AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Reba bristled, forgetting about Kilgore for a second. She put her hands on her hips. “Do I look like a girl to you?”
She hadn’t meant to start something, but her toes tingled at Shane’s long, slow look. She felt his gaze from the top of her head right down to the tips of her toes. She had to admit, it wasn’t a hardship to look at him. She could see why he made the women who followed bull riders at the rodeo a little nuts.
He had sandy blond hair that was cropped tight to his skull, and flinty gray eyes that stared at her with an unyielding expression. He had a strong jawline, sensuous lips, and tanned throat that led down to a muscled chest that his cotton flannel shirt did nothing to hide. She allowed her gaze to dip briefly at his tight blue jeans, but then immediately went back to his eyes so he didn’t catch her leering at him. It was a good thing he was rumored to be obnoxious, because if he decided to be charming, Reba might have been in trouble. She liked cowboys, but only the traditional ones that said ma’am, dipped their hats, and treated women respectfully. Lately, those types of cowboys had been few and far between.
“No, ma’am,” he drawled, tipping his hat at her.
Uh-oh. Reba felt a zing of attraction right down to the tips of her muddy boots.
Unfortunately, that distraction allowed Dr. Kilgore to come up close and Reba felt claustrophobic, trapped between the two men. She hurriedly sidestepped and moved behind Shane. It galled her that she was using him as a shield, but it was either that or run away like a scared little girl.
“Is there a problem?” Shane said, quiet menace in his voice.
Normally, the tension in his voice would make her uncomfortable, but somehow coming from Shane it didn’t seem as threatening as when Kilgore did it.
“Reba and I are old friends,” Dr. Kilgore said, smiling and showing off his perfect white teeth.
Reba resisted a shudder. He thought he was charming. He wasn’t. And to make matters worse, he had wandering hands. Not that anyone believed her.
Reba wished she was full sass like her sisters LeAnn and Dolly. LeAnn would have told him in no uncertain terms that he was no friend of hers. Dolly had a caustic wit that would have eviscerated Kilgore where he stood. Instead, she swallowed hard and kept Shane in between them.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
It wasn’t much, but Reba was glad her voice didn’t shake. She no longer had to be afraid of Kilgore, she told herself. They were not alone in his office. He wasn’t angry. She no longer worked for him. Not to mention there wasn’t anything around for him to start throwing at her. Still, her fingernails were digging half-moons into the palms of her hands, and she was sick to her stomach.
“I have a nephew who’s trying his hand at bull riding today. Maybe you’ve heard of him? Keith Kilgore?”
Reba didn’t pay attention to the rodeo cowboys, but maybe Dolly would know who he was. It was Dolly’s job to promote these guys on the social media accounts of UPRC. If he was anything like his uncle, she’d make sure to stay far, far away from him.
“No,” she said quietly when it seemed like Kilgore was waiting for an answer.
Not Kilgore’s favorite word. No, I don’t want a backrub. No, I don’t want to go out for drinks after work. No. No. No.
“What are you doing here?” he asked.
“My sister, LeAnn, competes in the UPRC, too.” It wasn’t the complete story, but she didn’t want to give Kilgore any information about her life. Otherwise, he might take it upon himself to come to the rodeos to see her. He had hated the fact that Reba didn’t think he was as wonderful as he thought he was. After the incident, he kept trying to make it up to her by sending her flowers and trying to get her to go out for coffee so he could explain and ease the tension between them.
No. Hell no. Not then. Not now. Not ever.
“Reba, here, works for the UPRC. She makes sure all the bulls are in tip-top shape and haven’t been tampered with,” Lou said proudly.
She bit back a groan. Thanks a lot, Lou.
“Reba used to work for me,” Kilgore said. “I was sad to lose her.”
He was sad to lose a doormat who worked overtime for free, to make sure that he didn’t explode all over the place Monday morning. If an exam room wasn’t pristine or work paperwork hadn’t been done precisely how he wanted it to be, he made everyone’s life a living hell.
“You should get going,” Reba said. At his upraised eyebrows, she felt a flash of the familiar fear, and steeled herself against it. He couldn’t hurt her anymore, especially with Shane’s solid presence in between them. But self-preservation kicked in and she modified her statement with, “The bull riding is about to start. You don’t want to miss your nephew’s ride.”
She hated that she experienced a flash of relief when Kilgore’s face cleared, and he nodded. “Yeah, I’ve been shooting the bull for too long, so to speak. Lou, it was nice seeing you again.” He nodded to Reba and as he came around Shane, Reba took a step to keep Shane between them. “Reba, if you want to grab a drink while you’re in town, the number is still the same.”
You’re the reason why I hate people.
“Good to know.” She nodded again, not feeling brave enough to tell him to go to hell. Didn’t they say that discretion was the better part of valor? Even if it did make her feel like a cowardly little wimp. She barely noticed that Lou had moved off into another area, leaving her alone with Shane.
“If you want, I can hang around and make sure he doesn’t come back,” Shane said.
For a ridiculous reason, tears pricked at the corners of Reba’s eyes and she looked away, blinking rapidly so that he didn’t see them. “That’s really kind of you, but I’ll make myself scarce. I don’t usually watch the rodeos anyway. And he has no business being back here. I’ll keep an eye out for him. If he comes back, I’ll…” Hide, like she’d been doing for the past three years. “Go the other way,” Reba finished lamely.
