Fresh-Start Ranch

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.