Wrangling His Sexy Assistant: Beckett Brothers Book Two Read online

  Beckett Brothers

  Wrangling His Best Friend’s Sister

  Wrangling His Sexy Assistant

  Wrangling His Pregnant Cowgirl

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales, is entirely coincidental.

  RELAY PUBLISHING EDITION, JULY 2019

  Copyright © 2019 Relay Publishing Ltd.

  All rights reserved. Published in the United Kingdom by Relay Publishing. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Leslie North is a pen name created by Relay Publishing for co-authored Romance projects. Relay Publishing works with incredible teams of writers and editors to collaboratively create the very best stories for our readers.

  Cover Design by LJ Mayhem Covers.

  www.relaypub.com

  Blurb

  Veterinarian Hunter Beckett just got roped into his nightmare: a bachelor auction to raise funds for a local charity. While he’s a hottie, most in town see him as a curmudgeon, a man who manages to be cranky, even after he’s saved your dog’s life. But when women start bidding on him like crazy—one aggressive hairdresser in particular—Hunter’s in need of a savior and finds it in the form of Kit, his veterinary resident. It’s a mercy purchase, but one that puts him in a bind: Kit wants something in return.

  Kit Cowie’s come all the way out to the boonies because of her love of large animal medicine, and because Hunter needs a new resident—badly. But now that she’s got the job, she finds that Hunter is only holding her back, making her give shots to puppies while he’s off doing what she’d really love: fixing broken bones and saving horses’ lives. Now that she’s rescued him from the auction, Kit hopes she can leverage this to get more access in the office. What she didn’t expect is for Hunter to follow the rules of the bachelor auction—or for their date go so wonderfully right, ending with a sizzling kiss.

  But Hunter is sure that the kiss was a mistake and believes they should keep things professional between them. However, the more time he spends with Kit, the more his emotions beg him to see this relationship to passionate fruition, even though he knows Kit is only here for a rotation until her position at her own family’s vet clinic goes into effect and she’s gone forever.

  As the two get more involved, they face the real possibility that their growing love could lay waste to their reputations or become something far more precious.

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  (Beckett Brothers Book Two)

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  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Epilogue

  End of Wrangling His Sexy Assistant

  Thank you!

  About Leslie

  Sneak Peek: Wrangling His Pregnant Cowgirl

  Also by Leslie

  1

  "Annd I have one hundred from the lovely lady in green, do I hear one twenty-five? Thank you, Miss Nadine. I’ve got one twenty-five, one twenty-five for a dinner in Dallas with this fine upstanding young man, do I hear one fifty?"

  Kit Cowie watched as the Dolly Parton look-alike in the first row waved her paddle in the air, bouncing on her generous…seat…as she tried to win Bachelor Number Three at the Seventh Annual Gopher Springs Bachelor Auction—all proceeds going to the town library, of course.

  The auctioneer continued calling until Miriam Arness, the eighteen-year-old bachelor’s grandmother, finally won.

  "I can’t believe Miriam had to pay three hundred dollars just to get Sammy, Jr. to go out to dinner with her! He ought to take his grandmother to dinner for free once a week," Ava Beckett, Kit’s best friend from college, remarked as she sat down and handed Kit a glass of red wine in a plastic cup.

  "I’m pretty sure she did it to keep Nadine from winning him," Kit answered, cringing slightly at the idea. "That woman’s a menace."

  Ava nodded in agreement but glanced around to either side to make sure none of the town gossips had overheard. It seemed as if the entire town was crammed into the main hall of the community center. A portable stage took up a third of the room, while folding chairs, buffet tables loaded with cheap booze and Chex mix, and enthusiastic female bidders filled the remaining space.

  "Oh, look!" Ava exclaimed. "Here comes Hunter."

  Kit tried to ignore the heat that washed over her cheeks as she watched her new boss step up onto the stage. He wore a tight t-shirt that said, Vets Do It with Animals, and a pair of Wranglers so worn she was surprised they didn’t just dissolve when the air hit them. When Kit had been finishing veterinary school and had told Ava she needed a residency supervisor who worked with large animals as well as small, she hadn’t dreamed Ava would suggest her own brother-in-law.

  She certainly hadn’t imagined in her wildest fantasies that Hunter would be the hottest thing since Elvis.

  No, when she’d first contacted Hunter to ask about the possibility of doing a residency with him, all she’d thought was that he was cranky and obstinate. He’d given her the runaround for weeks. Then, ten days ago, he’d called her out of the blue and admitted he hadn’t fulfilled his state board requirement to supervise one resident every five years, and if they were going to make him do it, he might as well do it with her. She’d moved to Gopher Springs the next day, and that was when she’d gotten her first look at her new boss.

  Then she’d wished she could drive right back out of town. At no time had Ava ever mentioned Hunter was hot. Now Kit was stuck with an untouchable, grumpy, but hot boss.

  "Dayum," a woman in the row behind them muttered. "Hunter Beckett needs to take off his doctor jacket more often."

  Ava put a hand over her mouth, trying to stifle the snort-laughing that followed on the heels of the woman’s words. Kit gritted her teeth, watching Hunter give the crowd a weak smile. He stood stiffly while the auctioneer introduced him as the town’s veterinarian. If Hunter was anything, he was serious. The idea of standing in front of a roomful of half-drunk horny women was probably going to traumatize him forever.

  But Lord help her, was he the epitome of what every bachelor auction should be. His sultry brown eyes looked as if he’d just walked out of the bedroom. His mop of dark hair curled slightly where it met the collar of his t-shirt, and what was normally a five o’clock shadow had become a light beard that made Kit want to feel the rough hairs against her own skin.

  "A picnic?" Ava asked when the auctioneer described what a date with Hunter would entail. "That’s kind of cute of him."

  This time it was Kit who snorted. "He’s going to take the winner with him while he does a checkup on Marty Anderson’s sheep flock. Marty has a picnic table out in the pasture, and
I heard Hunter trying to bribe the receptionist at the office to make some sandwiches he could take along."

  "Wow," Ava’s husband, Branson said as he joined them, taking the seat on the other side of Ava. "That’s low, even for my brother."

  "I swear, you’d think Hunter was trying to drive the women away," Ava added, shaking her head in disgust.

  "He thinks he doesn’t have time for them." Bran leaned over and kissed Ava’s cheek. "He has no idea what he’s missing."

  Kit tried to ignore the lovebirds and watched as the auctioneer called out, "I’ve got three hundred from Miss Nadine here in front, do I hear three twenty-five? Three twenty-five? And I have three twenty-five from the lady in blue…" He pointed to a middle-aged woman in the far corner of the room.

  "Oh. My. God," Kit whispered to Ava. "Eunice McTeggert is bidding on him."

  "What’s so terrible about that?" Ava asked eagerly.

  Kit hesitated for a moment, wondering if she was violating anyone’s confidentiality. Then she decided the tale was too good not to tell.

  “Eunice has this bulldog. It needs a surgery, and of course, Hunter’s the only vet for fifty miles who can do it.” She paused because every good story needed that moment of anticipation. “However, Eunice claims the dog is afraid of men, and so Hunter needs to dress in drag to do the operation.”

  "Wait, what?" Ava choked on her wine, coughing.

  Bran burst out laughing so loudly that people in the chairs around them turned to stare. "Well," he said, gesturing toward the stage where Hunter stood looking beyond miserable, "she’s about to win him, unless Nadine’s ready to cough up five hundred dollars."

  "I have four hundred and seventy-five dollars for our fine local veterinarian and a picnic in sheep country," the auctioneer said. "Do I hear five hundred? Miss Nadine?"

  Nadine’s Dolly Parton blonde bouffant wiggled on top of her head, looking precariously close to falling right off.

  "Well, I don’t know," Nadine said loudly, drawing out the words in her best Texas twang. "He’s a mighty fine specimen, but I do get to see him every week for free when he comes in to the diner for breakfast with Bran."

  The crowd laughed, and the auctioneer continued. "All right, folks, we have a bid of four hundred seventy-five dollars…"

  Kit looked at her boss right as he looked at her. Their eyes met, and she saw the desperation there. She also saw the hard jaw, perfect scruff, and very nice pecs under his t-shirt.

  "Going once!" the auctioneer called.

  Kit’s lips began to move before her brain had a chance to step in.

  "Going twice…"

  "Five hundred!" she hollered, shocking herself as much as anyone else in the room. Ava squeaked, and Bran swore under his breath. "I’ll bid five hundred," Kit repeated, much more quietly this time.

  "I have five hundred from the lovely lady in row three," the auctioneer said with a wink at Kit. "Do I hear five twenty-five?"

  Eunice shook her head, staring daggers at Kit.

  "Five hundred going once, five hundred going twice…"

  Kit’s heart flipped over once inside her chest.

  "Sold! To the blonde in row three."

  Dear God. What had she done?

  * * *

  Hunter Beckett stomped off stage as the auctioneer moved on to the next bachelor. What in God’s name had his new resident been thinking? She’d hardly been here a week, he barely knew her, but he would have thought it would be standard practice not to bid on your boss at a bachelor auction. What would the state board think?

  It was bad enough they were all up in his business with their requirements that he supervise residents. That had forced him to take Kit on, and now he was stuck with one of the sexiest women he’d ever laid eyes on. She was in his office, in his exam rooms, and in his life for the next three months. He’d started counting the days until she’d be done the moment she’d walked in and he’d forgotten how to breathe.

  But now he was supposed to take her on a date? He felt certain that was not what the board had in mind with their requirements. And it definitely wasn’t what he had in mind for his life right now. He didn’t date for a reason—he was far too busy taking care of every animal in the county along with his brothers.

  He made his way off the stage and headed straight for the buffet table, where a metal bucket full of ice and bottles of Bud Light was calling his name in the worst way.

  "Well, if it isn’t the star of the auction." His brother Bran appeared, slapping him on the shoulder harder than necessary.

  "I hate this auction, and I’m never agreeing to it again," Hunter answered, popping the cap off a bottle of beer and chugging half in one long swallow.

  "But you made five hundred dollars for the library. My kid thanks you. The library’s about the only place we can get Cam to sit still. If I could move the whole building to the ranch, I would."

  Hunter leaned against the wall next to the buffet table and sighed. What a clusterfuck this night had become.

  "So, uh, what’s up with you and Kit?" Bran asked with a grin. "She sure did jump in there to save your ass. And for a pretty penny, too."

  Hunter took another long draft from his beer. "Nothing’s up. She could tell I was about to be sacrificed to a woman who thinks her dog prefers RuPaul to a normal vet. She did the only decent thing. My sister-in-law could’ve tried the same tactic.” He gave his brother some side-eye. “You know, if she really cared about me."

  Bran threw his head back and laughed as Hunter scowled at him. "You didn’t tell us to rescue you, or we’d have been happy to oblige. Plus, Eunice and her bulldog together don’t come close to outweighing you, so I wasn’t too concerned."

  "I was," Hunter muttered. Then he saw Ava and Kit approaching, and to his extreme consternation, his stomach fluttered—fucking fluttered—like a butterfly. It had been doing that same thing since the first time he’d seen her. This was entirely unacceptable, and not much that was unacceptable made its way into Hunter’s world.

  "Hi, there," Ava said, leaning in and kissing Hunter’s cheek before Bran snaked a possessive arm around her waist.

  "Hey," Hunter said, looking at Kit instead of his sister-in-law.

  "So, uh…" Kit looked as uncomfortable as Hunter felt. Her cheeks were flushed pink, and her blue eyes had an unfocused quality that told him she’d been drinking.

  "I guess you rescued me," he said, giving her a small smile.

  "Yes! Yes, that’s what I was explaining to Ava and Bran. I couldn’t let you get pulled into the bulldog-drag-queen net again. That woman’s relentless."

  Ava and Bran moved farther down the length of the table, Bran reaching for another beer and Ava filling a bowl with Chex mix.

  "Well, I appreciate it. I’ll have the office reimburse you. I should have set it up for one of the staff to buy me, anyway. I can write it off the taxes, and it saves…well, it’s just easier all the way around," he finished, polishing off his beer with only the third draft.

  "Oh, no," Kit said, looking at him earnestly. "You don’t have to do that. I would have made a donation to the library anyway. I just loved the library when I was growing up."

  Hunter’s stomach did more of that fluttering thing, and it was all he could do not to run out the door and keep on going until he hit the Oklahoma state line.

  Suddenly, a tremendous crash sounded, and several women screamed. Hunter threw out an arm in front of Kit to prevent her from moving until he could see what was happening.

  “Percy’s llama is loose!” someone yelled from the behind the stage, swiftly followed by another crash.

  Kit’s eyes grew wide as she looked at Hunter.

  “Well, hell,” he muttered before setting his empty bottle on the table next to him. “I guess you can come along,” he told Kit, “might as well meet Lorenzo, just in case you ever see him sauntering down Main Street.”

  This, Hunter thought as he made his way to the back of the stage to corral the angry llama, this was why he had no
time for women.

  2

  Hunter wiped his hands on the hand towel Mrs. Hampton gave him and sat back on his heels. “Well, that’s the last one.” He patted the little King Charles spaniel on the head as her litter of seven puppies squirmed and wriggled to get closer to her teats.

  “Oh, Dr. Beckett, I can’t thank you enough for coming out in the middle of the night like this,” Jordina Hampton said, picking at the cuffs of her long flannel nightgown.

  Hunter moved one of the puppies closer to his food source before standing and smiling at the worried older woman. “She did great, so I don’t want you to worry anymore, okay? She can sense your mood, and the best thing you can do for her is trust that she has the right instincts to do what she needs to.”

  The older woman nodded solemnly. “Thank you, Doctor. I just don’t know what I would have done without you.”

  Hunter smiled in response and patted her hand.

  She insisted he take a plate of cookies with him when he left. He put the cookies on the passenger seat before climbing into his truck, bone-tired. He’d crawled out of bed at one a.m. when Mrs. Hampton called, knowing her spaniel didn’t need him, but she did. Ever since Mrs. Hampton’s husband had passed away, the spaniel had become her everything, and while the dog knew how to have puppies, Mrs. Hampton didn’t know how to watch the dog having puppies.