Fresh-Start Ranch

Scout, the clinic’s dog, started barking, followed by the sound of another distressed whinny. Tessa raced into the barn. William and another man stood by Lady and Hope’s stall.

“What are you doing?” Tessa demanded in her best command voice.

The men whirled. “Who are you?” the stranger asked.

“I’m Dr. Grant, one of the vets here.”

The man’s mouth curved into an oh-you’re-a-girl-and-I-can-charm-you smile. “You’re too cute and young to be a vet. Why, you can’t be more than sixteen.”

His grating attitude left her cold.

William jumped in. “No, she’s the vet who delivered the foal. I saw it with my own eyes.”

The other man’s brow rose. “Ah, beautiful and skilled.”

She wasn’t buying his line. “What are you doing here, William? I thought we’d resolved this issue yesterday with you and your mother.”

“Aw, don’t call Willy that. He’s a good ol’ boy and not the stuffed shirt his old man was,” the stranger interrupted.

Tessa stepped past Mr. Charm into the stall. “What are you doing, William?” she asked again. William glanced over her shoulder at the stranger.

“Willy wanted me to see my investment,” the man offered, his voice coming from behind her.

Tessa turned to face the stranger. She stood by William’s side. “I’m sure William told you that you’ll have to take that up with the court.”

He shrugged and took a menacing step toward her. “I’ve already paid for the foal.”

William shifted his weight from one foot to another. Tessa noticed the panicked look on his face. She squared her shoulders and put authority into her words. “I’m sure the court will take that into account.”

The stranger’s fake smile melted and his eyes went cold. “Why bother the courts?”

Tessa understood perfectly that the stranger was trying to intimidate her. She opened her mouth to respond, but another voice cut in.

“Because, Kevin, the sheriff’s already seized the animals. And if you’re trying to take the foal, you’ll be breaking the law, subject to arrest and then they’ll have an access into all sorts of information about you.”

The man whirled to face Ethan. Tessa had never seen a better sight than the tall rancher. She breathed a prayer of thanks.

“Ah, Ethan McClure, the hero of Cibola High School’s football team, coming to the little lady’s rescue,” the stranger sneered.

Tessa’s eyes narrowed, ready to correct the situation, but Ethan spoke first.

“If you’ve got a bone to pick, take it up with the judge. But be warned, Kevin, you need to bring your lawyer, because Mary will be there representing the rescue group, pressing our case.”

“Mary Jensen? You mean the little lady who left you standing at the altar? That Mary Jensen?” Kevin ended his taunt with a satisfied grin.

The comment rocked Tessa back on her heels. Ethan didn’t flinch, but Tessa noticed his hand clenched as if he was holding back his anger. “My history doesn’t change the facts. You’re not taking that foal anywhere.”

Kevin’s smirk turned into a glare. “We’ll see about that.” He looked at William and nodded to him to leave. As Kevin walked by Ethan, he stopped. “You’re not quite as righteous as folks think, hey, buddy? I know our hero has feet of clay.”

Ethan didn’t respond, but held his ground.

Kevin laughed. “I’ll see ya.” He winked at Tessa and walked out of the stables.

The tension holding her upright eased, and she took a deep breath. The shock of Kevin’s words still reverberated through her. Mary and Ethan had been engaged?

“You okay?” Ethan asked, coming to her side.

She gave a shaky laugh. “Yeah, but William’s determination to get Hope just seems—oh, I don’t know—so intense...desperate.” She thought about the things that Kevin threw at Ethan. What was going on? It was none of her business, she reminded herself. She had to stay focused on the horse.

“That bothers me, too.” Ethan rubbed the back of his neck. “There’s something there that doesn’t seem right. It’s like when my sister decided to wear one of my belts and put it back in the closet in my room, but she put it in the wrong place. It took me a day to understand what was bothering me.”

Tessa’s eyes went wide with surprise. “Are you kidding me?”

“No, I think William’s up to something.”

“I wasn’t talking about that. You knew when your sister borrowed your belt?” Kevin had thrown some pretty heavy accusations at Ethan and he was talking about his sister wearing his belt?

His eyes cut to hers, and his mouth twitched, disarming the tension. “She was bad about borrowing things. I’d walk into the kitchen and find her wearing one of my shirts or sweatshirts or belts. Or my brother’s stuff.” The way his brows knitted into a frown made her want to laugh.

“Wow.” Talk about ignoring the issue. She thought about calling him on it but she didn’t feel it was right to push.

“My example was to point out when something feels wrong.”

“I see.” She agreed with that, as far as it went.

He shrugged. “The foal seems to be walking without a limp,” he commented, changing the subject.

Her mind snapped back to the present. “That’s what I hoped would happen. She’s also nursing well.” Tessa ran her hands down the mare’s side. “Momma’s also doing well. The IV fluids helped.

“This lady has a will to live. Babies will do that to a mother.” When she looked up, meeting Ethan’s gaze, her last sentence took on a new meaning. They both understood Tessa wasn’t only referring to fillies.

He looked away and there was an odd tension between them. Uncomfortable, she asked, “So, what brings you here to the hospital? Did God whisper in your ear I was going to need backup?”

Ethan shifted uneasily as if guilty. “No. Mary had some papers that needed to be signed by me on society business. And since the clinic is on the way, I wanted to check on Hope and Lady, just in case the judge asks me about them. This judge sometimes likes to question different people about the animals’ conditions.”

That was a valid reason. “I just printed off the report, if you’d like to look at it.”

“I would. Mary wanted me to remind you she wants you there in person at the hearing, in case the judge has any questions.”

That wasn’t an unusual request. “I can do that, but you’ll have to tell me where the courthouse is located.”

“It’s in Los Rios. The hearing is ten-thirty.”

“Okay, I’ll be there, but I’ll need directions.” And she didn’t want to repeat her mistake of getting lost on the rural roads. She only had to fall in a hole once to learn to be wary. Kind of like falling in love. She didn’t need to repeat the mistake twice.

* * *

Ethan followed Tessa into the office. Doc Adams had brought in a battered metal desk and put it on the other side of the office from his messy rolltop desk. The computer monitor with hard drive underneath looked out of place in this room, which could’ve come straight out of a picture from a 1930s veterinary office. On the opposite wall, sitting on the metal desk, was a slick laptop. Tessa’s diploma rested on the floor, waiting to be hung. Obviously, she hadn’t had time to finish settling in. Between the two desks was a long table pushed against the back wall, with the printer on it. Underneath were several boxes.

“I haven’t had time to unpack yet,” Tessa explained, walking to the metal desk. “I’ll need your email address so I can send you future reports.”

“Agreed. I’ll put you on the email loop for the Society. Now most of our ranchers have email, but I’ll send you their phone numbers in addition to their email address.”

“Thanks.” She walked to the printer and picked up the report. Meanwhile, Ethan mentally ran over the information he expected the report to contain.

For the last day and a half when Ethan had been working at the ranch, he’d recalled Hope’s birth. What an incredible moment. They’d snatched victory from the mouth of tragedy. When his parents asked about what had occurred at the seizure, the words came tumbling out full of enthusiasm and praise for the new vet, surprising his folks as well as him.

After he finished, his mother simply smiled her I-understand-what’s-really-happening smile, while his dad shook his head. Their reactions puzzled Ethan but he’d been too distracted by thoughts of Tessa to dwell on them for long.

He felt as though he’d known Tessa forever. That didn’t make sense. He wasn’t ready to feel such a strong sense of connection to a woman. He’d talked to God while riding out to check fences, but he hadn’t come to any understanding of his feelings, even when he discussed his reaction with Ranger. He was glad his horse couldn’t talk and comment on his odd behavior.

Adding to his turmoil, this morning Mary called, needing him to drive to Albuquerque to sign papers. He’d gone, but the tension in Mary’s office was so thick, he knew that it was going to be a rough year while he was head of the rescue group. He couldn’t fault Mary’s legal expertise, but they’d never discussed what had happened the morning of their aborted wedding. Driving home from that tense meeting, he thought seeing Hope and Lady would be a good way to unwind. His anticipation had turned to alarm when he walked into Doc’s medical barn and clapped eyes on Kevin Raney.

Ethan had had the unfortunate experience to meet Kevin years ago. Kevin had been traveling the rodeo circuit. He didn’t rope or ride or participate in any of the events. What he did was provide drugs, drink, betting on rodeo events and poker games for the young men and the cowboys who worked the circuit. After a particularly ugly fight that had broken out among several cowboys, sending them to the hospital, Kevin had been barred from coming on the fairground or rodeo property. Later, Ethan had heard Kevin had spent time in the New Mexico state prison system.

So, what was Kevin doing with William?

“Here’s the report,” Tessa said, breaking into his thoughts.

His hand brushed hers when he took the pages. As if grabbing a live wire, a jolt raced through him. His gaze flew to hers. Her eyes widened and a startled “oh” escaped her perfect mouth. The surprise in her eyes told him he wasn’t alone in the reaction.

The moment ended with the outside door slamming. Doc Adams appeared in the doorway.

“Hey, Ethan, what are you doing here?” He looked from Ethan to Tessa.

Ethan took a step away from Tessa and turned. “I was driving back from the city and wanted to see how Hope and Lady were doing.”

Doc gave him a funny look.

“After meeting with our lawyer,” Ethan further explained, “I needed to spend some time with horses.”

Doc’s brow arched. “I see.”

Doc’s cryptic answer made the thirty-five-year-old Ethan squirm like he did the summer Doc had confronted him when he was sixteen and in a whole lot of trouble.

“It was fortunate he came,” Tessa interjected. “There was a little difficulty with William and Kevin Raney.”

“Oh?”

Tessa explained how Ethan’s presence had resolved the situation with the men, making Ethan feel ten feet tall. Doc threw Ethan a glance. They both knew what trouble Kevin could be.

“Good thing you showed up,” Doc said.

Did he hear something in Doc’s voice?

“Yeah, it seems I’ve been doing that lately. I’ll see you on Friday at the courthouse.” Ethan walked out of the office.

“Ethan,” Tessa called to him, following him outside.

Stopping by his truck, he turned to face her. “Yes?”

“Thanks again for your help with William and Kevin.” Her eyes softened with gratitude, making his chest tighten. “When you got here, I was wondering what I could do to stop them from taking Hope.”

Her words sent a chill down his spine. “Be careful of Kevin. Despite the charming smile he so easily flashes, he’s a con man, who’s spent time in the state penitentiary some time back. And from what I’ve seen, I doubt that he’s changed since he got out.”

“Why was he in jail?”

“He ran a bookie operation.”

“Gambling?”

“That’s it.”

“Thanks for the heads-up.” The cold tone of her words could’ve frozen a side of beef in the middle of summer. “I’ve seen the destruction caused by it, so I’ll make sure Kevin doesn’t get his hands on Hope or Lady.” Ethan was surprised by the vehemence of her reaction. Obviously, she had had some sort of run-in with a bookie.

“Don’t try to take Kevin on. I can’t guarantee he won’t be violent. If it comes to your life or the horse’s, you’re more valuable.”

The expression in her eyes mellowed. “I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks.”

Would she thank him if she knew why he knew that truth about Kevin? But there was no reason for her to know. His past mistakes wouldn’t make a difference in their professional relationship, and that’s the only kind of relationship either of them seemed to want. No doubt that was for the best. Anything else would only lead to disaster. He’d been down that road before and didn’t like where it led.

* * *

The tiny town of Los Rios sported a beautiful courthouse, constructed in the late twenties, built in the Southwestern style using adobe and giant crossbeams.

Ethan had plenty of time to admire it as he sat beside Tessa and they listened to Mary Jensen summarize what they’d found at the ranch. Tessa had finished her testimony. When Mary was done the Moores’ lawyer argued that the family had fallen on hard times. They hadn’t meant to starve their animals.

The judge told them he would be back with his verdict in a few minutes. When he returned, he addressed the Moores.

“Doris, this is not the first time you’ve been before this court. But, this case is judged on its own merits. Seeing the pictures and listening to Dr. Grant, I’m awarding all the horses to the Rescue Society.”

“You can’t do that,” Doris yelled, jumping to her feet.

The judge glared at her. “My ruling stands.”

“What about the foal I sold?” she shot back.

“You’ll have to pay the buyer back. If they aren’t happy with that solution, have them file with the court for relief.” The judge left the chamber.

The older woman turned, glaring daggers at the opposition table.

Tessa leaned close to Ethan and whispered, “Is she going to be trouble?”

“I don’t know. She doesn’t take defeat well.”

Tessa looked at William, whose face had lost all color. “What about her son?”

Ethan didn’t answer immediately.

“What do you think?”

“I hope he’ll accept the verdict.”

Tessa didn’t like the sound of that.

“We’ll just see,” Doris muttered to herself. With a final defiant glare, Doris left the courtroom with William trailing behind her.

Ethan walked to the prosecution table and talked to Mary. From their body language, it was an awkward exchange. Mary Jensen was tall, probably five-ten, slender, with long blond hair and deep blue eyes. She was just the right height for the tall rancher who stood over six feet tall. With dark hair and steel-gray eyes, Ethan looked perfect with the golden woman. They were both smart, capable, cared strongly for the same causes. Tessa could see why they would have gotten together. So what had gone wrong?

“You ready to go?” Ethan asked, coming to Tessa’s side.

Tearing her mind from her speculation, Tessa gathered up her notebook and purse. “Sure, I’m ready.”

They left the courtroom, heading for the elevators. Mary stayed inside the courtroom, packing up her briefcase.

After Ethan pushed the elevator button, he looked down at his watch. “I ate at six this morning and the cantina across the street has a great lunch special. You want to join me?”

Tessa opened her mouth to refuse when her stomach growled. She flushed.

“That’s a yes if I ever heard one.”

She was still tempted to refuse, but her stomach growled a second time, drowning out her pride. She’d eaten her breakfast earlier than Ethan and was hungry.

“Lead the way. But it’s just a business lunch. We go dutch.”

Ethan nodded. “Absolutely.”

It was what she expected and demanded, so why did she feel disappointed he gave in so easily?

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