Chapter Five

Shane

San Antonio, TX

Shane pulled into the ATT Center, where the San Antonio rodeo was going to take place. He was there early, but it was still a nightmare to park and then it was hurry up and wait while they told him where to drive the trailer with the bulls. It was even longer until he and his assistant, Pat, got the bulls settled in their pens along with food and water. Pat took the trailer back to the parking area while Shane finished up registering the bulls with the stock coordinator. Once all the paperwork was complete, he texted Reba.

Are we still on for dinner?

Yes. Where are you?

I'm at the bullpens. Where do you want to meet?

This place is a zoo. Meet me by expo booth #2. I'm just finishing up some livestock checks.

Good enough.

With a last look at his bulls, Shane consulted the map of the center on his phone and headed over to the expo booths. Out of the corner of his eyes, though, he saw a flash of something moving by a few trash bags that had been flung against one of the makeshift buildings.

"Probably rats," he thought, not slowing down. But then he saw a flash of white and orange and he turned to look.

A kitten?

Walking over, he crouched down and, sure enough, there was a white and orange patched one, a black one, a white one, and a gray striped one.

"What are you guys doing here?" And then Shane saw the hole in the plastic bag where they'd ripped their way out. Some son of a bitch had thrown out kittens. Shane didn't stop to think. He picked them up and put them inside the wide pockets of his coat, two in each. He wasn't quite sure what he was going to do with them, but he knew he had to get them some food and water.

Good thing he was heading toward a vet.

"Hey," he said, when he saw Reba leaning against the exhibit booth.

She smiled up at him and then did a double take. "Are those kittens in your pockets or are you just glad to see me?"

"Some shitbird abandoned these babies. I know we had dinner plans, but do you think you can check them out."

"Of course. Come on, we can take the golf cart to the clinic."

"Are you sure you don't mind?"

"Not at all. Just hold on to them and make sure they don't jump out."

"They seem to be pretty happy to be in there. Must be because of my fleece-lined pockets. Or maybe because I had some beef jerky in there a few days ago." Shane slid into the seat next to her and put his hands near the kittens while Reba put the golf cart into gear.

She drove like a maniac, not bothering to swerve out of the way if someone was in her path. Shane loved the look of absolute horror on the pedestrian's face when they realized they were going to get run over if they didn't move their ass.

The clinic was another temporary building. There were three people inside and he could hear walkie-talkie chat from a few other people.

"Let's take a look at the babies."

Shane put them all on the towel that Reba laid out on a stainless-steel table. They mewed in indignation until one of the vet techs brought over a shallow pan of water and then a few tubes of kitten food.

"We had some of these in stock, but it's the last of it. Just squeeze it and they'll lick the food out."

One by one, Reba weighed the kittens and gave them a quick examination. "All in all, they're relatively healthy," she said. "A little dehydrated and malnourished, but that's to be expected. They were lucky you found them when you did. What are you going to do with them?"

"Can any local shelters take them?" he asked.

"I can call around," the vet tech said.

"Maybe we can get the ASPCA to try and adopt them out at the rodeo?" another vet tech said.

"Get on that," Reba said. "Can we leave them here while we grab dinner?"

"Sure, but I don't want to leave them here overnight. We don't have the supplies for taking care of these guys."

"I can take them for tonight. Just don't tell my parents," Reba said.

"We'll stop by a pet store, too, for supplies before we come back," Shane said.

"Just don't be too late. They're locking us up at nine."

Shane glanced at his phone. "Maybe we should take a rain check on dinner." He hated to cancel, but he'd be worried about the kittens being stuck overnight.

"I got a better idea," Reba said. "Let's take the kittens with us now. We'll stop by the pet store and then head back to my Winnebago and order a pizza."

Shane couldn't believe his luck. Abigail would have had a five-star hissy fit if Shane had suggested something like that. "Are you sure that's okay?"

Reba squinted at him. "You're not one of those pineapple and bacon people, are you?"

Even if he was, Shane would have lied through his teeth. "No, ma'am."

"Good."

"Throw in a detour to the liquor store for some beer, and you got yourself a deal," Shane said. He put the sleepy kittens back into his pockets. "Let's take my truck. My assistant probably has it unhitched from the trailer by now." He called Pat just to check, and even though there were bar noises in the background, Pat assured him that he would take care of anything else that came up tonight.

When they got to the truck, Shane carefully took off his jacket and put it on the bench seat between him and Reba. "You're going to have to wrangle the kittens while I drive."

"We weren't expecting anything but large animals at the vet trailer," she said. "Otherwise, I could have borrowed a cage or a carrier." After locking in her seatbelt, she arranged the kittens in a furry puddle and stroked them as they settled down. "They seem pretty tuckered out, though."

He fiddled with his GPS until he found the nearest pet store and drove to it. After parking, he pulled out his wallet and handed her a hundred-dollar bill. The way he was dropping C-notes lately, his budget was going to take a hit. It was much easier when he brought in his own money, riding bulls.

"I'll stay here with the kittens," he said. "Is this enough to get supplies?"

"If I only get one carrier for them, yes. Don't worry. I'll make it work."

"You guys are expensive," he said to them. The orange and white one yawned at him. The rest of them were fast asleep.

Reba came back in a few minutes. The kittens roused when she placed them in the padded carrier. They gave a few token protests, but when she added in a felted mouse they were distracted enough to stop yelling.

Next stop was the liquor store. This time Shane went in and left Reba watching the kittens. "What kind of beer do you like?" he asked.

"The alcoholic kind."

"Be specific or I might come back with sour fruit-flavored beer."

"Beer-flavored beer," Reba clarified with a smile that made him feel goofy.

He couldn't wait to have a nice, relaxing evening with her. He made a beeline to the refrigerator section and grabbed a six-pack of an IPA and six-pack of an amber ale. When he came back to the truck, Reba said, "I ordered the pizza. Meatball okay with you?"

"Sure."

She gave him the directions to the pizza place, and he swung by there to pick it up and then they headed back to the parking area where her Winnebago was. Parking alongside it, Shane said, "Grab the pizza. I'll take in everything else."

He brought in the kittens and their gear next and then went back out for the beer. The Winnebago was larger on the inside than he thought it would be. Reba had placed the pizza on a table and was setting up the two litter box pans next to a door he assumed was the bathroom. She put out a bowl of water and kitten crunchies before opening the door to the cat carrier. The four kittens stayed in there while Reba served him up two slices of pizza, but as she opened the beer, the orange and white one poked its head out.

"What are you going to name them?" she asked. "That one and the gray striped one are boys."

"If I name them, I'll get attached," he said.

"They do grow on you," she said. "I might be able to convince Dolly and LeAnn to each take one. LeAnn and Dylan live on a big farm with Lou when they're not traveling. But Lou might not watch out for a kitten while they're traveling to rodeos. Dolly has an apartment, but she'd be more inclined to get a pet sitter when she wasn't home."

"It might be easier to adopt them out to people at the rodeo event," he said. But then the perfect names hit him. "The orange and white one is Huginn and the gray one is Muninn."

"Why?" she asked.

"Those were the names of Odin's ravens. Thought and reason is what it translates to."

"I think that's wishful thinking."

"The two little girls should be Hildr and Sigrun, battle and victory."

"Those sound more kitten-related. Is this a thing for you? Giving weird names to your animals?"

"You need to honor the animal with a noble name to have them grow into. Or does that sound weird?" Maybe he should just stick to stuffing pizza in his mouth.

"No, I get it. It's like you wouldn't want to name a puppy Puddles."

Shane chuckled, feeling a warmth in his chest as Reba smiled at him. "Exactly. I want them to have strong names that reflect their personalities." He took a sip of his beer and glanced over at Reba. "Speaking of personalities, I have to admit, I'm really enjoying spending time with you." Being with her felt easy, natural, and right.

"I feel the same way," she replied, looking bashful. "It's nice to talk to someone who loves and appreciates animals like I do."

He nodded in agreement, watching the kittens play with each other. "I think they're starting to show their personalities now," he said, gesturing toward Hildr and Sigrun.

They watched the kittens play, smiling at their antics.

"What's it like being a traveling vet?" he asked, taking another slice of pizza. He liked the Winnebago. It had all the comforts of home, as well as the additions of personality that were better than the generic hotel rooms he stayed in while he was on the road.

"I like not being cooped up in an office, but other than that it's pretty much the same. Although, I do spend more time with the animals than with their owners and most of the time I appreciate that."

"I hear ya," he said, clinking beer bottles with her. "Sometimes I'd rather be with the bulls than deal with my father and brother. Although, they're just as stubborn."

"At least they stay home. For a while, my parents and my three sisters were hauling it across country together in this RV."

Shane looked around and couldn't picture that many people living in such close quarters. "I think I would have forgotten my brother at one of the rodeos and then changed the locks."

"It almost came down to that. But then my parents decided life on the road wasn't for them and LeAnn got a boyfriend. So it was Dolly and me for a bit until Dolly got a full-time job in Dallas. She's got an apartment there, but like I said before, she does do some traveling as well when they need her to do live public relation gigs."

"It sounds like you're all close."

"We are. Being on the road brought us closer together. I was grateful that they were there for me when I had to leave my office job."

"What happened?" he asked, hoping he wasn't prying. He normally didn't add a lot to conversations, but he was truly interested in what Reba was going to say.

"Remember that guy from the Paris rodeo?"

"The creeper?"

"Dr. Kilgore. He's an abusive prick. I used to work for him, and he made every day a living hell. Have you ever had a boss like that?"

"Can't say that I did, but I do have an ex-wife, so I can sorta relate."

"Did your wife throw things when she got mad?"

"No, she was a screamer."

"So was Dr. Kilgore. Only he liked to smash things as well. He was a wall puncher, for the most part. But one day, I guess he decided he liked the noise glass made when it breaks. He started sweeping things off desks and chucking mugs against doors."

"He sounds like a real asshole."

"He liked intimidating the staff. Well, one day, he let fly with a jar and it literally exploded when it hit the wall. I caught shrapnel." Reba gestured to her face. "I quit the next day."

Shane knew he didn't like the son of a bitch for a reason. "Did you press charges?"

"I was going to, but I sold out for a big check and a glowing recommendation." She shrugged.

"Is he still pulling that shit in the office?"

"I don't know. I know he always had a high turnover rate. I had been one of the last to go. I'm not sure if he found more suckers to work for him or if he made his wife and kids pitch in. This was the first time I had seen him in person in three years. Now, he's all over the place. I was pissed when Lou outed me to him. Now, I'm afraid that he's going to keep showing up to visit his nephew and make the excuse to see me."

"Has he got a thing for you?"

Reba paused. She looked down at her fingers. "I don't think so."

"You want me to beat the shit out of him?"

Yes.

No.

Shane saw the words flash across her face.

He was serious. He'd go looking for the son of a bitch. All Reba had to do was say the words. She reached over and squeezed his hand. "Kilgore's the type of guy who has to be the hero of everyone's story. And he knows he's the villain in mine. He tried bribery, gaslighting, and intimidation to get me to admit that the office wasn't as bad as it really was. As you can imagine, I stand by my account of things."

"As you should. Was there something else that happened?"

She stared off in the distance.

That was a yes. But he wouldn't push if she didn't want to tell him.

"It's over and I don't want to think about it anymore." She squeezed his hand again. "You can help me with that, I think."

"Anything you need."

He didn't understand the husky chuckle she gave him, but he was intrigued. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news," he said, "but you might be seeing him at the rodeos more frequently."

She made a face. "Why?"

"How much do you know about how the UPRC gets their bulls for the events?"

"I assume they take bids from the breeders and go with the ones that have the best bulls for the cheapest price."

Shane nodded. "It's a little more complicated than that, but that's the gist of it. You've got to have a stellar reputation."

Reba nodded. "Of course."

"Except now, from what I hear, the rodeo is thinking of changing their policy to only deal with a few breeders and your Dr. Kilgore is determined to be one of them."

Reba scoffed. "That's ridiculous. He doesn't know the first thing about raising rodeo bulls."

"I think he's looking to bring you on to help him out with that."

Now she snorted. "That'll be a cold day in hell."

"Just thought I'd give you the heads-up."

"Thanks, I appreciate it." She shook her head in disbelief. "How is that new policy going to affect your ranch?"

"We'll probably bid for one of the open positions, but I'm not happy about the exclusivity clause that they're proposing. So far, I haven't seen a contract and it's all just discussion at this point. Our bottom line is going to take a hit if we're no longer supplying the UPRC, but we'll just concentrate on breeding and putting our bulls into the smaller rodeos." He sighed. "It stinks, though."

"I hadn't heard they were going to do that. Any idea why?"

"They're trying to stop the blood testing for the animals. Said it's unnecessary if they're dealing with dedicated breeders."

Reba stared at her beer bottle and fiddled with the label, pulling it off in slow tugs. "I'm not so sure about that, but it could be that they'll look to cut down on the veterinary staff if that comes about." She made a face. "I could be out of a job. That sucks, too. This is the perfect job for me."

"Let's not go counting our chickens before they hatch. Or in this case, calves before they're birthed, I guess. I didn't mean to bring the mood down."

"It's okay," she said. "I'd rather be forewarned. It's just that I was just starting to settle into the job. The idea of starting over isn't really appealing to me."

"I think we're both on the same page."

"I've noticed we're a lot alike," she said.

There was a supercharged moment when they just looked at each other. Reba was a damned fine-looking woman, and he wanted to kiss her. He leaned in. She tilted her face up. He very slowly brushed his lips against hers. Time stopped. He lost his breath. Her eyelashes fluttered down. He kissed her again. It was sweet and sexy.

"You're a nice guy," she said, cupping his face.

"A nice guy wouldn't be having thoughts like this," he said hoarsely. His pulse was hammering, and his jeans were getting uncomfortably tight.

"You rescued kittens." Reba stroked his cheek. "That's superhero status in my book."

"I'm no superhero. Just a beat-up old bull rider," he said.

"Do you miss it?" she asked, tugging a strand of hair behind her very nibbleable ear.

"Every damned day." It must have been the beer talking because Shane hadn't realized that was going to come out of his mouth and the truth in it was raw.

He leaned back, getting comfortable on the chair. There would be more time for kissing later, he hoped. He liked getting to know her, even if she was asking some tough questions about things he'd rather not think about.

"Why?" she asked.

"The reasons have changed over the years. At first, it was the excitement. Followed shortly by the money. Then it was the lifestyle. My ex-wife was especially upset to be grounded at my family's cattle ranch. It's what ended our relationship."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Reba said.

"She wanted a husband who was a rodeo star. She had one for about six months. Then when it became clear that my ankle would not allow me to ride professionally anymore, she tried to be a rancher's wife. She didn't try very hard," he said with a small grin. "And that was that."

"She was an idiot."

"Thank you for saying that. How about you, has there been an idiot in your life?"

"More than one. My brand of idiots tend to resent the job after a few midnight calls to help a sick animal or being late to dinner because a birth is going badly."

"You'd think they'd know what they were getting into," Shane said.

"You would think that." She returned his small grin. "And the rodeo cowboys I see on a daily basis aren't my idea of a good time."

"Ouch," he said with a hand over his heart. "Are you saying I wouldn't have had a chance?"

"Not even a little bit," she said. "Then," she added on quickly.

"Then," he said slowly. "Well, how about now?"

Reba gave him a shy smile. "I guess we'll find out, won't we?"