She waved him off. “It’s my treat.”

Before he could protest, she was zooming back to the building, her blond hair flowing in the wind behind her. He sat for a moment and then reached for the foil-wrapped sandwich and envelope of fries, which he set on the center console. After putting his capped soda in the cupholder, he rang the intercom buzzer for tray removal. He was relieved when Jenette’s coworker, a brunette who wore a lot of makeup, came to collect it.

As Kennedy drove back to the ranch, he promised himself that he wouldn’t see Jenette again. She was still just a kid. In a few more years, she’d probably be a complete knockout, but by then he would have his degree and be long gone. He hoped he would be lucky enough to get an assignment near his hometown of Klamath Falls, and that was a three-hour drive south, too far away for him to visit Mystic Creek often. Who am I kidding? he asked himself. Jenette is already a knockout, and that’s the whole problem. I need to stay away from her.

Once back on the ranch, he’d just pulled into the parking area near the main house when his phone jangled a text notification. He didn’t recognize the number, which meant it wasn’t one of his contacts. Curious, he opened the message.

Hi. This is Jenette. I just wanted to tell you that the mouthiest guy, the one with the knife, is my ex-boyfriend. I broke up with him because he wanted to have sex and tried to force me one night. I think he’s got a screw loose, and I want nothing more to do with him. I have plans for college. My older sister got pregnant in her senior year. She got married, had the baby, and got divorced. There went her plans for college. I can’t let that happen to me. I want to be a vet and work in a wildlife shelter to rehabilitate rescued animals.

Kennedy groaned. In addition to being beautiful, Jenette had a lot in common with him. He was taking a different approach, but his goal was to work on behalf of the wildlife, too. Damn. She was perfect for him. And that made him angry for reasons he couldn’t quite define. He left his hamburger on the console, not caring if it spoiled, and walked to the horse barn to muck out the stalls he hadn’t gotten to earlier.

He’d been hard at work for about twenty minutes when Slade walked into the barn and caught him grumbling to himself.

“What put a bee in your bonnet?” Slade asked.

Kennedy wanted to tell the man it was none of his business, but that was no way to speak to his boss. “Nothing serious,” he replied. “I just have the hots for that girl who got attacked the other night.”

Slade came to lean against the stall gate. “Hmm. Why is that a problem?

Irritation crept into Kennedy’s voice. “She’s seventeen.”