12-Alarm Cowboys (36 page)

“Tanner.”

“Fire’s under control,” the chief said. “Everything okay at the Reeves’s place?”

“Horse wrapped in barbed wire but Dr. Greyson got him out and everything’s fine.

“Great. Go on home. We’ll have the rest of the fire knocked down in a few minutes.

“You sure? I can head that way.” He glanced at Georgina who’d stopped at the highway waiting to see which way she needed to turn. She nodded her agreement that they could head toward the fire if they were needed.

“I’m sure.”

“Okay then. See ya when I see ya.” He pushed the phone back into his front pocket. “We’re good to go home. Fire’s almost out.”

She shrugged. “Okay.” Turning onto the highway, she glanced at him. “The vaccinations for Jolene. Do you have them or do I need to do that when I get you home?”

“I don’t have them, so sure. Go ahead.”

“Hey,” he said. “You did a good job back there.”

“You mean for a girl?” She shot him a grin. It hit his gut with the intensity of a flaming arrow.

“Yeah.” He laughed. “Better than your baseball throwing.” He winked which made her giggle.

“Ain’t it the truth.”

*

Soot-covered and smelling
like a chimney, Zack rolled in about thirty minutes after Georgina left the Flying Eagle.

“You stink,” his sister said.

“Ah. You’re just beggin’ for a hug.” Zack reached for her.

Deb wiggled free from his grasp and ran screaming out of the kitchen.

Tanner chuckled. “She’s right. You do smell somethin’ awful.”

“You want a hug too?” Zack grinned, his teeth looking whiter than normal with his sooty face.

“Nope. What I want is to eat dinner without inhaling smoke with every bite. Deb and Dillon held it for us.”

“I’ll grab a shower and be back in two shakes.”

Tanner shook his head as Zack left for the shower. What the boy didn’t realize was that it was going to take more than one good soaping of his body and hair to get that fire scent removed. Tanner had been on more fire runs than Zack was old.

“Is it safe?”

Tanner glanced up to see his sister’s face peeking around the door frame. “He’s gone. It’s safe.”

“Phew,” she said. “His scent remains.”

He chuckled. “Turn on the attic fan. I’ll open some windows and we’ll pull fresh air from outside.”

They did, and it helped…some. The strong smell of charred wood and grass hung in the sky.

After dinner, the twins headed up to do homework while Zack took off for Leo’s Bar. Tanner turned down Zack’s invitation to go along. He’d done the bar scene back in his twenties. Lexington had provided numerous avenues for partying but now, drinking and bar hopping felt like he was regressing in life rather than moving forward.

But his days as a single Lexington firefighter had been memorable…at least the ones he could remember.

He lifted a beer to his lips. Yep. Those had been some fun days.

Hmm. Had Deb or Dillon remembered to put Jolene up for the night? Sure they had some time before her expected delivery but none of his family really understood how special Jolene was to him.

Jolene’s dam had died only a couple of weeks after delivery, requiring a team of volunteers to pick up the mothering duties for the orphan. He’d volunteered, mostly because there had been a cute horsewoman making the request but also because he’d been a little homesick for the Flying Eagle. As it turned out, Jolene had bonded with him over all the other volunteers and he ended up spending a great deal of time with her. The cute recruiter turned out to be married to the sire’s owner and he became friends with the couple. When Jolene turned six months old, he bought her, having no idea what he was going to do with her.

The sire’s owners let him keep Jolene at their farm and Tanner worked with her daily. When Tanner’s parents asked him to come home, he did, bringing a two-year-old Jolene with him. He’d ridden her up to about six months into her pregnancy and while he knew he could continue to ride her, he felt like she deserved a little spoiling, so he’d insisted no one on her back and lots of love and attention until she delivered.

He headed out to her pasture to see if she was still out, which she was. She immediately started toward the fence as soon as she saw Tanner. He would have sworn she was smiling. Of course it was his imagination, but there was a definite twinkle in her eyes.

“Hey, girl. How you feeling?”

Jolene put her head over the rail to get the strokes she felt she was due, or maybe it was the apple in Tanner’s pocket.

He scratched behind her ears and gave her long strokes around her neck. “You are looking like you’re going to pop.”

Jolene nudged him as though either agreeing or pointing out that her current condition was his idea.

“Brought you something.” He pulled the apple from his pocket. She took it whole and chomped down. “Ready to head up for the night?” he asked as he opened the gate to the corral. “Come on.”

Jolene headed toward the opening. Without encouragement from him, she headed into the barn and down the aisle, waiting outside her stall for him to open the door.

“Sometimes I think you’re just too smart.”

As though agreeing with him, she entered her stall and turned around.

“So tell me, what do you think of the new lady vet? Kind of cute, isn’t she? And smart too. But I’ve got to tell you, Jolene, the woman’s got a smart mouth on her.” He chuckled to himself. “She not my type at all, you know? But there’s just something about her.”

“Yeah? Like what?”

Tanner startled. His head snapped toward the voice. Zack was leaning against the wall in the stall next door.

“Don’t let me interrupt you,” Zack said. “Your and Jolene’s conversation was just getting interesting.”

“Jackass.”

Zack laughed. “So you think the new doc is interesting, huh? So do I.”

“She’s too old for you.”

“Excuse me?”

“Dr. Greyson. She’s too old for you.”

Zack’s expression took on a look of intense interest. “I don’t know.” He deliberately rubbed his chin. “She’s a looker, for sure. And as you yourself said, she’s smart. And heck, I’m pretty mature for my age.”

Tanner rolled his eyes.

“And now that I think about it, veterinarians make pretty good money. I’ve never thought about a sugar momma but now…hmm.”

“Mature, my ass,” Tanner said.

Zack howled. “She’s all yours,” he said in between chuckles.

“I never said I wanted her,” Tanner protested. “Besides we don’t even like each other. And what are you doing here anyway? Thought you’d headed to Leo’s Bar.”

“Am. Just had something I needed to do before I left. Invitation to come along is still open.”

“Thanks but no thanks. Been there. Done that.”

“Have the T-shirt,” Zack completed.

“Exactly. Got some reading to do.”

“Reading? Man, when did you get so old?”

Tanner flipped him off, which made Zack grin.

“Don’t forget we’re moving cattle in the morning.”

“Is that your old man way of telling me to not stay out too late?”

“Nope. Just my way of telling you that you’ll be in the saddle by five in the morning. How crappy you feel is totally up to you.”

After Zack left, Tanner headed back to the house to make a few phone calls and do some research on foaling webcams. The more he read about them, the more he liked the idea of putting one in the foaling area and maybe a couple of other ones around the barn. It would save him a lot of legwork at night, and maybe even some worry during the day, if he could log on and check on Jolene.

And he hated to admit it, but it would probably impress an almost impossible-to-impress lady vet he knew.

What confused him was why he was
trying
to impress Georgina Greyson.

‡

G
eorgie loved Whispering
Springs. The town was quaint with a unique charm all its own. She’d been able to shop for just about anything she needed without making the long drive to Dallas. The people in the town had been warm and welcoming, and for the first time in her life, she felt her first itch to put down roots. Too bad Mabee had been looking for a temp when he hired her and not a partner.

Texas was a huge state. She was fairly certain she could find another town just as appealing, whether in Texas or somewhere else. One of the advantages of no family was no need to worry about anyone but herself. One of the disadvantages, however, was just how alone in the world she always felt.

What she’d discovered in Whispering Springs was that the people she met and befriended wouldn’t let her feel alone. Tonight was an excellent example. Friday night and she was meeting some people at Leo’s Bar and Grill for drinks. The group was a mixture of men and women, all single, all out to have a good time. The sad thing was she wasn’t much of a partier. The ear-splitting music, harsh lighting, and loud voices usually produced a migraine within an hour. Her favorite fantasy was to go home after a long day to a warm shower, a cold beer, and a hot man. Was that too much to ask for?

A hot man popped into her head and she tried to shove him away. Tanner Marshall. Whenever she saw him, places inside her that she didn’t know existed began to tingle. She didn’t dare look in a mirror around him out of fear her cheeks would be flushed with lust. She sort of hoped he thought she used too much cheek blush.

The intercom on her desk squawked. “Dr. Greyson. You have a call on line three.”

“Thanks.”

She punched the line. “This is Dr. Greyson.”

“Hey, Doc. It’s Tanner Marshall.”

Her heart rattled around her chest. She hadn’t seen him since when she’d given Jolene her shots.

“Everything okay?”

“It’s fine,” he replied. “But I’ve got something to show you.”

She frowned. “Show me? Are you here?”

He chuckled. “Nope. I’m at home. You near your computer?”

The laptop screen was bouncing balls from corner to corner since she’d let it go to sleep.

“I am.”

“Great. Get on the internet and enter this address.”

“Hold on.” She brought up the internet and then said, “Okay. I’m ready. Remember I’m typing, so go slowly.”

“Enter this.”

He rattled off an address for Flying Eagle Ranch and then a specific page. Thankfully, he went slowly and when she hit enter, a webcam link opened. Tanner stood in front of the camera, a phone to his ear, Jolene standing behind him.

“I see you,” she said, unable to keep the surprise from her voice. “What’s this?”

“Well, seeing as you having to come all the way out here to check on Jolene, I thought I’d make it easier. I installed this camera so you can see what’s going on with her without having to come over.”

“Oh.” She swallowed against the lump rapidly growing in her throat.

“Great, huh? You’ll have a front row seat to Jolene’s foaling.”

“It sure is.” The enthusiasm in her voice sounded as fake as it was.

“Well, mark this page so you can find it.”

“I’m doing it as we speak.” Scalding tears welled in her eyes.

“Talk to you later.” He waved to her through the camera and then hung up.

Her office door stood open and she hurried around her desk to close it. Once it was locked, she slid to the floor, her knees bent. She rested her forehead on her knees as the tears she’d been fighting won.

This was mortifying. Not the crying, but that she’d been such a pest to Tanner that he’d felt it necessary to buy a webcam to keep her away. She’d thought she’d seen a couple of grins and had even gotten a couple of jokes from him. The idea that she might be getting under his skin a little had crossed her mind. Well, she had gotten something…gotten on his nerves.

She wanted to sit here and die.

“Georgina. Dr. Greyson.” Her assistant Janet knocked on the door. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Just taking a little breather.”

“We’re done for the day. Floors mopped. Phones transferred. All our boarders have been walked and fed. Is there anything else I need to do before I leave?”

“Can’t think of a thing.”
Except just shoot me for being an idiot.

“Joe will be in at ten to walk the dogs. I’ll see you on Monday.”