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Oh yes, that sultry kiss that nearly had me coming undone. It’s in this moment I realize that while Dr. Garrison is very kind on the eyes, I’m likely ruined for all men for the rest of my life. Damn you, Ryder, I inwardly curse out of habit. “Well, it’s nice to meet you now.”
“Dr. Stone sings your praises constantly. He can’t say enough about how much help you’ve been at the ranch. I try to swing by there when I can, but I’m running a one-man show here in town.” The server returns to the table with her order pad at the ready. Dr. Garrison orders a Dorothy 2.0 to go. “Don’t suppose you’d have any interest in a job here? I could really use another doctor at the clinic. Especially one well-versed in farm animals.”
Everleigh reaches across the table to smack my arm with the back of her hand. “We were just talking about her staying in Emerald Creek, weren’t we Mace?”
“I’m not staying, Dr. Garrison.”
“Call me Jake. And that’s too bad.”
My phone buzzes on the table at the same time Jake’s rings. He excuses himself to answer as I pull mine free. I hold the screen up to Everleigh, my eyebrows drawn in confusion. “It’s Gina.”
“Answer it.”
“Hey Gina?—”
“Molly’s in labor.”
Shit. I hop up so quickly I bang my knee on the bottom of the table and nearly topple my ice cream. I look at it mournfully, wishing I’d insisted on a to-go cup. But there’s no time to worry about it now. “I’m on my way.”
“What’s wrong?” Everleigh asks.
“Molly, the pregnant mare I was telling you about? She’s in labor.”
“Oh, that’s exciting!”
“It’s still four days before her safe date.”
“That sounds…bad.”
“It’s definitely not good.”
Jake ends his call and looks at me. “That was Dr. Stone. Looks like this just became a team effort.”
I give Everleigh a squeeze, promising to make up a date with her before I leave town.
“Or you could just accept the job you were offered and stay,” she says, shoving me toward the door. Likely unaware just how tempting her suggestion is.
CHAPTER 14
Ryder
What a fucking exhausting day.
I wipe the sweat from my brow with the inside of my t-shirt, along with god knows what else ended up on my face during this shit-fuck of a disaster that, against all odds, turned into a miracle. My legs are too tired to keep me upright, so I let my body slide down the stall wall and drop to the ground next to a sleeping Macy. My fingers reach for her of their own accord and I caress her shoulder. She’s so tired she doesn’t even stir at my touch.
“We did it,” Paps says, letting out a massive yawn that disrupts his grin. The old man really does love his animals. I can’t help but wonder how long it’s been since he’s seen this side of two a.m. It has to be hard on his aging body. I hate to imagine how this would’ve gone had we been down even one of the two vets who came to his aid. My brothers, all three of those assholes, were non-responsive when it counted.
It was an all hands on deck situation. We lucked out that Dr. Garrison was available for the assist. He’s almost always tied up with some other emergency and rarely able to drop everything to help.
But it’s even more serendipitous that Macy was here. She’s the only who was able to convince Molly not to abandon her foal after almost two hours of non-interest. Now the pair is nestled together. At least when the little one isn’t trying to stand and get into mischief. He should get along really well with Gertie.
“Paps, you should get some rest,” I insist.
“Someone needs to stay here and keep an eye on these two. We’re not out of the woods just yet.”
“I can take the first shift,” Dr. Garrison volunteers.
I dread to wonder what the vet bill will be for this, but we’ll figure it out. Having a new plan for the ranch helps ease my stress over every little financial matter. I glance at Paps, catching him in another yawn, and decide the conversation about the animal sanctuary can wait one more day. Probably better I just have Weston bring the paperwork with him so Paps can sign the application anyway.
