A Shared Range - Excerpt
Blurb: After a year in medical school, Dakota Holden returned home to take care of the family business full time and help his father cope with multiple sclerosis. Devoted to his family, Dakota allows himself just one week of vacation a year, which he spends in some exotic location having all the fun he can stand. On his last vacation, a cruise, Dakota struck up a friendship with Phillip Reardon, and it fills an important role in Dakota’s life.
So when Phillip decides to take Dakota up on his invitation to visit the ranch, Dakota is happy to see him and meet his veterinarian friend, Wally Schumacher. Despite Wally’s inclination to help the wolves Dakota’s men shoot to protect the cattle, he and Dakota find they have a lot in common, including a fierce attraction. But they’ll have to decide if the Wyoming range is big enough for Dakota’s cattle, Wally’s wolves, and their love.
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Excerpt:
A truck pulled into the yard, and Wally saw a small pack of dogs race out of the barn to the truck and then race back to begin circling his legs. “What’s all this?” He knelt down and was mobbed by the ragtag bunch. “Are they friendly?”
“Goodness, yes.” The smallest, some sort of terrier mix, jumped into Wally’s arms and began licking his face. “The mutt giving you a bath is Max. The lab is Libby, and the boxer mix is Sparky.” At the mention of his name, Sparky made a lunge and knocked Wally on his butt before he, too, joined in the lovefest. Wally made the mistake of laughing and got a doggie tongue in his mouth, but didn’t really care too much as he handed out scratches behind ears and received lots of doggie love.
“Mario,” Dakota called, and the man from the truck walked over. “This is Wally.”
Wally tried to shake hands, but the wiggling, squirming dogs sort of got in the way.
“Wally, this is Mario, my foreman.” Dakota started to laugh as Wally tried to get up, only to be jumped again by the dogs.
Wally finally got to his feet and extended his hand. “It’s nice to meet you.” They shook hands quickly.
“Boss, we had a few problems in the north range.” Mario turned his attention to Dakota, his face serious.
“That wolf again?” Dakota’s smile faded and his voice darkened. “Did we lose anything?”
“That’s the strange thing. It was definitely him, but there’s no sign that he tried to take down any of the herd. He just stood by the edge of the wooded area and watched until I took a shot at him.”
“Maybe he wasn’t hungry.” Wally spoke up, and saw both men looking at him like he was from outer space. “Wolves don’t kill for sport. They kill because they’re hungry or to feed their mate or young, and they’re more likely to take down small game than a full-grown steer.” Wally was on a roll and hadn’t realized his strong feelings had made him raise his voice. “And you took a shot at him?” Wally glared at the foreman and felt his anger build. “Excuse me.”
Turning away, Wally walked back toward the house, muttering under his breath. He really wasn’t sure if they could hear him, but at the moment he didn’t care. “Great, if you don’t understand something, just kill it and mount it on the wall. That’ll take care of everything.” Wally opened the door and walked into the house, letting the screen bang behind him.
As soon as he reached the living room, he stopped himself and flopped on the sofa. Jesus, he’d been here less than an hour and he’d insulted his host.
“What’s going on?” Phillip sat next to him.
“I shot my mouth off and made an ass of myself.” Wally looked up and saw through the window that Dakota was on his way in and didn’t look happy.
