Shannon Vannatter - Reuniting With The Cowboy

Ally gestured to the man. “This is Dr. Lance Bridges, the other vet here at my clinic. Cody is our new neighbor. He took Bruno and the three strays I got in yesterday, just in the knick of time. I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow.”

“Nice meeting you.” Cody clasped hands with Lance.

“Likewise.”

“You go on home. I’m sure Erin has your supper ready.”

“See you tomorrow.” As Dr. Bridges turned away, a younger man approached. Blond, midtwenties.

“Some first day, huh, Derek?”

“I loved every minute of it.” The younger man smiled, scratched the kitten Ally held under its chin. His hand dangerously close to hers.

Huh? Was he flirting with Ally?

Was this guy an assistant? Or working on being her boyfriend?

Ally pushed stray strands of hair away from her face. “You tell that sweet wife of yours I’ll try not to keep you this late on a daily basis.”

Whew. Thankfully the guy was married.

But what should it matter? Ally’s love life was none of Cody’s concern. It couldn’t be.

“Don’t worry. Brandy understands my work.” The guy turned to the door.

“Where are my manners?” Ally stood, brushed the hay off the seat of her jeans. “This is Cody Warren. We were friends all through school, and now he lives next door. Derek Tatum is my new veterinary technician.”

“It’s nice to meet you. I’ll see you tomorrow, Ally.”

“Make that Tuesday. Have a nice, long Labor Day weekend. With so many ranches in Aubrey, we have more cattle vacs scheduled as usual. But maybe there won’t be any emergencies.”

“But you’re working tomorrow and Monday. If it’s all the same to you, I’d just as soon do the same.”

“If you’re sure.”

“I am.” With a wave, Derek left them alone.

Ally set the kitten down and it curled around her ankle. “So what about the land?”

He’d hoped she’d forget about the issue. “I can’t sell you any of it.”

“Why not?” Her shoulders slumped. “Just an acre? A half an acre?”

His only option was to be as honest as he could. “I’m only leasing it.” What were the odds of her talking to his parents about his land anyway?

“But yesterday you said you bought it.”

“No, you said I bought it. I decided to test the ranching thing out before doing anything permanent.” Great. He’d just reinforced her notion that he had commitment issues.

“Oh.” The corners of her mouth tipped down and she stood. “I’m really tired and I can’t wait to get cleaned up. Do you want me to walk you across the yard?”

It was tempting to lean on her. But not advisable.

“I’ll be fine. I’ll go nice and slow.” He opened the door for her.

She exited and he followed. By the time he’d made five steps, she’d already reached her back door. Not sparing him another glance, she slipped inside and closed it.

So much for talking about the kiss. It seemed as if without saying a word, they both agreed to forget it. At least things weren’t quite as strained between them. Though maybe that would’ve been preferable.

Ally was his friend. And that was all she could be. So why did he have to keep reminding himself of that?

* * *

Ally stepped into the mudroom, where excited yips greeted her. “Hey, Foxy. Hey, Wolf.” The two puffballs danced for her attention. “Did y’all miss me today?”

Peering through the blinds, she watched Cody slowly hobble to his house. He’d saved her from a written reprimand. But he wouldn’t sell her any land, because he was only leasing. Which meant he probably wasn’t staying.

He frustrated the daylights out of her. So she wouldn’t coddle him. He was an adult. If he was goofy enough to insist on living alone and walking on his bad leg without any help, that was his problem. She didn’t have the time or energy to babysit him while he played rancher next door. On the land he’d leased right out from under her.

She pulled off her manure-caked boots and picked a Pom up in each arm, snuggling them close. They stilled, except for their noses.

“Busted. Mama traitored—petting countless other dogs and cats again.” The sniffing stopped and kisses took over. With both cheeks sufficiently licked, she set them down.

“Mom?”

“In the living room. Did the emergency surgery go okay?”

“Yep, she’ll be fine. Derek was a great help to Lance with the vaccinations.” She strolled into the living room. Home. She loved this house. The worn plank flooring and walls, beams across the ceilings, and ancient windows. Comfortable, unpretentious and cozy.

“Did Dr. Bridges leave already?” Mom was in her jammies, curled up on the couch with a book.

“A few minutes ago.” Ally couldn’t wait to soak in the bathtub for an hour. Except for Mom’s weekly book club meetings, they both were usually in for the evening by six o’clock. Such exciting lives they led. Probably should get out more.

Maybe she’d have more oomph at the end of the day with Derek around. Most applicants would have waited until Tuesday to start work, but she was thankful for his eagerness.

Today’s ranch vaccinations had been so much easier with help, and when she’d gotten the emergency call, Derek had been able to stay with Lance and finish. Best of all, she didn’t ache quite as much with an extra set of hands at work.

Wolf and Foxy pranced circles around her, offering unconditional love—even though she’d been with other critters all day.

“Y’all don’t care who I play with, do ya?” Her high-pitched tone sent the tiny bundles of energy into excited jitters and she settled on the floor, leaning against the couch. The Poms fought for lap space, then stilled as she stroked their soft coats. “You’ll never guess who showed up after you left, though.”

“I saw you with Cody after I got out of the shower.”

“He arrived just as the state inspector was about to write me up for having too many cats. Cody took Bruno and the three I got in yesterday and saved the day.” And rubbed her shoulders. She could still feel his touch.

“I wonder why the inspector came again. Good thing Cody was there to be your hero.”

“Until I asked him to sell me an acre and he admitted he’s only leasing the land.” She picked up Foxy and rubbed noses with her. “What’s up with that, Foxy?”

The only problem with furry friends—they never answered back.

Wolf let out a yip.

Not in people language, anyway.

“Maybe once his lease is up, you can buy the acreage. It’ll work out.” Mom gave her an encouraging smile. “Just have faith.”

Mom’s words stung. Faith was exactly what she didn’t have.

Why couldn’t her new neighbor have been someone else? A single woman living alone, or a family with a mom who needed adult companionship. Someone who could have at least sold her an acre or two. And who didn’t stir such confusing feelings in her. Even some animal-hating grouch. Anyone other than landlocking Cody.

Though he probably wouldn’t even stay put. Which, as her mom had pointed out, could be good for her. He wouldn’t even be here if not for his injuries and she was sure he’d head back to the circuit just as soon as he could hobble there.

If Cody moved on, she’d get another chance to convince the owner to sell her a parcel of the land. But that meant Cody would run out on her like before. When she’d needed him most. She had to stay away from him in order to survive this go-round.

For as long as she could remember, Cody had gone from one obsession to the next, never sticking with anything for long. Baseball, basketball, fishing, hunting, soccer, football, racquetball and finally rodeo. He’d pursued rodeo far longer than anything else.