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“Are you a bull rider, too?” Shane’s father asked.
Reba could see where Shane got his piercing eyes and forbidding scowl from. Shane’s mother rolled her eyes behind her husband’s back.
“This is Dr. Reba Keller,” Shane said, emphasizing the word doctor. He handed Lainey the other cat carrier and hugged his mother. “Reba, this is my dad, Bill, and my mother, Mary.”
“It’s nice to meet you. You have a beautiful home,” Reba said.
“My brother, Rick.” Shane pointed to a younger version of himself who was standing in the doorway of the house.
“Come inside,” Mary said warmly.
“Can I get you guys a beer?” Rick asked, holding the door open for them.
“That would be great,” Reba said. She cautiously moved around Bill, who was still glowering at her suspiciously.
Everybody piled into the house. Rick handed her an ice-cold beer and gestured to the large but cozy family room. She gratefully sank into an overstuffed chair and immediately wished she could kick off her boots and close her eyes. Everyone got drinks and sat down as well. Shane’s father turned on the TV. Rick reached over and turned the sound down.
“I was watching that,” Bill said.
“I’ll put on the closed captions.” Mary fiddled with a few buttons.
Bill made a face and turned back to scowl at Reba. “So what are you a doctor of?”
“I’m a veterinarian,” Reba said.
“You take care of kittens?” He pointed to the four little ones that Lainey had freed from their carriers. She and Mary had sat on the floor and were feeding them from the snack tubes. The kittens were mewing and pawing in an adorable manner.
“I mostly do large farm animals.”
It was like the sun suddenly came out. “Oh really?” Bill said, now all smiles.
“Here we go,” Shane said.
“Before we start in on that…” Mary said. “You mentioned that you had some important news to tell us.” She looked from Reba to Shane. “Isn’t this rather sudden?”
Reba choked on her beer.
“No, it’s not like that,” Shane said, shooting Reba an apologetic look. “Reba agreed to come with me to help with the kittens.”
“So you’re not pregnant or getting married?” Mary asked, disappointment flashing over her face.
Reba put the beer bottle down on the coaster on the table before she had an accident.
“No,” Reba said.
“Mom, really.” Shane sighed. “I wanted to wait until tomorrow morning when we were all rested, but I hadn’t realized you were playing guessing games.”
Lainey shrugged. “I thought it might be you were getting back into bull riding.”
Shane shot his brother an incredulous look. Where was all this coming from?
“I kept my mouth shut,” Rick said.
“You know what this is all about?” Lainey looked hurt and betrayed.
“You’re not getting back into bull riding, are you, son?” Mary asked.
“Fu—” Shane corrected himself. “Of course not. What I wanted to discuss in person has to do with the UPRC’s new rules for the bull breeders that are providing livestock.”
