Page 9 of Tough Love

Hudson, you fucking idiot.

“Please, call me Addy. And that would be wonderful. I can’t wait to meet them all.” Her face is lit up with the brightest smile.

Goddamn, she’s beautiful.

Harry grunts, dismissing her. Ma stands at the kitchen counter, glancing between Dr. Howard and me.Oh no, Ma, don’tyou even think it.I clear my throat, desperate to get out of the house before my mother starts trying to make plans neither of us want. “We can take my truck.”

I walk out the back door, not waitin’. Ma says something to Addy, but she excuses herself. The back door bangs behind me a moment later. “Hudson?”

I keep walking. “Yeah.”

“Ah, how far along are the mares?”

I turn back, and she almost slams into my chest but grips the bag in front of her instead and takes a step back. I tilt my head. “They are due late November.”

“If you have an accurate due date, that would help.”

I fold my arms. She frowns but schools it to a polite smile a heartbeat later.

“Third week of November; that’s as accurate as it gets around here, Dr. Howard.”

“Okay, great. And please, call me Addy.”

“Whatever you say, Dr. Howard.”

I turn and walk to my truck. She sighs but follows me. I’m being an ass, but that beautiful face, those brown eyes have caught me off guard. And I’m not sure I like the heady feeling I’m getting, being so close to her.Get your shit together, Hudson. Jesus.

I open the passenger side door and lean on it. She steps into the space, and I take the bag from her hands. My mother’s ways are ingrained into my brain, even when I don’t want them. I put the bag in the back of the truck. Brushing past me, she climbs in, and the scent of apples and spice tangles through the air around me. Clearing my throat, I shut the door and count to ten as I walk around the back of the pickup and take four long, steady, and deep breaths.

I jump into the truck and fire her up. Addy is looking around, her focus on the horses in their paddocks. Her gaze finds Silverand stays there. A small smile pulls up on her lips. I grip the wheel tighter and slide the stick into drive. “You’re new at the clinic, I take it.”

“Yeah, got in yesterday. You guys are my first visit.” And there is that pretty smile. I swing my eyes back to the road. We head toward the mares.

“It’s so stunning out here,” she says, turned toward the window. Her hair shifts over her shoulders, her waist pulling in above her low-cut jeans. One fine, elegant hand rests on her thigh, the other over the rolled-down window of the truck.

“Yep.”

She chuckles and turns back to me. “Gosh, you are so lucky to live here.”

When I don’t reply, she stares at the road ahead. The gateway up ahead is closed.

“I can get that,” she offers.

Nodding, I slow the truck. She pushes the door open and jumps out, wandering to the gate. Her ass sways in those tight jeans, the button-down shirt only just covering a leather belt. I can’t take my eyes off her.Fantastic, Hudson, ogle the new vet.Absolutely what she needs, I’m sure. But something about her has me unable to pry my attention from her.

Addy follows the gate around as it opens, but she’s not looking back at me. Her focus is on the twelve mares that graze in the paddock. I drive the truck through, and she closes it behind me, and I shut off the engine. Adjusting the hat on my head, I suck in a breath and step out of the truck and round the back, pulling out her bag. She meets me, taking it from my hands. “Thanks.” Her smile beams.

I nod, not trusting my stupid words right now.

“So, I am going to make each mama her own chart. No mix-ups that way. I don’t want to miss anything.”

“Okay.”

No other vet has bothered with that before. Then again, no other vet has been excited to meet my horses or referred to them as mamas. I lean on the truck, and she frowns. “You don’t want to be with them when I check them out?”

Is she serious? Course I do, but most vets, mostmalevets, get weirded out when owners are babying their animals. But these girls are no mere animals. They are my legacy, my life’s work. My girls. I push off the truck, and she walks toward the first mare. Vanity raises her head and nickers as we approach.

“Hey there, Mama. How are you doing?” Addy says, offering out her hand. Vanity stands, chewing. She lowers her muzzle to Addy’s hand and sniffs before going back to eating. The woman clearly knows her way around a horse, and—by the soft words and touch she has with Vanity—loves them as much as I do.

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