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“Trust me, I can’t do whatever the hell I want all the time.” I smile, hoping it infuses her with more positive energy. “But it does feel good when I get to let off steam. Not gonna lie. But let me ask you a question. Do you really not want to be a vet anymore? Like, is that what your heart is saying?”
“Well”—she swirls her straw in her drink—“no. It hurts to put animals down, but more often than not, it’s merciful and at the end of a full, long life. And even though I’m not Dr Doolittle like Dash, I do think I have a gift for hearing creatures out. You know?”
“Then…” I hope what I say next doesn’t sound flippant. “Be yourself and see what happens.”
She stops stirring her drink. Her paper straw has practically disintegrated, her nerves have kicked in as we speak. But she’s thinking hard, she runs through scenarios behind her jade eyes, considering what I said. And that’s the other thing about Joey I adore. Though anyone who didn’t know her might not think so, she’s not stubborn. She takes what you have to say on board.
It’s refreshing. Especially when in hockey, every player I know thinks they’re never in the wrong, and my years in Los Angeles, hell, that place was full of pretentious motherfuckers.
People don’t value humility anymore, though it’s the one quality my dad told me and my brother to never forget.Stay humble. It’s grounding.I can’t give her a silver bulletbut two people asking questions instead of giving answers is as honest as it gets. I hope it eases her anxiety.
“Do you think that would actually work? Isn’t it my job to shore up the client? To take the emotional load?”
“No. That’s definitely not your job. Sure having a good bedside manner is something anybody in the medical profession should work on but maybe it’s time people stop expecting vets to be therapists. You could start a whole movement of redefining the job.”
“I can already see the shitty reviews popping up on Facebook.”
“So the fuck what? Counter it with a blog. You have a voice, too. And at this point, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain. And if it doesn’t work out, there’s always a job at Moon Ridge.”
“Yeah, it pays like shit, though.”
I laugh. “What do you need the money for?”
“I want to go on safari.”
Her answer surprises me. “Safari? What, like in Africa?”
“Yeah. But. I’ve been saving up, but the place I want to go is mega expensive, and Ted has been a bit of a money suck. He’s getting older and needs medication and organic hay that cost a fortune.”
Her horse, Ted, has always been a money suck. All horses are, but especially when you pamper them the way Jolie does. But as an animal person myself, I get it. They always come first. Before new clothes. Before new cars. And before trips to Africa.
“Well, if you end up not making the vet thing work, I’ll talk to Monica about a raise. She holds the purse strings.”
“Gee, thanks. Might get fifty cents an hour more.” She takes the last bite of her sandwich and talks to me frombehind her hand. “Honestly, though, I’m just so grateful I don’t have debt. I focus on that all the time. I am lucky so I don’t want to come across as a whiner. Just… figuring things out.”
“You don’t whine. I know that about you.”
“Well…”
She stares at her plate, and something pangs inside me, and I just know. I know someone made her think her feelings weren’t valid.
“You don’t have to justify yourself to me, Joey. Or anybody for that matter. If anyone ever told you otherwise…” I grit my teeth.
I’m guessing I’ll meet this person on the ice.
She leans down and reaches under the table to rub my leg. “You always know how to make me feel better. That’s why I L you.”
Her private but public declaration fills my chest like a sunrise. My cowgirl and I are a new chapter of the best story of my life.
“I’ll always take care of you.” I put my hand under the table, envelop hers, and squeeze it. “Because I L you, too.”
Chapter Fourteen
Ashton spentthe rest of the afternoon in the yard with me. It was luxurious. With hardly a soul around, we could kiss when we wanted to, feel each other up, laugh and touch as much as we goddamn wanted. I understand why Ashton wants to keep the gossip at bay for a while longer, but I also cannot wait to come out of the shadows. And for everyone to know he’s mine.
I glance over at my long, gorgeous man sitting at a picnic table outside one of the outbuildings where I’m sweeping up. I told him to sit. I know he said he’s feelingbetter, but he has another checkup tomorrow, and as much as I want to have him here forever, he has a job to do. He needs to heal and get back on the ice. In fact, Logan has told me Ashton wants to retire soon. He deserves to go out with a bang not a life-changing injury because I want him to fuck me standing up again.
I sweep mindlessly because I can’t take my eyes off him. He’s scrolling on his phone with his backward baseball cap and gorgeous cheekbones and jawline. Even his nose is cute. But Eric was a handsome guy, too, and never made me obsess the way I always have over Ashton. I can’t even get on with my work. I keep having to pause to make sure he’s still there, to make sure this isn’t all just some super-long, lucid dream.
