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She didn’t need further encouragement, swiped her phone, and said, “Hello?”
He could hear a voice through the phone but couldn’t hear what it was saying.
He stopped trying to listen and realized that he wasn’t all that upset. This was what Mabel did for a living, he knew it, and he loved that part of her. Part of the reason that he’d never made a move for her earlier was because he knew that this meant a lot to her. Being a vet, taking care of animals, saving lives, it was what she wanted to do. And... Maybe that was humility. Stepping back and allowing her to do what she needed to do, supporting her if necessary. But just letting her know that he wouldn’t hold it against her or be upset.
That reminder eased the tiny little bit of irritation that had pulled up in his chest. And he smiled as she hung up.
“It’s George Miller, on the other side of Sweet Water, and he has a horse that’s colicking. I have a few things I can do for it, and I think we’ll be able to save it, but I’ll need to hurry.”
Her words were calm, she hadn’t raised her voice at all, but he could hear the urgency as she spoke.
“All right. You want to go home and change?”
“Yes. I need to grab my bag. I...didn’t bring it to our wedding.”
“Good. It’s good to know that at least you didn’t plan this.” He winked at her, and she laughed.
“No. I would definitely not have a horse colicking on purpose.”
“You know, I kind of feel like I can admit something to you now,” he said, even as he sped up, because he didn’t want her to lose a horse on their wedding day. That didn’t seem to be the best way to start out a marriage, although he wouldn’t consider it a bad omen, since he didn’t believe in them. He believed in God, which was a whole lot better than depending on something as whimsical as luck.
“Admit something?” she asked, raising her brows way out.
“Yeah. I don’t know whether this is going to scare you or make you happy.”
“Okay, you’re scaring me now,” she said, fingering the band that he’d put on her finger not that long ago.
“When your parents died, I came, intending to go to the funeral. I...wanted to pursue a relationship with you at that time. I had wanted to for a while. But your dad and me being in business together was a little bit of an inhibitor, but also the fact that you were so young. Still, with your parents gone, I wanted to step in. But... I knew that you wanted to be a vet, and I thought that you trying to juggle your studies and a long-distance boyfriend, if I could even get to that point, might be too much. So I backed off.”
She turned while he was talking, and her jaw hung open. It was obvious from the look on her face that she had had no idea. “You’re kidding, right?”
“No. I’m not. I’m dead serious.”
Chapter 15
“All right, you don’tneed to walk him around. But you can if it seems to make him feel better. Just keep a close eye on him and text me when he has his first bowel movement. Also, let me know if he stops drinking for any length of time. The molasses we put in his water will hopefully make it sweet enough to entice him to consume more than he normally would, but keep that bucket of clean water beside it as well, just in case the molasses water doesn’t appeal to him.”
