Page 93 of Roping Her In

Tears pressed behind Hailey’s eyes, and she appreciated how steady Jake was when she felt like the earth was spinning too fast.

“You’re going to come to the pinning ceremony with me, aren’t you?” she asked.

“Of course, sweetheart,” he said.

There was no limit on guests, and Hailey had asked her parents and siblings to come as well. They’d all agreed, and she only had to speak for eight to ten minutes. The pinning ceremony wasn’t for another week and a half, and yet, her anxiety zipped through her again. No wonder she needed meditation at night, and not for the first time, Hailey actually wondered if she might need medication to control her anxiety. It crept up on her until she felt jittery and out of control, and she hated feeling like she couldn’t breathe, and that she might drown at any moment.

“All right,” she said, and she killed the engine so she would have to get out of her car. “I’m going to go get us some food and desserts. And when I get there, I just want you to hug me and kiss me and tell me how awesome I am.”

Jake chuckled. “I can do that, sweetheart.”

Hailey didn’t doubt him for a moment, and she only wished she could transfer that feeling to herself.

“My parents are right there,” Hailey said as she caught sight of her tall, broad-shouldered daddy, with Momma holding his hand. Joey and the twins, Nash and Nellie, walked in front of them, and Momma looked up from her phone, and then out into the parking lot.

“She sees us on the map.” She smiled to herself, because her momma was so good and had been nothing but encouraging to Hailey as she labored over her talk today and continued to fill every waking moment with studying for the VTNE.

She and Daddy had helped her reason through her job choices, and in the end, Daddy had said, “If it turns out to not be a good fit, you’ll just talk to Conrad and find something else.”

That had helped her see that her decision wasn’t set in stone, and that she still had room to pivot should she need to.

Jake pulled into a parking spot and looked over to her. “You’re brilliant,” he said. “Don’t forget that.”

She nodded and leaned toward him. He met her halfway and kissed her, which further grounded Hailey.

“All right,” she said. “Let’s go.” She got out of his truck and collected her garment bag from the back. This year’s vet tech graduates had been given a pair of scrubs with their names embroidered on the shirt. She currently wore a denim skirt with a blouse, but as part of the pinning ceremony, the graduates would pull their scrub shirts on over their clothes and then receive a pin from their department head.

There were only twenty-two graduates this semester, and Hailey told herself that the crowd would probably be less than one hundred. Heck, when the Glovers gathered, there were more people than that, and she handled them just fine.

She thought of the party her younger siblings had put together at Shiloh Ridge for her graduation. Commencement was tomorrow. Hailey had invited everyone she knew, though she didn’t expect anyone to come.

Daddy had told her that many of the Glovers would be there and that everyone would come for the party afterward—an outdoor dinner at the family fire pit. Hailey had seen her family congregate to congratulate others, and her heart squeezed with love that they accepted her as one of them and were willing to take time out of their lives to celebrate her.

Jake had invited everyone at Three Rivers Ranch, but Hailey didn’t know the status of those RSVPs. No matter what, there would be plenty of food at Shiloh Ridge for anyone who showed up.

Now, Jake did the inevitable and took her hand and led her toward the building.

Her parents waited just inside the door, and Momma said, “Mm, I knew you were here,” right before she drew her into a hug.

“Howdy, beautiful,” Daddy said the moment Momma let go, and Hailey grabbed onto him and held him tightly as her emotions surged through her.

“Thanks for coming,” she said, her voice breaking enough that Daddy didn’t let go of her quickly. She pressed her eyes closed, so she wouldn’t have to look at Joey, Nash, or Nellie and explain anything. She’d been told that the pinning ceremony would only take about an hour, and then she and her family and Jake were going to lunch here in Amarillo to celebrate on a smaller scale than a full-Glover-family party.

She drew a deep breath, and Daddy released her. He peered at her, though, and wiped one long thumb over her cheekbone. “I’m super proud of you,” he said.

Hailey nodded, because she had won the lottery when she got her father. He’d taken impeccable care of her, and even after he and Etta had gotten married and started having babies, he’d made sure that he spent time with her, just the two of them. He took her fishing, or camping, or just to get hamburgers without Momma and the other kids. Hailey didn’t need that now, as she knew her place and role in the family, but it sure had been nice growing up to know that her daddy still loved her, though so much of that part of his life had been replaced.

“We made you a card,” Nellie said.

Momma and Daddy parted so Hailey could walk between them and into the arms of her siblings. Hailey did exactly that, ignoring the enormous card that Nellie had probably made herself—no “we” about it.

Hailey sandwiched it between her torso and Nellie’s as she put her arms around both of her brothers as well. The four of them hugged and laughed.

“Thank you so much for coming today, guys,” Hailey said.

“Are you kidding?” Nash said. “It got me off the ranch, and it is hot today.” It was the very last day of April, and some considered May in Texas to be summer, so yes, the temperatures had definitely skyrocketed.

She stepped back, grabbed onto the card before it could flutter to the ground, and looked at it. It said, WE LOVE OUR VET TECH in big, blocky letters that Nellie had painted in with bright colors. Hailey grinned at it and opened it to find that everyone in the family had written her a message and signed their name. From Momma and Daddy at the top, to Uncle Bear and Uncle Ace and Uncle Cactus below them, every aunt and every uncle had scrawled something.