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The question almost broke Trent’s heart.
Emotions had been running high all day. First thing in the morning, he’d been called over to the stable by Chuck, who’d seen a downturn in Sunrise’s health. Trent had had to administer fluids to the poor horse, who seemed noticeably thinner and more frail than he had a few days ago.
Then, word came that the results had arrived. He practically sprinted back to his clinic and read the results from the lab. There was no doubting it: cryptosporidium. Found in all the samples he’d sent to them.
At first, he’d been relieved. Cryptosporidium is treatable. But, the more he sat with the diagnosis, the more concerned he became.
To think, at the start of the day, his main concern had been for Patti. He’d had broken sleep, tossing and turning at the thought of their conversation the previous night. As soon as he’d saidDaddy but not Domhe’d known he made a mistake.
He wanted her.
Unless he’d completely misread the signals, she seemed like she wanted him.
Why was he denying them both the chance to make something magical together?
Fear. Fear was why.
Now, fear was staring him in the face, with the most beautiful eyes, and most innocent expression he’d ever seen.
He didn’t want to tell the truth, but he knew that he had to. “Some of them might die,” he said, the weight of the situation bearing down on him. He rubbed the back of his neck. “Patti, we’re on the brink of an epidemic here,” he said, his voice tinged with worry. “The ranch can’t afford to hire additional veterinary assistance, and I’ll need to quarantine and treat each animal individually.”
He looked around the clinic, the seriousness of the task at hand settling in. It was a colossal responsibility, one that he knew he couldn’t handle alone. The thought of losing any of the animals under his care made his stomach churn.
“I want to help,” Patti said bravely. “I want to save the animals. But I’m so, so scared of making a mistake.” She took a deep breath. “So… I need you to be my Daddy.”
For the first time in years, Trent felt truly humbled. “You’re sure? The way I spoke to you the other day, it wasn’t right. I didn’t mean—“
“I’m sure. I just…”
He looked at her, trembling in front of him. She nodded, but he could tell—he just knew—that she was holding back. The solution was obvious.
“You need more than just a Daddy, don’t you, Patti?”
She bit her lip.
“You need me to be everything to you, don’t you? Your Daddyandyour Dom.”
“Not if you don’t want to,” she said, sniffing. “I don’t want you to force yourself to—“
“Patti, I want to.” He took her hand in his, stroking the back of her palm. Her skin was so smooth, so warm. “I’ve wanted to from the very first time I saw you. Patti, I have such strong feelings for you.” It felt so good to admit, but also, he felt fear rising up in him. Never mind Patti making a mistake. What if he was making the biggest mistake of his life?
“You do?”
“I know these aren’t exactly theidealconditions for starting a relationship. An outbreak of cryptosporidium and everything else that’s been going on.“ A dry laugh slipped through his lips. “But honestly, life isalwaysmessy, isn’t it?”
Patti laughed. “Especially when you work on a ranch.”
“Right. It’s not like you can look at your calendar and say, hey, there’s a two-week window when there’s not going to be any vomiting sheep—“
“Or traumatized voles…”
“Wait, what? Traumatized—“
“It was just an example.” Patti was smiling again.
“Good. Traumatized voles don’t fare so well. If you ever did see any, I’d expect you to send them to me immediately.”
He was still stroking her hand, and to his surprise and delight, he felt her other hand slip into his. For a moment, the tiniest sliver of time, all the worries about the ranch, the animals, the cryptosporidium, the epidemic, slipped away. Patti’s hand was everything. Patti was everything.
