Cowboy Vet. Pamela Britton

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      Chapter Two

      He hated her.

      It was undisputable fact, Jessie thought as she finished her shift, Dr. Sheppard having long since hit the road.

      By the end of the week, Jessie wished she could give herself a frontal lobotomy. Every time she recalled their conversation she went from burning mad to horribly embarrassed. She couldn’t believe she’d asked him for a job.

      But no matter how humiliating, she didn’t regret it. She’d do anything to break into her chosen field.

      Which was probably why she found herself listening in on yet another conversation in the lineup at the espresso shop on her way to work.

      “Hear he’s had a devil of a time keeping up with all the work.”

      “That’s what happens when you’re the only large-animal vet in a town of two thousand.”

      “Yeah,” said the first guy.

      The sound of a coffee grinder filled the air; the chocolate smell of the beans made Jessie’s mouth water. If only Frank made coffee as good as this place. “I tried to get an appointment with him this morning but his receptionist said he was on his way into the clinic for an emergency surgery.”

      “Gonna have a hell of a time doing that without an assistant. Or did he find someone?”

      “Not as far as I know.”

      Surgery? Jessie thought, placing her order a moment later. If he was supposed to do surgery he would need help. Unless he sent the animal out to another clinic. But hauling a sick animal might put too much stress on it, which meant he’d have to—

      “You know what?” she said to the young woman making her drink, who raised her diamond-pierced eyebrow. “Scratch that order,” she said. “I’ll be back in a bit.”

      If the woman was mad at her for leaving, Jessie didn’t stick around to find out. She brushed by the people waiting in line and all but ran from the place.

      Outside felt more like late winter than May. Los Molinos’s downtown strip was empty except in front of the Elegant Bean, where all the action usually took place this time of morning. Jessie snuggled into her down jacket, the faux fur around the hood tickling her cheek. The car she drove, a Honda that had seen better days, sat at the end of a string of vehicles. She was ten feet away when she saw the pool of radioactive-green coolant on the asphalt.

      “Oh, Gladys,” she said, wincing and shaking her head. “Not today.”

      A stream of vapor trailed her to the clinic on the other side of town. By the time she arrived, the motor gurgled as if it were on its last legs—and it probably was. She ignored it, choosing to deal with her engine’s lack of performance later, after she’d talked to Rand. If she talked to him.

      That was a big if, she thought as she slipped out of her car into the cool morning air, her cheeks momentarily heated, saunalike, by condensation leaking from her radiator. On the glass door, the words Los Molinos Veterinary Clinic stood out in white letters. Her heart pounded like the horses that ran behind the low buildings.

      Unfortunately, that same heart stopped the moment she saw who manned the front desk: Pauline Patterson, her childhood nemesis. Her old schoolmate really should have outgrown her animosity toward Jessie, but had never forgiven her for stealing the object of Pauline’s affection back in the seventh grade.

      Oh, great.

      “Can I help you?” she asked, her eyes narrowed as she stared up at Jessie. She still wore her brown hair feathered back even though Jessie was pretty certain that style hadn’t been popular since the seventies—long before either of them had been born.

      “Is Dr. Sheppard in?” Jessie asked, inwardly wincing at the malice she saw in the woman’s expression. Jeez. What would she have to do? Whip herself with rosary beads and wear a crown of thistles?

      “What do you need to see him about?”

      “I swallowed a mouse and I need his help getting it out,” Jessie said, shifting her purse to her other shoulder. Like the rest of her wardrobe, it’d seen better days. The faux leather bag was peeling away from its cotton backing. She hid it under her armpit. Not that it mattered. Pauline’s eyes hadn’t left her own.

      “Okay, seriously. I heard he was on his way here with an emergency surgery. I wondered if he might need help.”

      “He’s not available right now.”

      She hadn’t asked if he was available, Jessie almost pointed out. “Is he prepping for surgery?”

      “I’m not at liberty to say.”

      Did Jessie have to pull a gun on her? “Okay. Well, will you tell him I stopped by? And that I’m available to assist?”

      “You?” Pauline asked, her fleshy arms coming to rest on her desk. “Available to assist?”

      “Yes, me,” Jessie said, holding on to her temper by a thread.

      “Since when do you know anything about veterinary medicine?”

      “Since I graduated with an A.A. in veterinary science.”

      Pauline huffed in a way that had nothing to do with laughter. “Let me guess,” she said, “you got it over the Internet.”

      Okay, that did it. “Pauline,” Jessie said softly, drawing on the psych class she’d been forced to take for college credits, “I really don’t understand your animosity. But I wish we could bury the hatchet, especially since I’d like your help in convincing Dr. Sheppard to hire me.”

      Silence. “You want Dr. Sheppard to hire you?” From the expression on Pauline’s face, it was as if Jessie had announced her intention to cure cancer using nothing more than nose drops.

      “Why not?” Jessie said. “I’m local. I love animals. And I have a degree.”

      “Well, I’m sure Dr. Sheppard will be thrilled to hear all about your qualifications, but no amount of schooling can teach a person integrity.”

      If Jessie didn’t leave now, she’d do something she might regret. “Just tell Dr. Sheppard I dropped by, ’kay?” she asked. “Can you do that?”

      All she got in response was what might be an attempt at a smile.

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