Page 25 of Roping Her In

“Right around five hundred,” he said.

Appreciation ran through her. “Wow, that’s a lot.”

“Three Rivers isn’t as big as Shiloh Ridge,” he said. “At least in terms of headcount. But I’m pretty sure we beat you in acreage.”

“I have no idea,” Hailey said. “I haven’t really worked at Shiloh Ridge since high school.”

“No?” he asked. “What have you been doing?”

Hailey’s pulse grew wings and accelerated, as if she’d just been pushed out of a nest and had to learn how to fly before she hit the ground. “Uh, well, I’ve been at Feline Friends for two years now,” she said. “And before that, I managed restaurants.”

“Interesting,” Jake said. “Those two don’t seem that related.”

“They’re not,” she said simply, because she’d needed something different—a complete one hundred eighty-degree turn from the restaurant business—after what had happened three years ago. In that moment, she realized that Jake didn’t know what had happened at Rockefeller’s, as he hadn’t been living in small town Three Rivers at the time.

That thought still felt foreign in her mind as she held on to it, because someone didn’t have to live in a small town to know its secrets, especially when they were as juicy as a theft, a firing, and an arrest from one of the most prominent families in the area.

“How long have you been at Three Rivers?” she asked.

“Just over two years,” he said. “I came on in November.”

“Where were you before that?”

His shoulder twitched, and it could have simply been an involuntary reaction, but the tension in the cabin kicked up a notch, and Hailey suspected she’d asked a question that had evoked memories he didn’t want to relive, the same as her.

“Down in Hill Country,” he said.

“Were you a vet there?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

She noted that he didn’t volunteer any further details, and while curiosity burned through her bloodstream, Hailey decided she didn’t need them right now. The seconds ticked on, becoming a minute and then two. Jake breathed deep and even, and she wondered if he’d fallen asleep.

She knew she and Elaine had come on strong about the internship, and while it hadn’t bothered her too much, sometimes when she woke in the middle of the night like this, it pinched through her in a way that told her she should probably apologize.

She knew the words; she’d said them plenty of times in her life, and it still took her another minute before she could say, “I’m really sorry about all the pressure I put on you for the internship.” She waited a beat and then continued. “I didn’t mean to make your life harder.”

The nervousness in her system calmed, and Hailey finally fully relaxed into the mattress beneath her.

Jake didn’t respond, and he’d definitely fallen asleep. Then, in one fluid movement, he lifted his arm and rolled onto his back, curling his arm around Hailey and pulling her tight against his chest before she got dumped off the bed. There was suddenly more room for her in that position, and the heat from the fire flowed over his body in a much stronger fashion than before.

“You didn’t make my life harder, Hailey,” he whispered, his voice seemingly right above her ear. She fantasized about him pressing his lips to her temple, and she’d tilt her head back at the exact right angle, and he’d kiss her.

“In fact, you’ve made everything better.” A soft sigh escaped his lips while Hailey’s heartbeat drummed through her whole body. Even if he’d said something else, she wouldn’t have been able to hear it. But he didn’t continue, and a few minutes later, everything about him turned slack, and his breathing stayed deep and even as he slept.

Hailey wasn’t sure if she liked him or didn’t, and Jake kept everything so close she had no idea what he was thinking or feeling until he said it.

You’ve made everything better.

She wondered what that meant. Everything better at Three Rivers? Everything better on the veterinarian team? Or everything better for Jake Ahlstrom personally?

As she lay there, drifting further and further from consciousness, Hailey could admit she wanted all three. Finally, sleep claimed her, and figuring out what to do about Jake became tomorrow’s problem.

11

“You can’t take me,” Jake said, throwing Hailey another glare over his shoulder. “We’re both on-call today, and if we both go, everything has to be shifted around.”

“Well, you’re not going alone.” Hailey folded her arms and glared at him, though Jake could barely see her.