Page 11

J enny followed Nicole and Elise into the bar. They liked to go dancing on the town's outskirts on weekends. They usually tried to get Jenny to go with them, but she always had an excuse of having to work, but mostly she wanted to be alone and work on her house.

Jenny looked around the dim and crowded interior of the Western bar. “I can’t believe you talked me into this.”

“Oh, for God’s sake, quit whining,” Nicole retorted without looking at her.

Jenny laughed. She loved how they bullied her into things she normally wouldn’t do, and they weren’t intimidated by her at all. They were just her friends. Ones she had needed for a very long time.

Nicole grabbed a table that someone was just leaving.

A waitress stopped at the table. “What can I get you guys?”

Jenny raised her hand. “A bottle of beer.”

“Same with us,” Nicole and Kristine piped in.

Jenny looked around the massive room in amazement. It was the first time she’d been in the place, and now she regretted not coming sooner. It was a cowboy bar down to the peanut shells on the floor, and all the men with cowboy hats staggered around the room.

The waitress came back and set the bottles on the table. Jenny reached in her pocket.

Nicole put her hand on her arm. “I got this one.”

“Thanks. This is the only one I can have, but I’ll buy the next round.”

An hour later, a screeching sound caught all three women’s attention.

“What’s going on?” Jenny asked as she looked over her shoulder at where the sound was coming from.

“Mr. McKenzie must be here,” Nicole commented.

“Why do you think that?”

Elise sighed as the woman yelling got louder. “It’s Carly.”

“Kaden’s ex-wife?” Jenny asked incredibly.

“Yes. Every once in a while, if she catches him out, she’ll tear into him.”

“What does he do?”

“Stands there with his arms crossed.”

“God, why doesn’t he lay into her?”

“It just makes it worse.”

“Let’s go,” Jenny said and stood.

“Where are we going?”

“Play along with me. If I start laughing, you do too. Got it?”

“Be careful. She’s about twice your size,” Elise said.

“I bet she doesn’t wrestle with horses or cows like I do.”

The other women laughed and followed her through the crowd.

Jenny took in the scene. A crowd was in a circle around Carly and Kaden, and no one was doing anything.

She pushed past people. “Move,” she demanded.

“Hey, Doc,” someone said.

She ignored everyone except Kaden. She smoothed her hair, pasted on a smile, and sauntered over to Kaden. Her smile widened at the look on their faces. She wrapped an arm around Kaden's waist and was thrilled when he wrapped his around her.

“Who’s this, Babe?” she said and looked up at him.

Kaden’s mouth twitched. “My ex.”

Jenny looked the stunned Carly up and down and knew she had very little time before the woman got over her astonishment.

She made her eyes widen dramatically. “The slut?” she asked incredibly.

Kaden choked, and several people started laughing.

“Yeah, Babe, the slut.”

“Why is she screeching like a demented chimpanzee?”

More people laughed, and Carly’s face grew darker.

“Who the hell are you?” Carly shrieked.

“Jenny,” she said simply and smiled.

“Jenny,” she scoffed. “Is this your new stupid whore?”

Jenny laughed. “No one has ever called me stupid before.” She looked up at Kaden. “Have they, Honey?”

He looked down at her and shook his head before turning back to Carly. “No. She’s actually a certified genius with a doctorate in veterinary medicine.”

Jenny looked at Carly. “That means I’m a vet,” she said slowly as if she were talking to an imbecile.

Jenny almost got a bit concerned when Carly started to turn purple.

“What’s wrong with her, Doc?” someone in the crowd asked.

“I think she’s trying not to choke on being the center of unwanted attention.” Jenny looked around the crowd. “Does anyone want her here?”

A chorus of “No!” rent the air.

Jenny shrugged her shoulders. “You see, Carly. No one wants you here. Although you could stay because you're really quite entertaining.” The crowd laughed. “Kaden’s been working so hard he needs a good laugh.”

They listened to Carly start to sputter and her fists rigid against her side. Jenny knew what was coming and was ready for it.

Carly threw out her fist, trying to connect with Jenny’s face. Jenny jerked back away from it and then went in for her own chance and popped the woman in the nose, making it bleed and her scream. Kaden put himself between her and Carly when Carly started to move toward Jenny.

Kaden sighed. “You should go, Carly. You’re making a spectacle of yourself.”

Jenny growled and tried to go around Kaden, but he held her back.

Jenny sneered at the woman. “And Carly. Kaden’s my man now, so you need to move on, girlfriend, because you’re not getting anything more from him. I’ll make sure of that.”

“You bitch!” Carly screamed. A large man came up beside her and grabbed her arm.

“It’s time to leave, Carly. No one wants you here.”

The crowd started to break up. The entertainment was done for the night. Jenny heard Carly yelling and screaming all the way to the door.

Jenny grinned and then looked up at Kaden to see him glowering down at her. Whoops. She did just barge into a situation that was none of her business.

She pulled away from him and took a few backward steps. Thankfully, her friends had come up on either side of her to give her their support.

“Sorry. I know I shouldn’t have done that. I just have a thing about bullies, you know. So...” she said and took a few more steps away from him. “I’ll see you later.”

“Don’t...”

She ignored his growl and jumped into the crowd, which instantly surrounded her and her friends.

“That was amazing,” Nicole said, laughing. “Oh, my God. The look on both their faces was priceless. They’ll be talking about this for years.”

Oh, great. Jenny stopped when she thought she was far enough from him, as her beeper buzzed. She glanced at the number. “Sorry, guys. I have a call. I have to run.”

Both women laughed.

“I think it would be a good idea to make a hasty exit,” Elise said, a little worriedly. She looked around like she was expecting Mac to come at them at any moment.

Jenny hugged them both. “I’ll see you at the clinic in the morning.”

“Be careful,” Nicole called as she walked away.

Jenny was out the door in her vehicle and driving off in less than a minute, headed to a ranch twenty-five minutes away.

She gave herself a moment to reminisce about earlier. She laughed and shook the hand she’d used to hit Carly. It would ache, but in no way would it bruise or give her problems.

It made her miss her boxing class she’d attended in the city. Maybe she could put up a bag in her garage or basement? She’d think about it later. She needed to get into the zone she used to concentrate on her patient and nothing else.