Rocky Mountain Romance (Six Pack Ranch) (28 page)

The unspoken comment was obvious. Uncle Ben was the only one of Randy’s brothers he didn’t want involved in the decision-making process. Steve had to agree, but he hoped they’d be able to get along without any help.

“If we’re done, I need to give Melody a call.”

“And I’m heading to town,” Trevor said. “Lee? You want to come in with me?”

Their little brother shook his head. “I’m going to hang out with Dad for a while.”

“Now, don’t you go feeling like you have to babysit me,” Randy grumbled. “I’m not scared of being alone in this big house by myself.”

Lee raised a brow. “What makes you think I’m staying for your sake? You have no idea how many leftovers are in the refrigerator. I plan to raid the pantry and watch movies on your outrageously huge Blu-ray screen.”

Their dad grinned. “I knew there was a reason why I liked you best.”

Steve was still laughing when he got into his truck and put through his call to Melody. “Hi, sweetheart. Sorry I didn’t get back to you sooner, but we had a family emergency to deal with.”

Her response came softly, as if she was exhausted. “I’m over at your cousin’s if you want to join us.”

Steve assumed she meant Gabe and Allison’s. Probably. “Limit my targets, please?”

“Oh, right. I’m a little distracted. I stopped by to visit with Allison, and they’ve been putting up with my mopey ass ever since.”

“Sorry to hear that. How about I come over there and take care of your mopey ass for you?”

“If you feel like being a martyr, come on down.”

He drove the extra ten minutes past his house to Gabe’s place. Melody’s truck was in the yard, and four of them were gathered around the small fire in the fire pit.

Rafe moved quickly out of the chair next to Melody. “I guess I’ll head home now.”

“See you tomorrow,” Gabe said with a wave. “And don’t worry. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

Steve gave his cousin a thump on the shoulder as they passed then sank to his knees beside Melody to offer her a kiss. She curled her hands around his shoulders, sighing as he pulled back to examine her face closer. “You okay?”

She shrugged. “Pissed off. Nothing new there, right?”

He moved into the chair Rafe had abandoned, watching as his cousin pulled himself up on his horse and headed over the dark fields toward the rental house. Steve glanced at Gabe and Allison. “Anything I need to know about what’s going on with Rafe?”

Gabe shook his head. “Ben’s being…”

“A butthead,” Allison offered.

“I was going to say
difficult
, but your description works.” Gabe stretched his legs in front of him, glancing at Steve and shaking his head. “You think it’s something that comes with the territory? Do you think when
we
hit a certain age, we’ll lose track of what’s important to younger people?”

“What makes you think Ben ever gave a damn about what was important to you or Rafe, or anyone else for that matter?” Allison slapped her hands on her thighs, anger flashing in her eyes. “Same thing with the rest of the crew that’s giving Melody grief. The issue isn’t that they’re older, it’s that they’ve never had an original idea their entire life, so any kind of change just makes them crazy.”

“Who was the bastard, today?” Steve asked Melody, hoping that Barry hadn’t tracked her down.

She explained briefly, which made both her and Allison’s comments all the more clear.

“Damn.” There had to be a way to deal with this. “Maybe if they don’t see us drop off the feed, no one will get in trouble.”

“Right, because no one who knows that I gave him hell and that you and I are going out will
possibly
put it together.”

“We could go and haul the horses out,” Gabe suggested. “Wouldn’t take more than five minutes.”

Allison laid a hand on his thigh. “I think that’s called horse-rustling, and it’s still frowned upon in these parts.”

Even as Steve’s frustration rose, Melody relaxed back in her chair. “We’re not going to do anything illegal, because in the end, if something does happen, it’s going to reflect on Mathis, and that’s the last thing I want.”

“We could—”

“Steve. Stop.” Melody turned her big blue eyes on him and shook her head in regret. “I’m about three hours ahead of you. I know how you’re feeling, but after having gone through the options, we have zero choices. Once Mathis is back he’ll put the fear of God into Sean. I know he will.”

She didn’t look very happy about waiting, but as she said, it might be the only solution. He vowed to check with his father, though, before he gave up hope. “And the snarky comments you’re getting?”

“Not important. I won’t melt. The only way to deal with these shitheads is to ignore them. I refuse to comment when they say my skills are lackluster, or they suggest I should go play doctor with a My Little Pony set.”

“Really?
Jerks
.” Allison poked the fire harder than needed, sparks flying skyward. “I agree with you in principle. There’s nothing you can do, so ignoring them is the best bet. But you have to promise that every time someone is stupid, you give me their name. If they come into the restaurant, there’s going to be a whole lot of nasty dinners served.”

Laughter rippled for a moment amongst the group even though it was clear she was joking. “Don’t put your business at risk,” Melody warned. “Although that’s a very entertaining thought.”

“If I’d known sooner, I would’ve dropped Sean’s dessert in his lap tonight.”

“Just the offer makes me feel better.” Melody chuckled. “What would I do without friends like you?”

She squeezed Steve’s fingers as she spoke, and in spite of the increased workload he was facing, and his shared frustrations that life wasn’t going smoothly for Melody, he couldn’t help but feel things were pretty damn good.

It didn’t seem as if a countdown clock was ticking ominously in the background. It sounded a lot more like two people finding a way to be together, no matter what.

He liked the change.

Somehow she was going to make this day memorable. At least that’s what Melody vowed as she hurried through breakfast. There was a lot going on in her life that was good—she needed to focus on that.

She opened the front door and headed down the steps, coffee mug in one hand and a treat for Charlie in the other. Her dog rose, trotting toward her from the small shelter Steve had dropped off a couple of days earlier.

“Good morning, Charlie. Have you been a good girl?”

Charlie stopped to stretch, wagging her tail even in the awkward position. The sight made Melody smile, and she knelt to offer her dog a quick scratch behind the ears.

“I need to get my work roster, but how about I take you to the park for a few minutes first? We may as well start the day right.” The pause in routine made both of them happy, even though they didn’t stay long.

Callie was already at the front desk, handing over the worksheets for the day with a smile lighting her face. “Nobody should be any trouble today.” She spoke quietly, glancing toward Tom’s office.

Well, that was a surprise. “How did you manage that? Did a whole bunch of people cancel appointments?”

The receptionist organized papers on her desk, her self-satisfied expression building. “I figured by now you’d need a break from the testosterone poisoning. Every time someone with a good attitude called last week, I tried to book them for today.”

“You’re an angel.” Melody scanned her way down the list before grinning at Callie. “I’ll come back at lunch to pick up what I need for the afternoon. No use in hauling it with me.”

“I’ll package everything up if I have time between patients,” she offered.

Another thing to be grateful for—Callie had a heart of gold.

Most of the morning went by quickly, and the contrast was nearly heartbreaking. Walking onto a section of land where people smiled at her instead of scowling—that small gesture made a huge difference.

She hit the last stop before lunch, hoisting the heavy box she’d loaded her supplies into and making her way precariously toward the barn.

The farmer rushed forward, grabbing the box away. “Don’t you be carrying things like that. It’s not right.”

Melody laughed before she could stop herself. “Roger, a lot of my work requires heavy lifting. Honest, I can do it.”

He shook his head and headed to the barn, muttering over his shoulder. “You need to take better care of yourself. No use in overdoing it.”

And for the next hour as she worked with the calves, he kept getting in her way, especially when she went to lift them. His unsolicited help made it difficult for her to do her job, but there wasn’t much she could say. He honestly seemed to want to help, no matter how often she repeated she didn’t need his assistance.

Strange? Yes. Awkward? Definitely, but when she compared his behaviour to the men who made nasty comments or outright insulted her, or those whose hands had a tendency to wander off the animals and onto her…

She’d put up with Roger’s weird behaviour over those any day.

Still, it felt good to be done and head back to the clinic for some normal time.

She dropped the empty packaging and syringes in the back for Callie to deal with before making her way into the small staff room. Tom had the office door shut, a low rumble indicting he was probably on the phone.

Thank goodness. She didn’t need to deal with him right now.

“Callie, someone’s been dropping drugs into the water system, or something. I’ve never seen so many guys acting so strangely.”

She’d just refilled her coffee cup from the urn when Callie snatched the cup away. “No more of that. It’s not good for you.”

Melody eyed her with suspicion and a touch of annoyance. “It’s a good thing that wasn’t my first cup of the day, or you’d be bleeding right now.”

Callie shook her head. “You’ll have to get used to doing without coffee. The caffeine isn’t good for you.”

“Getting between me and my coffee isn’t good for you, either.” What the heck was going on? She reached for the urn to fill another cup. “Did you find time to gather what I need for the afternoon?”

“Some of it. We’ll have to change a few of the appointments. Maybe you and Tom should change some of your assignments. You shouldn’t be involved in any contagious-disease situations. Not in your condition.”

Not in her condition…

Melody caught hold of Callie’s arms to force a face-to-face confrontation. “Honey, you’re not making sense. What the
hell
are you talking about?”

“Well, I didn’t want to say anything until you told me, but the news has been flying all around this morning. Are you planning on working your entire pregnancy? Because you’ll have to consider—”

“What?” A loud whoosh rang in Melody’s ears as the pieces fell into place. “I’m not pregnant.”

Callie’s mouth hung open. She frowned. “Are you sure?”

A laugh escaped as the ridiculousness of the situation struck her. “Yeah, I’m pretty damn sure. Who the heck said I was pregnant?”

The receptionist thought hard. “Tom came back from coffee at the café, so I assume he heard someone mentioned it this morning.” Callie made a face. “Okay, now I feel like a fool. I set up the easy day for you before I heard anything, by the way. Just thought you needed a break. And then you were pregnant, but you’re not… Yup, I feel like a fool.”

“Don’t worry about it—I don’t blame you at all. But no wonder Roger was being stupid.” Just another crazy thing to have to deal with. If someone at the café had announced she was pregnant, by now it would be all over the countyside. “
Jeez
. I’m going to have to walk onto every job and announce ‘Hi, I’m not pregnant, so you don’t have to treat me like glass.’”

“Annoying, but less annoying than actually being pregnant,” Callie suggested. “I did think it was a little quick for you and Steve to be starting a family, but accidents happen.”

Oh shit.
Steve
. She needed to get in touch with him a.s.a.p. Melody grabbed the work list from Callie. “I’m not pregnant, if anyone asks.”

Her wonderful day had developed a nervous twitch. She headed back to her truck, hauling out her phone before she did anything else.

Hopefully she’d make contact with Steve before the rumour mill did.

Chapter Twenty

Steve dug his way out from under the tractor, clicking on his phone one ring before it went to voicemail. “Hey, sweetheart, how’s your day going?”

She hesitated before answering. “It’s going strangely, but not because there’s anything wrong with me. In fact it’s not about me at all. I’m fine. I mean… Oh
fuck
, I don’t know what I mean.”

Steve pulled himself to a sitting position as he laughed. “If you want to talk about it, you’ll have to be a little more coherent than that. I hope no one gave you grief this morning.”

“Not in the old way. There’s new trouble making the rounds, and I wanted to make sure you know it’s a rumour and not the truth.”

His amusement faded. “That sounds ominous. Has it been suggested we’re gang leaders involved in the tearing down of the morals of our community?”