Blame It on the Rodeo
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Amanda Renee
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Chapter One
“Let’s see if we can catch us a foal.”
Sliding her arm into the sterile shoulder-length glove, Lexi Lawson slipped the neck strap over her head and faced Little Miss Confetti.
“Easy, girl.” Billy Stevens led the white-and-black American Paint mare into the narrow wooden-and-metal crush and closed the front gate. The secured enclosure protected Lexi from the horse and the horse from itself during the procedure. Standing to the side, Billy whispered soothing words while gently rubbing Confetti’s muzzle.
“Welcome to your first embryo transfer lesson—so come on back here for a ringside seat.” Amused by Billy’s stunned expression, she continued, “Equine care starts at conception, and there’s more to horses than leg wraps and Coggins reports.” Lexi was pleased at how proficient her protégé had become at aiding her with the standard Equine Infectious Anemia tests and the subsequent paperwork.
A year and a half ago Lexi wouldn’t have considered Billy Stevens for an assistant. After escaping his abusive family, Billy ended up on the wrong side of the law when he and a few so-called friends stole some high-priced guitars from Ackerman’s Music in town. A month in county lockup left him scared straight and completely alone once he was released. Never ones to turn away a person in need, the Langtry family offered him a place to live on the Bridle Dance Ranch in exchange for honest, hard work.
Cole, the oldest of the four Langtry brothers, took a shine to Billy when he noticed his interest in horses ran deeper than a paycheck. Without confidence in himself, Billy didn’t believe he had a future in the veterinary field until Cole pointed him in Lexi’s direction and offered to help finance some college courses this past semester. A natural, Billy instinctively sensed when a horse was even the slightest bit off.
“We’ll be successful today,” Ashleigh assured them.
Billy bashfully squeezed past Ashleigh and the crush. Lexi suspected he had a case of puppy love for her vet tech, but he’d soon come to realize no matter how endearing he might be, Ashleigh wasn’t about to leave her husband for someone seven years her junior.
“Cole,” Lexi said over her shoulder. “Have one of the grooms on standby to bring in Moonglow.”
Before Cole answered, Shane Langtry cleared his throat in the doorway of the breeding area and casually leaned against the jamb.
“I’m headed out to pick up our first official rodeo student.” Shane straightened and strode over to the mare and stroked her cheek. Responding to his gentle touch, she snorted against his hand and bobbed her head.
Dressed in faded jeans and a formfitting, ab-enhancing fitted gray T-shirt, Shane shouldn’t make her breath catch, but damned if he didn’t, even after thirteen years. Lexi may have put his cheating ways in the past, but no one said working near the man responsible for the toughest decision of her life would be easy. Of course, she had the option to start over somewhere else, and she’d done just that for a spell.
After a year at Colorado State, Lexi transferred to Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, where she completed veterinary school and her equine internship. She’d been set to stay in the upstate area, but Joe Langtry’s call six months later with a job offer and the opportunity to branch out on her own was impossible to resist. The Langtry patriarch was a true Southern charmer who had a way with words, and the money sure didn’t hurt, either.
While it was an adjustment from the bone-chilling northern winters, once Lexi moved back to her family’s farm, she knew Ramblewood, Texas, would always be home. Regrets were a waste of time and Lexi wasn’t about to let a moment pass her by. Jumping into the swing of things with her old friends, she learned to adjust to having Shane in her life again, but it wasn’t until his brother Jesse’s wedding last November that she and Shane had started chipping away at the pain of the past. Some memories may have faded, but one still haunted her.
“You’ve been waiting for this day for a long time.” Lexi smiled up at Shane. “I wish you the best.”
Needing to concentrate on Little Miss Confetti, Lexi shifted her attention away from the roguish cowboy. After administering lidocaine to relax the mare’s hindquarters, Ashleigh wrapped its tail in pink, stretchy bandaging and loosely tied it to the crush’s back-gate support.
“Most important—everything must be sterile,” Lexi explained to Billy. In her peripheral vision, she noticed Shane still watching her, making her acutely aware how many people banked on her success today. “We don’t want any unnecessary risk of infection.”
“I still don’t understand,” Billy said. “Why are we using a surrogate if Confetti’s already pregnant?”
“She’s our top cutting-horse competitor,” Cole said. “Eleven months is too long to keep her out of the ring, and then we’d have to retrain and get her endurance levels up to par again. When she’s older and no longer competing, we’ll allow her to carry.”
“Plus we can get two foals from Confetti this year if we use a surrogate.” Lexi had read how some veterinarians were transferring up to six embryos a year from their donor mares by constantly manipulating their heat cycles. She didn’t agree with the practice and was glad the Langtrys were equally opposed to it. She only dared so much when it came to messing around with Mother Nature. “We also use surrogates if there’s an injury and the horse can’t carry to term, or if there are problems due to a previous pregnancy. There are many reasons, but we make sure overbreeding isn’t one of them.”
Billy’s eyes darted between the equipment and the mare. “Will this hurt her?”
“It may feel a little strange to her, but there’s no pain,” Lexi reassured him. “The process goes very quickly. Mystified Moonglow is our surrogate, but we had to prepare more than one mare in case she didn’t ovulate the prerequisite two days after Confetti. The ultrasound shows we’re right on schedule with both horses.”
Ashleigh placed a white tube in Lexi’s free hand. “This is a two-way catheter,” Lexi said, turning her wrist over. “Ashleigh will attach one channel to the embryo flush.”
Carefully inserting the catheter, Lexi inflated the bulb inside Confetti’s cervix to prevent the flush from flowing out while Ashleigh connected the saline solution with long tubing and elevated it on a modified IV stand above Confetti’s backside.
“Embryo collection is always done on day seven or eight after ovulation,” she explained. “At six days, it’s not quite viable, and once we reach the nine-day mark, the embryo is too large and we risk damaging it. Day eight is perfect, and once we know where it is in the petri dish, it will be visible to the naked eye.”
“I hope this works,” Cole said. “What’s the saying, third time’s the charm?”
“It’s also the last,” Lexi stated flatly. If she failed again, she would know this wasn’t meant to be, and she didn’t want to tempt fate.
“This isn’t foolproof. We’re looking at a fifty-to-seventy percent success rate. I’ve always collected them on the second go-round, if we missed the first, but Confetti’s been my problem child.”
Lexi released a small amount of fluid through the tube and into the horse. Opening the switch between the two channels, the solution flowed through the other side of the tubing and into a filter cup that Ashleigh held.
“The trick is to always have some fluid in the cup, never allowing it to drain all the way into the bucket,” Ashleigh added. “We don’t want the embryo to smack hard against the side of the cup on its way out.”
A few minutes later, Lexi removed the catheter and transferred the collection cup to the Langtrys’ lab area. None of her other patients had their own laboratories, but then none of them owned one of the state’s largest paint and quarter cutting horse ranches.
Lexi was grateful that Joe Langtry had spared no expense when he built the facility, because it allowed her greater opportunities to expand her knowledge while working in the field.
A bead of sweat traveled down between her shoulder blades in spite of the room’s cool climate-controlled air. Opening a grid-lined petri dish, Lexi meticulously poured the contents of the cup into it and turned on the microscope.
“We’re using the stereo microscope today.” She peered into the eyepiece and adjusted the focus knob. “Examining the cells in three dimensions allows me to grade the quality of the embryo.”
Slowly moving the dish under the microscope, she scanned the solution, grid by grid, hoping they wouldn’t come up empty again.
“We’re in luck, folks.” Lexi let out the breath she’d been holding since she arrived on the Bridle Dance Ranch that morning and smiled. “Cole, can you have someone return Confetti to her stall and move Moonglow into the crush? Ashleigh will prep her.
“Take a look.” Lexi slid over, making room for Billy, who hovered nearby. “We have a grade one embryo. See how the cells are compacted and all the same size? That’s what we always look for.”
A lot rode on this dream match between dam Little Miss Confetti and sire Dreamward Wink. The buyer, Blueford Thomas, was a longtime family friend, but Lexi had the feeling everyone was beginning to doubt her ability to get the job done, including Shane.
Seemingly satisfied, Shane turned and left the lab area without a word. Knowing full well this situation was different, Lexi couldn’t help but think of the day he’d walked out on her so long ago. Ironically, an unborn child was involved, too.
“Let’s transfer this baby into its new home for the next eleven months.”
* * *
SHANE CURSED HIMSELF on his way out of the stables. Damned if the sight of her didn’t still make his blood boil. It had taken a few years after she returned home for Lexi to warm up to Shane, but she still kept him at arm’s length. And who’d blame her? The one time he’d cheated on her led to a two-year nightmare he’d rather forget.
A couple days before Lexi came home for winter break from Colorado State, buckle bunny Sharon Vincent knocked on his door and claimed she was five months pregnant with his kid. Their one night in Oklahoma shortly after high school graduation came back to bite him in the ass. Sharon wasn’t just bad news when he met her, she was a hot mess and Shane didn’t have the good sense to resist. Claiming she was on the pill, he’d learned the hard way not to trust a woman in the birth control department.
Pressured by his family to do the right thing, he immediately married Sharon, breaking Lexi’s heart in the process. He’d never forget the afternoon he told Lexi the truth. Her hazel eyes flared at him like a cougar ready to attack. Only she didn’t say a word. He had no choice but to walk away from her and they’d kept their distance from one another until his father enticed her to return to town permanently. Shane knew it was for his benefit. Joe Langtry loved to control situations and Shane believed his father thought he and Lexi would one day take another stab at what they’d lost.
Shane married Sharon, and for their son Dylan’s sake he kept up the facade even though he didn’t love his wife. Shortly after Dylan’s first birthday, Tab Fanning, Shane’s biggest rodeo rival, rode into town and turned his world upside down when he claimed to be Dylan’s father.
Shane hadn’t wanted to believe the child he’d grown to love wasn’t his, and Sharon fed him lie after lie, swearing Dylan was his son. He convinced himself that it didn’t matter. He loved Dylan and at this point didn’t care who the father was, until a court-ordered paternity test proved otherwise. Shattered when Tab took Dylan away, Shane immediately sent Sharon packing.
Before walking out the door, Sharon admitted she had only wanted the Langtry money and had intended to get pregnant that lone night with Shane. Her fatal flaw was sleeping with one too many cowboys around the same time. It took every ounce of Shane’s strength and that of his brothers not to strangle her on the spot. From that day forward, Shane declared marriage and children off-limits.
Throwing himself into the rodeo and his work on the ranch kept his mind busy and there was no shortage of women to occupy his bed at night. His romantic relationship with Lexi was in the past but the memory of what they’d had plagued him.
They worked together, ran in the same circles and were usually found in the same places after the sun went down, but until Jesse’s wedding, Shane wouldn’t have even considered the possibility of a second chance. Maybe it was the clever way Miranda, Jesse’s wife, paired them together during the ceremony and reception. Or, maybe it was the sight of Lexi in her beaded sage bridesmaid gown. Whatever the reason, the moment she took his arm during the wedding procession, Shane knew where his heart belonged—where it had never left.
“There’s my elusive son,” his mother greeted him on the dirt path leading to the stables. “I haven’t seen you in two days. Thought I’d take a break from the ribbon-cutting preparations and see how Lexi made out.” Kay peered up at him. “Have you heard anything yet?”
“It was a success.” Shane tilted his hat back and grinned. “Had no doubt she’d get it this time.”
“This whole embryo-transfer thing fascinates me. In my day, horses did their mating the old-fashioned way. Speaking of which, how is it going between you and Lexi? I noticed you came in very late the other night. Does that mean you two had a good date?”
“I wouldn’t call dinner at the Ragin’ Cajun with eight other people a date, Mom.” Shane had hoped to get a little alone time with Lexi that night, but they were celebrating their friend Aaron’s birthday, and while Lexi had agreed to go with him, she made sure they were never truly alone. “I wish she would trust me more instead of always doing this group thing.”
“Give her time, honey.” Kay placed her hand over her son’s heart. “It wasn’t that long ago that you were chasing any female with a pulse, and some of them didn’t even have that qualification.”
“Ouch, Mom.” While he loved his mother for always telling him how it was, her words stung. “I haven’t been with anyone since the wedding and it’s not for a lack of available women.”
“Okay, I may love you unconditionally but that doesn’t mean I want to hear about your sex life.” Kay wrinkled her nose and feigned a shiver. “You keep those bits and your own bits to yourself. Do you hear me?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Shane threw his arms around his mother and gave her a hug. Since his father, Joe, died last year of a sudden heart attack, he realized how short life was and how much he took for granted. He swore he wouldn’t repeat past mistakes, especially when it came to family. They meant the world to him and someday he hoped to convince Lexi she did, too.
Kay Langtry was the strongest woman Shane knew. His father’s will left Shane and his three brothers the business end of the ranch, while the land, houses and the winery were left to their mother. In honor of their father, and after a power struggle that almost tore the family apart, the brothers created an equine facility showcasing the spirit of the horse and the grand opening was next week. Kay ran the Dance of Hope hippotherapy facility and Shane and his brother Chase ran the Ride ’em High! Rodeo School. His brother Cole primarily focused on the Bridle Dance Ranch itself and the breeding programs with Lexi while his other brother Jesse had his own ranch to run.
Once more, his thoughts settled on the mahogany-haired bombshell inside the stables. Every day she was there and every night he tried to shake free the memories of how much he hurt her.
“Aren’t you going to be late picking up Hunter?” Kay looked up at her son.
“I’m leaving now.” Shane checked his watch. It took an hour and a half to drive to the airport and the flight arrived shortly after. “I love you, Mom.”
Giving his mother a peck on the cheek, he hopped into his black, topless and doorless Jeep and removed the keys from the visor. He accidentally popped the clutch and shot off with a cloud of dust in his wake. He’d hear about that one later from his mother. She hated when they spun out of the parking area.
After fighting traffic the entire way to the San Antonio airport, Shane surprisingly found a parking spot close to the entrance. Inside he scanned the incoming board for Hunter’s flight.
Flight 3492 11:48 a.m.—On Time
With twenty minutes to spare, he sauntered to the ticket counter and zeroed in on the fresh-faced blonde in a white long-sleeve blouse and dark, fitted vest.
“There’s supposed to be a gate pass waiting for me,” he drawled. “I’m picking up Hunter Rathbone.”
Her brown doe eyes met his and she smiled, a slightly imperfect, yet adorable grin with one tooth barely overlapping the other on the bottom row. Fumbling with the mouse, she inhaled nervously, causing her name tag to glint in the overhead fluorescent lights.
“I can check in to that for you.” There was a hint of shyness in her voice and Shane wondered if she was new to the job. Typing in some information on the computer, she asked, “May I see your identification?”
Removing his billfold from his front pocket, he removed his driver’s license and slid it across the counter. “Are you new here, Lily?”
When her fingers accidentally grazed his, she hesitated and stared down at his empty ring finger. Why do women do that? Tilting his head to catch her gaze, he watched Lily’s cheeks turn a deep crimson when she realized she’d been caught doing the typical wedding-ring check. “I started a few weeks ago.” Taking another deep breath, she tightened her grip on his license, pulled it toward her and verified his information.
“Do you like it?” Amused by her reaction, Shane decided to have a little fun and leaned on the counter, smiling easily when she swallowed hard and her pupils dilated.
“Yes—here’s your gate pass. You’ll need to go through security first then head to gate B8.” She handed him his license and a map of the airport, trying to avoid any further eye contact.
Shane nodded politely, returned his wallet to his pocket and glanced at the map. “Thanks, darling.” He confidently strode away from the counter knowing Lily was probably enjoying the view.
Yep, I still got it. He only wished Lexi thought so, too.
A couple he assumed were embarking on their honeymoon stood ahead of him at the security checkpoint, arms entwined, whispering I-love-you’s to each other every few seconds. Shane fought the rude comment that teetered on the tip of his tongue, knowing it came from the hard reminder of what he’d had and lost, and wanted back with only one person.
He turned his attention to the woman in the next aisle who was balancing toddler twin boys in matching overalls on either hip. The strain of the day already evident in her face, and he sincerely hoped she was meeting someone and not heading out on a flight of her own.
He tugged off his boots, placed them on the conveyer belt and emptied his pockets into the bin. After the obligatory pat-down that left him a little uncomfortable, he hopped on one foot while he pulled on his boots.
Exiting the checkpoint at the same time, the frazzled woman struggled with her children’s shoes, reminding Shane how difficult it could be to stuff a kicking foot into a tiny sneaker. Not much more than in her early twenties, she haphazardly tucked a lock of hair, which had escaped her loose ponytail, behind her ear.
“Steven, stay next to Mommy.” She kneeled in front of one child, jammed his pudgy foot into the shoe and fastened the Velcro closure while looking over her shoulder at her other restless child. “Steven, come here.”
The words were all it took for the child to giggle loudly and take off down the terminal. The woman stood to chase after him, catching her purse strap on the chair.
Shane ran after him, smiling at the boy’s duck-waddle steps. For a moment, he felt like he’d time-warped to the days when he thought Dylan was his son. The sudden ache in his heart caught him off guard when he swung the toddler into his arms. The woman quickly caught up with him, frustration creasing her brow.
“Thank you.” She reached out for the boy. “I can’t believe they made me take their shoes off. Really, thanks again.”
Before he responded, the woman went on her way down the terminal.
A few minutes passed once he arrived in the designated waiting area and the gate door opened. A flight attendant emerged with a lanky dark-haired, ice-blue-eyed preteen in tow. Shane approached them and gave Hunter a hug.
“It’s good to see you again.” Shane released him to get a better look at the soon-to-be man. “You’ve shot up these past few months.”
Shane had met Hunter Rathbone and his parents in Denver during a high school rodeo clinic he’d led in April. Hunter raved that Shane was his idol, and when Shane mentioned he was opening the Ride ’em High! Rodeo School, Hunter practically begged his parents on the spot to let him attend the school’s inaugural session. Shane kept the Rathbones apprised of the school’s progress and even flew out to a couple of Hunter’s events. He was drawn to the kid’s talent and natural ease in the saddle. The fact that Hunter and Dylan were close to the same age caused Shane to wonder more in recent months about the child he’d lost.
Hunter beamed. “I can’t believe I’m actually here with you. This is a dream of a lifetime.”
“Easy, kid, you have a whole lot of living to do.” Shane winked at the attractive flight attendant and handed her his license and gate pass. “Trust me when I say you have much better things to dream of when you get older.”
“I wasn’t sure if you were picking me up or if someone else from the school was. I’m so excited we’re staying in bunkhouses. Just like real cowboys.”
“You are a real cowboy.” Shane tousled the boy’s hair. “Half your class is coming in from out of state. You and one other are flying in, the rest are driving. And since you’re our first official student, I thought I should be the one to meet you.”
Shane wondered if he’d see Dylan’s name on the student manifest one day. An impossible pipe dream considering Tab probably knew more about the rodeo than he did. He hadn’t come across Dylan on the circuit yet, but with a bull-riding champion for a father, rodeo coursed through the boy’s blood. He’d heard Tab retired, married and had more children after he gained full custody of Dylan. As far as he knew, Dylan had a good life, and in the end, that’s what mattered most to Shane.
There were days he wondered if Dylan remembered their time together, and realized it was unlikely. Dylan had just turned a year old when Tab left with him, and after the way Shane had shoved Sharon out the door, he wasn’t sure he wanted to be remembered for treating the child’s mother that way. Not that she’d win any parent-of-the-year awards. Rumor had it she was down in Brazil trying her hand with another country’s cowboys.
“I hope you’re ready for a month of hard work?” Shane asked while they rode the escalator down to the baggage claim area.
“Tight!” Hunter said with enthusiasm. “I can’t wait to get started.”
“Tight?” Shane stopped walking and looked at Hunter’s feet. “Are your boots pinching or something?”
“Huh?” Hunter tilted his head and slowly looked from Shane to his feet. “What are you talking about?”
“You said tight. What’s tight?” Shane asked.
Hunter patted Shane on the back and urged him to walk forward before they caused a traffic jam at the bottom of the escalator. “How do I translate this for you, old man? Tight means the same as cool back in your day. You don’t hang with many kids, do you?”
“No, I don’t.” Old man? Shane’s ego took a bit of a hit at the comment. “And for the record, thirty-one’s not old.”
“In terms of a hundred being the oldest, no, you still have time. I’m sure I can teach you enough in the next month to survive the average kid. But since you’re practically old enough to be my dad, it may take a little work.”
“Oh, nice shot.” Shane arm nudged the teen. “We’ll see who teaches who this month.”
His anticipation of the next four weeks began to shift, nervousness replacing his usual confidence. Maybe teenagers weren’t so easy after all.
