Chapter 9 Jake
NINE
JAKE
Istroked my hand down Queenie’s side, trying to soothe the mare.
The horse was ill. That much was obvious to me.
She wasn’t eating well, her coat had lost its luster, and she had limited energy.
Queenie was pregnant with another six weeks to go before the birth, but those weren’t normal symptoms for a mare in her condition.
“Help’s coming, Queenie. We’ll get you on the mend,” I promised the animal.
I’d started getting seriously worried about her condition the previous day, but had given the horse until this morning to show improvement.
When her state seemed, if anything, to have gotten worse, I’d made the call to Julia.
Julia, the woman who’d driven off a month ago without a backward glance after our night together.
My offer to continue our…whatever it was had been shot down by her decisively, which still confused me.
I’d thought we’d had a great time. The sex had been incredible, and the companionship had been awesome, too, both on the hike and when we’d sat together in front of the fire.
Her feelings must have been different. Other than running into her at the Cattlemen’s meeting, there’d been nothing but silence between us ever since. Silence I’d broken with my phone call this morning. The care of my horses came before any personal issues I might have.
“Jake?” Julia’s voice through the open barn door made me jerk my head around. I hadn’t heard her pull up.
“Over here, Julia,” I said and stepped from the stall.
She wore her typical work attire: jeans, work boots, and a green polo shirt with the veterinary symbol embroidered on the chest pocket along with “Lett Veterinary Services.” Her hair was pulled back in a messy bun and her face was clean of makeup.
Damn, she was beautiful, the way she carried herself with confidence and purpose. I’d never realized before how sexy confidence was in a woman.
“Good to see you,” I said, meaning it.
“Hello, Jake.” She didn’t return the compliment, which stung a bit. “Let me get in the stall with Queenie and take a look at her.”
I stood in the open doorway, watching her examination.
I’d witnessed Julia and Declan examine my animals numerous times, but this felt different.
More personal. Julia checked the horse’s eyes and mouth, ran her hand over Queenie’s sides, limbs, and heavy belly.
All routine stuff, so why couldn’t I pull my eyes away?
“What do you think?” I asked after a few minutes.
“At first glance, I’d say she’s malnourished, nutrient deficient.”
“What?” I kept my tone low so as not to frighten the mare, but I wanted to shout. Calling Queenie malnourished was bullshit. Anyone who knew me knew that I’d never neglect any of my horses.
“What feed are you using?” Julia asked as she exited the stall.
“Chek’s. What’s that about?” I demanded when she grimaced.
“That’s low-quality feed. Considering how close she is to the end of her pregnancy, Queenie needs more and better nutrients.
Is that what all of your horses are eating now?
” She glanced around the barn. Most of the stock were out in the pastures and the stalls stood empty.
“Maybe I should take a look at the others.”
“That can’t be right,” I argued. “I switched to Chek’s last month because Luke specified it in his plan for the horse breeding program.
” I’d found where Luke had researched the newer brands on the market and selected this one.
He hadn’t gotten a chance to switch over before the crash, but his notes had been clear.
“He picked this personally, and he only got the best.”
“You can choose not to believe me, but let me show you something.” She pulled her phone from her pocket and pulled something up on the screen before holding out the phone to me. “Take it,” she insisted.
She’d pulled up several links about Chek’s feed from various sources.
Reluctantly, I took the phone and started to read.
I saw pieces from magazines that catered to the rodeo crowd and to horse breeders, journal articles from professional organizations for veterinary science, and reports from ranchers like me, lamenting the poor quality of the feed brand.
Shit. She was right. I’d been feeding my stock crap for the past month. I’d wondered briefly if it was truly the best quality option because the cost of the feed was significantly lower than my previous brand, but instead of doing my own research, I’d put my confidence in Luke.
“Luke couldn’t have known all that.” I handed the phone back to her. “Those reports must have come out after he picked the feed. He wouldn’t have risked the horses’ health.”
She gave a delicate shrug. “Some of those reports are more than five years old, but they were originally published in veterinary journals, so he might not have thought to check them,” she said, pocketing her phone, “but you should do your own research and ask questions. Don’t rely blindly on someone else’s choice.
Luke didn’t know everything. Your father understood that well enough. ”
“What the hell do you mean by that?” How did she know anything about what my father thought? Now I was pissed. I’d been willing to concede her point about the feed, but I wouldn’t just stand there and listen to my family being bad-mouthed.
She gave me a pained look. “You know I trained with Doc Wilson before buying out his practice. I overheard your father confiding in him that Luke had a good head for making money, but he made his decisions with too much focus on the financial bottom line. Both Doc and your dad were concerned that might have a negative impact on the health of the animals. Your dad asked Doc to keep an eye on what Luke did. Until today, I never saw any reason to bring it up. But Queenie needs better feed—and quick.”
“I don’t believe you,” I said, reeling on the inside. My dad didn’t trust Luke’s judgment? That didn’t make sense. Not once had I seen him disagree with Luke’s actions. Not one damn time. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Are you saying I’m a liar or suggesting that I don’t know about animals? Or both?” She glared at me, her hands going to her hips. “Because looking at Queenie now, it’s clear that she’s malnourished and you’ve been feeding her crap feed chosen by your brother.”
I took a step closer to her, my temper raging.
I wanted to tell her that she didn’t know a damn thing about anything to do with my family.
I wanted to tell her to get the hell off my ranch.
But with just inches between us, the memory of kissing her hit me hard enough to make me suck in a breath.
My thoughts immediately went to everything that happened after that initial kiss, and I felt my face go red. From anger? Temptation? I didn’t know.
Her eyes suddenly widened, and she turned away. Whatever she’d seen on my face was enough for her to start quickly packing away the few items she’d gotten from her bag to examine Queenie.
“Call me if she doesn’t show improvement after you’ve switched her feed, which I suggest you do today.
And don’t just limit it to her. Change it out for all of them.
I don’t want to have to come back out here for this again.
” Julia shook her head and the look on her face was one of pure disappointment, which hit me hard in the gut.
She headed for the barn door, her strides long.
Maybe it was because she didn’t look back again, or because my brain was warring with the desire either to argue with her or kiss her, but I jogged after her and grabbed her arm.
I didn’t have a plan for what to say, but I wasn’t done with our conversation.
She jerked away from my hold and stumbled back, her foot catching on a slight dip in the ground. A second later she was on the ground.
“Dammit,” she said and sucked in a breath. Her hands went to her right ankle, rubbing it.
“Jesus, Julia, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you fall.” I dropped down next to her. My anger was gone in a second. I wanted to make sure she wasn’t injured, but she waved me away.
“I don’t need anything from you,” she said. “Leave me alone.”
“Let me help you up.” It was all I could do not to gather her up in my arms and lift her from the ground. “We’ll go up to the house and—”
“Back off and give me a minute,” she practically barked at me, and I froze.
She grimaced when she probed her own ankle, making me think it had to be sprained, if not broken.
But she seemed determined to ignore that possibility, insisting, “I’m fine.
Really. I’ll just go home and ice it. I’m sure it’s just a sprain. ”
She attempted to struggle to her feet, rolling awkwardly to her side so her good leg took all her weight as she pushed herself up into a standing position. I hovered near by, waiting for her to accept my help. She didn’t. “See, it’s all good.”
“Julia, you can’t even put weight on it,” I argued.
“Yes, I can.” She put her right foot on the ground and almost went down when her ankle buckled beneath her. I caught her around the waist, keeping her upright.
“You won’t be able to drive like this,” I said. “I’ll take you home.”
“Get me to my truck,” she conceded, accepting my help for now. “I can drive with my left foot. It’s only a few miles.”
“Nope, that’s not safe. Both Brian and Sofia would be furious with me if I let you drive like this.
” I hoped that by mentioning Sofia in addition to my brother, she might see reason when all she appeared to be seeing was red.
I steadied her with one arm while retrieving her bag with the other.
With my help, she hopped out of the barn.
Both our trucks were parked nearby. Ignoring her attempts to head toward her own, I guided her to mine.
“I don’t need your help,” she gritted out.
“How are you going to get in your house when you get to your ranch?” I asked. “Did you think of that?”