AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Not even close, but Reba had to try anyway. There were plenty of shelters along the rodeo routes, and she might be able to see if one of the other vets knew of a family who was looking to adopt a kitten. But to be honest, she missed having pets with her and she wanted to enjoy the kittens for a little bit longer. She told herself that she was just waiting for the right home.
“I’ve got to go,” Reba said. “I’ve got another call coming through.” It was Shane.
“Okay,” Loretta said. “I’ll talk to you later.”
As Reba switched over to answer Shane’s call, she marveled at the little butterflies in her stomach. What was she—a teenager again? Still, his deep gravelly voice made her smile and she hoped that she’d be able to get a second shot at a goodnight kiss.
“Have you eaten yet?” Shane asked.
“No, not yet,” she said.
“Good. I picked up some barbecue. I was hoping for a chance to come over and see the kittens.”
“Absolutely, as long as you brought cornbread.”
“Do I look like an amateur to you?”
“I’m sorry I doubted you.”
There was a knock on the RV door. “One second,” she said. Reba peeked out and saw Shane standing there with a bucket of chicken under his arm and a six-pack of beer in his other hand. Smiling, she hung up and opened the door for him.
“What would you have done if I wasn’t home?” she asked as he stepped into the RV.
“Ate all the chicken by myself.”
“I was looking for you today,” she said, watching the doorway in case the kittens decided to make a break for it.
Luckily, they were racing around by her bedroom. One. Two. Three. Four. All accounted for. She closed the door firmly and got out two plates and some silverware.
“I was in and out of the arena all day today. Pat was handling the bulls, for the most part. There weren’t any more incidents, right?”
Reba thought for a second. “Not that I’ve heard.” She thought about seeing Nash Weaver where he shouldn’t be but didn’t want to make an accusation without any more proof. If she found him there again, she’d mention it to Shane.
Shane grunted. “Good. Maybe it was a one-time thing.”
“No luck of finding out who whipped Vidar?”
Shane grimly shook his head. “It wasn’t Jennings. He was the first one I thought of. You know, wanting to get revenge against the bull who threw him. Not only did he have an alibi, but it’s just not in him to hurt an animal.”
“I hope it’s not in any of those guys to hurt an animal,” Reba said, but she knew better. “Does anybody have a grudge against you?”
“That was my next thought. If they didn’t have something against the bull, then maybe someone has a problem with me. I piss off a lot of people. I don’t mean to. But if they were going after me and wanted to hurt me, they’d take out Sverre.”
“Why?” Reba asked as she took a big scoop of potato salad and put it on her plate.
“He’s our pride and joy. He’s never been ridden eight seconds. Vidar’s a tough son of a bitch, but Sverre is the bull to beat.”
“Maybe it was a one-time thing or a freak accident,” Reba said, hoping it was true. She pulled out an elote-seasoned corn on the cob. It was coated with butter and cojita cheese and a dusting of breadcrumbs. She squeezed some lime juice on it and dug in. Between the barbecue sauce and that, she was a mess. But she didn’t care.
“This is amazing,” she said once she swallowed. “Where did you get this?”
“A buddy of mine runs a food truck. He hooks me up when we’re at the same event.”
They made short work of the chicken and barbecue sauce was everywhere. Bringing over some damp paper towels, Reba sat back down and started cleaning up. Shane helped and stacked the plates and silverware into the RV’s small dishwasher. Then he sat down on the floor and let the kittens crawl all over him.
“Since you brought over dinner, how about I treat for dessert? Do you feel like a churro and some ice cream?”
“Hell yeah,” Shane said, smiling up at her. Huginn and Muninn were tackling each other, tumbling around. Hildr was stalking a bug, and Sigrun was curled up in Shane’s lap, asleep.
