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“I hear ya,” he said, clinking beer bottles with her. “Sometimes I’d rather be with the bulls than deal with my father and brother. Although, they’re just as stubborn.”
“At least they stay home. For a while, my parents and my three sisters were hauling it across country together in this RV.”
Shane looked around and couldn’t picture that many people living in such close quarters. “I think I would have forgotten my brother at one of the rodeos and then changed the locks.”
“It almost came down to that. But then my parents decided life on the road wasn’t for them and LeAnn got a boyfriend. So it was Dolly and me for a bit until Dolly got a full-time job in Dallas. She’s got an apartment there, but like I said before, she does do some traveling as well when they need her to do live public relation gigs.”
“It sounds like you’re all close.”
“We are. Being on the road brought us closer together. I was grateful that they were there for me when I had to leave my office job.”
“What happened?” he asked, hoping he wasn’t prying. He normally didn’t add a lot to conversations, but he was truly interested in what Reba was going to say.
“Remember that guy from the Paris rodeo?”
“The creeper?”
“Dr. Kilgore. He’s an abusive prick. I used to work for him, and he made every day a living hell. Have you ever had a boss like that?”
“Can’t say that I did, but I do have an ex-wife, so I can sorta relate.”
“Did your wife throw things when she got mad?”
“No, she was a screamer.”
“So was Dr. Kilgore. Only he liked to smash things as well. He was a wall puncher, for the most part. But one day, I guess he decided he liked the noise glass made when it breaks. He started sweeping things off desks and chucking mugs against doors.”
“He sounds like a real asshole.”
“He liked intimidating the staff. Well, one day, he let fly with a jar and it literally exploded when it hit the wall. I caught shrapnel.” Reba gestured to her face. “I quit the next day.”
Shane knew he didn’t like the son of a bitch for a reason. “Did you press charges?”
“I was going to, but I sold out for a big check and a glowing recommendation.” She shrugged.
“Is he still pulling that shit in the office?”
“I don’t know. I know he always had a high turnover rate. I had been one of the last to go. I’m not sure if he found more suckers to work for him or if he made his wife and kids pitch in. This was the first time I had seen him in person in three years. Now, he’s all over the place. I was pissed when Lou outed me to him. Now, I’m afraid that he’s going to keep showing up to visit his nephew and make the excuse to see me.”
“Has he got a thing for you?”
Reba paused. She looked down at her fingers. “I don’t think so.”
“You want me to beat the shit out of him?”
Yes.
No.
Shane saw the words flash across her face.
He was serious. He’d go looking for the son of a bitch. All Reba had to do was say the words. She reached over and squeezed his hand. “Kilgore’s the type of guy who has to be the hero of everyone’s story. And he knows he’s the villain in mine. He tried bribery, gaslighting, and intimidation to get me to admit that the office wasn’t as bad as it really was. As you can imagine, I stand by my account of things.”
“As you should. Was there something else that happened?”
She stared off in the distance.
That was a yes. But he wouldn’t push if she didn’t want to tell him.
