The Rancher and the Vet

“How can you stand living here? Don’t the memories get to you?”

“I just remember the bastard’s dead and buried. I’ve had a damned good time changing things around the place. I hope some of them have him turning over in his grave. That gives me a whole helluva lot of pleasure.” Colt thumped his brother on the back. “I know this is tough for you.”

“I’ll be honest. I’m not sure I can stand being here a year.” He looked his brother straight in the eyes. “You don’t know what it was like after you left.”

While they were teenagers, Colt had saved Reed more than once. When their dad went on a tirade, Reed shouted back or argued. He and his father went at it like two bulls stuck in the same pasture. Colt was the one who stepped in to defuse the situation, or he hauled Reed off before his dad could beat him to death. When Colt left for the air force, their father’s anger had spiraled out of control.

He’d come home one night to find his dad drunk and spoiling for a fight, hammering on his favorite subject—how Reed was a bastard for leaving him to fend for himself. One thing led to another, and his father had punched him in the face. Something inside Reed had shattered that night, and without Colt there, he exploded.

He whirled, delivering blow after blow until his father collapsed on the floor. His chest heaving, Reed stood over the man who had tormented him for years. Then the reality of what he’d done sank in. He’d stooped to his father’s level by taking his anger out on another human being. His father roused enough to scream that he’d make Reed pay. He’d call the police and see that Reed’s sorry, ungrateful ass landed in jail.

Panic consuming him, Reed ran out of the house. Hours later, he found himself at the McAlisters’ front door. Avery held him while the whole damned mess poured out of him. Then she’d woken up her parents.

Once Reed had explained to Avery’s parents what had happened, Ben McAlister had called his lawyer. When Reed claimed he couldn’t afford that, Ben told him not to worry about the money. Without Ben paying for his attorney, Reed could’ve gone to jail. He never knew the details of how Ben and his attorney got his father to drop the charges. They never said, and he never asked.

That one event had changed him in ways he still didn’t understand.

“I’ve got an idea what it was like. That’s why you coming back to stay with Jess was always the backup plan. That’s why I didn’t want to ask you to do it, and if Joanne hadn’t broken her hip, I wouldn’t have.”

“I’m also worried about dealing with Jess.” That and holding his company together, but Reed left out that detail. Colt carried enough weight on his shoulders.

When Reed had first spotted Jess at the airport, dressed in tight, low-cut jeans with a deep V-neck sparkly T-shirt that barely covered her midriff, he’d wanted to turn around and catch the first plane going anywhere.

“If I can’t handle being here...if I get your in-laws’ Association of Homeowners to make an exception, and I can get Jess to agree, are you okay with her living with her grandparents?”

Colt nodded. “As long as Jess agrees, I’m fine with it.”

Reed’s fear subsided now that he had a safety net.

“Jess is a good kid. Lynn’s leaving really did a number on her. How the hell could she run off on her daughter? She didn’t even have the nerve to tell Jess before she left. I had to,” Colt said as they walked toward the horse stalls. “Damn, that was hard. You should’ve seen Jess’s face. She looked at me with those big brown eyes of hers, and asked why her mom didn’t love her anymore.”

Reed stood there stunned. He knew Lynn’s leaving had been bad, but Colt hadn’t told him what a bitch she’d been. “You sure picked a winner.”

“You’re right about that. The only good thing I got out of that marriage was Jess. She’s worth whatever hell I went through.” Colt shoved his hands into his jeans pockets. “School starts the day after tomorrow. It about takes a crowbar to get Jess out of bed, and she takes forever to get ready. Classes start at eight. If she isn’t up by seven, she’ll be late. You need to leave by seven forty-five.”

Reed jotted down information about Jess’s routines, the location of important documents and anything else he thought he might need to remember.

“She seems nervous about starting high school this year.” Colt shook his head. “I don’t remember us worrying about the kind of stuff she does—imagined slights, who’s best friends with who, who said what about her outfit. The worst arguments are about boys. Girls are downright mean to each other. And their fights...” Colt whistled through his teeth.

“Worse than ours?”

Colt nodded as they walked past another stall. “We pounded on each other, but then it was over. Not with girls. When they get mad the emails and tweets fly. Girls divide into two camps. Then the tears start. Sometimes for days, and Jess won’t talk about it. Then when I think it’ll never end, they’re all friends again.”

Lord help him. He’d rather fight off a hostile takeover than face what Colt had just described. Why didn’t society ship all teenage girls off to an island, and allow them to come back only once their sanity returned?

“You’re not making me feel better about this. What do you do during all this drama?”

“Drama? That attitude will get you in trouble.”

Reed froze as a lilting feminine voice washed over him. How many times had he heard that sultry voice in his dreams? Way too many to count, but never once when he’d come back had he sought her out. He wasn’t one to borrow trouble. They were too different. He couldn’t live here again, and she wouldn’t live anywhere else. More important, though, she wanted children and he didn’t.

He glanced over his shoulder at the woman coming out of a horse stall two doors down. She’d been pretty in high school, but the word failed to describe her now. Tall and willowy, even dressed in dirty jeans and a shapeless scrub top, without any makeup, the woman before him could stop traffic when she crossed the street.

Avery McAlister.

Staring at the beautiful blonde in front of him, he knew he’d been right to avoid Avery, because seeing the only woman he’d ever loved hurt worse than any blow he’d taken from his father.

Chapter Two

“Avery, what are you doing here?”

“It’s good to see you, too, Reed.” Avery laughed nervously as she forced herself to remain outwardly calm despite the blood pounding in her ears.

The last time she’d seen him he’d been tall and lanky, but in the years since, his frame had filled out in all the right ways. His shoulders were broader now, and he might even have grown an inch or two. His chiseled features, strong jaw and short black hair remained the same. Dressed in tailored slacks and a pinstriped shirt, Reed Montgomery, the boy she’d dated and fallen in love with in high school, had grown into a fine-looking man.

And he didn’t show the slightest hint of guilt over breaking up with her via email all those years ago.

Avery tried to shut off the memories, but they broke free. She and Reed had met in Mrs. Hutchison’s kindergarten class. They’d been seated at the same table and were busy drawing when Bennett Chambers yanked the yellow crayon from her hand. She’d been about to punch him in the arm when Reed whispered something she couldn’t hear to Bennett. The boy’s eyes widened and he paled, then a second later she had the yellow crayon.

They began dating their sophomore year of high school and fell in love soon after. In their senior year, Reed gave her a promise ring and they started making plans for their future. They both wanted to go to college. He’d received a scholarship from Stanford to study business, and she had one from Colorado State to study veterinary medicine, but he promised to come home as often as he could. Then a month after leaving for California, he sent her a short email. He loved living on the West Coast. He didn’t want to come back to Colorado. Ever. He didn’t want to get married. He didn’t want children. He thought it was best they end things.

Being young, foolish and unable to let the relationship go that easily, Avery had called him. When he didn’t answer, she’d left tearful messages on his voice mail, begging him to talk to her, which he never did. Then she wrote long letters that came back unopened.

Staring him down now, she reminded herself she wasn’t the naive teenager willing to beg a man not to break up with her anymore, and she was damned if she’d let him see how much his coming back shook her.

“I’m here checking on Charger’s injured foreleg. I’m a vet now, and the director of the Estes Park animal shelter.” Take that. I went on with my life and made something of myself.

“I’m glad you’re doing well, though I’m not surprised. You always could do anything you put your mind to.”

Except hang on to you.

Their small talk sounded inane considering how intimate they’d once been. “What are you doing here, Reed?”

“I’m staying with Jess while Colt’s in Afghanistan.”

So that’s what had brought him back. She turned to Colt. About the same height as his younger brother and almost as handsome, Colt had inherited their mother’s blond hair while Reed resembled their dark-haired father. “I’ll keep you and Jess in my prayers while you’re gone.”

Colt nodded. “I appreciate that.”

“You’re staying here for what, a year? Eighteen months?” she asked Reed. “You must have a very understanding boss.”

“A year. Luckily I own my own small company, and thanks to Skype it shouldn’t be too difficult to run things long-distance.”

He was still as confident as ever, Avery mused, and yet she wondered if Reed’s plan was one that looked great on paper, but wouldn’t work well in practice.

“Wow. You own a company.”

“It’s not as glamorous as people think. I put in more hours than any of my employees, and I get a salary like everyone else. Most of what the company makes goes right back into developing new products.”

A cell phone rang. “I’m sorry. I’ve got to take this call,” Reed said.

As he moved away, his phone glued to his ear, Avery turned to Colt. “Are you sure about this? I think running a business long-distance will be harder than he thinks.”

“I don’t have a choice.” Colt explained about his mother-in-law’s health issues, the age restrictions in his in-laws’ community and Jess’s reluctance to live with her grandparents. “Reed will settle in. He’ll do right by Jess.”

Colt’s daughter had gone through so much over the past year. Some women shouldn’t have a pet, much less a child, and Lynn Montgomery had been one of those women. Now Jess’s dad was being deployed. How much could a teenage girl take?

Avery wondered where she would’ve been without her mother to talk to during her adolescence. Her dad had been great, but he’d never quite understood things from her perspective. He saw things, well, like a guy. Did Jess have any women in her life to talk to now that her father was being deployed and she would be living with her bachelor uncle?

Who had never wanted children.

“Reed hasn’t been around Jess very much. Are you sure he can handle this?”

She shook herself mentally. She always did this—got attached to any stray that wandered across her path. Colt was Jess’s father. If he thought Reed was the best person to care for his child, who was she to criticize? But neither of them knew what it was like to be a teenage girl, one of the most insecure creatures on the planet.

Reed joined them, irritation marring his classic good looks. “Jess and I have a good relationship. We’ll be fine. She’s not an infant that needs watching 24/7. Things will be hectic for a while until I’ve reassured my customers that my physical absence won’t affect my business, but then everything will settle into a predictable routine.”

Avery laughed. “Predictable routine? With a teenager? Good luck with that.”

“She has a point, Reed,” Colt added. “Teenagers give mules stubborn lessons. You’ll have to be a little flexible.”

“Lucky for me I’ve got great negotiation skills.”

“Good thing, because you’ll need them.” Pride cometh before the fall popped into Avery’s mind. With Reed’s attitude, one was sure coming. Not that it was her concern. Needing to steer the conversation to a safer topic, Avery said, “Charger’s leg is better. I changed the dressing. The redness and swelling have subsided, but keep him away from the other horses a while longer. I don’t want the wound getting reopened.”

“How much do I owe you?”

Avery waved her hand through the air, dismissing the question. “Nothing. You didn’t ask me to come by. I did that on my own. It’s the least I can do. By the way, I wanted to remind you Thor is due for his annual shots.”

“Thor?” Reed asked, knowing the shots would fall to him to get done.

“That’s Jess’s dog.” Avery reached into her back pocket, pulled out a business card and handed it to Reed. “Call the office and set up an appointment.”

“When did Jess get a dog?” Reed asked his brother.

“Must’ve been a couple of months after the last time you were here.”

“The fact that you didn’t know Jess has a dog says a lot about your relationship. I bet you’re one of those uncles who sends birthday and Christmas gifts, but can’t bother with anything else. If that’s the case, you’re in for a bumpy ride.” With that, Avery turned and hurried out of the barn. Reed Montgomery was back, and worse yet, he could still make her heart skip a beat.

* * *

WHEN AVERY WALKED INTO the shelter twenty minutes later to a chorus of barking and meows, she still hadn’t regained her emotional balance from seeing Reed. When she’d first spotted him, her palms had grown sweaty. Her heart had raced. All reactions she hadn’t experienced with a man in far too long.

She needed to go on a date with someone. Anyone. What had it been? Six months? Longer? That was her problem. She’d been neglecting her social life.

Like that was something new?

When she found time to date, it seemed no one could hold her interest. Invariably she discovered some irritating habit she couldn’t overlook, or her boyfriend’s future plans conflicted with hers. Whatever the reason, the fun and attraction fizzled out after a few months.

Stop it. Focus on work and quit thinking about Reed and your pathetic love life.

So far the week had been a good one for the shelter. Five dogs, six cats and three horses had been adopted. They’d gotten enough donations to buy animal food to last until the end of the next month. Hopefully the recent events indicated an upward trend.

“Betty Hartman called this morning and said she couldn’t come in,” Emma Jean Donovan, Avery’s volunteer coordinator and right-hand gal, said the minute Avery walked into the front reception area.

“Oh, the joys of working with volunteers.” People thought nothing of canceling at the last minute, not realizing how the shelter relied on them to accomplish many of the daily tasks, chores that had to be done, no matter what.

“Because she wasn’t here, Shirley didn’t have anyone to gossip with, so guess who got an earful?”

“Better you than me, Em.”

“All she could talk about was Reed Montgomery being back in town.”

“So I discovered when I stopped by the Rocking M this morning.”

“You saw him? Are you okay?”

While Em had been two years behind Avery and Reed in school, everyone in town knew about their messy breakup. The news had spread through Estes Park High faster than the flu. “I was barely eighteen when we broke up. I got over him ages ago. So what if he’s back? I don’t care.”

“Oka-a-ay.” Em drew out the word, and tossed her a sly whatever-you-say-though-I-don’t-believe-a-word-of-it grin. “You don’t have to convince me. Is he still hot?”

“He looked sort of silly standing there in the barn wearing dress pants and a pinstriped shirt, but I guess he’s attractive in a California yuppie sort of way.”

Liar. He’d looked better than ever. He’d been a teenager when he left. He was all man now.

“I could get used to California yuppie. If you’re not interested, do you mind if I make a play for him?”

“He probably has a yuppie girlfriend, but if he doesn’t, go for it.” Annoyed with the topic and her internal hell-no reaction to Em’s question, Avery steered the conversation back to shelter business. “Has anything happened that I actually need to know about?”

“We had an abandoned mama dog and her litter dropped off this morning. The pups are about three weeks old.”

So much for the to-do list she’d compiled last night. Avery’s top priority now became examining the latest arrivals and getting them ready for foster care. The commotion at the shelter was too much for a mama and her babies, especially for the five weeks until they could be put up for adoption. “Got any ideas of who can foster the little family?”

“It’s already taken care of. Jenny will pick them up once you give them the all clear.”

“You’re amazing.”

“And on only four hours’ sleep.”

“I heard the band was playing at Halligan’s. How’d the gig go?”

Music and her country-and-western band were Emma’s first loves, with animals a close second. She worked at the shelter to pay her bills, and moonlighted playing at area bars in the hopes that someone would spot her and offer her a record deal.

Emma’s face lit up. “The crowd was small but enthusiastic. My new song went over well.”

“When your record deal comes through, promise me you’ll train someone before you leave me. Not that anyone would do the job as well as you do, but at least then I’ll have a chance for survival.”

“I am one of a kind.” A beaming Emma held out an envelope. “This came by registered mail.”

Avery read the return address. Franklin, Parker and Simmons, attorneys at law in Denver. “Let’s hope it’s good news. Maybe someone left us a bequest in their will.”

She tore open the envelope, pulled out the letter and started reading. The missive indeed dealt with a will—Sam Weston’s. Twenty-five years ago, when Geraldine Griswald had created an animal shelter, her husband and Sam were hunting buddies. Sam, also an animal lover, rented Geraldine a piece of land with a tiny building along Highway 35 East for one dollar a year. Eventually, the shelter raised money and built a bigger facility.

Avery read further. No. This couldn’t be right. The shelter didn’t own the land their building stood on? Everyone believed Sam had donated the land to the Estes Park animal shelter over fifteen years ago.

This couldn’t be happening.

She read further. Sam’s heirs wanted to sell all his land to a developer, including the parcel where the shelter stood. They’d “generously” offered to let the shelter buy their lot if they matched the developer’s price of three hundred thousand dollars. Otherwise, they had forty-five days to move.

Three hundred thousand dollars. Just raising a 20-percent down payment of sixty grand would be daunting in the allotted time. Avery swallowed hard and tried to push down her panic.

The Estes Park animal shelter was the only one for miles. If it closed, the other shelters would have trouble dealing with the additional demands on their resources, and the animals would pay the price.

“From the look on your face, I’m guessing it’s bad news.”

Talk about an understatement, but Avery couldn’t tell Emma that. Until she checked into the situation, she’d keep the news to herself. But if she discovered they didn’t own the land, everyone would hear about the situation, because they’d need every cent they could get to keep the shelter open.

“Nothing I can’t handle.” Avery inwardly winced. How could she say that with a straight face, especially to Emma who knew her so well? They’d both pinched every penny thin over the past few months to keep the shelter afloat, but she thought she could come up with sixty grand? Delusional, that’s what she was.

“Next thing you’ll try to sell me the Rocky Mountains.”

So much for keeping the news to herself, because she refused to lie to Emma. Glancing around the front room, Avery made sure no volunteers or other staff members were around before she told Emma the news.

“What are we going to do? Do I need to update my résumé?”

“Don’t you dare. I need your help now more than ever. This is the game plan. While I’m examining the new arrivals, you’ll contact the property clerk to find out who they show owns the land.”

“What about the board?”

Avery cringed. Harper Stinson, the shelter’s board president and a top graduate from the micromanager school of business, had hinted they could solve all their financial problems by cutting staff. If Avery didn’t handle the situation carefully, Harper would run amok through the streets of Estes Park with the news of the shelter’s impending doom.

“I’ll figure out how to tell the board when I have more information.” She’d be proactive. Assess the situation and develop a plan before she spoke to them.

“Lucky you.”

“The board may be a big help. They’ve got a wide range of skills and talents, and that’s exactly what we need right now.”

“When they aren’t arguing over who has the best idea and who should be in charge of the project.” Emma shuddered. “I still have nightmares about our last dog-washing fund-raiser.”

“Thanks for reminding me about that.” Three of the board members had taken on organizing key aspects of the fund-raiser. Avery had been forced into the peacemaker role when the lines between the jobs blurred and toes got stepped on. “They’ll pull together better this time because it’s such a dire situation. You’ll see.”

“You’re such an optimist.”

“If I wasn’t I’d never survive running a nonprofit agency.”

* * *

REED’S DAY STARTED at the bank getting the forms notarized for him to be Jess’s guardian while Colt was overseas. Then he and Jess took Colt to the airport. On the drive to Denver, his niece slouched in the backseat texting and ignored her dad’s attempts at conversation, while Reed tried to ignore how much Jess’s actions hurt Colt.

When Colt hugged Jess, telling her how much he loved her, and how he’d miss her, Reed’s eyes teared up. He and his brother shook hands, thumped each other on the back, and Reed reminded Colt not to act like an idiot and get himself hurt. Then he prayed this wasn’t the last time he would see his brother.

On the return trip, Jess sat stoically in the passenger seat, texting. After a few feeble efforts at conversation, she snapped that she didn’t want to talk. Then she popped in earphones, cranked up her music and shut her eyes.

When they returned to the ranch, she retreated to her bedroom while Reed saw to the stock. A couple of hours later, dripping in sweat, muscles he hadn’t used in years sore from hauling hay and water, he crawled into the shower.

After cleaning up, he headed downstairs to work on dinner. He’d learned to cook out of necessity when he and some college buddies lived off campus his senior year. Unable to afford eating out every day and sick of boxed mac and cheese, he’d turned to the internet and the Food Network.

He glanced at his watch. Not even six and he felt as though it was after midnight. As Reed added chopped garlic, onions and ginger to the chicken breasts cooking in the skillet, the aromas engulfed him. Though the sleek stainless-steel-and-earth-toned kitchen looked nothing like the one he remembered growing up, he still could see his mom standing in the same spot as he did now.

Life had been so different before she died of breast cancer.

He often wondered why she had married his father. Talk about opposites. His mom loved to cuddle up with her sons every night before bed and read to them. He could still hear bits and pieces of Green Eggs and Ham read in her soothing voice. His mom quickly and generously offered support and encouragement, while his father tossed out criticism and orders. When his temper exploded at his sons, his mom stepped in and smoothed things over or took the blows. She also kept his father’s drinking in check. All that changed when she died.