Chapter Nine

Shane

The next morning Shane was a little disoriented. His body recognized a warm soft woman next to him. That confused him because it had been long time since that had happened. Realization hit him about the time his phone rang, waking both him and Reba up a good half hour before their alarm was supposed to have gone off.

"Shit," he said. "Sorry."

Reba muttered and rolled over.

He found his underwear and pants and carried them out into the other room so that he wouldn't disturb Reba with his phone call. Of course, the Winnebago was small enough that she could probably hear him anyway. "Hello," he snapped.

"Mr. Calland, this is Jackson Blevins of the UPRC."

"Yeah?" Shane had a vague idea that this was someone relatively important in the organization, but it wasn't the usual person he spoke with. After pulling on his pants, he decided that since he was up, he might as well feed the kittens. "What can I do for you?"

"I'm not sure if you've heard, but the UPRC is going to be doing things a little bit differently from now on concerning how we get our animal stock."

Here it comes, Shane thought. Thank you, but no thank you. We'll see you when we see you. He fought to keep a lid on his temper, but it just wasn't fair. Everyone knew that the new guy in was the first one to go. But they'd worked so hard to get to this level. It really pissed him off that his bulls wouldn't get the chance to compete in this league. He wondered if that would change things between him and Reba, but then he shook himself out of that. Reba wasn't Abigail. He shouldn't have to remind himself about that, not after all these years.

"We would like to offer you an invitation to be one of the three bull breeders to provide stock for our rodeos for the next five years."

"Five years," Shane said, shock warring with disbelief that they had been chosen to be one of the three. The cynical part of him wondered how many other people turned the offer down before they got to the Viking Ranch's name on their list.

"Yes," Blevins said. "It's an exclusive contract; however, I think that you'll find it a lucrative one."

"And what happens at the end of five years?"

"We'll negotiate another contract for another set period of time."

It sounded fair to him. "How much are we talking about for the exclusive right?"

Blevins named a figure that wasn't out of the question.

"I have to speak to my family about this, but I think we can come to an arrangement." The kittens mewed loudly, and Shane resisted the urge to shush them. Not only did he not want Blevins to hear them, but he also didn't want to have them wake Reba up with their caterwauling. He quickly squeezed the tube of kitten food into four separate blobs on the plastic mat that Reba had laid out. The kittens quieted down as they slurped up the goo.

"Good," Blevins said. "I'll have our legal department email over the paperwork."

"I'll have an answer to you after the Fort Worth rodeo next week," Shane said.

That would mean he would have to fly home to Montana to talk about this with his father and brother face-to-face. He'd have to make arrangements with Pat to trailer the bulls by himself to the next rodeo.

He sat down after getting the kittens water and ran his fingers down their soft little backs and curled around each of their little tails. He was getting attached to them. Just like he was getting attached to Reba. It hadn't taken long.

*

Reba came outof the bedroom wearing his shirt. "Is everything all right?" she asked, moving over by him to the kitchen area to make a pot of coffee.

"More than all right. You look gorgeous."

He came up behind her and nuzzled her neck. She leaned back into his chest. "I had a great time last night."

"Me, too." Sliding his hand up her shirt, he cupped her breast. "Are you wearing anything underneath that?"

"Why don't you find out?"

Shane didn't need to be asked twice. Reaching around their bodies, he slid his fingers between her parted thighs. She was wet for him.

"Oh, sweetheart," he moaned. Sliding through her slick folds, he fingered her gently with one hand, while rolling her nipple with his other.

Reba tilted her head back to kiss him. Her tongue teased him and he flicked faster.

"Mmm." She gasped.

"Are you going to come for me, sweetheart?"

"Oh yeah."

Her little sighs were driving him wild. She trembled against him and cried out when he ground against her. Shane was about to burst out of his jeans. Her thighs clamped around him as she shook.

"Shane," she said. Reaching into the pocket of his shirt, she pulled out one of the condoms they had left over from last night.

"Fuck yeah," he said, ripping the foil wrapper off. He yanked down his pants and slid the condom on over his ready cock. Flipping up the tail of his shirt, Shane admired the soft globes of her ass. "Bend over, sweetheart."

Reba gripped the edge of the counter and wiggled her ass suggestively at him. He pulled her hips to him and slid inside her soaking wet heat. He went in deep and held her hips to him. She was tight and anxious as she tried to get him to move.

"In a minute, darlin'. I'm enjoying how damned good you feel." He kissed her neck, grazing it with his teeth.

"Please, Shane," she breathed, bucking against him.

"I like hearing you say my name when I'm deep inside you." He rocked into her with long languid strokes.

"Yes," Reba cried out, pushing back against him.

It was suddenly too much for him. Losing control, he took her fast and hard. Her body was so sweet, he could get lost in the taste and feel of her. He wanted this every morning, every night. He had never felt this way about a woman before. He was in over his head, but he was loving every minute of it.

Reba tightened around him. "Oh God," she said. "Shane."

He felt her come all around him. His vision grew dim as lightning seemed to go off in his brain. Reba squeaked with each panting breath and then went limp. He couldn't believe the pleasure he felt when she came apart in his arms and sagged against him. He was close behind her and with a few more glorious thrusts, he followed her over the edge into bliss.

"You're amazing," he said.

"I'm only sorry there's not enough room for two in my shower," she said, turning around and kissing him.

They could have kissed all day, but Reba's second alarm went off. "Shit," she said. "I've got to get ready."

"Go ahead. I'll make coffee and breakfast."

"Careful," she said and gave him another deep kiss. "I could get used to this."

"I'm counting on it," he said, filling up the coffee pot with water.

In the small freezer, he found microwave sausages. In the little refrigerator, there was a loaf of bread and eggs. He scrambled the eggs up while the toaster did its thing. He timed it perfectly, so everything was ready by the time Reba got out of the shower.

"I'm going to jump in for a quick one."

"A real quick one because there's not much hot water left."

He handed her a plate of food and went into the bathroom to clean up. After getting washed and dressed, he was more than ready for a cup of coffee. Reba was playing with the kittens when he came back into the kitchen.

"Who was that on the phone before?" she asked, getting up to pour him a cup of coffee.

He sliced up the sausage and added it to the scrambled eggs he had made in between two slices of bread. "Jackson Blevins."

"The CEO of the UPRC?

"Huh, that make sense." He explained to her about the offer. "I'm still in shock."

"Why? Your animals are well taken care of and excellent athletes. Sverre, in particular, is going to be a bull to beat. So, it makes perfect sense that the Viking Ranch was one of the choices."

"I've got to fly home and talk about the offer with my father and my brother. I was wondering, would you like to come home with me?"

"I've always liked Montana," she said. "We never had a chance to stay very long when we were there because LeAnn was only in town for the rodeo, and then it was on to the next one before we had a chance to see more of the state."

"I can't be gone too long. I've got to be at Fort Worth next week."

"Me, too," she said.

"Can you get away tomorrow?"

Reba thought about it. "I think so. I'll have to check and see if Dolly can drive the Winnebago to Fort Worth for me. I'd love to see the Viking Ranch. I'll be honest, though, I'm a little nervous about meeting your family. Do you always bring home strange women?"

"You'd be the first that I wasn't already married to." He picked up one of the kittens. "I need to be honest, too. I have to admit there is an ulterior motive to me asking you to come with me."

"What's that?" she asked suspiciously.

"I want to take the kittens home with me."

Reba clasped her hand over her mouth, her eyes wide with shock and delight.

"We're going to have to get another carrier, but I think if we fit two in one carrier and two in the other, the airline will let them fly with us in the cabin."

Reba ran around the small table and flung her arms around his neck. "I can't believe it. You're going to adopt all four?"

"I can't very well separate them now, can I?"

"You're the best. The absolute best." She covered his face with kisses. "Of course I'll help bring the kittens home."

Shane would adopt all the kittens she wanted if this was the thanks he got. He captured her mouth and kissed her long and sweet. He'd like nothing better than to drag her back into bed and make love to her all day long. But of course, they were interrupted by another phone call. This time it was Reba's phone.

"Sorry, I've got to get this," she said. "It's my boss, Diane."

Shane wrangled the kittens back into their carrier while Reba finished her call.

"I need to head on over to the 4-H tent. We've got a sick goat." She tossed him her keys. "Can you lock up? If you're free for lunch this afternoon, we can talk more about the flight."

"It's a date," he said.

She hugged him again and hurried out of the Winnebago.

Shane had a full day of work to put in, in between making travel arrangements for himself, Reba, and the kittens. He was able to hire a couple of cowboys to help Pat get the bulls on the trailer tomorrow while he and Reba took the flight out to Montana.

"I hate to do this to you, Pat," Shane said. "But I want to get a jump on this with Dad and Rick."

"I understand," Pat said. "Rick will be on board, but Bill is going to give you a hard time about it, just because he doesn't like change."

"Ain't that the truth. But I'll make him see reason." Shane was also hoping that having Reba there would put his father on his best behavior.

Around lunchtime, he walked over to the veterinarian's trailer, eager to see Reba.

"I don't have time for a sit-down meal or anything like that," she said. "But if you want to grab a sandwich and are willing to eat while we walk, I'd love to spend some time with you."

"Sounds good to me." Being with Reba was easy.

"How do you feel about a brisket sandwich and some fried pickles?" she asked.

"Throw in some fried Oreos and you got yourself a deal."

"I know just the place," she said.

While they waited in line for the sandwiches, Shane called up the flight information on his phone. "Would you be able to fly out with me first thing tomorrow morning?"

"Yes. Dolly was okay with driving the RV to Fort Worth for me. Luckily, she was going there anyway. I just have to drop off her car at the rental place tonight. I was able to get Victor Lance—he's one of the other vets on staff—to take over my on-call hours tomorrow. It means I'll be doing double duty in Fort Worth, but that's not a big deal."

"I'm sorry about that. I'd understand, since it's so last minute, if you decided not to come with me. I'll manage the kittens somehow."

"No." Reba shook her head. "Nothing to be sorry about. You're giving four little angel kittens a permanent home. It's the least I could do. And I probably will just be hanging around the RV anyway while I'm on call."

"Maybe you and I can hang around together in Fort Worth while you're on call—if that's allowed?"

"I'm sure it'll be fine. It's not like when I'm actively doing examinations. But you never know what comes when you're on call. Anything could happen and nothing could happen." She shrugged.

"I just really enjoy spending time with you," Shane said.

"Yeah?" She smiled up at him, and it felt like the sun came out from behind the clouds. "I didn't think I was your type."

"I have a type?"

Reba waved her hand vaguely at the other people around them. "I'm not your typical rodeo queen."

"No," he said. "You're better."

"You're dangerous," she said.

"Why am I dangerous?"

"Because you're sexy and charming."

Shane barked out a laugh. "I've never been called charming before."

After they got their sandwiches, they walked back to the vet trailer. Reba had a list of things she needed to do, but she let him drive the golf cart while she finished her lunch.

"I'm booking the flights now," he said. "Do you need me to give you a ride back from the car rental place tonight?"

"No. LeAnn's coming with me."

"Okay. What time will you be ready tomorrow morning?" he asked.

"That depends on when we wake up." She leaned over and gave him a kiss.

Yeah, he could definitely get used to this.

"I gotta get back to work. Sorry to strand you, but I need the golf cart."

"Not a problem. I need to work off the fried Oreos anyway."

The rodeo was in full swing today. Saturday was their busiest day. There were several events going on at once. A ton of families were out and about, and Shane was happy to see a lot of the youth organizations getting involved. There was everything from mutton busting where elementary and middle-school-age children rode sheep, to 4-H events that focused on taking care of animals and showing the high schoolers how to make a profit from selling their stock at auction. That was how he had started out.

The adult events also drew a large crowd. The women's bronc busting was just as exciting as the men's event. It had had a rough and rocky start a few years ago, but now it was mainstream. Change was good. Shane would just have to convince his father that being exclusive to the UPRC was the right thing to do for their business. Although, a small voice in the back of his head wondered if that was really the case.

It was a risk to put all your eggs, or this case your bulls, in one basket. But there wasn't any denying that the UPRC was one of the biggest rodeo outfits in the world. Getting in now could only help the Viking Ranch. And if the ranch made bank with this new contract, then maybe Shane's father would finally retire. Maybe if they made a shit-ton of cash, he could buy himself a fishing boat down in Florida and spend his days trying to catch mermaids or marlins.

When Shane got back to the bull-riding area, everybody should have been by the front where the bulls were being led into the chutes or waiting in the holding pens for the next rider. There shouldn't have been anyone in this back area, which is why he was surprised to see Taylor Keating in the same pen as his bulls.

"What the hell you doing?" Shane asked. "You know you're not supposed to be in there."

Taylor raised up his hands as two of Shane's bulls snorted and started to menace the young man. "Don't get them all riled up. I'm trying to get them used to me." Taylor slowly backed away, making sure not to make any sudden moves that might enrage or excite the bulls.

Once Taylor was back over on the right side of the fence, Shane raised his voice. "It's dangerous for both you and for the bulls to be here. You should have at least had somebody with you."

"I didn't want to get anyone in trouble."

"Then why did you do this?"

"I need something to give me an edge," Taylor said. "I can't practice any more than I have been. I don't have enough time, what with bullfighting and bull riding."

And going out to karaoke and playing pool, Shane thought. He didn't say that aloud because when he was Taylor's age, he had sowed a lot of his own wild oats. "You need to pick one," Shane said instead. "Either you're a bull rider or a bullfighter. Otherwise, you're going to be mediocre at both."

"What you think I should do?"

"That's up to you. Do what you love more."

"I love both," Taylor said. "I love getting paid. I'd make more money bull riding if I could win an event. But bullfighting pays me a steady salary."

"Sounds to me like you've got a tough choice to make," Shane said. "You can quit the sure thing and start practicing more and see if you can succeed, going eight seconds consistently. Or you can do bull riding for fun and keep your steady paycheck."

"That's the gist of it. Although, bull riders get more girls," Taylor said.

"Sometimes quality is better than quantity." That had been a tough lesson for Shane to learn. And he wasn't sure that Taylor would agree with them. But Shane would rather have one night with Reba, than several nights with a woman like his ex-wife Abigail.

"Yeah, the girls don't really see bullfighters as anything other than a glorified rodeo clown."

"The right one will appreciate you for who you are," Shane said, even though he was pretty sure he was wasting his breath.

"Yeah, you got a point."

"Shouldn't you be getting ready to do some bullfighting?" Shane said, remembering that Taylor said his numbers weren't good enough for him to be competing today.

"I'll suit up," Taylor said. "But I'm not on the roster. I had hoped to be riding today."

"Well, you know how Murphy's Law is," Shane said. "Someone will need you somewhere. If you're looking for some extra work, Pat could use a hand with the bulls tomorrow. I'm headed back to Montana for a few days."

"Is everything all right at home?" Taylor asked, concerned.

"Yeah, I just need to talk to my dad and brother about a few things in person."

Taylor got a crafty look in his eye. "Does this have anything to do with an offer?"

Blevins told Shane to keep this hush-hush, and Shane didn't want to jinx anything, or worse start a rumor. For all he knew, his father would put his foot down and demand to keep supplying all of the other rodeos instead of going UPRC's exclusive contract.

Shane just shook his head. "I don't think any of the breeders have been finalized yet." That was safe enough to say. "Now get the hell on out of here. If I catch you back in here again, I'm going to have to report you to security."

"All right," Taylor said. "That's fair."

"But if you do want to get some practice in," Shane said. "Let me know. We might be able to arrange something."

"I appreciate that."