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And I enjoyed cooking, if I was being honest. But why did he have to make it sound so… so gross?
“Maybe we’ll all still be around to enjoy that meal,” Boone said. “I might not be as amazing as Janessa, but I wouldn’t mind cooking something for you, Logan.”
Cade snorted, no doubt envisioning all sorts of ways to spice up a recipe for the veterinarian.
Logan just scowled and climbed into his truck without another word. I had to turn my head to keep from laughing, but Cade didn’t hold back.
“And you call me the smartass?” Cade snickered, jabbing Boone in the side with his elbow. “You’d better hope none of our animals get sick, the way he was glaring at you. I’ll bet he won’t drop everything to come running if we have to call him.”
“I don’t even care.” Boone grimaced.
I wanted to walk over and hug both of them, but not with my uncle standing there scowling his disapproval. “Maybe we should all treat the vet a little better,” Uncle Justin said. “I don’t know how things go over at other ranches, but we like to show appreciation for the kind of top-notch service Logan Hensley delivers around here.”
Boone nodded. “Your ranch. Your rules. Can’t argue with that.”
I needed to change the subject—and to remind everyone of why we were out here in the first place. Even though I was firmly on Cade and Boone’s side as far as the top-notch doctor was concerned, I didn’t want to cause any unnecessary friction with my uncle. God knew I’d already had enough of that over the past few days.
Turning to Cade, I asked, “Do you think Derek would mind if we came out to take a look at his horses? I’d like to compare what we know with what he’s seen if he’d be willing to talk to us.”
“I think that’s a good idea.” Boone nodded. “I’d like to go along and see for myself as well.”
Cade shrugged. “I can’t think of a reason why he wouldn’t talk to us, but I’ll call and double check just to be sure.” He shook his head. “I don’t like the way this is looking, though. If it really is the same person, I don’t like that they’ve resorted to arson on top of everything else. If something like that happened here, these outbuildings would burn to the ground before we’d be able to put out the fires.”
Uncle Justin nodded. “I was really hoping we’d find out it was just a group of teenagers out causing trouble. This is starting to feel a lot more dangerous than that.”
“I think so, too,” I said. “We need to go talk to Derek. Uncle Justin, do you mind if we go while you stay and keep an eye on the cattle?”
I thought back to the conversation we’d had in the kitchen that morning and how I’d told him I didn’t mind that he always wanted to look out for me. I’d meant it then, and I still felt that way now, but I hoped he would recognize that this was one of those times when I needed a little space so I could follow my own instincts.
He nodded. “Go ahead. If there’s some kind of connection, we need to know about it.”
I gave him a quick hug—partially from feeling relieved that he really did seem to be making an effort to let me make my own decisions and partially because, well… I’d learned the hard way that it was always good to show the people I cared about the most that they were important to me.
And as long as there was some lunatic out there setting fires and poisoning animals, I wasn’t taking anything for granted.
“I don’t like that guy,” Cade muttered as we pulled out of the driveway in his pickup truck. “He walks around like he’s better than everyone else, but I don’t give a damn that he’s a veterinarian who’s been through all those years of school and whatnot. He’s just an asshole as far as I’m concerned.”
I reached over and gave his leg a gentle squeeze. The cab of Cade’s truck was surprisingly spacious, but Cade and Boone were big guys, and I couldn’t help feeling a little rush of excitement when I realized I’d be sandwiched between them for the drive to and from Derek Winslow’s ranch.
It was going to be really hard to keep my hands to myself. We were just pulling out of the driveway and I’d already failed.
Cade didn’t seem to mind, though. He looked over and gave me a little smile in spite of his rant. God, how was it even possible that he was so hot all the time? Everything he did, every little move he made was just… sexy. And I couldn’t get enough.
“Pretty sure Logan feels the same way about you,” Boone said, smirking. “Every time you open your mouth, he looks like he’s in physical pain.”
“I should open my mouth more often, if that’s the case,” Cade shot back.
I laughed. “He’s a piece of work, for sure. I think he means well, though…” I shook my head, remembering all the things about the vet that sort of creeped me out. “I think he might just get along better with animals than people.”
“Your uncle sure seems to get along well with him,” Boone said. “But yeah, I think you’re probably right. And honestly, that’s probably a good quality for a vet to have. If you’re going to trust someone to take care of your animals, it might as well be someone who gets along with them.”
“I think that’s the only reason why Uncle Justin likes him so much,” I said. “He’s taken such good care of our animals, and he really does drop everything to get out there whenever we call.”
Cade snorted. “Yeah, I can’t imagine why he’d come running whenever the prettiest girl in the county calls…”
“And again,” Boone added before I had a chance to respond, “he probably thinks the same thing about us.”
Cade gave Boone a serious dose of side-eye but didn’t say anything else. I had always just sort of assumed that Logan had been so prompt because he respected Uncle Justin or because he was so dedicated to his job, but maybe I’d just been fooling myself. I certainly didn’t want to believe that Logan was just there to see me, but I couldn’t say for sure that he wasn’t.
