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“Reba…” A hand on her arm stopped her from running to Shane and throwing her arms around him.

“What?” she said, annoyed when she turned and saw it was Dr. Kilgore who held her. “Get your hands off me!” Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Shane and Nash look in her direction.

“Easy there, sweetheart.” Kilgore raised his hands and gave her a fake smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

She remembered the warning look he used to give all of them. “I’m not your sweetheart,” she said. “And you don’t belong back here.”

“Hey,” Keith said. “He’s with me.”

She ignored him.

“There’s no need to be rude,” Kilgore said between his teeth. “I’ve been trying to reach you about a job offer.”

“I have a job,” Reba said. Even if she wasn’t too happy with Diane and the UPRC right now, it was miles better than what she’d had.

“I can offer you much better. I’ve heard about your troubles.” Kilgore looked over her shoulder and took a step back. Reba imagined that Shane was bearing down on them. “I can pay you a lot more than what you’re making now and you’d have full run of all my animals. You’d be in charge of all testing and decisions. We need you back on the team.”

“I wouldn’t work for a dickhead like you at twice the salary. You have the temper of a doped-up bull, the manners of a bull rider on a bender, and…” She took a deep breath. “You’re an evil fuck.” Reba was shaking, but damn, it felt good to say all that.

“How dare you,” he sputtered.

“How dare I?” she asked. “You really want me to explain how I dare with my boyfriend and family so close by.”

“You’re hysterical,” he said and backed away from her.

She risked a glance over her shoulder and saw not only Shane and Nash, but also Dylan, Dolly, and LeAnn almost literally at her back.

“And you are no longer worth my time.” Reba dismissed Kilgore with a look and then jumped into Shane’s arms. “Congratulations,” she said.

“You, too.” He kissed her.

Oblivious to the crowd around them, she wrapped her legs around his waist and let him carry her off to somewhere more private.

Epilogue

Reba

Six months later…

Charlo, MT—the Viking Ranch

Reba was looking through bridal magazines with Lainey and Shane’s mother, Mary, while Shane and Rick were getting Ragnar into the trailer for his next big date.

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to make you wear this.” Lainey flashed a picture of a truly ugly bridesmaid dress.

“Good,” Reba said. “Because I’d hate to get called away on an emergency on your wedding day.”

“We could have a double wedding,” Mary said. She had stopped dropping subtle hints a few months ago.

“No,” Reba said. “Lainey and Rick deserve their own day.”

“It’s just that Bill and I will be moving to Florida, and it’ll be difficult to come back here for a while.”

“You’ll be back once the weather sticks at a hundred degrees for a few months,” Shane said, coming up on the porch. He leaned down to give Reba a thorough kiss.

“I don’t think it gets that hot on the water,” Mary said.

“Don’t worry. We’ll give you plenty of notice when we decide to get married,” Reba said. She exchanged an amused look with Shane. They had already decided on a date next year, but they didn’t want to steal the attention away from Lainey and Rick’s wedding. They were going to wait until after the new couple was back from their honeymoon before making an official announcement. Dolly had already figured it out, but swore she wouldn’t say a word.