Turn and Burn (Blacktop Cowboys 5)

So yeah, maybe he had a predatory look in his eye and a wolfish twist to his mouth when every delicious inch of Tanna sauntered toward him.

She stopped at the end of the table, propped her hand on her hip and loomed over him—as much as the petite woman could loom—and warned, “I’m fixin’ to walk right back out the door if you keep staring at me like that.”

He couldn’t stop the tiny grin or from asking, “Staring at you . . . like what?”

“Like I’m on the damn menu.”

“I wish.”

“Sweet Lord, are you tryin’ to test me today?”

“Yep. I’ve already made it clear I’d like a second helping of you. And you are testing my willpower, sugar twang, because you always look so tasty.”

She whapped him on the shoulder. “I swear, August Fletcher—”

“I love the thick and sweet way my name rolls off your tongue,” he half growled. “Say it again.”

Tanna purred, “Dr. Pervert,” before she dropped into the chair opposite his and smirked at him.

“I guess I deserved that. Still . . . I’m glad you came.”

“Since I didn’t hear from you beforehand I assume you’ve not dealt with emergency calls today?”

“Just one. Early on. So I’m all yours.” Stop with the come-ons, Fletch. “I wasn’t sure if you wanted coffee or tea so I ordered both.”

“Tea is fine. But pass me the sugar.”

He slid the packets closer. “I didn’t get a chance Friday night to ask how it’s goin’, working up at the Split Rock.”

Tanna stirred three packs of sugar into her iced tea. “Busy. I had no idea the retail store had that much traffic. I sort of expected I’d be sitting around bored. But that hasn’t happened so far.”

Fletch wrapped his hands around his cup of coffee. “Did you bartend much?”

“Twice. Harlow kind of took over the bartending gig this week.”

“You okay with that?”

“It’s only the first week so we’ll see how it goes from here. The bar is really sedate.” She winked. “I like bars that are hoppin’.”

“We oughta head to Buckeye Joe’s again one of these nights. Just you and me.”

“You and me get into trouble in bars, Fletch.”

He grinned at her. “All the more reason for us to go.”

“I’ll take it into consideration, since my usual choices of drinking buddies are currently knocked up. Or nursing.”

She stirred her tea again. Almost like she was nervous.

“What was your week like?” she asked.

“Same old, same old. Horses, cows and bulls. I did help deliver a baby llama. Cute little bugger, but the mama ain’t interested in it, so the owners will have to bottle-feed.”

“Did you do anything fun?”

He shook his head. “I worked around Laramie Monday and Tuesday. I spent Wednesday and Thursday in Rock Springs. Friday I had nonemergency visits around here I’d postponed. Yesterday I got a couple of calls but the problems had resolved themselves by the time I got there.”

“Does that happen a lot?”

“Yeah. But I can’t really know if the call was made outta panic or if there’s a valid concern for an animal without physically checking it out in most cases. They know they’ll be billed for my services regardless if there’s something wrong or not. I knew when I started my practice if I didn’t take a hard-line stance on billing for my time for all calls, it’d look like my time wasn’t worth nothin’.”

“Didn’t want to be known as the nice guy?” she asked.

Fletch flashed his teeth. “There’s a difference between bein’ accessible, bein’ nice and a bein’ a chump. But I must not be too nice because I can’t keep a veterinary assistant to save my hide.”

A smirk played around the corners of Tanna’s mouth. “This might shock you. I went to trade school for a year to become a veterinarian assistant.”

Fletch leaned forward. “Seriously? Come to work for me. I can double what they’re paying you at the Split Rock. Hell, I’ll triple it.”

“I didn’t graduate.”

“I don’t care. I can teach you how to do everything the way I like it.”

Tanna laughed. “Nice try. But I already learned a lot of the ways you like it in just one night. Which is why you keep doggin’ me.”

“Partially true. But I’m talking about business here, Tanna, not pleasure.”

“What makes you think we could work together?”

“First of all, because you’re a born ranch girl. You’ve been around large animals so you’ve got some idea what to expect. You don’t have as many misperceptions about what I do as some dewy-eyed new vet assistant school graduate.”

“I’ll bet you’ve had problems with that. Animal-loving girls who wanna snag a hot veterinarian for a husband.”

Fletch thought back to his last assistant, Ashley. She’d dressed nicely, if a bit provocatively, for her interview. She seemed to grasp that his practice wasn’t puppies and kitties. He’d hired her on a two-week trial period. She’d shown up the first day in a miniskirt and four-inch heels, with a low-cut shirt that highlighted her D cups. She’d lasted four days. And she seemed really surprised he hadn’t offered a marriage proposal.