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No. He wasn’t going to think about that.
He needed to find something to distract himself.
James turned back to Constance. “Have you ever—er—considered working with animals in more ways than you do here?”
Her brows lifted in surprise. “Like what you do?”
James nodded. “Sure. You might find you enjoy taking care of the animals.”
“Actually, I was going to ask you—”
Motion in the corner of his eyes captured his attention and he shifted his focus to the far side of the property where the barn was located. A familiar figure emerged from the structure, leading a horse toward a corral.
Brielle.
His chest tightened and his stomach lurched. He had to tear his eyes back to where Constance was—finding that she now stared at him expectantly. James blinked and searched his brain for any clue as to what she was going to ask him. He used to have the ability to recall things that were said when he wasn’t one hundred percent attentive. But those were his college days. Now he had a harder time retrieving such information.
He cleared his throat. What kind of thing could she possibly ask that he would refuse? He couldn’t think of a single thing. James nodded. “Of course. I don’t see why not.”
Constance’s concerned expression went from grey to bright. Like dusk to a full-blown sunrise in a matter of seconds. Her brown eyes almost looked caramel colored, the way they shined with excitement. “Really? That would be wonderful. When do you think we could start?”
Uh-oh. Why had he let himself get distracted? Brielle wasn’t worth it. She was in his past, and he needed to look toward the future. He just didn’t know what that future would entail yet.
He shifted, putting all his weight on one foot. “Well, what do you think?” It wasn’t the best response. But it was probably the safest one he could go with.
“I’d love to start as soon as possible. I know that there are going to be educational courses and tests to take if I want to be a real vet. But I figured if you’d let me shadow you, then I could help out around here in case you couldn’t make it on time.”
Oh.
He had to admit, her words made perfect sense, especially considering where their conversation had started. She wanted some form of training when it came to caring for the animals at her ranch.
Brielle’s distinct voice floated over to where they were, and his attention flitted in her direction unbidden. Her graceful stance in the saddle, the way she could move with the horse she rode, all of it had his heart reaching for memories that needed to remain hidden.
His focus landed on Constance once more. Shane had said to find someone he could distract himself with. Suddenly, spending time with Brielle’s younger sister didn’t seem like such a terrible idea. He was going to be here to help her with the foal, so why not spend some extra time helping her with the basics of being a vet? It sure would be nice to have the extra help on hand for next time something came up.
James nodded. “Well, I’ve got a full schedule for the next couple of weeks, so I don’t know if I’ll be able to have you shadow me at other places. That being said, when I visit here, you can ask as many questions as you’d like. I’d be happy to share what I know with you.”
The grin on her face didn’t fade one iota as he gestured toward the foal. “First, let’s give this little guy a bit of a workout. Can you go get us a lead rope? We’ll have Calliope make the rounds and stay close to Clio to make sure he doesn’t get overworked.”
Constance nodded and hurried away. Without meaning to, he gazed once more at the corral where Brielle ran her own exercises. She’d always been a good rider. There was no doubt about that. But it was the way she carried herself that had captured his attention when they were in high school. He knew from the moment he’d met her she was something special. There was no one quite like her.
While they dated, he’d thought he was the luckiest guy on the planet. To have Brielle Callahan’s arms around his neck was like heaven.
Did he regret breaking it off with her?
That was the million-dollar question.
Sometimes he did. Had he been more patient, they could be married right now. Then again, he’d like to say he knew Brielle pretty well. If she wasn’t married by now, she might just not want that sort of thing in her life.
Regret or no regret. He’d made the right decision.
Maybe if he kept telling himself that, he’d finally believe it.
4
Constance
She had a skip in her step and she felt lightheaded. James had said yes. He’d agreed to mentor her as much as he could. That meant she’d be able to learn a few things about caring for the health of the animals on their ranch, but it also meant she’d be able to spend some quality time with him.
