Chapter Twelve

Shane

Fort Worth, TX

After a brutal red-eye flight, Shane and Reba went their separate ways once they reached the Fort Worth rodeo. He barely saw her for the rest of the morning, but they texted each other back and forth. They had tentative plans to go out for dinner tonight, although Shane didn't think he was going to make it much further beyond that before face-planting into a pillow.

He was going to order a bottle of wine, however, to celebrate officially being in the UPRC. His father had signed the contract last night, and Shane had forwarded it over to Jackson Blevins before he and Reba boarded the plane. He would wait until it was announced before he revoked his bids with the other rodeos for next season. They would definitely be running at a loss this year, but Shane was hoping that they would pick up some breeding clients to ease the pinch.

It was business as usual as Shane and Pat got the bulls ready for the testing. When the testing was over, they brought them to the bullpen for the rider's lottery. Shane was surprised when Ronnie Sunderland picked Sverre's name in the ballot, and instead of casting it back, Ronnie decided that he was going to ride him.

Shane applauded and went over to talk to him after all the other bull riders had picked their bulls and did any substitutions and trades before the final roster went to the announcers.

Shane walked over to him. "Look at the balls on you," he said, shaking his hand.

"Today's the day I'm going to ride your bull for eight seconds."

"I wish you all the luck in the world, Ronnie. Give him a hell of a ride."

If today was the day Sverre was going to lose his winning streak, it couldn't happen with a nicer cowboy than Ronnie Sunderland. Shane knew it was petty to think this, but Ronnie was worthy of the bull and a couple of the other guys weren't. He certainly wouldn't want Keith Kilgore to have the bragging rights for that. And Sverre would probably damn near kill Taylor or Nash. Vidar was deemed well enough to ride, Ingvar and Torkel had been chosen as well. Shane was looking forward to seeing how they would do statistic wise.

When he set up to watch the bull riders, he noticed that Taylor was bullfighting today with his father, Barney. Shane wondered if that meant that Taylor had made his decision about concentrating on being a bullfighter over being a bull rider.

The first bull rider up was Nash Weaver. He was riding Vidar. They had barely gotten out of the chute before the bull tossed him off. Maybe next time, Shane would record it on his phone so he could watch the ride in slow motion later. There was something about Nash's performance that bothered him. He was certainly not seating himself correctly on the bull. Maybe there were few tips he could give Nash. Or maybe Shane should mind his own fucking business. No one asked him his opinion.

"Hey, sugar," Abigail said, sitting down way too close to him. She was dressed in a leather bikini top with tight white shorts and cowboy boots. She had on enough turquoise and silver jewelry to set off metal detectors at fifty feet.

"I just love watching bull riders," she said. "You know that makes me horny as hell."

"I'm sure Keith is thrilled by that," Shane said, removing her hand from where she'd placed it on his knee.

"Keith is going to be busy for the next hour and a half. Why you and I go see what trouble we can get into my camper?" Abigail said, running a sharp red nail down his arm.

"You know that Keith is looking right at us," Shane said.

Abigail whipped her head to where the bull riders were waiting their turn to ride, and sure enough, her fiancé was scowling up at them. She simpered and waved at him, but it didn't change the sour expression on his face.

"Why are you like this?" Shane asked. He honestly wanted to know. "Keith seems to be everything that you want. Why do you want to risk fucking it up by sleeping with me?"

"Don't act like Keith is the wronged party here," she said grumpily. "I know what goes on in the bars when I'm not on the circuit with him."

"So you're saying you and Keith have an open relationship?" Why was he even having this conversation?

"No, of course not."

"If you both want to screw around, why not?"

"Then he's not going to want to marry me."

"I've got news for you, sweetheart, if he's fucking around on you, he doesn't want to marry you anyway."

"You're an asshole—you know that?" Abigail got up angrily and stormed away.

"Yeah." He sighed. "I've heard that before." And from her.

His other bulls did really good. Ingvar tossed his rider. Torkel was ridden for eight seconds, but he kicked and whirled like a champion. Both he and his rider, Jennings, got a great score. Shane was proud of them.

And then it was time for Sverre and Ronnie. Shane got his phone ready. His father always loved to see Sverre in action. Out of the gate, Ronnie looked strong. He was seated well and had a good grip on the rope. His form was impeccable. He could do it.

Sverre was a maniac. He kicked and whirled. Bucking hard, Sverre tossed Ronnie who flipped over the bull's head. Sverre nailed him with his horns on the way down. Shane winced at the hard shot Ronnie took in the back. Landing on his hands and knees, Ronnie was in a bad position. Sverre jumped and landed on him. What the hell? Sverre was unreasonably pissed off. Ronnie crumpled, his neck at a terrible angle. Shane shot to his feet, his phone falling to the ground.

Taylor and Barney rushed in. Sverre stomped on Ronnie again and kicked out at Taylor, nailing him in the chest. Taylor was flung back and landed on his ass. Scrambling up, he went back in. His chest protector mitigated most of the blow, but he would still be black and blue later. Sverre shook his head and lunged at Barney with his horns. Barney held on while Taylor covered Ronnie's body to protect him as the paramedics waited for it to be clear to come in. Ronnie wasn't moving.

"Shit," Shane muttered. He hoped Ronnie was all right.

The pickup rider got a rope around Sverre and between him, Barney, and another bullfighter, they muscled the ornery son of a bitch back through the chute. The paramedics rushed in. Shane had a bad feeling in his stomach.

By the time Shane pushed his way through the hysterical crowd to the backstage area, they had loaded Ronnie and his wife Vanessa into the back of the ambulance. As the ambulance sped away, Shane caught Barney's eye. Barney shook his head in a slow, mournful no. Shane's stomach dropped. Fuck.

"That bull of yours is a menace," Keith Kilgore said grabbing Shane by the shirt.

Shane knocked his hand away and shoved him back. "Back off," he said.

Keith went at him again, but Nash was suddenly there. He held Keith in a half nelson and pretty much perp-walked him out of the area.

"You should see to your bull," Barney said under his breath and patted him on the shoulder.

The raucous cheers and pulsating music that filled the air felt distant and muffled to Shane. It wasn't strange that the rodeo went on with their events like nothing had happened. And yet, as he wandered around the barn and animal pens waiting for news about Ronnie, it all felt disrespectful.

When Barney found him a few minutes later, Shane was sitting on the ground by the pen that Sverre was in. Barney's face was solemn and Shane's heart sank, a wave of foreboding washing over him. He had harbored a hope that Ronnie would be okay, but the look on Barney's face confirmed what they both had known when the ambulance had pulled away.

"He's gone," Barney said the words. "Dead on arrival."

A heaviness settled in Shane's chest, and he fought to steady himself. "Damn it. This wasn't supposed to happen." Shane put his head in his hands. No one ever wanted to hear news like that.

"As you can imagine, the boys are devastated. They might come here looking for revenge." Barney eyed Sverre warily.

While they all knew the risks of riding a bull, it was rare that it would end in death. Broken collarbone, a broken leg, sure. One of their own dying was a solemn occasion that put the fear of mortality in a lot of bull riders. And anger could simmer into something more dangerous.

"Ronnie wouldn't want that," Taylor said, coming up alongside of his father. "Sverre isn't a murderer. He's just a bull."

He looked up at the sound of running feet. Ready to defend his bull if he had to, Shane clenched his fists. But he was relieved to see Reba as she flung herself into his arms.

"I just heard," she said, out of breath. "I ran all the way here."

"Were all the golf carts taken?" he said, trying for a joke.

"We'll go back and try and keep the peace," Barney said.

"It's not your fault," Taylor said.

Shane nodded at them over Reba's head, grateful that they came to see him, even as they were dealing with their own grief. Ronnie had been a good man. He had been well liked. Shane—and everyone else—was going to miss him.

"I'm so, so sorry about Ronnie," Reba said. "How are you doing?"

"Shitty," he said. "But it's better now that you're here." His phone buzzed. He didn't want talk to anyone right now, but this was Jackson Blevins.

"Yeah," Shane said.

"Shane, we got a problem."

"I'll make sure that Sverre is no longer at the events for the rest of the season."

"Don't be hasty," Blevins said. "He's still a fine bull. I will be pleased to have him at the next rodeo. But Vanessa Sunderland is saying that the bull was doped up."

"That's ridiculous," Shane said.

"That's what I was hoping to hear," Blevins said. "We're going to run the tests again."

"That's fine. You're not going to find anything. My bulls are clean."

Reba's head jerked up. "Of course, they are. I ran your tests myself this morning. They were perfectly fine."

"Who's that?" Blevins said.

"That's Reba Keller. She's one of the UPRC veterinarians."

"I know the Keller family very well. Her words will go a long way to settling down the rumors. I'll talk to her sister, Dolly, and let her know that Reba tested your bull herself."

"Thank you," Shane said, but Blevins had already hung up.

"I should've taken a golf cart," Reba said. "I'd have all my stuff right now. Give me about half an hour and I'll be back with everything, and then I'll run the tests on Sverre again."

"I know he was clean when I brought him up here this morning. Could he have been injected with something in between the time your test happened and the time Ronnie got on him?"

"I don't know," Reba said. "We'll have to check with security and see if there's been anybody back with the bulls who shouldn't have been."

"I'll do that," Shane said.

While Reba went to get her equipment, Shane called Pat who had been resting in his truck and had missed everything. Shane filled him in on what had happened.

"Oh shit, I'll be right there," Pat said.

"Were you back in the bull area?"

"No, boss, I wasn't. I think from now on one of us should be."

Shane was kicking himself. After the accident with Vidar, he should have insisted on it. He should have been there. He hoped that nothing had been introduced into Sverre's system. For Ronnie's sake, but also for the bull's. He hated the poison that some people jacked up their animals with. Sverre didn't need any chemicals to be a good athlete, and it sickened him that someone thought they could get away with hurting anyone on the circuit, whether it was an animal or rider. He couldn't figure out any motivation to inject Sverre with a performance-enhancing drug.

Pat and Reba arrived about the same time. Reba took Sverre's sample and then said, "If it's okay, I'd like to retest all of your stock?"

Shane nodded. "Do what you have to do."

"I'm going to have to cancel dinner tonight," she said. "I want to oversee these lab results personally."

"Call me as soon as you get an answer," he said.

Shane and Pat stood guard until the rodeo was over. They loaded up their bulls into the trailer.

"Pat, I want you to get on the road right away. I'll call ahead to our friends at the Brady Cattle Ranch so they know to expect you a little earlier than planned. I'm afraid things are going to get ugly if we stay overnight and then leave in the morning like we had planned."

"You got it."

"I may need you to fly back to Montana tomorrow morning if we need to find a bull to replace Sverre. You'd have to drive back down to Brady with him. If that turns out to be the case, just bring Rick with you so he can take Sverre back. I'll fill him in with the details so you don't have to."

"This is a hell of a thing," Pat said.

"Yes, it is. Drive safe. Call me when you get there."

He watched the bulls while Pat grabbed some dinner and coffee to go. He called his brother and filled him in. Rick would break the news to his parents. They hadn't been watching the rodeo, thankfully.

The press hadn't been allowed back in the bullpens, but it was only a matter of time before one of them snuck in. Shane didn't relax until Pat had left the arena and called to tell him he was on the highway.

After that, Shane didn't know what to do with himself. He didn't want to pester Reba and he knew he wouldn't be welcome company to any bull riders tonight. He was surprised, however, to find Abigail in the horse barn when he wandered in. She was taking care of Ronnie's horse, Starshine. She'd always loved horses. He could see she'd been crying. She looked up when he approached.

"Well, your bull is still undefeated."

"Knock that shit off," he said, gently.

She burst into tears and threw herself into Shane's arms. "It could have been Keith. He wanted that damned bull so bad. He was pissed that Ronnie pulled Sverre and wouldn't trade."

Shane patted her back awkwardly, as if a few hours ago she hadn't been propositioning him so she could cheat on Keith. He would never understand Abigail, but he did understand that she was scared. She had cried when Shane had his wreck and rode to the hospital in an ambulance with him.

"I just can't believe it. Poor Vanessa. What is she going to do now?"

"It won't be easy," he said. "But she's a strong woman. She'll survive this."

"I need a drink," she said, rubbing his back. "Keith and the boys don't want to be disturbed. How about you and I get lost in the bottom of a bottle?"

It was tempting. But he knew that drinking got Abigail horny almost as much as watching bull riders did.

"I don't think that's a good idea."

She clung to him tighter. "I think it's a great idea."

*

Reba

Reba was surprisedwhen Diane burst into the veterinarian trailer while she was waiting for the results to finish.

"I need to talk to Reba alone. Take the ten minutes," Diane said to Dr. Victor and the two vet techs who were still there, packing up the gear for travel.

"What's up?" Reba asked when they had cleared out. She was dead on her feet, but she wasn't going to rest until the lab results were done.

"Are you standing behind your findings that Shane Calland's bull Sverre was not given any performance-enhancing drugs?"

"That's right. I'm running a second test to verify now. What's this all about?"

"Are you sleeping with him?"

"That's none of your damn business." Reba put her hands on her hips.

"It is, if he's being accused of drugging his bulls and you are the veterinarian in charge of the test results."

Reba felt like someone had slapped her across the face. "How dare you accuse me of falsifying records. I've never done anything like that in my life." Damn it, it was just like being back in Dr. Kilgore's review meeting. She was automatically in the wrong. Reba hated that feeling—then and now.

"I'm not accusing you of anything," Diane said. "But you have to admit, it looks suspicious."

"Bullshit," Reba said. "My relationship with Shane has nothing to do with the test results. I wouldn't lie for him. I wouldn't lie for anyone who was hurting animals. And you should know that. Shane is a good man. He did not dope up his bulls. He doesn't need to. Maybe instead of this being a witch hunt and everybody pointing fingers at Shane, we should start to look and see who would gain the most if Shane's bulls failed."

"Now you're sounding like you have some conspiracy theories."

"Can you blame me? I'm feeling a little bit paranoid here because you're accusing me of shit that I didn't do."

"Reba, no one is accusing you of anything. But before they do, I don't want you to test any more bulls. And these results won't mean anything."

"I didn't do anything wrong," Reba said. Not back then and certainly not right now. But it didn't matter, did it?

"And now, no one can accuse you of favoritism, or worse falsifying records, since you're no longer going to be involved with testing bulls."

"So what am I supposed to do? Sit on my thumbs while the rest the team does double work?"

"There are plenty of things for you to do at the rodeos. There's always going to be horses needing assistance, as well as the minor things that come up throughout the week. But you're off of bull duty."

"That's not fair, and you know it. It shouldn't matter who I'm sleeping or not sleeping with."

"I agree," Diane said. "But it does matter. You don't want to have the gossips ruin your reputation. So humor me and keep your career on track. I'm doing this to protect you."

"Really?" Reba said. "Because it sounds like you're covering your ass."

"That, too," Diane said. "The two aren't mutually exclusive."

"This is a demotion. It's bullshit and unfair." And it felt exactly like it had when no one believed her that Dr. Kilgore behaved inappropriately.

"I'm sorry you feel that way."

"How am I supposed to feel? If I hadn't been dating Shane, would this conversation have ever happened?"

"No."

"Then I'm guilty until proven innocent. Who told you about us?" Reba asked. "We haven't been together long."

"That doesn't matter."

"It does if someone is trying to set me or Shane up."

"Are you listening to yourself? You sound ultra-paranoid. Reba, it's just for a little while. If it doesn't happen again, we can revisit your job duties in a few months. And if it does happen again, you have a chance of saving your reputation by not being directly involved with the testing."

"Shane didn't drug his bulls."

"I hope you're right." Diane said. "I'll have someone look at these final results and let you know the outcome. Report to my office when you get to Odessa."

It took everything in her not to slam the trailer door when Reba stormed out. Dr. Victor was hanging out nearby and he looked like he was going to say something to her, but she glared at him until he thought better of it.

This was utter bullshit. It must have something to do with UPRC limiting the breeders down to only three. This had to be the work of a rival breeder trying to discredit Shane. And the worst part of all of this was Ronnie Sunderland died because of somebody's greed. Reba knew in her heart that Shane hadn't drugged the bull.

Reba called Dolly to let her know what was going on. She was glad when Dolly shouted, "That's a load of horseshit." It felt good that her sister had her back.

"What are you going to do?" Dolly said, immediately meeting her at the beer tent.

"I've half a mind to just up and quit," Reba said. "But aside from this recent nonsense, I really did like this job."

"Do you want me to ask around to other rodeos?" Dolly asked.

"I can do that myself," Reba said. "I'm pissed off, but I'm not at that level of pissed off just yet. If worst comes to worst, I can always ask Lou if he wants to hire me on. Maybe even Shane's family would be interested in having me on staff."

Her heart fluttered a little at the thought of going back to Montana.

"Honey, I don't think either one of them can afford a full-time vet. You'd be back to traveling around the states going to various rodeos, filling in when needed."

Just what she didn't want to do. Go backwards. She was not going back to an office. That was for damned sure.

"Keep your head down. Do the job they want you to do. They're not going to cut your salary, are they?"

"Diane didn't mention it."

"Then suck it up for a few weeks and do the grunt work. They'll put you back in the lab when the other doc gets sick of covering for you."

"I guess you're right," Reba grumbled. It still pissed her off, though. This had been her dream job and one little stumble had turned it into a nightmare. She had to wonder, though, if there was something bigger going on that she wasn't aware of. She walked back to the veterinary trailer to grab her purse that she had left inside before going home to her kitten-less RV. She missed the little fuzz balls already.

She opened the trailer door and Dr. Victor turned in surprise. "What are you doing back here?"

"Just getting my purse. I'm on call tonight anyway while everyone's packing up to leave. Did you get roped into checking the results?"

"Yeah, they're still working." The in-house testing that they did took a few hours.

"Can you let me know when they're done?"

Victor shook his head. "Diane asked me not to share them with anyone, but I'm sure you can call her tomorrow morning."

"Yeah," Reba said, stuffing down the frustration. "Have a nice night." She didn't want to take out her bad mood on him. It wasn't his fault she had been taken off the testing.

She was surprised to see Dolly still waiting outside for her.

"I've got to go and get some action shots of Sverre," she said. "Jackson Blevins wants to put some videos out on YouTube. I guess he's trying to mitigate the bad press. At least, I hope so," Dolly muttered.

"Let's take the golf cart," Reba said, snatching the keys. Since she was on call, she wanted to have her kit with her in case something exciting happened. Although, they all could probably do with a little less excitement around here.

"It's a shit show tonight," Dolly said sadly.

In the after hours of the rodeo, there was usually a party atmosphere. But tonight, there was a solemn pall over everything.

"A few of the cowboys started a small bonfire and a bunch of people are toasting Ronnie Sunderland and sharing stories."

"That's nice," Reba said.

"And then there's the dumbasses who are picking fights with each other and grieving that way."

"It's understandable," Reba said.

"It's dangerous, that's what it is." Dolly wrapped her sweater around herself and shuddered. "Poor Vanessa. Poor Ronnie."

"Poor Shane."

"Him, too." Dolly sighed. "This really sucks. Especially, when I think about LeAnn riding a bull."

"Don't even go there," Reba said.

"I know. I can't help it."

As they drove by the horse barn, they saw Shane storming out of it with a buckle bunny chasing after him.

"Don't you walk away from me, Shane Calland."

"Oh shit," Dolly said. "That's his ex-wife, Abigail. She's engaged to Keith Kilgore."

Reba made a face. She hoped Keith wasn't around. That would be the cherry on the shit sundae if she ran into him or his uncle. Hopefully, Dr. Kilgore was back in Paris, Texas.

"Abigail, go home," Shane said, turning toward her.

That was when Abigail flung herself into Shane's arms and kissed him.

"Don't run her over," Dolly said, hanging on for dear life as Reba put her foot down on the pedal. But by the time it took for the little golf cart to burst forward, Shane had put Abigail out at arm's length.

"No, Abigail. It ain't happening. I'm not interested. I know you're hurting and you're sad. I am, too. But you are not the one I want to be with."

"Oh shit, this is some next-level drama," Dolly said.

Reba pulled up alongside the couple. "Going my way, cowboy?" she asked.

"Definitely." Shane climbed into the back seat of the golf cart.

His ass had barely touched down when Reba put her foot back on the gas pedal. She resisted the urge to flip off his ex-wife.

"Thanks for the rescue," he said. "I'd like to say she's not normally like that and this is all just the reaction to Ronnie's death, but she's always like that. I'm sorry you had to see that."

"I'm not," Reba said.

It proved to her that Shane wasn't the same party animal that he had been when he was on the circuit. He could have taken what Abigail was offering, and yet he didn't. They hadn't even had the "exclusive" talk yet, so she couldn't have blamed him. And yet, it warmed her heart that he hadn't wanted to kiss his ex.

"I'm Dolly," her sister said, holding out her hand to shake. "I'm sorry about what happened today."

"Thank you. It's rough for everyone."

"I'm going to need to be an intrusive bitch. Jackson Blevins wants some footage of Sverre. I know you probably mind like hell. If I could get out of it, I would. But it could help ease some tensions from outside publicity if I could take some pictures of Sverre tonight."

"Sorry," Shane said. "He's already gone and on his way to Brady."

"What's in Brady?" Reba asked.

"We rent a pasture on a farm out there when we're at the Texas rodeos. It's about four hours, give or take, from anywhere we need to be. It beats driving twenty-four hours straight back home. Although"—he rubbed the back of his neck wearily—"I considered it after today."

"Have you talked to your family?" Reba asked.

"Yeah, they're devastated. They want to bring Sverre home. I'm not sure what the UPRC wants to do yet. Jackson Blevins wants to have a conference call with me tomorrow. I'm not sure what he's going to say. He's the boss. We'll do what he wants."

"He is at that," Dolly said. "Anyway, we'll find a way to make things right for Ronnie and Vanessa."

"And Sverre," Reba said.

"Him, too."

"Do you think you could give me the address to your Brady farm and permission to let me and a camera crew visit to film Sverre tomorrow?" Dolly asked.

"I'll call the farm. I'm not sure about the timing, though. He might be going back to Montana in the next few days."

"Whatever you can arrange would be great. Reba, can I bunk with you tonight?"

Reba really wanted some alone time with Shane and opened her mouth to say that to her sister, but Shane squeezed her hand.

"I'm not going to be great company tonight. I think I'm going to curl up with a bottle of whiskey and drink myself to sleep. I'm exhausted, so it shouldn't take too long."

"Oh, okay." A little pang of hurt lodged in her chest. She had wanted to be there for him, and if she was honest she wanted to sleep in his arms tonight and be comforted because of the feelings Diane's bullshit had brought up. But she shouldn't be so selfish.

"Just drop me off at the front office," Dolly said. "I've got to grab a few things. I'll meet you back at the Winnebago."

She swung the golf cart around and drove to the main area. After Dolly hopped off, Shane came around and sat next to her.

"This has been a real shitty day." He slung his arm around her. "Thanks for being here for me. Do you want to grab a beer while we wait for the test results?"

"About that," Reba sighed. "My boss kicked me off the drug testing because I'm sleeping with you."

"Shit." Shane hugged her to him. "I'm so fucking sorry."

It felt great to be hugged. "It's not your fault. I'd like to know how they found out we were together."

"Fucking cowboys gossip like it's their job," he grumbled.

"You'll probably find out the test results before I do," she said. "But if I hear anything I'll let you know. I wish I wasn't on call tonight. I'd join you in that bottle of whiskey."

"It's not going to be a pretty sight."

"I'm not just in this for the parties and the great sex." She tipped her head back and kissed him. The tingles she felt when their lips touched washed away some of the blues. She realized she was tired as hell, too. "I'm here for you."

"I appreciate that," he said, touching his forehead against hers. "I'm not used to someone like you. Abigail bolted at the first sign of trouble."

"I'm not Abigail."

"And thank God for that," he said. "I'll make it up to you in Odessa, I promise."

"I'll make sure Dolly gets a hotel room."

They shared a grin.

"I'm sorry again about your job."

"It'll blow over. Things will get back to normal."

"Not for Vanessa," Shane said sadly.

Reba hadn't liked her, but she wouldn't have wished this on anyone. "No, I guess not. Ronnie was a great guy."

Reba drove him back to where his truck was parked. "Don't drink and drive. Call me if you need me."

"I do need you." He gave her another toe-curling kiss and then reluctantly got into his truck. As she watched him drive away, hurting for him and for Vanessa, Reba realized that she needed him, too.