Suzanne Cox - One Man To Protect Them

Her mom was right. It wasn’t likely that Eric was off enjoying himself somewhere while an appendage with his watch on it was buried near Cypress Landing. She twirled a napkin while her mother finished eating.

“Why didn’t anyone tell me what was going on?”

Taking a sip of her coffee, Evette studied her. “What do you mean?”

“You know exactly what I’m saying. These idiots writing slurs on the garage and calling the kids names—why did Caitland and Robert stay? Why didn’t they move when they adopted the kids? They should have known there’d be trouble when they tried to raise mixed-race children here.”

Evette pushed the empty bowl away. “They stayed because this is their home and they didn’t care what people said. The boys will have to confront those attitudes their whole life.”

“But it’s worse here because of that damn Militia. I can’t believe they’re still harassing people like that.”

“What did you think when you left? It would go away?”

“No, but I thought the law would put those people in jail.”

“They do put them in jail, then others take their place. And then they get out of jail anyway. But why am I telling you this? You were part of it. You understand how it works.”

The air went out of Jayden as if she’d been punched. She expected comments like that now that she was home, just not from her own mother. “I was not part of that. I’ve told you a million times. I would never have been part of it.” She squirmed in her chair. She didn’t want to have this conversation again. It wouldn’t change anything.

“That’s not what I meant. Mark Dubois lived in it and you were his girlfriend.”

“And because of that I’m as guilty of murder as he was.”

“I didn’t say that.” Her mother patted her leg.

“No, I did, because I know how people in this town think.”

“It doesn’t matter now. These two boys need us, you and me. That’s more important than people’s theories.”

“I guess I wasn’t prepared to deal with the Militia and the past right now.” Jayden went to the sink and clunked the last bowl in the dishwasher. “I better go to work.”

Evette followed her. “None of us want to have trouble with the Militia. But we’ll get by.”

Jayden yelled for Kasey and the two of them hurried to her brother-in-law’s old farm truck. The door creaked when she opened it but she didn’t care. It was handy for taking to work, especially if she had to drive to someone’s farm to treat a sick cow. Besides, it had belonged to Robert and she wanted to keep it for the boys.

JAYDEN PERUSED THE TABLE covered with plastic bottles, syringes and whatever else she could think of that might be needed to stitch a few cuts on a horse. She was waiting in the barn where they worked on large animals, which was attached by a breezeway to the main clinic. She could see Jeffrey Sabine at the rear door of the office talking on the cordless phone. He went into the building and she tapped her foot, fiddling with the disinfectant for the tenth time.

“He’s on his way with the horse,” Jeffrey said as he crossed the breezeway. “Says he has several bad cuts.”

“How did he let his horse get cut?”

Jeffrey regarded her skeptically.

“Sorry,” she added. “I don’t mean to sound negative.”

“Right, but you did and it would be better if you got rid of that attitude before he gets here. I didn’t ask what happened. If I need to know I’ll ask later.”

He inspected the supplies. “Did you get the twitch?”

She groaned before starting for the storage room. Naturally, she’d forgotten something.

“Relax, Jayden. After you’ve worked with the big animals more you’ll get used to them. I know you’re used to working with dogs and cats, but I need you to do small and large here.”

She placed the sticklike object with a chain on the end on the table. It resembled a torture device more than anything else. Of course, Jeffrey wouldn’t use it unless he had to, if the horse wouldn’t stand still. But Jayden hated it.

“Come on, J. What happens if I go on vacation and a client has an emergency with a horse or cow?”

“They could always use another vet.”

“Oh, yeah, that’s a great idea. A plus for business, don’t you think?”

“You have to admit I’m getting better. It’s only been a few weeks.”

He grinned. “You’re much improved. In the country you can’t afford to be so specialized. That’s the difference between Cypress Landing and Beverly Hills. You’ll get used to it.”

She gave Jeffrey an answering grin, even though she knew there were many bigger differences between Cypress Landing and Beverly Hills. He was right about one thing, she would adjust. She had to. When she’d arrived home after the accident, Jeffrey had been one of the first people to stop and see her. They’d been friends since grade school. He’d immediately offered her a job in his clinic if she decided to stay. Like she’d had a choice. Her mother had gawked at her as if she’d suggested moving to Mars when she’d wanted to move the whole family back to California. And Jayden couldn’t make it without help. If she had to meet the challenge of raising two kids, she needed to do it where she had plenty of support, and that was here.

A truck, towing a horse trailer behind, roared into the drive.

“This will be a nice test for you.” Jeffrey laughed as he hurried toward the vehicle.

She couldn’t wait.

HE COULD SEE HER in the door of the barn. Luke knew when he left his house that Jayden Miller would be at the clinic. He remembered every detail from yesterday: her line of work, the color of her hair with the sun on it, the shine in those baby blues, that she was raising two kids, that she was Caitland’s sister. The red stallion kicked the side of the trailer as Luke eased him backward. When his feet hit the ground, he danced sideways and half reared.

“I see Thor’s happy to be here.” Jeffrey smiled and gripped the halter when the horse finally settled all four feet on the ground. Luke grunted and the vet let go, so that he could lead the horse to the treatment area.

“What have you done to this animal?” Jayden demanded.

He looked at her standing in the entryway of the building and wished he didn’t feel that twinge in his midsection simply because she was there. His horse had three cuts that would definitely need stitches. But for her to assume he was at fault made his skin itch.

“I didn’t do this to him. He managed to figure out the new lock on the gate and took off early this morning. He got into a neighbor’s barbed-wire fence.”

She glared at him, and he felt guilty, as if he should have known the horse could open the gate, even though the guy at the farm store had promised him it was escape proof.

“He’s underweight, too. Aren’t you feeding him?”

Luke glanced at Jeffrey, who grimaced at his partner’s words. “Yeah, I’m feeding him.” The horse skittered along, nearly bumping the barn door as Luke led him in. He caught the halter and put a steadying hand on the animal’s neck, making low clucking noises in his throat until the horse was calm. He frowned at her. “Do you think we can save the interrogation until we get done?” he snapped.

She was definitely as attractive as he remembered. Thankfully, she had an attitude that would make her easy to resist. Right now he wanted to get away as quickly as possible and maybe find a new vet, even if it would mean a forty-five-minute drive. Jeffrey held a syringe, and Luke noted the grim look he gave Jayden. She seemed to struggle briefly for her composure and finally ignored them to focus on the horse.

Jeffrey examined the cuts. “He definitely needs stitching together.” But when he began cleaning the first wound, the horse snorted and plunged to the side, hitting Jayden with his shoulder. She stumbled and went to one knee. Luke reached to help her, but she waved him away.