Chapter 7 Julia
SEVEN
JULIA
Attending the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association meeting was an easy way to network with the local ranch owners.
Once a month, the members got together at Bite and Brew—it was one part gossip and one part informative.
The gossip always involved who was doing what and with whom, which I did my best to steer clear of.
Declan Morris, the other independent vet in town, got swept up in it when his now-fiancée, Shannon Cafferty, almost lost a warmblood she’d been eyeing to the Black Hat Ranch simply because the owner had an ax to grind against Shannon.
Word spread fast that Declan had been at the center of the controversy, and many of the ranchers had been prepared to run him out of town until he proved himself by getting it all straightened out.
Trust and respect were valued commodities in this town and if you didn’t have either, well…
time to move on. These same ranchers also had long memories and carried grudges for even longer.
Even now, Declan was still working overtime building that trust up again.
I had to admit that his troubles were good for my business, even if I wouldn’t wish what happened to him on anyone.
Obviously, trust goes both ways. Becca, the owner of Black Hat had also violated trust. Because of her behavior, neither Declan nor I will work with her.
According to this morning’s gossip, Becca was using the new corporate chain and was deeply unhappy at the lack of personalized visits.
I took that to mean that no one there was taking her up on her flirtations or her fishing for competitor information.
It seemed that Family Veterinary Care wasn’t treating her like family.
“Julia!” I looked up to see Shannon and Josh Cafferty headed my way. “It’s been a while, how are you?” Shannon asked.
I stood up to hug the siblings. “Good. I caught some of the events your horses were in at the rodeo. Looks like you did well.”
Shannon blew on her knuckles, then rubbed them across her chest. “I know, right? My girls did fantastic in the juvenile barrel races. I couldn’t believe it.
Granted, they had the best riders. And with Cal Pierce planning to open his rodeo school, I’m sure I’ll have more parents interested in my stock. ”
I agreed. Thanks to Amy Thorne organizing the charity rodeo and Cal choosing to set up his school here to be closer to his new family, little Poplar Springs was going to become a lot more interesting to rodeo competitors of all ages.
“Speaking of horses, that Twister of yours looked fantastic in the arena,” Josh said. “Any chance you plan on hiring him out for stud fees?”
Shannon’s eyes got huge when Josh said that and she began to sputter. “Pretty sure Twister’s way outside our current budget,” she said before looking to me. “He’s top tier with his genes, right?” I nodded and she shook her head. “Definitely not in our price range, then.”
Stud fees fell into different tiers depending on a combination of things like pedigree, performance, and continued performance of the sire’s offspring.
So the more ribbons and trophies, the higher the fee.
Twister was into the five figures, which meant I needed to start using him so I could generate a cashflow.
“Well, if you change your mind, I might be persuaded to offer a small discount to friends,” I said.
“See? Never hurts to ask,” Josh said elbowing Shannon who promptly elbowed him back.
There was a shout and all three of us turned to see what was going on. A fight had broken out in the middle of the meeting. Ranchers were scooting out of the way forming a semicircle around two men who appeared to have each other in… some sort of wrestling hold? I wasn’t quite sure.
“Dammit, is that the two Bobs? Those two need to hash out whatever sticks they’ve got up their butts.
Excuse me.” Josh stalked over there, pushing his way through the spectators.
Marc—the chef and one of the owners of Bite and Brew—stormed out from the kitchen and pushed his way through the crowd.
Between the two of them, Josh and Marc managed to separate Bob McCall and Bob Jackson just as the sheriff walked in with two of his deputies.
“Does someone want to tell me what the hell is going on?” Brian demanded while the deputies got behind both men.
“Not really,” one of the Bobs said. He sounded sullen.
“Take it outside,” Marc demanded. “And you’re both banned from the diner for thirty days.”
That set off a series of complaints that it wasn’t fair and it was the other Bob’s fault but Marc wasn’t hearing it.
“Keep that up, and I’ll ban you for the rest of the year—and that includes any takeout orders.”
That shut them both up instantly, and Brian was able to hustle them out of the diner to continue the discussion. With the fighting over, folks started leaving. The staff got to work busing the tables and setting everything up for the next customers.
“That was an interesting way to end a meeting,” Jake said, coming to stand beside me. I chuckled.
“I don’t suppose your brother knows how or why this current feud got started?”
Jake shook his head. “From what he’s told me, he doesn’t have a clue, but I do know that he’s gotten sick of it.
He’s threatened to leave them both in a jail cell over the weekend to sort their shit out.
That usually shuts them up. He’d never do it, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he makes the threat again. ”
I chuckled at that, and we stood in a companionable silence. After his horrible “joke,” we hadn’t been anywhere near each other and I was relieved to realize that my anger had subsided. I’d hoped that we’d at least still be able to work together, and at this point, that felt true.
“So, pick up any new clients? I know Declan comes to the meetings for that, so I’m guessing you do too?” Jake asked.
“Yeah, I do—and it paid off today. The owner of Roundabout Farm wants me to come do wellness checks on their livestock.” I debated mentioning Josh asking about Twister’s stud fees.
I knew the two of them were friends, though, and I didn’t want to create a conflict when none was needed, so I kept quiet.
“That’s great.” Jake was staring out the window. “Looks like my brother has finished with the Bobs. I’m going to catch up with him. It was good to see you.”
I watched Jake walk away. While I didn’t regret that rainy night we spent together, I knew it could never be anything more than a one-night stand.
Outside, Brian said something that made Jake laugh. It felt like my heart fluttered in response. I blew out a breath. While my brain understood that there couldn’t be anything more, it seemed that my heart had yet to accept that.