Page 103 of Nashville Cowboy
She found her cell phone but as usual reception out on the hill was nonexistent. When all the lights went out a few minutes later, Jolette Marie screamed.
“Get a hold of yourself, child. We have a generator.” And in the next two seconds, the lights flickered back on.
“Whew. I was just at the good part.” Jolette Marie went back to her novel.
“Wish I could lose myself in a fantasy,” Lillian muttered.
Although, some would consider that her frequent talks with an imaginary Albert had been a bigger flight of fancy than any book. Her vivid imagination had always gotten the better of her. Like now, when she pictured Jackson and Eve lying in a ditch on the side of the road injured. And Daisy. She might have run off to Las Vegas to get married to that Wade. In this weather! And what about her Hank? Albert had always known where to find their son. Lillian felt so out of touch.
“Where are you when I need you, old man?”
She tried the phone again and wished she could remember where she’d put the satellite phone Hank had given her for emergencies just like this one. She was about to ask Jolette Marie to stop fantasizing and help her find it when Hank burst through the front door.
“Oh, Hank! Thank the good Lord.”
But Hank’s face was ashen. “There’s been an accident.”
Chapter 34
The long-predicted rainfall arrived and ruined Eve and Jackson’s secret marathon make-out session.
“Damn rain,” Jackson muttered against Eve’s lips, his hand under her shirt.
Lighting flashed, and thunder crackled. Everyone that had been outside quickly dispersed indoors. But rather than rejoin everyone at the Shady Grind, Eve tugged Jackson toward the veterinary clinic. Just crossing the street and down a few storefronts drenched them both. Eve unlocked the door and hurried inside, Jackson right behind her.
“Nothin’ quite like a Texas rainstorm,” Jackson said, smiling as his gaze did a slow slide down her body. “Um, yeah. Definitely nothin’ like it.”
Normally Eve dressed casually for work and never in her best. She had on an old pair of Wranglers which, though clean, were faded and had seen better days. She wore another pair of older boots that hadn’t been shit on by Holly, and her blue Lone Star Veterinary Clinic tee. But now her too-tight Wranglers were soaked and clinging to her legs and her tee was showing off the fact that she’d worn a red push-up bra today. She was practically see-through.
She groaned. “I’m glad we ran in here and not into the Shady Grind. I had only planned on you seeing this bra, not the entire crowd.”
He slid her a dark sexy look and stepped right into her space. Achingly close.
She took a step back with a smile. “I want to give you the grand tour.”
Taking his hand, she led him through the office. First, she pointed out the receptionist desk, next the coffee and snack room, the medicine supply cabinet, the surgery room, and the kennels where they kept recuperating pets. Finally, her office. The door had a placard with her name: Eve Iglesias, DVM.
“And this is my office.”
There was no small amount of pride in showing Jackson the fruits of all her hard work. Only the residents of Stone Ridge knew that little Eve Iglesias, Brenda’s daughter, had gone away to school and come back home a doctor. Jackson quietly studied the letters on the door. So quietly, she wondered what he was thinking. But in the next moment she knew because he turned and made her face him.
“Baby, I’m so proud of you.”
Every word was laced with such emotion that it reached all the way into her heart and twisted. She closed her eyes. A sudden wetness on her lashes threatened to ruin the light mood they’d been enjoying, so she fought back the tears and opened the door.
She waved him inside. “And this is my desk.”
“Then this must be your chair.” Jackson strode past her and stood behind the chair, spinning it once.
“Actually, I don’t spend much time at my desk.”
Now he sat and reclined in the chair, making himself at home. “This is a comfortable chair. I could do a lot in this chair.”
“I took a nap once.”
“Boring.” He beckoned her to him, gazing at her from underneath his eyelashes. “We can do better. Lock the door.”
She did and joined him. “What did you have in mind?”
