Along Came a Cowboy Read Free Page B

that should still leave one other person.”
    â€œLucy Blount took a ‘leave of absence’ not long after Retha skipped town. I think she just wanted to get away from Alma.”
    Alma’s and Ron’s bickering is more like it.
    â€œBut she said she had to go to Alaska to be with her daughter.”
    â€œI remember that now.” My patients love to share the latest news with me, so I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve heard that the optometrist’s wife went to Fairbanks to take care of their daughter who is about to have her first child. Sometimes our town is almost too small.
    I stare out my tiny window at the brick building next door. In my dream clinic, I’ll have a floor-to-ceiling windowoverlooking a small stream and rolling green hills. And patients who are more concerned with their health than their neighbor’s business. Okay, that last is pure fantasy, but a girl can dream.
    Who picked this committee is what I want to know, but I don’t ask. The mayor is known for being hard to get along with. And I love Alma to death, but this morning proves that when she wants something, she can be a bulldog. Still, I can handle anything for a couple of days. Most things can be postponed. Like tonight’s meeting.
    â€œSo you want me to meet with Alma, and it has to be tonight?”
    â€œNot just Alma. Jack will be there, too. Alma’s son. He’s producing the centennial rodeo, which is what we’re planning right now.”
    I don’t say a word.
    â€œReal nice guy. Volunteers as a part-time sheriff ’s deputy.” He peers at me. “Better be careful. Might give you a run for your money for Citizen of the Year.”
    Ron is still talking, something about Jack and me being close to the same age and how he was born and raised next door to my folks’ ranch, wasn’t he? But I’ve stopped listening. “You know what, Ron? I’m afraid I can’t do this. I’ll call Alma and explain the situation. She can contact Jack. I’m sure they’d rather wait until you’re available to meet.”
    He frowns and rubs his knee. “Somebody said you were meeting your friends there tonight anyway. What’s it going to hurt to go a little early and meet with the committee?”
    If I lived anywhere else, the fact that he knows the Pinky routine might be construed as stalking, but around here, we just call it small-town life.
    â€œSorry. I just can’t do it.”
    Ron steps off the table, winces, and grabs his knee. “If youcan’t go to the meeting, I’ll have to go,” he grunts. “It’s too close to time for the rodeo for us to postpone.”
    â€œI’m sure Alma will manage.”
    He casts his gaze toward the ceiling. “Yeah, she’ll manage all right. Manage to make this rodeo a disaster. Her son is running a ranch for wanna-be cowboys, and whaddaya bet one of them gets hurt in the ring? You were at the rodeo that night a few years ago when the Lancaster boy got busted up so bad, weren’t you?”
    I nod. Was I ever. I still remember the announcer’s voice over the intercom asking if there was a doctor in the house. Unfortunately, the local vet and I were the only ones who even remotely fit the bill. It took both of us working together to keep the teenager stable until the EMTs got there. It was a rough night and a rough few weeks for the town while one of their favorite sons lay in intensive care. Thankfully he lived, but he still walks with a limp. That was the last rodeo I ever went to.
    â€œAnd Alma—she thinks this town was built on a gold mine.” He shakes his head. “Without me to hold them down. . . or you to do it in my place.”
    I groan inwardly. I’d do anything for my patients and Shady Grove. But this is asking too much.
    He hobbles toward the door. “Thanks anyway. Maybe I can get a free minute to go see Doc Jackson in the