A Friend Indeed

         Becky heard and felt the two fenders kiss each other and she prayed the damage wasn’t more than a scratch. But nothing would get her to stop now. She needed to get out of there. His presence was just too much right now, and she needed to feel safe. Sure, he’d helped her out, but he’d also been angry with her and that triggered things deep down in her.

         She cursed her instinct to placate him until she got away. Which is what she was doing. Running and hating the coward that she was. Nothing made sense. Why did he call her his mate? They weren’t friends. They’d never met. Oh, Becky liked what she saw. Liked it a lot. Who wouldn’t? He looked like he’d walked out of a charity calendar. No, she was done chasing men. Her choices were always bad. Ivan was a fine example of that. Sure her parents encouraged her to marry him. She’d not known it was for their financial benefit. Though Becky allowed it to happen ultimately.

         This humiliating incident bothered her all morning. Her mind ran over every moment. Becky was sure he thought she was a mess. There was no way she’d contact him if her truck broke. That was too much to expect from him.

         She went about her morning examinations. Her mind wandered to him in her mind’s eye. It wasn’t fair for him to look that good.

         “Mr. Smith. I’ve just finished looking at Gretel. She’s doing well. You’re right, she’ll have her calf soon. But…” Becky hated buts, and the ranchers around here didn’t need to hear them either. A ‘But’ was always expensive.

         “But? I don’t want or need to hear a ‘but’ about anything.” Mr. Smith growled. He didn’t notice Becky flinch from him. This was just the start of the conversation she hated having.

         “I’m sorry. You’ll need to watch her. If she has difficulty like her record show, she’s had in the past, you’ll need to call me in to help her. After this, I think you need to retire her from your breeding program. She’s just not built for breeding.” This would complicate his breeding program, but her dying and taking her calf with her would harm his program for much longer, though.

         “It’s easy for you to say. You don’t have all your money tied up. You just flit in and flit out.”

         “I’m sorry. I know it’s not the news you wanted to hear, but it’s the truth. Please consider retiring her and replacing her.” Becky couldn’t confront him about his overdue fees. She’d need to send out a letter. “If there’s nothing more that I can do, I’ll head out back to the office. If you need me, call. I’ll keep my phone on.”

         “Yeah, yeah. I’ll call if we need you.” The old man showed her to her truck and watched her drive off. She left him grumbling about her prognosis on his star breeder.

         Becky travelled to several ranches this morning looking at everything from horses, cattle, and a llama. At least, her patients were varied and always interesting.

         As she drove, her mind went back to Rob. She didn’t know his last name. In her mind, he was what a grownup bad boy looked like, and she couldn’t afford to tangle with a bad boy type. Not now, never. But it was tempting. So very tempting.

         She wondered if his hair was as soft as it looked. No man had the right to look that good in jeans and a t-shirt. He oozed authority, and he expected others to listen. She didn’t think she could deal with that.

         “Becky, stop it. You don’t even know if he’s even noticed you. Never mind whether he was interested. He could hate you for existing.” Becky spoke to herself aloud in her truck. It wasn’t like anyone would notice her talking to herself. She was alone, driving back to the office outside of town.

         Becky got back to the clinic and parked in the lane way. Mr. Jacobs must have moved his truck.

         Once inside the clinic, Becky got an instant pick me up from the bright and friendly smile on her best friend’s face at the front desk. Jane Ann handled all the administration and office duties for Becky.

         Several take out bags sat on the front reception desk.

         “You’re in time. Lunch was just delivered. I was thinking, why don’t we go across to the park and eat there?”

         “Sounds great. While we eat, I’ll tell you about my morning and you can tell me if I should worry.”

         “Now you have my attention. What happened?” Jane Ann picked up the lunch bags, while Becky tucked some extra medicine into a fridge in the back.

         When Becky returned, she explained her morning from looking for a parking space to scratching a truck’s vendor.

         “You didn’t leave a note? Oh, Becky, that’s rude around here. Well, we’ll figure out who owns the truck and make it right.” Becky looked at Jane Ann sadly.

         “With what money? I can’t afford to make a claim on our insurance, let along get the scratches on my bumper fixed. How am I supposed to fix someone else’s?”

         “I guess, but there were witnesses, which makes it bad.” They sat on a bench and ate. “As for the rest, Rob is a good guy. If he says he wants to help, then that’s what he means.”

         “What about that weird mate thing?”

         “Maybe he mistook you for someone he knew once? I wouldn’t make too much of it. Hey, what’s going on there?”

         “What?” Frowning, both women watched as several police vehicles pulled up in front of the Wolf’s Den Bar. “It’s closed right now. They wouldn’t be raiding it right now.”

         “No, I don’t think they’re raiding it. I think there’s something wrong. Come on. Eat fast. I want to see what we can find out. I hope it isn’t about the disappearances.”

         “No kidding. I’d hate to think I pissed off a kidnapper and potential murderer.”

         “Oh, hush. What if one of the staff became the next victim?”

         A small group of people gathered from the local businesses. No one knew what was going on, and Becky could feel how uneasy everyone was. Five people in the last eight months went missing and were presumed dead. They’d gone missing from the national park, not inside the town. But the town feared it was changing and someone they knew was gone. It was one thing when it was a random hiker. It’s different if it’s your sister or drinking buddy.