blinked like a traffic caution light. Reed thought the dragon lady was a saint? Maybe it was Devlin who brought out the worst in Miss Model Citizen of the Year. From all indications, Porter only had a problem getting along with her nearest neighbor—him.
“I suggest you and the rest of the Jessica Porter fan club camp out at Rocking C and see how you like it,” Devlin grumbled. “After one night of listening to the zoo orchestra serenade you and rounding up frightened cattle, I guarantee that you’ll change your tune. That woman and her zoo are a nuisance that is testing the limits of my temper.”
“I’ll talk to Jessica about unleashing the water, but I’m telling you flat-out, Dev, you and Jess are going to have to come to some kind of reconciliation and understanding. That’s an order.” He stared meaningfully at Devlin. “I’ve got enough situations to resolve around here without dealing with feuding neighbors. Use a little of that Callahan charm instead of that short-fused temper.”
Devlin gnashed his teeth until he practically wore off the enamel. This was the second time in less than twenty-four hours that he had been instructed to rely on his charm—what there was left of it after his embarrassing heartbreak seven years earlier. He wasn’t sure he had ever possessed enough charm and patience to deal with the dragon lady.
“I mean it, Dev.” The sheriff put on his cop face and stared at Devlin. “You be especially nice to that woman, hear me? She’s done lots of good deeds here in Buzzard’s Grove. Everybody around here respects her. It wouldn’t be good for her professional reputation, or yours, if you both decided to square off at twenty paces for a showdown. I’d have to toss you both in the slammer for disturbing the peace—”
“What about the fact that her zoo is disturbing my peace?” Devlin broke in indignantly.
“Oh, for Pete’s sake, Dev, we’ve had sightings of bobcats and mountain lions over the years. We have packs of coyotes running around all over the place. Jessica’s animals are penned up and cause less threat. What are you gonna do? Try to sue the Association of Sanctuaries? Of course not. It’d be a waste of time. Now make an effort to mend your fences.”
“I’ve done enough of that already,” Devlin said sourly.
“That was a figure of speech,” the sheriff remarked, then flashed a smile. “Just because you got your heart broke a few years back doesn’t mean you should take out your frustration on every woman you encounter, especially not Miss Porter.”
Exasperated, Devlin threw up his hands. “Is my personal life front-page news around here? Hell, it’s like living in a fishbowl!”
Reed Osborn shrugged nonchalantly. “Typical small town stuff. Besides, you and your brother have always been the subject of gossip. You’re good-looking, successful and eligible. Deal with it, Callahan. I wish I had your problems.”
Devlin spun toward his truck. “Just talk to Porter about her blasted pond,” he ordered.
“Okay, but polish up your smile and spray on a coat of charm,” the sheriff demanded. “Work out your differences with Jessica, or you’ll both answer to me. Got it?”
Oh, he had it, all right—a pain in the lower region of his anatomy that went by the name of Jessica Porter.
Swearing under his breath, Devlin piled into his pickup and aimed himself toward the ranch. He glanced over his shoulder toward the bed of the truck, which was heaped with new steel fence posts and rolls of shiny barbed wire. Damn, if only he could figure out a way to drown those alarming noises he wouldn’t be building new stretches of fence….
An idea hatched in his head and Devlin smiled for the first time all day—one that began before five o’clock, thanks to the racket at Porter’s zoo. Devlin made a U-turn and went to the farm supply store to purchase extension cords. Maybe piped music would muffle the howls, growls and screeches.
Grinning devilishly, Devlin made the extra purchases, then headed toward home. He’d see how Porter liked listening to blaring music all night. She might have grown accustomed to being serenaded by her zoo, but lively, fast-tempo honky-tonk music would bring her straight out of bed. Once she got a taste of her own medicine, she’d know how Devlin reacted to those roars and shrieks.
JESSICA WIPED the sweat from her brow and surveyed the trench she’d dug in the pond dam. Thanks to her cantankerous, tattletale neighbor, the sheriff insisted she allow water to flow from her pond to the stream that meandered across Devlin’s pasture. Jessica was ashamed to say it hadn’t occurred to her that she had unintentionally stifled Devlin’s water supply and he’d been forced to haul water. That was inconsiderate and unneighborly of her.
Maybe she had been entirely too hard on the man, she thought as she shoveled more dirt. It wasn’t Devlin’s fault that his good looks and muscular physique reminded her of her ex-fiancé and that she had transferred her frustration to the cowboy.
That was not the mature approach, she told herself. How many times had Jessica advised Teresa not to compare her abusive ex-husband to the men she met in Buzzard’s Grove? More times than she cared to count, Jessica realized. Teresa had begun to put her painful past behind her and had developed a crush on Sheriff Osborn. Teresa was getting on with her life. Eight months after her humiliating relationship with Rex, Jessica was still afraid to trust a man.
“You aren’t being fair,” Jessica said to herself.
Mother Goose honked as if in agreement, then fluttered into the pond to take an evening swim.
While water trickled through the V Jessica dug in the dam, she carted rocks up the steep incline to insure future rains didn’t erode her waterway and empty her pond. Smiling, Jessica watched the pair of coyotes and their pups, the red foxes and a trio of horses drink from the pond. It was gratifying to see that the animals had learned to coexist in this sanctuary.
So why couldn’t she get along with Devlin Callahan?
Recalling the sheriff’s request to resolve her differences with Devlin, Jessica vowed to make an effort to be civil.
While she made her rounds to feed the exotics housed in covered pens and cages, she reminded herself that she needed to mow and clean up around the sanctuary this weekend. The local grade school students would be arriving for their field trip. Since Jessica’s sanctuary was listed on the association’s register, she had received several calls to schedule field trips. The money would help to defray costs for more pens and feed. Her exotic family would continue to grow as long as she had space.
Weary from digging the trench in the parched earth, Jessica trudged to the house to bathe. Partially revived, she opened the freezer to select a microwave dinner.
She had considered swinging by the new restaurant at the end of Main Street to pick up a carry-out meal, but she had been late getting away from the office, and she had to feed her animals before dark.
Ah well, Jessica didn’t consider herself Suzie Homemaker, and she wasn’t one of those people who lived to eat; she simply ate to live. But every once in a while she craved a thick, juicy steak, home-cooked vegetables and dessert. It wasn’t that she couldn’t cook, it was just that she didn’t have much time, what with getting her business off the ground, tending the exotics and doing minor refurbishing projects inside the house.
A faint smile twitched her lips as she recalled her shaky start in life, her difficult teens and her struggle to acquire a college education. The kid no one wanted—least of all her irresponsible, pleasure-seeking
