t gone far.
“And you’re gonna feel so much better in a few days, sweetheart, I promise. Let’s make this wound nice and clean.”
I looked in through the open stall door and saw Dylan was checking on Louisa. She had some disinfectant in her hand ready to clean the wound area.
The horse harrumphed and tossed her head, clearly in a bad mood, but Dylan patiently ignored her, continuing to talk in gentle tones while she worked. An overwhelming sense of peace stole over me as I saw clearly that Dylan was in her element.
I wondered if some of her prickliness had come from the fact that she’d been feeling out of place in life for such a long time, and she didn’t want to admit it.
“I love you,” I said. It just slipped out, then it was sitting between us like a gatecrasher at a party. I’d known it was there for a while, but this was the first time I’d put it into words.
Dylan didn’t pause what she was doing, but her face changed from contentment to surprise. I hoped I wasn’t going to make her mad.
She made me wait while she finished with Louisa. My stomach wavered as I wondered if Dylan was ignoring what I’d just said. She got up and walked toward me, her face inscrutable.
“I love you, too,” she replied.
“Why didn’t you say that, already?” I blurted, as relief surged through my body.
“Your timing was awful. I had my hands full. Louisa needed my attention. Anyway, did you really want the memory of the first time I told you I loved you to be while I was talking to the side of a horse?”
I sighed and shook my head. “I just said how I felt, when I felt it. It didn’t even occur to me that there was a right and wrong time to tell a girl I loved her. But you gotta give me a break; I’ve never told anyone I loved them, before.”
She stepped closer and I noticed her eyes were shining a little. “Me either. What happens next?”
“I think we kiss.” I leaned down and pressed my lips to hers, before she said or did anything to change the subject.
She responded immediately, parting her lips and letting me taste her, while her hands went to my shoulders.
When we broke apart, I looked at her through new eyes. She was looking at me like she’d never seen me before, too.
“I’m pretty sure Lemon Tree Ranch needs a vet,” I told her.
She flushed and looked at the ground.
I frowned. “What’s the matter?”
“Would you be okay with that... with me working as a vet again? I’d have to deal with call-outs and... and...”
“What is it?” Was she worried I might get jealous of the time she would be spending with animals? But my job was just like that, too.
“I’d be earning more than you,” she mumbled quickly, her face turning dark pink.
I shook my head in disbelief. “Pretty sure this is the twenty-first century.”
“But you want a submissive woman.”
“So you think you’re supposed to tell people to pay you less or something? In case it threatens my fragile masculine ego? Give me some credit, hun. I just want you to be happy. And to spank you if you’re naughty.”
She giggled like a naughty schoolgirl, so I swatted her ass before I kissed her again.
We had some things to work out, still, like whether my bachelor pad was going to be enough for both of us, but we were together again, just like we should be, and I couldn’t think of anyone else I’d rather spend the rest of my life with.
Perhaps someday, she’d even let me marry her, but we had plenty of time to build up to that and I was in no rush.
Epilogue
One year later
Dylan
I was only half-listening to the TV when a picture of Malcolm flashed up, stopping me in my tracks.
“In other news, over twenty women have come forward and named disgraced former veterinarian Malcolm Gilders as their attacker, in sex crimes dating back over the past decade. Many women claim they hadn’t seen their attacker’s face, only heard his voice, until his trial for multiple counts of horse theft earlier this year. He has been charged with a dozen counts of aggravated rape.”
“Fucksake!” I growled.
“That’s good, right?” Harper looked up at me in confusion. She was feeding her five-month-old baby Evan, sitting on a chair in my kitchen.
I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. “I guess it’s the best we can do. I just think there’s something pretty messed up about our justice system when twenty-four women identified him as their attacker, and he’s only getting charged for twelve of them.”
“It’s well above the national average,” Alana pointed out, waddling over with a big plate of pancakes. “But I see why you’re annoyed. Just look at the positive—the whole world knows what he did. Think anywhere’s going to hire him any time soon? I don’t even think he’ll find a job as a janitor after he gets out of jail.”
“He’ll write a biography and make millions,” I said morosely, going to get the plates. Now there were four of us women living at the ranch, we had brunches, where we took it in turns to cook for each other and catch up on news, life and what Kim Kardashian was wearing this week.
“Son of Sam law,” Harper countered. “This is America. He can’t profit from crime like that.”
“Where’s Kinsley?” Alana asked suddenly.
“She’s been in the bathroom a long time,” I realized. Alana stood up, her full belly looking precarious as she did.
“Shouldn’t you sit down?” Harper suggested.
“I’m eight months pregnant, not frail!” Alana retorted.
“When I was eight months, I was on bed rest,” Harper shrugged. She’d had a difficult time by all accounts, but as soon as the baby was born, she’d made a full recovery.
I sighed. They’d been bantering about different views on pregnancy for weeks. I was glad Kinsley had nothing to say on the matter. Wandering upstairs to the bathroom, I heard a sniffle from behind
the door. I knocked.
“You okay, Kinsley?”
“Uh... I’ll be out in a minute!”
Frantic voice. Check. Locked in bathroom for ages. Check. This added up to one thing.
She wrenched the door open looking pale and worried.
“Uh... I hope this is covered on Clay’s insurance...” she started. Then she held up the testing stick.
“You’re pregnant!” Maybe it should have been less of a surprise.
“I’m nineteen!” she squeaked. “I didn’t even want to do it at home so he wouldn’t see the stick in the trash and get ideas.”
I got her into the kitchen because she wasn’t a horse and I didn’t entirely know how to handle this. Horses never worried about whether they were too young or old to have foals.
“Found her.”
Harper and Alana looked up from the pancakes. Took in Kinsley’s face which was almost the same color as the white plastic stick in her hand.
In an instant, both Harper and Alana were hugging Kinsley, although Harper’s hug was one-handed because she still held a baby in her other arm.
“You’re going to be just fine,” Alana said. “I know it can be pretty scary when you didn’t expect it, but I promise we’ll all take great care of you.”
I wandered outside, to let the three of them have their moment. It was bittersweet. I was pleased for Kinsley, but at the same time, I was a little sad. Earlier in the week, Jake and I had received news of our own, and I didn’t want to share it, now.
Heading to the barn, I found Jake moving some hay bales.
Louisa snorted when she saw me and stuck her nose over her stall door expectantly. I might have spoiled her with mints and sugar cubes a little since her injury a year ago. Possibly. Right now, however, I gave her a brief pat on the nose and went straight to Jake.
“Hey, hon, everything okay?” His unerring senses picked up how I was feeling straight away.
“Kinsley’s pregnant,” I said in a dull voice. “And I’m happy for her. Really, I am. Her and Clay will make great parents. But...”
I began to cry.
Leave Me Breathless: A second chance romance Page 9