Page 77 of Nashville Cowboy
Chapter 26
When Eve pulled up to the Lone Star Veterinary Clinic on Monday morning, she took a few minutes to gather her thoughts. Somehow it seemed like more than two weeks had passed since she’d been gone. The outside of the building still looked the same and she was certain nothing inside had changed either. The little blue building where Eve and Annabeth had hung out their shingle sat right in the middle of downtown near all the major storefronts. She walked to the door and traced the letters of her name:
Eve Iglesias, DVM
Annabeth Dantzer, DVM
Nothing was the same for Eve as the day she’d left for her scheduled vacation, after having had a small anxiety attack at the Maddox ranch. She didn’t think she’d ever been this happy in her life.
This morning she’d woken to a cup of coffee on her nightstand that had to have been Jackson’s doing. A note beside it said that he’d let her sleep in and would be with Hank most of the day. He’d spent the night in her bedroom, loving her all night long. Speaking tender words along with the sexier raunchier ones about what he was going to do to her and how much she’d enjoy it.
Whew!
She’d decided to skip her regular morning ride and slept in a little longer.
Last night, the sexual intimacy alone would have been enough, but she’d fallen in love with him. Head over heels, can’t-stop-thinking-about-him-love. She was happy about that, but she had a feeling Annabeth was going to wake her up to a few truths Eve didn’t want to face. She’d enjoyed the little bubble she’d lived in recently, where the past collided with the present and created something new and fresh. Precious. Something she’d never believed would be possible. But she feared Annabeth was about to burst that bubble with a sledgehammer.
She was already there when Eve opened the door and let herself inside the clinic.
“Good mornin’.”
“Hey, stranger. I sure hope you enjoyed your time off.” She handed Eve a Styrofoam cup. “Sorry. I still can’t figure out how to make the coffee.”
Hoping for the best, Eve took a sip, and tried not to grimace. “You’ll get the hang of it.”
“So, how did it go?” Annabeth perched on the edge of the front desk.
“Good.” Eve set her cup down. “Better than I could have hoped.”
“I heard.”
“What did you hear?”
“Just that you and Jackson were pretty cozy on the dance floor.” She crossed her arms smugly. “Did I call this or what?”
Okay, so Annabeth had warned her that she could wind up being tossed aside like all the other women Jackson had apparently been through over the years. But Eve regretted nothing. She was living her life again, fearless, and brave. He’d brought that out of her again. And he loved her as much as she loved him, even if he had yet to say it when she was awake. He’d shown her, and that mattered more.
“It’s complicated,” Eve said and sat at the reception desk’s chair to power up the desktop computer.
“No kidding. I would have never dreamed that taking up with the man you left at the altar would becomplicated.” She smirked. “So…tell me. Was it just one kiss or are we talking some heavy make-out sessions?”
Eve might have blushed. Either way, her face hot, she got busy trying to locate this week’s schedule.
“Oh, crap. Are you…are you being serious with me right now?” Annabeth went hand on hip and swiveled her head. “That fast? After everything hedidto you? He abandoned you.”
“AfterI abandoned him.”
And she should have known better. He’d already been abandoned once. Being abandoned by his fiancée in a church full of people had cut him in places she hadn’t even imagined. But she would give herself a pass because she’d been caught up in her own needs. Too young and immature. Too proud.
“We already talked about this. You were just nervous. Marriage is a patriarchal system and it’s no wonder you thought twice. It wasn’t like you didn’tlovehim.”
“But it’s just not that simple.”
“It is exactly that simple. You live here, and he lives there.” Annabeth pointed outside as if Nashville was in the parking lot. “It isn’t going to work even if I thought youcouldtrust him. Unless you’re leaving me and our practice.”
“No, no, I’m not. You know I’m not.” Eve sighed and found the day’s schedule. She was actually amazed Annabeth had managed to put one together.
Routine usually helped but not so much at the moment. The first appointment of the day was Mr. Mansfield. She did not want to deal with him again. Not on her first day back.
