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The problem was, his father was looking for something to do and he couldn’t do the physical job of taking care of the animals anymore. Shane hated to throw his brother’s assistant foreman under the bus, but it was better than having his father accidentally delete something from their breeding records.

“Did Tommy ever fix the tractor?” he asked.

“What’s wrong with the damned tractor?” his father barked.

“You got me. I heard it from Rick. You’ll have to ask him.”

“That can’t wait for your brother to get back. I’ll take it up with Tommy. Now did you want anything or were you just wasting my time with this call?”

Shane didn’t know why he even bothered talking to people anymore. “I just wanted to let you know that the bulls are doing well today.”

“Of course they are.” His father hung up on him.

Shane was not looking forward to the conversation if he had to tell his father that the UPRC had changed their mind about using the Viking Ranch’s bulls next season. Maybe Barney had been pissing in the wind. It wouldn’t be the first time idle chatter was passed around like gospel.

Shane was ready to hit the beer tent and head over to the bronc events when his phone rang. Because he didn’t recognize the number, he almost let it go to voicemail. But he answered it on his way to the next event, hoping for some good news.

“Mr. Calland?” a soft, sexy Texas voice drawled his name.

“Yes, ma’am,” he said. It sounded like that pretty veterinarian from before.

“This is Doctor Keller.”

Jackpot.

“What can I do for you, Doc?” Maybe he should ask her out to dinner, not because of the information she might have about the new contracts—or maybe not. She might know what was going on and wouldn’t mind talking about it with him. The main reason though, was she was sexy and seeing her run from that creeper had brought out all his protective instincts.

“There’s a problem with your bull, Vidar. He’s bleeding from a cut on his leg and limping.”

So much for good news.

“What the hell happened?” Shane barked. “He was fine in the arena.”

“I wasn’t watching. Someone noticed he was limping back in the pen and called me to check him out. I wanted to give you a call to let you know I’m on my way to exam him.”

“I’ll be right there.”

Vidar was too young to go out to stud. He had the makings of a champion bull. Shane wasn’t sure which bull he could even replace him with for the next rodeo. They had ten other bulls that were contracted to the smaller Montana rodeos. He’d have to go online tonight and see who they had available for the show in San Antonio next week, if worst came to worst and Vidar was too hurt to perform.

His father was going to have a shit-fit.

Chapter Three

Reba

Reba could feel the eyes of the bull riders as she approached the pen. She ignored their murmurs and whispers and focused on the bull. Vidar was a massive creature with thick, muscular legs and a coat of black and white fur. He was pacing, limping and kicking out randomly. His eyes were wild with pain. The staff had managed to isolate him from the other bulls, so she could treat him more easily. But not before Vidar had riled up the other animals—and they were making a hell of a racket. Why couldn’t everyone just go away and let her work in peace?

They had one more set of rides to do before their owners could put them back into their trailers and take them to the next event. The bull riders were grumbling amongst themselves.

“Do you need a hand?” Ronnie Sunderland asked.

Ronnie was Karen/Vanessa’s husband. He was her exact opposite in every way. Ronnie had made a point in coming up to her before the bull-riding event to thank Reba for looking at his horse this morning. He had confided in her that money was tight, but he was planning on using his winnings from today to buy the renal feed that Starshine needed.

Reba had sucked it up and called Kilgore Veterinary to see if they had any promotions going on. Since she knew Dr. Kilgore wasn’t there, it had made things easier. The woman who answered the phone didn’t know her, but she knew that the rodeo was in town and was pretty pissed that she had to work today. Reba had offered free tickets and Ronnie’s autograph, and the woman had been able to come through for her. She had been able to give Ronnie a coupon code for a six-month supply.

“It’s only twenty percent off,” Reba had said, apologetically.

“I appreciate you.” Ronnie had put a hand over his heart. “And Starshine does, too.”