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The puppies in the box on the exam table started barking, drawing my attention from the sexy-as-hell man dressed in tight Wranglers and boots. I didn’t know why, but a man in a pair of cowboy boots just did something for me. Not the fresh ones out of the store, but the old, beat-to-hell shoes.
A black-and-white furry head peeked out over the top of the box.
“Wow, Lucy sure had a large litter this time. How is she?”
Lucy was an Anatolian Shepherd and the sweetest dog. Normally, she was attached to Sam’s hip. “Wait, where is she?”
Sam frowned. “Jaxson is home on medical leave. Lucy moved all her pups to his room, and she won’t leave.”
My eyes widened. I hadn’t heard that one of Sam’s sons was hurt. He and Angie had a set of triplets. If I recalled, Jaxson was in the Navy, but I got them confused sometimes. It had been a long while since I’d ate at the diner and was filled in on the local gossip.
“Is he okay?”
“The rehab is working, but time will tell.” Sam leaned forward and scratched behind the ear of one pup.
Right, I had a job to do. “If there is anything I can do to help, just call. As for these little guys, you want the usual?”
Sam nodded. “Same as always, Doc.”
I grabbed the smallest of the bunch out of the box and held him against my chest.
“Aren’t you a cutie?” I placed a quick kiss on his fuzzy head before I spoke to Sam. “It should only take me a half hour. Just enough time for a cup of coffee, so you can catch up on the latest gossip across the street.”
Sam glanced at the box and back at me. “Already heard the rumors this afternoon. The two Elder brothers are back at it again. Sheriff was called out to the property two times last night.”
The squabble between those brothers had gone on since we were kids. Both men were harmless and could barely walk, but they still seemed to bicker. Then it dawned on me: Sam was staying. “You sure you want to visit the diner?”
I could do this. I was a professional, and Sam was the same as any other customer. Except he wasn’t. Sam was the only man who made me forget what the hell I was supposed to be doing when he entered a room.
The little guy in my arms wiggled, and I placed him in the box. “I need to go grab the shots and bring them in here.”
“Take your time, Doc. I’m not in a hurry.” Sam grabbed a pup and his hand brushed against mine. The same spark I’d felt years ago jolted through my body.
Yep, this would be the longest thirty minutes of my life. And it wasn’t like I could let another vet take over. I was the only one in a hundred-mile radius. Which was good because I needed all the business I could get.
I turned and left the room.
* * *
Sam
I had no clue why I’d agreed to stay. Fuck that, I did. Ivy was the one girl who held the key to my heart. Also, she was the same person who had crushed it years ago. Then for revenge after basic training, I’d come home for a weekend and slept with her best friend. That one night stand, got Angie pregnant. I wasn’t going to walk away from my three kids. Angie came from money and promised to tie me up in court. Part of me wished I could go back in time and see her there.
She wasn’t a nurturing mother. The kids were in her way, and she hated the ranch, but her parents cut her off when we got married. I kept taking deployments, so I didn’t know our finances had gotten as bad as they were until I came home to a stack of bills. The ranch brought in good money, so I’d finished out my current deployment and returned to the ranch. She despised me when I made her work on the ranch. To keep up with her lifestyle, I put in extra hours in night and day to bring in enough money to keep up with her lifestyle. The only way to do that was to turn the spare cabins into a bed-and-breakfast. For years, the ranch boomed, thanks to all the extra hours I put in coming up with new revenue streams.
On the boys’ tenth birthday, Angie decided she would rather hit up the bar than have dinner with our family. She drove home drunk and wrapped her car around a tree. I got the call from the sheriff in the middle of the night. For years, I kept the ranch as a bed-and-breakfast until I’d paid off all Angie’s debt and had some funds for my next adventure.
I wanted to turn the cabins into temporary housing for wounded soldiers. Jaxson had given a name of a potential donor, Antonio Ross, and soon he and his wife Kat planned to visit.
The door to the exam room opened, and Ivy sauntered back in with a tray full of syringes. She cuddled the runt close to her chest, and the little guy laid his head on her breasts. Over the years, she’d only become more beautiful, but she’d betrayed me, and I didn’t give second chances. I never thought I was too old to find love again, but I was sure my chances were low in our small town.
One by one, Ivy gave the pups their vaccinations and placed a kiss on the top of each one’s head when she finished. I could see the yearning in her eyes for the little half-pint. The woman had a soft heart.
“All done.” She kissed the little one a third time. “Don’t forget to bring them back at the ten-week mark. You could always bring Lucy in too if you want.”
I grabbed the box off the table. “I might do that. Have Benji bill my credit card.”
“Have a good day, Mr. Carpenter,” Ivy said before she turned out of the room. I stopped and watched her ass sway in her dress pants as she strode down the hall toward her office. The little guys in the box whined as I turned and went out the front door. Main Street parking was full, so I’d parked around the back of the building. When I rounded the corner, I heard a creak behind the dumpster. I rushed to my truck and put the box on the seat. So the cab would stay cool, I hit the starter button on my key chain and my diesel truck roared to life. The pups would be okay for a few minutes as I checked out the noise behind the dumpster.
