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Dinner wasn’t the relaxing or festive affair that it could have been, but Shane ordered a few expensive bottles of wine, and it took the edge off of things.
“I had wanted to celebrate tonight because the Viking Ranch has been chosen as one of the exclusive suppliers of bulls for the UPRC, but Blevins asked me to keep it on the down-low. I had thought it was because of the tragedy with Ronnie. But he doesn’t give a shit about that if he’s going to promo Killer on a killer.”
“Why the secrecy?” Reba asked.
“Maybe they’re waiting until the end of the season,” LeAnn said.
“It’s going to piss off a lot of people,” Shane said.
Like Shane was fond of saying, cowboys like to gossip so it was probable that a few people already knew about it. Maybe they were even unhappy enough to try and hurt the Viking Ranch because of it.
Reba clinked glasses with him. “Good luck with the contract.”
“We’ll need it,” he said.
After dinner, Dylan and LeAnn said they were going back home for a few days, but they would see them all in Odessa.
“I’ll travel with Reba in the Winnebago to Brady tomorrow to take some pictures of Sverre.”
Reba tried not to grimace. She had been hoping for a night with Shane since he was still in town, but that didn’t look like it was in the cards for tonight either.
“I just need to grab some stuff,” Reba said. It was a good thing the veterinarian trailer wasn’t going to be picked up until the next morning. And that she was in charge of packing it up. She’d be able to grab the supplies she needed to run all the tests she wanted and to give Sverre a full exam.
“I’ll go with you,” Shane said.
At least they could spend a little time together alone tonight.
“Do you think it could be a virus or an allergic reaction?” Shane asked as he drove her back to the veterinarian’s trailer.
“I don’t know.” Reba leaned her head on his arm. “If LeAnn does have to ride him, will you be there in the stall with her? I know Dylan will be, but it will ease my mind if you can be there, too.”
“I will. I won’t leave Sverre’s side until the chute gate opens with her on it. Hopefully, it won’t come to that.”
“Thank you,” she said.
“I’m sorry this whole situation has come back to bite you on the ass,” Shane said. “I never thought you’d lose your job over being with me, and now your sister has to put her life on the line.”
“You heard her back there. She wants the chance to go on Sverre. Like I said before, none of this your fault. And I didn’t lose my job. Not yet anyway.” They wouldn’t look too kindly on what she was going to do with their supplies, though. With any luck, no one would ever find out. But she didn’t care. It made her feel better to be proactive in this. “I still can’t shake the feeling that this is somehow related to Vidar being hurt. I keep going over in my mind all the little things that don’t add up. I’d like to pin it on Dr. Kilgore trying to muscle in on your exclusive contract, but I’m not sure how much of that is me wanting him to be the villain.”
“His nephew is a prick, and I’m not just saying that because he’s banging my ex-wife.”
“She seemed awfully cozy with you before. Could Keith be taking out his jealousy on your bull?”
Shane parked by the trailer. “He’s mean enough, but I think he’s a chickenshit. He’s afraid of the bulls. He doesn’t go near them unless he can help it.”
Reba thought about that as she waited to let Shane open the truck door for her. Now, she was kicking herself that she didn’t find out what the job offer Keith had for her was. She had assumed it was on behalf of his uncle not having the guts to ask her to come back to work for him. Maybe she’d call Dr. Kilgore tomorrow and see what it was all about. She might be able to find some clues if he was a part of all of this. She slid out of the truck, grabbed her keys, and unlocked the trailer.
Shane slumped into a chair while Reba gathered what she needed. She grabbed a microscope, centrifuge, blood chemistry analyzer, urinalysis equipment, and other tools she would need for onsite testing. “I did catch Taylor Keating in the bullpens where he didn’t belong. He said he was trying to get familiar with the bulls. I don’t see him as the type to hurt them, though.”
Reba took a deep breath as she remembered there was someone else to consider. “I caught Nash Weaver back there, too. He didn’t have too good of a reason to be back there. And while he seems like a nice guy, there’s something off about him. Dolly is suspicious of him because he has a hidden past.”
Shane nodded. “He did come out of nowhere. It could be he’s the one hurting the bulls, but for what purpose?”
“Maybe he’s working for a rival bull breeder?” Reba double-checked her gear to make sure that she could do everything on the road. She’d put it all back before it was missed in Odessa. Shane helped her carry the duffel bags out of the trailer.
“I should have a talk with him in Odessa,” Shane said grimly.
Reba got that same shiver of fear from the menace in his voice. “We don’t have any proof he’s behind this.”
