AllFreeNovel
Share Us
PROLOGUE
“That’s it. Good girl, mama.”Gabby finished cleaning the last of the litter of puppies, settled her with her brothers and sisters, and scratched the exhausted new mother behind the ear. “You did so well.”
“Are they all okay?” the owner asked. She’d been a bundle of nerves throughout the delivery, fidgeting with her clothes and obsessively checking each pup after it made its way into the world. As if Gabby, a veterinarian, might have missed something. But Gabby didn’t mind. Whatever made her feel better.
“Yes, they’re all in good shape.” Gabby straightened and glanced around the room. She usually cared for larger animals, but the small animal veterinarian had been out of town when the dog went into labor so she’d been called in. She had to admit, she understood the attraction of small animal care. The birth had been far tidier than it would have been for, say, a cow. “It looks like you have everything they need.”
The owner had gone all out with beds, blankets, food, and toys. Gabby felt like she could leave, safe in the knowledge that these puppies would be spoiled like crazy.
“Thanks for coming on such short notice,” the owner said. “She wasn’t supposed to be due for another two weeks.”
Gabby shrugged. “Nature runs on her own schedule. I’m just happy I was around to help.”
She ran the woman through instructions for care, washed her hands, and headed home with a smile. Delivering a litter of puppies wasn’t a bad way to spend a morning.
When she arrived at the sprawling property she owned on the edge of Huntly, she parked on the concreted area outside and waved to the half-dozen goats grazing in the adjacent paddock. She took a moment to appreciate the view. Green grass stretched as far as the eye could see. Perhaps it wasn’t as nice as being near the beach, like her brother Shane’s house was in Haven Bay, but it had its own rural charm. Her ginger cat, Thomas, greeted her at the door and butted his head against her legs, purring loudly.
“Hey, buddy.” She patted him and went to her bedroom, where Luna—a deaf sweetheart of a kitty—was curled on the bed. She blew Luna a kiss and stripped out of her dirty clothes, then grabbed a towel from the cupboard in the hall and showered. When she got out, Thomas was waiting for her. He was the clingiest of her fur babies, although he tried to mask it by acting as though he was the man of the house.
Gabby dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, put her dirty clothes in the laundry, and checked the time. It was nearly 2 p.m., which meant Marley would be over soon. She and Gabby planned to watch cricket together. Gabby’s boyfriend, Henry, was on the New Zealand men’s team, who were playing against South Africa, and after the match, he would be free for a whole week. It had been close to a month since Gabby had seen him, so she intended to surprise him with a visit tomorrow.
She was excited to spend time with him. After dedicating most of her twenties to her career, and suffering through one bad date after another during the first couple of years of her thirties, she thought Henry might actually be the one. He was outgoing, fun, and wanted the same things she did: a family, and a place to settle down.
“Hey, hot stuff!” Marley’s voice rang through the house. Gabby must have been so distracted she hadn’t heard the car pull up. “I have snacks. I have booze. And I’ve got a hunch you might have a ring on your finger by the end of the week.” Marley appeared in the laundry doorway and winked one shimmering eyelid. “You ready?”
“Give me two seconds to let the girls in, and I’ll be there.”
Marley grinned. “How are my beautiful snookumses today?”
“As cheeky as ever.”
Marley followed Gabby to the back door. When she opened it, Thelma and Louise, her two rescue dogs, bounded toward them with the same enthusiasm with which they embraced everything. Louise’s movements were a little unbalanced because she was missing a leg, courtesy of a hit and run. Thelma loped beside her, her squashed bull terrier face panting happily.
“Hi, girls.” Gabby knelt to cuddle each of them.
“Hey, boo!” Marley exclaimed as Thelma licked her. “Aren’t you the sweetest thing?”
Gabby led the way to the living room with the dogs—and Marley—following behind. She flopped onto the sofa and Thelma immediately tried to jump onto her lap. Gabby shifted her to the side. She was too big to be a lap dog. She found the channel the cricket match was on and settled in to watch. Marley claimed the other end of the sofa, opened a bag of caramel popcorn, and passed it to Gabby.
“Do you really think he might propose soon?” Gabby asked as the match began.
“Of course.” Marley tugged a hand through her highlighter-pink hair. “You guys are so cute together it makes me sick. He’s going to want to lock you down as soon as he can.”
Anticipation tingled in Gabby’s gut. “I hope so.”
Henry was perfect. He didn’t mind how direct she was, and he hadn’t run when she spelled out her intentions on their first date—unlike most of the men she’d dated. They tended to find her too intense or say that she came on too strong. At first, she hadn’t minded their reactions. She’d thought she was weeding out the ones who were wrong for her. But after a while, it had gotten depressing. Then Henry came along and changed everything.
The match went on for hours, but in the end, New Zealand won. Gabby and Marley cheered and raised their wine glasses to the team. When the interviews began, Gabby was thrilled to see Henry’s handsome, square-jawed face fill the screen. The interviewer asked a few questions about the match and then gave a sly smile that Gabby suspected meant the conversation was about to take an interesting turn.
“You’re notoriously private about your personal life, but I’ve heard rumors that a certain special lady has been seen wearing a ring,” the interviewer said. “What do you say to that?”
Gabby frowned and looked down at her hands. No ring.
“What the hell?” Marley muttered. “Must have gotten the wrong guy.”
“Must have,” Gabby agreed, but her stomach soured. She had a bad feeling about this.
On screen, Henry grinned. “It’s true. Vanessa and I are engaged.”
