Second Chance Cowboy--A Clean Romance

by Claire McEwen

  Emily glanced at Wes, but if “foster boy” bothered him, he didn’t let it show. He shook Haley’s hand and glanced at Two Socks. “That’s a nice-looking horse.”

  Haley beamed. “He’s a good boy. But he sure knows how to find trouble.”

  The wash station was a paved area with a drain in the middle and metal fencing on three sides. Two Socks was a big chestnut gelding, with two white socks on his forelegs that gave him his name. Haley had turned on some floodlights on the outside of the barn, so it was easy to see the horse’s green halter, the lead rope tied to a hitching post and the nervous flicking of his ears.

  “Hey, Two Socks, how ya doing?” Emily stopped at the fence and held out her knuckles for the big gelding. Two Socks put his ears back and raised his head, tugging at his rope.

  Emily took a step back and Haley took her place. “Easy there, boy.” Haley ran a hand down his neck to calm him. “Steady.”

  Two Socks stopped pulling, but his ears stayed back, and he eyed Emily with obvious suspicion.

  Squatting down outside the fence, Emily could see the wound on the horse’s left hind leg. The front of the leg, from hock to hoof, was covered in blood. “He’s really scraped up the front of his cannon bone. Haley, do you have any treats he loves? That might help him relax a little more.”

  “Sure. Just a minute.” Haley gave her horse one more pat and walked off to the barn.

  “Let’s keep our distance until she comes back,” Emily told Wes. “This horse doesn’t like strangers.”

  “Can I try?” Wes held out a hand to Two Socks.

  “No, Wes, trust me, he’ll just get riled up and this will be even harder.”

  “Suit yourself. Some people say I have a way with horses, though.”

  “Just do as I say, please?” Maybe he was good with horses but Emily wasn’t taking any chances with Two Socks. If Wes got the horse riled up, she’d never get that wound bandaged.

  He shrugged. “Okay. You’re the boss.”

  Haley returned with an assortment of carrots, apples and alfalfa cubes. She offered Emily and Wes each a piece of carrot. “Why don’t you both give him a treat?”

  Emily went first, smiling as Two Socks removed the carrot delicately from her outstretched hand, keeping as far away as possible in the process. “It’s okay, big guy,” she told him. “I’m here to help you.”

  She started for her truck but couldn’t help pausing to watch Wes with the horse. He stepped up and offered his carrot. After Two Socks had taken the snack, Wes didn’t pull his hand away, just turned it over and held it there in a lightly curled fist. Two Socks snuffled his knuckles and took a step toward him. Then the big horse lowered his head and let Wes scratch along his blaze, his forelock and down his neck.

  “Would you look at that?” Haley glanced at Emily. “I’ve never seen Socks be so good with someone he doesn’t know.”

  Emily certainly hadn’t, either. She pushed down the tide of annoyance rising inside. She hadn’t really wanted Wes to be right when he said he worked well with horses. If he was a good vet, he’d be a good candidate to work with her. And she probably couldn’t turn him down because she’d had precisely zero applications for the job.

  She opened the cabinet on the side of her truck and pulled out a clean plastic container. She put a packet of sutures in, her scissors, needles, numbing solution, wound wash, disinfectant, anti-inflammatory and an oral sedative. All the while, Wes was hanging out with his new best friend, Two Socks. He’d even untied the horse and was smiling as the gelding rubbed his forehead on his shoulder.

  Emily brought the supplies back to the wash area. “He seems relaxed. That’s great. Let’s take a closer look at his leg.”

  Emily took a flashlight from her pocket and kept a safe distance while she beamed it onto the wound. It was easy to see the puncture near the top, and the flap of torn skin below, where the wire must have scraped down the leg as Two Socks struggled to free himself. “Ouch. That must hurt quite a bit.”

  “How bad is it?” Haley came closer to see for herself.

  “It’s not that deep, thank goodness, but it’s big and messy. We’ll have to clean the wound really well. Then I’ll put in a few stitches to close the skin, and bandage it all up. You can keep him in a stall for now, right?”

  Haley nodded. “Yes, I’ve got a stall available. I’ll keep it neat as a pin for him.”

  “Okay. I’m going to give him a mild sedative so we can clean this wound.”

  “Are you sure you need one?” Wes spoke softly as he continued to stroke Two Socks along the forehead.

  Emily glared at Wes. Was he questioning her choices in front of a client? “It’s mild.”

  “If you numb the leg, I can do some massage on his neck to help calm him. That might be enough to get the job done.”

  Emily swallowed back the retort on the tip of her tongue. “Wes, I need to get a few more things from the truck. Will you help me, please?”

  His eyes narrowed. He knew she was lying, but he nodded. “Haley, can you stay with Two Socks and keep him nice and calm for us?”

  “Sure.” Haley took the lead rope from Wes and Emily turned on her heel, not waiting to see if Wes followed her to the truck. But sure enough, he was right behind her.

  “What supplies did you need?”

  “This isn’t about supplies and you know it!” Emily had to force her voice to stay calm. “Don’t question my judgment in front of one of my clients.”

  “I wasn’t questioning you. I was offering help.”

  “Help? A massage?” She stared at him, not knowing what to think. “Wes, I don’t think your horse massage is going to help me much when my face is a few inches from Two Socks’s leg and I’m trying to stitch him up.”

  “You’d be surprised what acupressure and massage can do.”

  Emily’s face heated. “Please don’t talk down to me. I’ve read up on acupressure. It has its uses, but your suggestion endangers all of us. If Two Socks panics, he could kick me. And he might injure himself more.”

  Wes held up his hands in a gesture of surrender. “I shouldn’t have suggested it. It wasn’t my place. I’m truly sorry. Bring on the sedative.”

  “I will.” But he’d sown a seed of doubt. If he really could keep the horse calm, they’d avoid the risk of the gelding dropping to the ground during the procedure, which was possible, even with a mild sedative.

  Her pride wanted her to be right. But this wasn’t about her being right. It was about what would be best for the horse. “What if you did this massage thing while Haley held his foreleg up, so Two Socks can’t kick me?”

  “As long as you numb the wound really well, I think it will work.”

  As much as she didn’t want to admit it, her instinct was nudging her to give it a try. But Two Socks was Haley’s horse. “Let’s check with Haley.”

  They walked back to the wash area and Emily explained the idea to Haley. “I can’t guarantee that it will work. If it doesn’t, we’ll have to try the sedative.”

  “But you think it might work? I’d certainly prefer it if we didn’t have to make him all woozy.”

  Emily shrugged. “I think it’s worth trying. But, full disclosure, Wes doesn’t work with me, and I haven’t seen him do this before, so I don’t know how it will go.”

  “Wes, you’re sure you can keep him calm?” Haley put her hands on her hips. “I love this horse, so be honest.”

  “I really think I can.” Wes was all quiet confidence.

  “Then I think we should try it.” Haley positioned herself by Two Socks’s left foreleg. “Just tell me when you need me to lift his leg.”

  “Not yet.” Emily reached for the anti-inflammatory. “Wes, since he seems to like you, will you give him this?” She took the lid off the syringe and handed it to him. “It’s apple flavored.”

  Wes
let Two Socks smell the medication. Then, murmuring quiet encouragement, he inserted the syringe into the corner of the gelding’s mouth and prompted the big horse to lift his head. When he squeezed the solution into the back of the horse’s mouth, Two Socks complied. No fuss, no head tossing, no backing up or avoiding. He just swallowed the medicine as if it was horse candy.

  Wes handed Emily the empty syringe, his smile laced with just a touch of triumph. “He’s doing great,” he said.

  “He is.” Emily tried to hide her astonishment. Two Socks had never been this cooperative with her. “I’ll get the anesthetic ready. Haley, I’m just going to block the nerves around the wound so I can stitch him up.”

  “Sounds good,” Haley said.

  While Emily readied the injection, Wes ran his fingers along the gelding’s thick chestnut mane until he located something. “Pressure point,” he said quietly. His strong fingers started rubbing the spot in gentle circles, and after a moment, Two Socks let out a long sigh. His ears went from high alert to floppy.

  “He really likes it.” Haley grinned. “Just look at him.”

  Emily gaped at Wes. “I’ll be honest, I’ve never seen him look this relaxed.”

  Wes smiled quietly back to her. “Everyone likes a massage now and then.”

  It came back to her in a rush, the way he used to give her shoulder rubs sometimes, after they’d been studying. Emily pushed the uncomfortable image away and turned to Haley. “Can you lift his leg and put it on your knees? Hold it tight. And let me know if your back starts to hurt.”

  “Will do.” Haley leaned into her horse’s shoulder and ran her hand down his foreleg. Two Socks was a little reluctant. Giving her that leg meant he had to put weight on his injured one. But after a moment he gave in and lifted his hoof. Haley stooped and braced his foreleg on her thighs. “Okay, go for it.”

  Emily disinfected the area above the wound with alcohol and gave Two Socks a shallow injection to numb the lower leg. The horse flinched slightly as the needle went in, but that was all. He stood quietly while Emily quickly cleaned and disinfected the wound. Then she readied the sutures. “He’s going to let us know if this stings,” she said quietly. “Is everybody ready?”

  “Ready,” Haley said.

  “Wes?”

  “He’s fine. Trust me,” Wes murmured back.

  Trust me. Emily wanted to laugh out loud at the words. But that wasn’t an option, so she rolled her eyes instead and knelt to stitch the wound. Two Socks didn’t budge. In fact, he didn’t even seem to notice. When she was finished, Emily dressed the leg and wrapped it securely. When she stood up, relieved to be finished, the big gelding looked half-asleep, leaning his head on Wes’s shoulder, mesmerized by his horsey massage.

  Haley was the only one suffering. She set Two Socks’s leg down carefully and straightened her back. “Oof. It’s possible I’m getting old.”

  “Maybe you need a back rub, too,” Emily said, unable to resist poking at Wes. “Please keep the bandage on and our patient as quiet as possible in his stall. I’ll come by and check on him tomorrow.”

  “That’s perfect, thank you so much, Emily.” There were tears in Haley’s eyes. “I can’t believe this happened. We replaced our barbed wire fences last year, but this coil of wire was hidden in the grass in one of our pastures. I didn’t know it was there.”

  “Maybe you can send someone out to ride all your fences and make sure there isn’t wire anywhere else,” Emily suggested. “Just in case.”

  “I’ll do that.” Haley put a hand to Wes’s arm. “Welcome back, Wes. And thank you for helping out tonight. You and Emily sure make a fine team.”

  Wes grinned over Haley’s head at Emily. She glared back. “Thank you,” Wes said. “I’m glad we could help.”

  “And, Wes, if you ever feel like teaching a clinic on how to do that horse massage, I bet I can get you a bunch of participants.”

  “Good to know. I might take you up on that.”

  Emily waved to Haley and started for the truck, a dark cloud settling on her shoulders. A clinic. Wes had been in Shelter Creek less than a day. He’d been on one vet call and someone already wanted him to teach a clinic? Her first months as a veterinarian had been all about defending her qualifications because she was a woman. She’d had to convince people to let her treat their animals and Wes just waltzed in here and got offered a clinic? She slammed her door a little too hard when she got in the cab. That wasn’t a good move. She was being irrational...she knew she was.

  Wes got into the passenger side of the cab and shut his door. Emily waited while he fastened his seat belt, and then started the truck back up Haley’s driveway to the road.

  “Nice woman,” Wes commented. “And that is a beautiful horse. I hope his leg heals up well.”

  “I’ll follow through with her every day this week to make sure it’s fine.” She sounded a lot more snippy than she meant to.

  “Is everything okay?”

  She could feel Wes looking at her in the dark cab, and what was he even doing here? Showing up in her life again like nothing ever happened? Like he hadn’t disappeared and scared her and hurt her? Hadn’t left her wondering where he was for fifteen years?

  “Of course everything’s okay. You show up at my clinic asking for work. Then you question my choices while we’re with a client. Yeah, I’m just fine. Wes. Couldn’t be better.”

  “I didn’t mean to undermine you. I could see what the horse would respond to. I’m pretty sure he would have panicked on a sedative.”

  “How could you possibly know that?” Emily turned onto Main Street.

  “I guess I understand horses. I can’t really explain it. I just knew that Two Socks hates feeling out of control and the sedative would exacerbate that feeling. I could sense the tension emanating from his neck muscles, and I was pretty sure he’d respond to the massage and acupressure.”

  Emily glanced over at him. “You’re saying you have some kind of sixth sense with horses.”

  “I guess. But I apologize if I overstepped. I won’t teach a clinic for her if that bothers you.”

  “It’s not about the clinic.” She was lying, and embarrassed that he’d seen through to her jealousy. Now she felt like a jerk. “Of course you should teach it.”

  “So what’s got you so upset? Is this all about the sedation?” When she didn’t answer his voice softened. “Come on, Emily. Be straight with me. What’s wrong?”

  She was weak around him still. Unable to resist his calm cajoling. “It’s not your fault, really. It’s just the way the world is. As a woman, it took me a long time to be accepted as a veterinarian. Especially with ranchers around here. There are still clients who make it clear they wish I were a man.” She glanced his way and he nodded as if to let her know that he’d heard.

  “That must be really frustrating. I don’t know what it’s like to be a woman, but I do know what it’s like to be underestimated. I spent a lot of years around people who assumed I was going to fail, just based on who I was.”

  She looked at him in surprise.

  “I was a foster kid. Even Haley remembered that about me, all these years later. Every time I showed up at a new school, teachers had their expectations set on low before they even met me. Sometimes it felt like a lot to overcome.”

  “You never said anything about that when you were living with us.”

  “You were beautiful, beloved Emily, of the happy, supportive Fielding family. How could I expect you to understand?”

  When she looked at him in dismay, he grinned at her. “And I was crazy about you. Trying to impress you. I wasn’t going to let you know that most people thought I was a total loser.”

  She shook her head, trying to absorb his perspective on the kids they’d been. They’d reached the center of town. Many of the shops on Main Street were still open. Couples were strolling in and out of the r
estaurants. Friday night was usually busy but not like this. Emily slowed and stopped to let a couple, walking hand in hand, cross the street in front of them. A man Emily didn’t recognize crossed, too. He was carrying a bucket full of flowers.

  “What is he doing?” she asked when he stopped in front of them and waved a bouquet of what looked like pink roses.

  “Don’t you even know what day it is?” Wes grinned at her as he rolled down his window. He waved the man over. “I’ll take them,” he said.

  Emily stared at Wes in confusion. Why was he buying flowers? She just wanted to get home. She was so tired, and this day, whatever day it was, had gone on forever. It seemed like weeks ago that she’d spotted Wes walking down the street, but it was only this morning.

  Money changed hands through the truck window and the rose seller thanked Wes, then ran back across the street. Wes turned and offered the pink roses to Emily. “Here. Happy Valentine’s Day.”

  She gasped. “It’s Valentine’s Day?”

  He put his fingers to his forehead and shook his head slowly in mock disbelief. “Don’t tell me you didn’t even know.”

  “I was up most of the night dealing with a calving. I can barely stay awake, let alone worry about some silly holiday.” Her cheeks were pinker than those roses. Luckily, it was dark in the truck. “Seriously, I don’t need a valentine!”

  “Everyone needs a valentine.” Wes set the roses on the console between them. Emily checked to make sure everyone was out of the crosswalk and continued driving on toward her clinic.

  The flowers were really pretty and they made the truck smell sweet. Wes’s gesture was charming and annoying. Was he trying to remind her that they’d been sweethearts once upon a time? She didn’t need any reminders.

  Oh, no. The realization settled in her stomach. Valentine’s Day. She’d completely forgotten to celebrate the holiday at work. She should have had some chocolates and decorations for her staff at the clinic today. She usually did something nice for them on a holiday. She’d been working so much, she’d been so tired lately, she’d totally forgotten.

  It was all too much. She needed sleep. She needed time to process all this. She definitely didn’t need some fake valentine from a guy who couldn’t possible feel anything for her. “Wes, don’t be silly. I don’t want flowers.”