Center?”
Stephanie moved on to another kennel with Dayna following close behind her. “From what everyone who was at the ribbon-cutting ceremony at the center says, Laurel seemed perfectly fine when she went into labor. But who knows? She was just a stranger passing through. She could’ve made up the part about the father. All I know is that I love the little guy like he’s my own. And right now I’m concentrating on him. I’m just not interested in dating anyone.”
“Well, I’ll say one thing,” Dayna replied. “If you can resist Acton, then I’m going to start calling you Lady of Steel.”
Stephanie laughed. “Come on, it’s almost closing time. We’d better make sure everything is ready to shut down before Dr. Neil locks the doors for the night.”
Later that evening, Acton was cleaning up the mess he’d made cooking his supper when he heard a knock on the front door.
After drying his hands on a dish towel, he walked through the small house where his grandparents used to live and peeked through the curtain covering the paned window on the door.
Seeing his oldest brother, Shawn, standing on the porch, Acton pulled open the door.
“What the heck are you doing knocking?” Acton asked him. “You know you can just open the door and come on in.”
Shawn, who was similar to Acton in coloring, but a bit taller, cast his brother a droll look. “And walk in on you and some lady in a lip-lock or something worse? No thanks. I’ll keep knocking.”
Up until a couple of months ago, Acton had lived in the big ranch house with his parents and two brothers. But then his father, Ramsey, had decided that his own mother, Hatti, no longer needed to be living here alone and had practically ordered her to move into the big house. Seeing the chance to have a place of his own, Acton had promptly made the move.
Stepping into the living room, Shawn gestured to the apron tied around Acton’s waist. “What are you doing, anyway? Don’t tell me you’re trying to cook.”
Acton closed the door behind him. “I’m cleaning up my mess. And who are you kidding? You know I’m a pretty darn good cook. When it comes to making great dishes, Grandma Hatti is a good teacher. I made spaghetti. Want some?”
“No thanks. I had a burger in town. But I will take some coffee. Got any made?”
“No. But it’ll just take a minute to get some brewing.”
The two men passed through the living room, down a short hallway, then into a small kitchen decorated in red, green and white.
Shawn pulled out a chair at a round pine table and sank into it. “Actually, I didn’t come by to beg for a cup of coffee. I came by to tell you that Dad has decided to work the herd in the northwest corner in the morning. He wants to be loading the portable pens by daybreak.”
“I hope he doesn’t plan on doing all three hundred head in one day,” Acton said. “Has he hired any day help?”
Shawn shook his head. “He said if four grown men can’t handle the job, then he needs to get rid of some cattle.”
Acton groaned as he spooned coffee grounds into a filtered basket. “Sounds like we’re in for a long day tomorrow.”
“That’s why I stopped by. To make sure you didn’t have something else planned.”
“Like what?” Acton took a seat at the opposite end of the table. “I show up every day for work, don’t I?”
“Well, you’ve been known to get distracted by a pretty face.” He eyed Acton’s ragged blue jeans and old gray T-shirt. “You’re not going out tonight?”
Acton frowned. “On a date, you mean?”
“Yes. Like you and a girl,” Shawn said drily.
“No. I wished I was,” Acton admitted. “But I wasn’t sure the girl would agree to going out with me. So I didn’t ask.”
Shawn’s eyebrows piqued with curiosity. “Don’t tell me you ran in to a woman who actually resisted your charm.”
Acton grunted with wry humor. “She resisted me, all right. To be honest, I don’t even think she liked me. She was polite enough. But I think that’s because it was her job.”
“Hmm. Do I know this lady?”
Acton shrugged. “I doubt it. She’s moved here from Florida and works for Dr. Neil at Paws and Claws as a vet assistant. I took Seymour there this morning to get something done about his scratching.”
“From Florida...” Shawn mused. “What’s her name?”
“Fortune. Stephanie Fortune.”
Shawn let out a disbelieving groan. “Oh, dear brother, now I understand why you didn’t get to first base with her. She’s probably one of the Fortunes that moved here a few months ago. You know, the ones who moved into that mansion on the outskirts of town. I think they call it the Fame and Fortune Ranch or something. Other than a few horses, I don’t believe there are actually any livestock on the place. But you know how city folks are. They own a few acres in the country and get the idea that entitles them to call it a ranch.”
“Oh, so that’s what Sheri meant when she said Stephanie was one of ‘the’ Fortunes,” he remarked. “Obviously these people are rich.”
Shawn shrugged one of his broad shoulders. “Well, it appears so. Fortune Brothers Construction is the company that finished the pediatric center and the animal clinic. Now they’re working on some other properties in town. So apparently, they have money. And I heard tell that they’re related to the famous Fortune family in Austin.”
Seeing the coffee had finished dripping, Acton rose from his seat and poured two cups.
“I have some pecan pie. Want a piece?”
“Don’t tell me you baked a pie,” Shawn told him. “I won’t believe it.”
“Ha! Grandma was pretty good at teaching me how to cook, but she wasn’t that good. The pie came straight out of the bakery in the grocery store.”
“In that case, I’ll eat some.”
Acton cut two pieces of the dessert and carried everything over to the table.
Once they were both eating, Acton said, “Dr. Neil wasn’t at the clinic this morning so Stephanie treated Seymour.”
“Bet that was a wrestling match. No wonder she wasn’t interested in you, after she had to deal with that rowdy dog of yours.”
“Wrong, brother. Seymour was a perfect gentleman. He took to Stephanie like...well, I never saw anything like it. She could have told him to walk across the exam room on his hind feet and he would’ve done it for her.”
“Hmm. That’s a first. Frankly, it surprises me that this Fortune woman was working in a place like Paws and Claws. Dealing with sick and
