Wrangling His Sexy Assistant: Beckett Brothers Book Two Read online

  What if they tried to do this for real? What if they could see each other on weekends? Maybe she could hire another vet tech at her dad’s practice to handle vaccinations every other Saturday so she could go to Gopher Springs to be with Hunter. Maybe he could do the same for the alternate weekends. They’d have to fly between Houston and Dallas, but it was an easy one-hour flight.

  “Watcha’ thinking about so hard, there, babe?” Hunter asked as he pulled alongside and gave her a pat on the ass before giving her horse one as well, which sent the slow old trail horse hopping for a step or two.

  Kit grinned and glanced at him over her shoulder. “Just looking ahead,” she answered. “To that pond that I’m going to beat you to.” She gave a dig with her heels, and her gelding sped up to a trot, while Hunter laughed behind them.

  As she rode out from under the trees and into the open field, the sunshine cooked away all the questions and doubts. Kit felt a new determination about her life, a new commitment to making it what she wanted. Maybe, she thought, she could actually have it all.

  Later that night as she lay in Hunter’s arms for the last time before returning to Gopher Springs, she thought more about the possibilities. About having her own practice in Houston, seeing her parents happy, and also about being with Hunter, spending time in his world, in his arms, in his bed. It was a compromise, and compromise was good, right? She could fulfill the promises she’d made to her parents and still have a chance for time with Hunter. It wouldn’t be easy—time on planes and in cars, scheduling issues with her dad’s practice, always feeling like she needed to be somewhere else—but if it meant more weekends like the one she’d just had, she couldn’t help but think it was worth it. It might be the thing that saved her. Hunter was more than just some guy, and what they had was more than just a fling. She was ready to admit that to herself. Now she hoped he was, too.

  12

  You and me—Nadine’s diner—now.

  Ava’s text message was direct, and Kit had been dreading it for forty-eight hours. She’d been forced to leave a message on Ava’s voicemail when she couldn’t reach her to tell her about the situation with Hunter. Now it was time for the face-to-face, and it wasn’t going to be pretty.

  She put her shoes on, checked the time, and gave herself one last glance in the mirror. On the way over, she texted Hunter to tell him she’d be late for work, and why. This was one time when she would go ahead and take advantage of her relationship with the boss. She knew he’d rather have her handle Ava than show up to the office on time.

  As she walked into the diner, Nadine hollered from the back, “Sit anywhere you want, doll. I’ll send one of the girls right over.”

  Kit chose a booth in the front corner window, away from the main traffic at the center of the diner. Before the waitress arrived, Ava was sliding into the opposite side of the booth.

  “Well,” she said, one eyebrow raised, her lips pursed. “Looks like somebody forgot to tell their best friend about something pretty important.”

  Kit felt her cheeks heat with embarrassment. “We weren’t trying to keep it from you—”

  “Just from everyone in general,” Ava interrupted.

  Kit’s palms were sweaty beneath the table. “Pretty much.”

  Ava glared at her for another moment, then broke into a huge grin. “Oh. My. God. You and…” She lowered her voice to a sort of whisper-shout. “Hunter! I’m so excited, I could squeal like a pig in a fight over scraps.”

  Kit finally let a breath out in relief. “Oh, thank God, you’re going to forgive me?”

  “Only if you tell me all the details and swear to never ever leave me out of the loop again. I don’t care if you’re sleeping with the governor of Texas, you have to let me know about it.”

  The waitress arrived and took their orders, then Kit told Ava the story of how she’d ended up sleeping with her residency supervisor in secret.

  “He’s just so…”

  “Sweet, caring, sexy?” Ava added.

  “He really is,” Kit admitted, taking a big bite of her hash browns, while Jake Turnbull tried to slide past Nadine in the doorway without getting his ass patted.

  “But you guys really think you’d get in trouble with the state board?”

  Kit brought her gaze back to her friend. Dear, sweet Ava, who was so happy here in Gopher Springs. Ava, who could see Hunter anytime she wanted, while Kit was going to be three hundred miles away, vaccinating poodles in her dad’s old office.

  “We would get in trouble, for sure.”

  “But now you only have three more weeks,” Ava said with a sparkle in her eye.

  “And I’m leaving town.”

  “Do you have to?”

  Kit felt a rebelliousness rise in her, threatening to come out her mouth in words that would make the feeling real in some way it wasn’t, if she never spoke it. She choked it all back down before answering. “You know I do. It’s been our plan ever since I started college. Mom and Dad need me too much.” She paused. “But I’ve been thinking…”

  Ava looked at her expectantly.

  “…about the long-distance thing. I mean if we alternated weekends, Hunter and I could see each other as much as most couples do, anyway. During the week, people are too busy with work and too tired afterward. Flights are only an hour—”

  She saw her friend’s expression shutter. “And then another two hours from the airport to here,” Ava reminded her.

  “But it would be time together, and maybe some weekends, we’d just stay in Dallas, get a hotel, see some sights.”

  Ava smiled, but Kit could tell her heart wasn’t in it. “Maybe…”

  “You don’t think it could work.” Kit frowned, disappointed.

  “You know, every relationship is different. Maybe that would be great for y’all.”

  Kit nodded, a bitter taste starting in the bottom of her throat. But she changed the subject and soldiered on through the meal. No matter what they talked about, though, she couldn’t forget Ava’s tone or the look on her face. If her best friend, Hunter’s sister-in-law, didn’t think it would work, then Kit must be living in a fantasy world. What if the last few weeks were really all she and Hunter could ever have? What if a secret eight-week fling was the best relationship of her entire life?

  * * *

  Hunter gave the dachshund one last pat on the head and said goodbye to its owner. As he finished up the notes on the little dog’s medical chart, the door to the exam room opened.

  “Hey, Doc. Angie Reed is here with her new puppy,” his vet tech said.

  “Great, I’m ready.”

  “And I just got a call from the kids’ school. Benji’s running a temp so they say I have to come pick him up.”

  Hunter looked at her and smiled. “No worries. I can handle one little puppy by myself, and Kit’s going to be back soon to help with the rest of the afternoon’s appointments.”

  His vet tech smiled and ushered Angie and the tiny terrier puppy into the room before closing the door.

  “Hey, there,” Hunter said, ruffling the pup’s head. “I heard you got a new friend. What’s his name?”

  Angie had one long red braid that draped over her shoulder and a tight white t-shirt that read, Teachers Do It With Class. Her makeup-free face was smooth and lineless. She’d graduated college sometime in the last couple of years, and looking at her, Hunter wondered if he’d ever been that young.

  “This is Jaspar,” Angie answered, her North Texas drawl firmly in place. “He’s eight weeks old.”

  Hunter asked more questions about the pup as he ran his hands over the little terrier’s coat, felt along his joints and pressed gently on his abdomen. He looked inside the dog’s ears and eyes, then stopped to put everything in the chart.

  “Jaspar’s been so great for me,” Angie said, moving around to Hunter’s side of the exam table and leaning a hip against the metal countertop. “I finally broke up with my boyfriend from college—” she rolled her eyes, “God, did that ever
need to happen.”

  Hunter chuckled as he typed on the laptop. “Pets are great companions. They help people get through all kinds of things, even breakups with boyfriends who should have been left back in college.” He winked at her, and she smiled wider, her blue eyes lighting up.

  “So,” Hunter began to explain the vaccinations little Jaspar would need. Angie played with her braid, licked her lips, and generally stood so close that she was in Hunter’s way—but she was a first-time pet owner, he thought. Probably nervous.

  As soon as Hunter delivered the last shot, Angie scooped Jaspar up and began snuggling him, cooing and generally going on the way females did with puppies. Hunter turned back to his laptop to print out the new puppy instruction guide that he routinely handed out. When he turned back, Angie had somehow managed to move even closer. Her face was flushed and her lips glossy as if she’d just put lipstick on.

  “Uh…” Hunter stood awkwardly, grateful that the puppy was between them. Otherwise, he’d be touching Angie, she was so close. All he could think for a moment was that her cousin, Jeff, who’d been in Hunter’s high school class, would probably not approve of this scene. But he soldiered on, not sure what else to do.

  “So when you check out up at the front, they’ll have a printout of our new puppy guide. It’ll tell you all sorts of things, like how much to feed him for his weight and some basic training tips.”

  She smiled, then kissed Jaspar on the head.

  “Did you have any other questions?” he asked.

  “Hmm?” she hummed before looking up at him with big, blinking eyes. He stared back at her, hoping that by some sort of osmosis she’d understand he wanted her to move so he could open the door and get her the hell out of his exam room. He was definitely never seeing her again without a vet tech present.

  “It must be a lot of work taking care of all these sweet animals by yourself,” she cooed, running a finger down the front of Hunter’s lab coat.

  Aw, hell. He turned his gaze to the ceiling, hoping for inspiration as to how to get out of this. But before he could piece together a speech that would spare Angie’s feelings while also making his lack of interest clear, the door to the exam room opened, and he heard a small gasp.

  His gaze shot to the door just in time to see the look of shock on Kit’s face.

  “I’m so sorry!” she blurted out. “I heard you might need help in here, but I’ll just take the next patient.”

  Then she was gone, and Hunter’s carefully constructed life was one step closer to exploding.

  13

  Kit cleaned up after the last appointment of the day, organizing patient charts on her laptop in the small office she’d been given. She hadn’t seen Hunter again after she’d surprised him in the exam room with the younger, thinner, much prettier than her, redhead. Kit sighed and tried to shake off the image.

  It was for the best. It really was. It had been a giant wake-up call. Her ridiculous notions about a long-distance relationship were just that—ridiculous. Hunter was a hot commodity in a small town. There would be temptations everywhere, women just like all the ones she’d seen at the bachelor auction. Women who could be there when he’d had a bad day, who could have family dinners with him whenever he wanted. Women who didn’t have sick mothers, and fathers who wanted to retire.

  No, Kit had been living in a dream. She and Hunter were meant to be a temporary fling, just as they’d discussed. It was her own fault for imagining it could be more. She’d known the minute Ava had looked at her like that—with such pity. But seeing that woman with her hands on Hunter—who wasn’t resisting, it might be added—that had been the clincher.

  She punched away at the keyboard, brow furrowed in concentration, her heart heavy, but acceptance settling in. It was time to start thinking about her move, get her things packed up. Maybe she’d call her father when she got to her apartment and ask him to set up appointments for her to meet with his office staff as soon as she got to Houston. She’d hit the ground running and be ready to take over in less than the four weeks he’d suggested.

  “Knock, knock.” Hunter rapped his knuckles on the doorframe and leaned inside her tiny space. There was no extra chair, so he had to stand there in the doorway, a tentative smile on his face.

  “Hi,” she said, hardly looking up from the computer screen, mostly because she was afraid if she did, she’d forget all over again they had no future.

  “So, everyone’s gone for the day,” he said, pausing as if there was significance in that.

  “I just have a few more charts to update, then I’ll be out of your way, too,” she quipped.

  There was silence for a few moments, but Kit stubbornly refused to look up.

  “Kit?” His voice was soft but firm.

  She finally looked up.

  “About earlier—”

  She held up a hand palm out. “Don’t say another word. It’s none of my business. I’m sorry I barged in like that. It’ll never happen again.”

  “Kit,” his voice held censure now. “Come on. You know me better than that. You think I’d be coming on to a client in the office?”

  She merely raised an eyebrow and looked at him.

  “Seriously,” he responded, crossing his arms and glaring at her.

  “It doesn’t matter what I think you would or wouldn’t do. It’s none of my business. I realize that. The temporary fling doesn’t get to pass judgment on what you do when you’re not with her. I’m not living in a dream world.”

  “But you are hurt, and you know…” he stopped, clearing his throat. “You know you’re a hell of a lot more than a temporary fling.”

  Kit stared down at her desk, wondering how they’d managed to screw everything up so badly. This was supposed to be a residency, a learning experience to help launch her career. Not a learning experience to help break her damn heart.

  “I’m not hurt,” she asserted. “And you didn’t do anything wrong.”

  “I’m not involved with anyone else, Kit. And I won’t be, as long as you’re here. That’s not who I am.”

  Her heart contracted, and she fought back the flood of emotions that threatened to overtake her. “I know that’s not who you are. And I’m sorry if it seemed like I doubted you.”

  He nodded then. “Okay. So how about we go back to—” His phone buzzed in his pocket, and he looked apologetic before pulling it out to read the screen.

  “Oh, man,” he said, shaking his head. “Scout has a serious problem at the farm.”

  “What’s wrong?” Kit asked, closing her laptop and reaching under the desk for her bag.

  “Looks one of the cows tested positive for subclinical mastitis. I’m going to have to test the entire herd and start treatment.” He tapped away at his screen, then shoved the phone back in his pocket. “So, are we good?”

  She tried to smile without the wobbling that was threatening to take over her face. “Yes. I’m sorry I overreacted. It’s just been a long day, lunch with Ava and everything. It wore me out.”

  He studied her for a moment, looking concerned. “I’m sorry you had to do all that. But it’s all fine now, right? She understood?”

  “Yeah. She totally understood.”

  “Ok.” He paused, looking uncomfortable as if he wasn’t sure what else to say. “Well, I’d better get going out to Scout’s. I’ll lock up on my way out. Don’t stay too late.”

  Kit stopped midway to standing up at the desk. She dropped back into her chair. “Uh, yeah.”

  “Great. Have a good night.”

  Then he was gone. For the first time in two months, he hadn’t asked her to come on the farm call with him. He hadn’t mentioned seeing her later. He hadn’t kissed her or even looked her in the eye. He’d just left.

  And the sound that followed his departure was her heart breaking in the darkening office.

  * * *

  Hunter took the last sample and stored it in the box. He’d been taking milk samples for hours, and now they’d all need to be
cultured in the morning. There was bacteria somewhere in the herd, and it could have spread, so until they knew if any other cows were infected, all milk would have to be dumped, and the farm would lose revenue.

  He sighed and stood, slapping the cow on the rump so she’d wander back out the gate to the main barn where Scout’s staff would put her up for the night.

  “How long to get all the samples tested?” Scout asked from where he leaned, exhausted, against the railing of the pen.

  “I’ll put a rush on them, but it could be forty-eight hours. It’s a lot of samples.”

  “Dammit,” Scout swore, kicking a chunk of dirt aside.

  “I’m sorry,” Hunter said as he taped up the box and closed his medical bag. “You run a clean operation, but sometimes this happens, no matter what. It’s the most common disease with dairy cows, you know that. You’ve been really lucky not to have it in your herd since you’ve been here.”

  “I know you’re right,” Scout replied, “but I need a drink to overcome this clusterfuck of a day. Want to hit Ray’s with me?”

  Hunter had to agree—it had been a clusterfuck. A shot of something strong sounded like a good way to end a day like that.

  “You practically read my mind, little brother,” he said, giving Scout a good, hard slap on the shoulder.

  Ten minutes later, they stood at Ray’s bar and ordered two whiskeys neat. Clinking their glasses together, they each drained the amber liquid in one go. Scout raised an eyebrow then, and Hunter nodded. With second servings in hand, they found a table in a corner away from the noise and settled in with a basket of popcorn.

  “So what’s been so terrible about your day?” Scout asked as he tossed a piece of popcorn into the air and caught it in his mouth.

  Hunter winced at the memory of the look on Kit’s face when she’d walked in on Angie pawing him. He’d felt terrible all damn afternoon, but then he’d gone to talk to her about it, and she’d been so…cold. So clear that they were only in this temporarily. That was when he’d known he had to put the brakes on, stop the train that was about to derail his entire life, and get back to business. And thank God he’d stopped himself in time. After their weekend in Shreveport, he’d been on the verge of tossing aside all sense and asking her to stay. Stay in Gopher Springs, work at his clinic, live in his house. Whatever he could get. But then she’d told him loud and clear that this was only a fling. Her heart wasn’t involved, and his couldn’t be, either.