Page 4 of Pretty Little Scars

“You could move home. Base out of here.”

He nods. “I’m thinking about it. Maybe. After this next movie, I’m taking a year off.”

My eyebrows climb into my hairline. “No shit?”

“No shit. My agent’s pissed, but creatively, I need a break. I have to keep my body in shape for the costume for this film, and it’s fucking rigorous. If I have to eat another chicken breast, five goddamn times a day, I might kill myself. If my trainer knew I was eating this ice cream, he’d rip me a new one.”

“Yeah. Being the coolest superhero ever invented must be really tough. I feel so sorry for you.” My voice is monotone, my face sober, and Zack flips me off. “Not to mention the women who fling themselves at you. Weren’t you with a lingerie model at the last fancy thing you went to?”

“Yes, and that’s not the point.”

I snort and finish my ice cream, then toss the cup away. “I know you work your ass off. What you do isn’t easy. Take the year. Hell, you couldretire.You don’t have to work another day in your life. Your grandchildren don’t have to work if they don’t want to.”

“It’s not really about the money anymore,” he admits.

“Filthy rich people can say that,” I reply.

“You just keep reminding me how much I missed you,” he says.

“Okay, I’ll stop giving you shit. What’s it about then?”

“I enjoy the work. I always have. But Hollywood is a shit show. I’m thinking about taking a step back. I’ve always been private, but I need to kick that up several notches. My publicity team is scrambling because I’ve already shaken things up, and they’re putting pressure on me to rethink everything. But the thing is, I don’t care if I’m making their lives harder. Things will calm down.”

“What do you need from me?”

He smiles softly. “You know, after more than fifteen years in the business, you’re still the onlytruefriend I have? You, your family, this town are what’s real. I don’t need anything more than that.”

“I’m not going anywhere.” I check the time. “Except home. I have a new vet intern coming today. They’ll be staying at the ranch for the next year or so, working under a local vet.”

“I don’t remember you doing that before.”

“Because I haven’t.” I shrug as we stand from the table, and I give Indie a wave.

“Have a wonderful day, gorgeous,” Zack says to her, making her roll her eyes. “I’d like to spank her perfect ass for that.”

The last sentence is muttered, but I snort.

“Please don’t break any hearts while you’re in town.”

“Impossible. So, this is your first intern?”

“Yeah. Trent Fisher, a large-animal vet I’ve worked with quite often, is mentoring her and asked if she could work on my ranch. I can use the help, so I thought I’d give it a try.”

“Good luck with that. You don’t exactly love having strangers around. I’m gonna go see your dad.”

My dad was more of a parent to Zack than his own was. Of course, my dad has a habit of bringing lost people into our fold. It’s his way. And I love him for it.

“Tell him I said hi.”

The drive out to the Hendrix Ranch takes about fifteen minutes. After I park in the garage, I walk out back to feed the goats before heading over to the small guest cabin to double-check that it’s ready to go for the new intern.

Pushing into the cabin, the air is fresh, and everything looks clean, which is great because I hired someone to come out and freshen it up since it’s been sitting empty for so long.

The cabin is a one bedroom, one bathroom unit with a living room and kitchen. Some might call it a mother-in-law accommodation. It’s been empty since my ranch foreman, Scott, got married and moved to town last year. But it looks like the cleaners made it shine. It smells clean, like lemons. They even hung the curtains that I bought on the windows, and there are fresh sheets and blankets on the bed. There’s no TV in the living room, so I make a mental note to get one in here.

I’ve just closed the door behind me when I hear tires on the gravel driveway out front, and when I walk around the house, I see a white SUV come to a stop, the driver’s door opens, and a woman steps out. She takes a deep breath and pushes her hands in her hair, giving it a shake, then turns my way, and when her glacier-blue eyes meet mine, I feel my heart stutter.

Well, hello there.