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Just how much in denial was this woman? It wasn’t unusual for people who neglected animals not to see what they’d done, but Doris brought it to a whole new level.
“William, go get the horses,” Doris commanded.
William’s eyes widened. “But Ma—”
“Don’t Ma me. Get the horses.”
Tessa scrambled outside into the parking lot. “If you move either of those horses, you might kill them.”
Doris’s attention focused on Tessa. “What are you talking about?”
“The mare might not make it back to your stable. And the foal, her leg was in the wrong position when she was born. She has a slight limp. If they’re left here, we can oversee their medical condition and help at this critical junction. It’s their best chance to survive and fully recover.”
For the first time, the hostility in Doris’s expression softened.
“She’s got a point, Ma.”
“Dr. Grant is right in her assessment, Doris,” the older veterinarian confirmed. “The best choice for your animals is to leave them here. Do you want to see how they’re doing?”
Doris put her hands on her hips and glared. “Of course.”
“Come in and see for yourself.” Doc motioned Doris into the breezeway.
Ethan stepped to William’s side. “Why don’t you put that rifle down before someone gets hurt?”
Relief swept across the young man’s face. “Ma thought we needed the show of strength.” He looked at his mother. She nodded and he put the rifle on the floor behind the seats in the cab.
William moved behind his mother with Ethan and Tessa trailing behind.
Doc walked down the breezeway to the barn. “This way, Doris.”
She shook her finger at Doc. “Okay, but I’m not giving up on getting my horses back.”
“I’d expect nothing less,” he answered.
Doris and William walked through the barn door.
“You handled that well,” Ethan whispered to Tessa.
“You’re surprised?”
“Nope.”
Tessa didn’t know how to take his answer. He didn’t wait for her but caught up with William. Tessa followed after, trying to decide how she felt about Ethan McClure.
The man seemed to be a bag of walking contradictions. He went from skepticism to approval. He questioned her qualifications yet took directions well from her last night, didn’t hesitate and did his turn nursing the horses without complaint. His skills were excellent, but that didn’t surprise her, his being a rancher. Had he changed his mind about her or would he at some point call her ability into question again?
She couldn’t get a good read on him and that made her jumpy.
Doris stopped and looked into the stall. Lady nibbled the feed, while her foal rested on a pile of clean hay in the corner of the stall.
“They’re looking fine to me,” Doris commented.
Tessa joined them by the stall door. She prayed for the right words. “That’s because we stayed with them all night. Lady’s had two IVs.” Doc must’ve removed the IV from the mare. “We can treat them medically. Since Dr. Adams and I are here, we can oversee any complications. We’ve got fluids, antibiotics and high-grade feed for them. That foal needs some TLC for her leg. No one is going to want a horse that can’t be ridden.”
Doris wavered.
“And you’ll have your time in court to argue for getting them back,” Ethan added. “It would be to your advantage to cooperate with us, Doris. I’ll be sure to tell the judge you did.”
The older woman’s eyes narrowed, but she nodded grudgingly. “All right, but you be sure to do that.”
“I will.”
They walked outside and discovered Sheriff Teague there.
“Everything okay out here?” Joe asked, getting out of his patrol unit.
Doris frowned, but she didn’t respond.
“Everything’s fine,” Doc Adams answered. He turned to Doris.
She didn’t comment, just glared at them, then climbed into the truck, slamming the passenger-side door. William got into the driver’s seat and they sped off, leaving a cloud of dust.
As Tessa watched the truck disappear, she knew deep in her gut this wasn’t going to be the last time she’d have a run-in with Doris and her son. She just hoped that Doc—and Ethan—would be there to calm things down when trouble came knocking again.
* * *
Tessa sat in the clinic office the next day, staring at the report she’d just finished. She clicked the print button. Too many times she’d had to write similar reports. Doc had called Mary back and told her the report would take another day, due to the increased workload at the clinic that had them scrambling. Tessa could easily see why Doc Adams needed another vet to help.
Standing, she walked to the printer. Each time she participated in a rescue and saw how people neglected their horses, her heart broke. But God had given her this eternal hope that no matter how bleak, He could shine a light into any darkness, as witnessed by Hope’s birth.
She heard a car engine outside, then car doors slam.
As she gathered the pages from the printer, she heard the screen door creak open. She strode out of the office into the waiting area. Looking through the window, she saw a horse trailer.
Unease crept up her spine. Doc had left for one of the ranches north of the clinic about forty-five minutes ago.
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.
