me wanted to slap him across the face but as I dragged my tongue across my lips, I could see the lust building in his gorgeous dark green eyes. The man simply took my breath away.
“What’s it going to be, sunshine?”
I was shaken to the core, struggling to find a single coherent word to say. “Fine.” Great. That was all I could manage?
“All right. I’ll make good on my promise if I catch you hassling anyone else. And sunshine, I always keep my promises.” When he turned on his heel, walking away without looking back, I slumped against the building, still able to hear his boots as they thudded against the sidewalk. I couldn’t stop shaking, my entire body on fire. Every time I moved, I was reminded of the spanking, the rough material of my jeans already chafing my bruised skin.
I envisioned his handprint smack in the middle of both cheeks and bit back a smile. The day hadn’t turned out like I thought it would. What had I managed to accomplish? Snapping a few pictures of a completely legitimate operation, at least as far as I could tell. Although there was an ominous underlying current, something I wasn’t certain what to make of. Hell, the cowboy was right. I had no business here in the first place. What the hell did I know about steer, other than the handling of their medical care on a few rare occasions?
I tried to control my breathing as I thought back to the night that I’d received a call out of the blue, not long after I’d been in town.
“Are you… You a vet with Doc Forester?” The man seemed agitated, almost fearful. At least he knew the name of the man who’d sold me his business as well as his house.
“I’m a veterinarian, if that’s what you’re asking. Is something wrong?”
“Yeah. I need a vet. Right now.”
I glanced at the clock, sighing. It was freaking three in the morning. “Is this an emergency?”
“You could say that. I got a steer with a badly injured leg. He’s in a lot of pain.”
Shit. “Okay. Just give me your address and I’ll meet you there.”
I’d been a fool to go to an unknown location in the middle of the night, an even bigger fool to enter into a barn with the mysterious caller, but I’d taken a chance since he knew Dr. Forester. The guy had been nervous, shifting from foot to foot as I examined the poor creature. From what I’d been able to determine, the animal hadn’t been bitten by another animal. In fact, the injury had reminded me of a trap of some kind. I’d done what I could, suggesting the rancher take the steer to an appropriate large animal hospital in the morning. Whether or not he’d followed my directions I couldn’t be certain.
Even if I could swear by the unique markings that the steer had been in one of the pens, prepared for sale.
Shuddering, I attempted to make my way to my truck, even looking over my shoulder. I pulled out my phone, my hand shaking as I tried to make the call. Getting voicemail, I cringed. “Sandra. You around? I could use a friend right about now.”
I wasn’t prepared to admit my sins for the day, but at least I could ease some tension. With every step I took, I continued to have the creepy-crawlies. Maybe the sexy cowboy’s warning really had gotten to me.
Still, I’d had a couple of phone calls that I couldn’t let go, the timing surrounding them far too coincidental, which I didn’t believe in. While the threats were troubling, the offer to abandon my practice and become a veterinarian for some big corporation stuck in the back of my mind.
My phone rang a few seconds later, the sound producing a few seconds of anxiety. A part of me anticipated another call from the same mysterious stranger who’d warned me to shut my mouth.
“Hey, girl. I just got home a few minutes ago,” Sandra said in a lilting voice.
I took quick steps as I made my way through the parking lot, struggling to find my beat-up Dodge in a sea of other trucks. Hearing Sandra’s voice at least gave me a smile. “Please tell me you have wine or tequila, maybe both.”
“Wow, you don’t sound good. What’s wrong?”
“Maybe everything.”
“Okay. What’s going on?” Sandra asked, meeting me at the door with a glass of red wine and a shot of tequila in her hands.
I grabbed