Page 10 of Tough Love

Addy gets around Vanity. Checking her over, she listens, prods, touches, and does an internal exam. She pulls the long plastic glove from her arm and tucks it into a rubbish bag and grabs up a manila folder and flips it open, filling out information and her findings. She drops it back into the bag and grabs the bag up, brushing a stray curl behind her ear. “Who’s next?”

“Whimsy. You been doin’ this long?”

I walk toward the mare, and she files in beside me. “I finished an internship at the New York Equine Veterinary Clinic last week. But I’ve been around horses my whole life.” She smiles, but it’s forced. What’s that about? The life with horses? The internship? Clearly, she loves horses, choosing the equine clinic. Maybe the last part, the part where she has been around horses her whole life. What happened to this girl to make her sad to talk about horses in her life?

“I’ve heard of the clinic. Must have been an experience.”

“You could say that.”

We stop at Whimsy, and she goes through the motions again. Talking to the mare and taking her time, like they are old friends.Making it impossible not to like her. And when those brown eyes meet mine after she finishes the last set of notes and packs up her bag, I have to shuffle to rearrange myself in my jeans.

I excuse myself and make my way to the truck. She follows, looking around, her face lit up by wonder and happiness. I think of anything other than the sway of her hips, the curves of her chest, those pretty, dark eyes, and the bounce of her curls.

Raking horse shit.

Getting tossed off a yearling and hitting the rails.

Taxes . . .

Nothing helps.

Fuck me.

She opens the door and slides onto the seat. The bag must be in the truck bed already. I look back, and it sits in the tray. “Oh, I got it in there okay.” She sweeps the hair from her neck. I force my gaze onto the closed gate behind us. I start the truck and turn it around. She moves to get the gate.

“Nope, my turn,” I say, my voice gravel.

Shit.

Throwing the Chevy into park, I fly out of the seat like it’s on fire. Needing distance between us. Us.You idiot, Hudson.She is absolutely unaffected by the proximity to me. I roll my eyes at myself and unlatch the gate. I give it a shove and let it swing open and walk somewhat slower back and climb in. Holding the door half shut, I drive through and park, jumping out to shut the gate. When I climb back in, Addy is on her phone, texting.

“Everything okay?” I know it’s not my business, but the words leave my mouth before I have a chance to shut them down.

“Yep. Talking to my boss. You know him?”

“Justin? Yeah, we went to high school together. He treatin’ you alright?”

“Ah, I haven’t actually met him in person yet. I came out here first thing.”

Justin Morley makes Reed akin to a saint. Probably the reason the last female vet they had a few years ago left, if you believe rumors. Which I don’t. But with Addy now on his team, I might pay closer attention. So, I simply nod, remembering she asked me a question.

“He seems nice.” She locks the phone and pushes it back into her back pocket.

I pin my stare on the road ahead.

“What? He’s not?”

“Never said that.”

“You didn’tnotsay it, either.”

Clever girl. “Nope, didn’t.”

She frowns. Crap, now I have her thinking there’s something wrong with her new boss.Great job, Hudson.“Justin has a reputation. A warning, is all.”

“Thanks,” she drawls, and it’s the first time she has given me anything but sunshine. Sore topic? This girl is beginning to feel more and more akin to a detailed work of fine art that can only be understood with time and care. Go figure.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to ruin your day.”

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