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“We heard you went out to the Duke Ranch the other morning,” Carly spoke beside her companion, not glancing up from her computer screen. She stopped typing for one second, pushing a strand of blonde hair from her face and then continued clacking on the keyboard. “You should’ve let me know, and I could’ve come and assisted you!”
“I did go out, but it was an easy job to handle by myself,” I replied, half wondering why it was such a hot topic.
“And you met Cassidy your first day.” She sighed with a dreamy look playing in her gray eyes. There it was. The same look I’d seen the day I’d met him.
“Stop swooning. You went on one disastrous date.” Elena clicked her tongue, rolling her dark brown eyes that matched the freckles splattered across her skin.
“Like you’re one to talk,” Carly snarled in response. “You had two, and they went just as well as everyone else's.”
“Everyone else's?” I asked, leaning against the counter and picking at a thread from my white coat that was tugged over another burnt orange turtleneck sweater. I liked these thick, knitted sweaters. They kept me warm and were pretty bulky, hiding all of my insecurities about my body that lacked most womanly curves.
“Cassidy is the most eligible bachelor in the entire town. He’s been on at least one date with every woman over the age of twenty, yet not a single one seems to have piqued his interest,” Carly said, smiling her thin lips in my direction. “That is until now.”
“Until now?” I furrowed my brows.
“You.” Elena threw a thumb in my direction, and I shook my head.
“I’ll see you girls tomorrow,” I replied, stopping the conversation, and turned around.
“Lunch since it’s Wednesday?” Carly asked, and I paused in my tracks. “Come on, a midweek pick me up!” I blinked a few times, realizing it had beenmorethan just several days since I’d been to the Duke Ranch. It had been almost a week. Which meant I’d been here longer than a week and finally felt like I’d settled in nicely. Even considered these two girls semi-friends. My parents and I had spent every evening together, even during my dad’s bad days. I wasn’t missing out on a moment with him again.
And I hadn’t seen or heard from Weston or Cassidy since. Their heifers were slowly improving, and I had to go pick up some feed for them tomorrow morning now that they were eating again.
“Alright, lunch tomorrow. My treat,” I replied, and both girls clapped their hands in glee, matching purple scrubs billowing in effect. Carly was athletically built, while Elena was a thicker girl. She must’ve stolen all of the curves that I was supposed to have received, and I was a little jealous. They were both beautiful, extravagant, and turned heads wherever they went. Which meant they heard all of the gossip around town and always came with exciting news.
Much of which I’d been the main topic of lately.
As I left the waiting area, I heard Carly demand that any Duke appointments be handled by her from now on. I chuckled, still not quite sure what all the fuss was concerning Cassidy.
It was a quick trip to drop off my white coat in my office, and then I headed home, the donut still holding steady along the plowed streets. We hadn’t had another snowstorm, and it hadn’t been quite as thick in the valley. I knew I needed to get it changed and soon, but the clinic had been busy, and I was doing everything I could to learn as much as possible so Doc would trust me with more solo appointments.
Especially for large-animal farm calls. Those were challenging and the most exciting for me. I’d found myself drawn more and more to each client that had an interesting case at their small ranch or farm, more so than the routine dog and cat visits. Maybe all along I’d been meant to be here, be a part of this lifestyle.
Another evening passed by with my family, my mom pressing about going on a date with someone while here—aka Cassidy. I politely said no, but didn’t become as frustrated as I had previously been about her constant pushing towards having some sort of love life. I couldn’t blame her either, but I couldn’t, not with him. I’d heard enough of his player-like stories to have written him off before even a single date, no matter how attractive he was.
He was almost too perfect. Which sent all sorts of red flags up in my head. No, he wasn’t the one for me, and I didn’t need a date to know that.
Chapter 7
My hands wrapped around the third burlap feed sack. I grunted as I slammed it down on the flat shopping cart. Doc wanted four bags, so I reached for the last, spinning around as a small bead of sweat dripped from my forehead. Standing up straight as my stack wobbled slightly, I leaned against the cart handle and steadied my heart rate. Despite my small frame, I was tough, but four fifty-pound feed bags definitely got the blood pumping.
Smoothing out my black long-sleeve T-shirt I’d picked to wear under a gray vest, my eyes locked onto a man I hadn’t seen in a while.
Weston.
He was squatted down, dragging a chicken feed bag out from a pile. Wearing those usual square toe boots mated with a pair of wranglers that a thick, blue-checkered flannel was tucked neatly into. He also had a plain brown vest resting over his shirt and that black cowboy hat sat atop his curly hair. I found him intriguing to look at.
He ran a hand over his mustache, slung the bag over his shoulder, and stood, his gaze swiveling to meet mine. No smile, no emotion.
We just stared for a moment.
Swallowing my pride, I offered the first soft smile. “Hi,” I said.
His face remained fixed on me, emotionless for a moment, and then he suddenly walked my way.
“Doc says the heifers are slowly improving,” he finally said and paused in front of me. Those piercing midnight eyes scanned the contents of my cart and then quickly over my body.
“Yep. We’re going to add in some of this grain to help fatten them up and see how much permanent damage was done,” I answered and then cocked my head. “You know that’s chicken feed right?” I pointed to the bag laying over his shoulder.
