Rocky Mountain Romance (Six Pack Ranch) (36 page)

Here and there in the room heads bobbed as the men who had come to the meeting out of curiosity acknowledged her passion and skill.

Maybe she should have left well enough alone, but it had to be said. The
other
issue she’d dealt with far too often. Since she was blabbing her head off.

“This job works two ways, gentlemen. While I don’t expect to be treated with kid gloves, I expect to be treated with dignity and respect while doing my job. It seems that’s too hard for some of you, so there are a few locations where I won’t be the attending vet any longer.” She glanced at her boss, guilt rushing in for not warning him. “If that’s an issue with you, Mathis, you can let me go, but otherwise they’ll have to wait until you or Tom can fit them into your schedules.”

A protest rose from the back of the room. “Typical woman. Comment about her work, and suddenly it’s all about how she’s a lady, and we aren’t allowed to complain.”

Steve’s hands curled into fists. Melody gave him a quick frown as she took a deep breath to regain control as well.

“I don’t mind the shit talk and jokes. Take Mark Mason.” She swung a hand toward the far corner of the room. All attention turned toward him as she continued. “Mark, you have a way with words. Some of your jokes are so damn funny I’m chuckling about them hours after I leave your ranch. Dirty talk can be just fine, and you, sir, have a gift.”

Mark eased back in his chair, obviously surprised to be picked out of the crowd to be praised. He wasn’t one of the instigators—probably had shown up when he’d heard there would be a meeting.

She held herself in tight control as she went on. “But some of you need to consider this—if you wouldn’t put your hand between Mathis’s legs and check his balls, then I expect you to keep your damn hands to yourself when I’m around, or in the future you’ll find out how quickly I can apply a castrator when motivated.”

The murmur in response was louder than before.

“I’ve heard enough.” Mathis walked over and offered Melody his hand, which was a good thing because she was about at the end of her rope. He lowered his voice as he helped her down from her perch. “You’re not fired, and if you’d told me earlier someone was getting out of line, I would have hogtied them myself.”

He turned back to the crowd. “If any of you want to discuss things with me privately, we’ll deal with complaints one on one, but the bottom line is if you want to work with Rocky Mountain Animal Clinic, Melody is my top assistant. If you have an issue with that, contact the front desk and Callie will give you a list of neighbouring vets you can work with.”

And that was it.

She was shocked by the abruptness of the conclusion, reeling slightly as men got up and left without another word. Jaxi offered her a wink before passing the baby to Blake then beelining for Lee, comments regarding his fresh black eye audible as they left.

“Sean,” Mathis called before the man could stomp from the room. “You might want to consider checking those horses on your south forty. I hear animal services are planning a visit to the area in the next while, and I have the paperwork from when you bought the animals not three months ago. I’d hate to have to do a report up for neglect.”

The man glared angrily at Melody before leaving without another word.

Finally it was down to Mathis, her and Steve.

She turned to her mentor. “There are a million things I need to say, but they all come down to
thank you
.”

He smiled. “Wait until we announce you’ve bought in as a full partner. You know, down the road when I’m prepping for retirement. We’ll have them screaming bloody murder.”

His confidence was unshakeable, and she lifted her head, prouder than ever to be able to work with a man like him. “Hey, I hope you took some pictures during your holiday.”

“Over six hundred shots. Steve here already invited me out for a barbecue tomorrow afternoon. Promised I could show you every single one.”

She was going to be crying in a minute if she didn’t watch herself. “Thank you,” she repeated.

He squeezed her fingers then let her go, pacing out of the room. “Heads up. You’re on first shift Monday morning. I’ve gotten used to sleeping late, so you’ll be doing a heck of lot more early tasks.” He grinned over his shoulder. “Perk of being the boss, you know.”

The room grew quiet as Steve stepped toward her, and she stepped toward him, and they met somewhere in the middle of the room.

She took another deep breath. “You stood up for me.”

“Not soon enough. I told you I was done being stupid, but obviously not.” Steve narrowed his eyes. “I want to know who was getting fresh with you.”

Melody gave him a dirty look. “What part of
I can take care of myself
did you miss hearing?”

He shook his head. “No, this is entirely different. This is about teaching them some manners. Their mothers would be ashamed.”

But he’d kept his cool, he’d listened to what was important, and all that meant more than she could explain in a few words. “I’m proud of you,” she said, catching his fingers in hers.

“I’m even more proud of you.” He glanced around the room. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

Absolutely. “You have somewhere in mind?”

“Nowhere in particular. Just not here.” He pushed open the door for her. “Somewhere private.”

She knew just the place. Melody held out her hand. “Give me your keys. I’m driving.”

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Traders Pub wasn’t officially open. Steve had no idea how she’d got them through the locked doors and into the dance section of the pub, but somehow she did it. Ten seconds after she’d led him onto the dance floor, the muted lighting clicked on overhead.

He glanced at her, so glad that tension haunting her for so long had vanished. “Do I want to know?”

“Know what?”

Music started playing, and he laughed, pulling her to him and swaying to the beat. “You seem to have gremlins working for you.”

She rested her head against his chest, fingers tangled in his belt loops as she let him lead. “Gremlins whose pet pig had colic last week. I phoned ahead and asked for a few favours. Now shut up and dance. I like this song.”

He shut up, wrapped his arms around her and enjoyed having the place to themselves as the country singer serenaded them. Words about forever and a night that never ended—everything he longed for with Melody.

“Good song,” he commented, the tickle of butterfly wings rising in his stomach as he considered what he was about to do.

“He’s got a sexy voice.” She slid a hand up his chest, stopping with her fingers resting over his heart. “But yours is sexier.”

“I’m glad to hear that.” He sang along, echoing the words. Feeling emotion building all the way down to his toes until he was ready to burst with it.

Before he could speak, though, she broke in. “This part of the song is wrong.”

He paused, running through the lyrics. “You’re looking hot—that can’t be the part.”

“We
know
what roads we’ve been down.” Melody tangled her fingers in his hair, teasing the back of his neck. “You were partly right, back at the start of summer when you said what we had before wasn’t important because what mattered more was the future. But when I think about us, here and now, our relationship is
so
much richer because I have our past to compare to. And there’s no doubt in my mind what kind of a man I have.”

Anticipation and hope surrounded him, and his feet stopped moving to the music because she was all he could concentrate on. “I’m your man?”

“I sure hope so. Unless there was someone else who crawled into my bed last night and told me they loved me.”

He tucked his fingers under her chin and tilted her head back. “Nope. That was all me, in my favourite place in the entire world. Right by your side.”

Melody’s eyes sparkled. She lowered her voice. “This would be a good time for you to say it again, since I was kind of loopy the last time.”

“Hey, I thought since I said it already, it was your turn.”

“I’ll say it.” She brushed their lips together. “I’ll say it a whole bunch of different ways, until you’re drunk on me.”

Nice one. “You’re quoting songs at me. Now I know it’s love.”

He wrapped his arms around her and lifted her in the air, bringing their heads in line. “I’m more than drunk on you. I’m flying because when you look at me that way, I can do anything. Anything, especially love you for the rest of our lives.”

She cupped his face in her hands, her soft smile blooming until it lit up the entire dance floor. “I love you too. So much.”

They stood there in the middle of the room, not moving, not doing
anything
except grinning at each other like fools. Then Steve came to his senses and kissed her, taking her lips like he’d wanted for days. With everything in him because she meant everything
to him
.

Somehow they ended up with both feet on the ground, swaying to another song.

“Oh, I forgot.” Melody broke them apart, stepping to the edge of the stage. “I have to apologize.”

He paused a beat. “Okay.”

She shifted on her feet, but she still wore a smile—the one that said she couldn’t believe he was there with her. “I did something that wasn’t very nice, and I’ve been trying to think of a way to make it up to you.”

He grew more intrigued by the moment. “I don’t know that you’ve done anything bad.”

“See, that’s the problem. You don’t even think it was wrong, but it was. I got away with it because I’m a woman.” She tilted her head to the side and pulled a face. “And that’s why I want to apologize. It’s one thing for me to get mad at you, or for you to get mad at me. That’s a part of a relationship and part of learning to get along. Obviously, we’re going to do a lot of that—the fighting—since we’re both so easygoing.”

She looked so glum for a moment he laughed.

Her smile reappeared. “But as everyone likes to remind me, I dumped a pitcher of beer on you, and that was inappropriate in so many ways.”

Steve shrugged. “It’s forgotten.”

A burst of laughter escaped her. “That’s the one thing it’ll never be—
forgotten
. That incident gets mentioned all over town, and I’m so sorry that I did it in the first place.”

He paused for a moment and considered. “You’re right, I couldn’t have gotten away with dumping beer on you.”

“But you can.” Melody pulled a plastic pitcher from behind the speaker, turning back as Steve’s amusement grew. “I thought about giving this to you in the middle of a Friday-night crowd, but I don’t want to wait until then.” She stepped forward and offered him the pitcher. “So I hope you’ll accept my apology in private. Go ahead, Steve, take your revenge.”

“You’re not serious.”

She pressed the pitcher into his hands. “Very serious. Do your worst.”

Steve glanced over his shoulder, but they were still alone. The music in the background changed as Melody stood before him, a contrite expression on her face, her body swaying to the upbeat tune.

What a difference a year had made. A year ago if she’d offered him this? He would’ve had no idea how to deal with it. But now he knew exactly what to do.

“You really want me to do this?”

Melody nodded.

He shrugged then picked her up with one arm, lifting her in the air at his side. “Okay.”

“Wait, what are you doing?” She shoved at his shoulders in an attempt to get free. “You’re not supposed to do that. Wait—stop! Not on you too—”

“Your choice, sweetheart.” He held the pitcher over both their heads, meeting her gaze straight on. “I love you, and that means we’re in this together. We’re in
everything
together. So, do I pour, or not?”

She was laughing so hard she could barely speak. “I love you. Oh, damn, I love you so much.”

He placed the pitcher on the nearest table and carried her with him toward the exit door. “I love you too. Now, instead of wasting a pitcher of good beer, you and I are going back to my place so we can find some other way to get you good and wet.”

Melody cupped his face in hands. “Vanilla ice cream first?”

He laughed. “Anything, as long as I’m with you.”

It had been a long road, but worth the journey. Steve took her by the hand and headed toward forever.

I hope you enjoyed Steve & Melody’s story! They will be featured in future Six Pack Ranch books. The series continues in January 2015 with the novella
Rocky Retreat
 featuring Lee Coleman.

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