Chapter 27
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
TUCKER
It’s midafternoon when I come walking toward the house from the barn and see Darby park her car in the driveway. She climbs out of the vehicle, sighs, and slams the door, and I can see that something isn’t . . . right.
“Hey.” I jog over to her and frame her face in my hands and frown when her pretty blue eyes fill with tears. “Did lunch not go well?”
“I didn’t get to go,” she replies, her shoulders slumping. She leans her forehead against my chest and blows out a breath. “Got called to an emergency on the Wild ranch. A foal broke her leg, and it didn’t end well.”
“Ah, baby.” I fold my arms around her and hold her tight. “I’m so sorry. And you didn’t get to see your sisters.”
“Nope.” She sniffles. “And I don’t know why I’m crying. All of my sisters live close by, so it’s not like I don’t ever see them. I think I’m just hungry.”
I frown at the driveway over her head as she continues to nuzzle into my chest. “You haven’t eaten?”
“Not since breakfast.”
“Here’s what we’re going to do. I’m going to make you a quick snack, and then you’re going to go up and shower and do whatever the hell it is that women do, and then I’m taking you out on a date.”
She pulls back in surprise, blinking up at me. “A date?”
“Yeah. In fact, I think this might be our first date. I don’t know how in the hell I managed to fuck everything up and not take you out before this, but I’m fixing it. Now.”
“You didn’t fuck anything up. We’re busy.”
“Not too busy for me to treat you the way you should be treated.”
“I like the way you treat me.”
“Are you seriously arguing with me about this?”
Her mouth opens and closes, and then she huffs out a laugh. “No.”
“Good girl. Come on.” I wrap my arm around her shoulders as we walk into the house, where I grab some peanut butter and celery and cheese with crackers, and then lead her upstairs.
“Snacks and a shower. Fancy.” She winks at me and takes a bite of the celery. “Yum. So hungry.”
“This will tide you over for a little while.” I kiss her forehead and turn to leave her be, but she catches my hand in hers.
“Where are we going?”
“Out.”
Darby rolls her eyes, and I lean in to whisper in her ear.
“Roll your eyes at me again and see where it gets you.”
“Yes, you’re very scary. I need to know what I should wear, Hotshot.”
“This one is casual. Wear whatever you want, baby. You always look fucking amazing.”
Her cheeks darken with the compliment, and she looks away while chewing her celery.
“I just need an hour or so.”
“No rush.”
Once I hear the shower turn on, I pull my phone out to make a call, but instead it rings with Trent Fisher’s name on the screen.
“Hey, Doc,” I say as I pad down the stairs.
“Tucker,” he replies. “Just calling for an update on Darby to see how she’s doing out at the ranch.”
I huff out a laugh and lean back against the kitchen counter, staring out the window over the sink. “Well, she hasn’t been here much over the past few weeks because you’ve had her out on emergency calls.”
He blows out a breath. “I know. Spring is busy, and I want her to get as much experience as possible. A year really isn’t all that long.”
“I get it. She’s doing well out here. Honestly, I don’t have anything to report since I told you about how she handled Ellie’s foot. She’s finding homes for the barn kittens, and besides that, you see her almost more than I do.”
“Why do you sound a little bent out of shape over that?”
I take a breath, but don’t say anything for a moment, and then Trent chuckles in my ear.
“I see. Well, I guess I’m not surprised, she’s great. But I’m still going to work her ass off because that’s her job, Tuck.”
“Yeah, I get it. She wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“I am giving her the next couple of days off from the on-call list,” he tells me, making my spine straighten.
This is perfect.
“I’m sure she’ll appreciate it,” I reply, keeping my tone even.
“I’ll text her and let her know. If anything comes up that I should know about, just call me.”
“Will do. Talk to you next week.”
I hang up and then call Bridger Blackwell, the fire chief of Bitterroot Valley and Darby’s brother-in-law.
“Hey, Tucker,” he says when he answers.
“Hey. I need your help.”
“Oh, this is so pretty,” Darby breathes as we’re shown to a table by the windows that look out on Seymour Lake, just outside of town.
I hold her chair for her, and then sit across from her and watch as she takes in the view of the lake and the homes on the shoreline, along with the mountain on the other side.
It’s too early in the season for boating, but there are a few people out for late-in-the-day paddleboarding.
“I thought this whole resort was exclusive? Alex and her guys have a place here.”
“Zack owns a place here too,” I inform her, and her eyebrow kicks up in surprise.
“If he owns a place here, why does he stay in a hotel when he’s in town?”
“Because he offers his condo up in the rental pool for the resort, and it’s usually booked.
One day, he’ll probably live here more full time.
For now, it’s an investment. But it’s convenient as hell to have him make a phone call for me, and then I have access to it and can impress my girl with this view. ”
“I admit, I’m impressed.” She grins over at me, and I’m struck again by how fucking beautiful she is.
Her blue eyes pop even more because of some magic she wove with her makeup, and her hair is in pretty chestnut waves around her face.
She’s in a pink sweater and jeans, and I can see every curve that I love so fucking much.
I can’t believe she’s mine.
This woman is the best thing that’s ever happened to me, and I’m not stupid enough to ever let go of her.
“I’m sorry that you missed lunch with your sisters.” I take her hand in mine and give it a squeeze. “But you’re going to be with them the day after tomorrow for lunch and then shopping all afternoon.”
“I am?”
“Yep. I might have made some calls.”
“Is that why Dr. Fisher texted me and told me that I have the next couple days off?”
“No. I did speak with him today, because he calls me once a week to check in on how you’re doing. I didn’t ask him to give you time off, Duchess. I wouldn’t do that to you.”
“I know.” She rubs her fingertips into her temple and then sighs.
“Thanks for that. I was relieved when he texted. I understand that he’s calling me out for every single thing because I’m learning, and that when I’m licensed and part of a practice it likely won’t be quite as intensive because the workload will be spread out amongst the vets in the practice.
And spring is always busy. Babies are born, animals are recovering from winter. There’s always something.”
“You don’t have to tell me,” I remind her, and she smiles softly again.
“That’s one of the things I love about being with you,” she confesses. “You get it. You’re not mad or suspicious or jealous that I have to be gone so much. I don’t have to worry that you’ll give me a guilt trip for it.”
What the fuck? Has she had to deal with that before?
“No, you don’t have to worry about any of the bullshit with me because we’re also adults, Darby.
We work. And I’m damn proud of you. I’ve had the privilege of watching you in action, and you’re fucking amazing at what you do.
I love having you at the ranch for about seventy million reasons, one of which is knowing that if the shit hits the fan with one of my animals, I have you there to help me.
I don’t trust just anyone with my livestock. ”
She bites her plump lower lip and then smiles shyly. “Why, thank you, Mr. Hendrix.”
“You’re welcome.”
The server comes to pour some wine and take our orders, and then leaves us be.
“How was Zack’s mom this morning?” Darby asks before sipping her wine.
“Disoriented,” I reply, feeling a pang at the thought of my best friend’s mom. “Her face is still droopy, but not paralyzed. She didn’t recognize either of us.”
Darby frowns. “I’m so sorry. That has to be awful for Zack. Were you close to his mom?”
“She practically raised me.” I smile over at her and bring her hand to my lips so I can kiss her knuckles.
“Since we were five years old, Zack and I were constantly at each other’s houses.
So his parents were like mine and vice versa.
We’ve been privy to every crazy life thing that could happen.
His parents divorce, my mom leaving, and everything else.
His mom made the best chicken pot pie ever.
Every Wednesday night, I knew where I’d be having dinner because that was the standard menu.
Of course, we didn’t know that she made the menu in advance because she was a single mom who couldn’t afford a lot for groceries, and she made one roasted chicken stretch through half the week. ”
Darby smiles softly, listening as I keep talking.
“When my dad found out, he started sending me over with groceries. Not a lot, but enough to help cover the cost of feeding me, especially as Zack and I got older and were eating her out of house and home.”
“Your dad’s a good man,” Darby says.
“He’s the best man.” I take a sip of my water, feeling surprisingly emotional at the thought of my father. “Even after all the shit went down with my mom, he was our rock. My dad is the type of guy who’s never met a stranger. He’ll bring anyone into the fold and treat them like family.”
“Harper?” Darby asks.
“Especially Harper,” I confirm. “She’s my sister in every way that counts, but she didn’t live with us permanently until she was about twelve.
I was out of the house by then, of course, but she and Ava were thick as thieves.
Her parents had died, and she didn’t have anywhere to go.
So, my dad became a foster parent so he could keep her with us. ”
Darby’s biting her lower lip, watching me raptly. “Wow.”
“Yeah, wow. He never treated her any different from the rest of us. She’s his daughter. Sometimes I think she’s his favorite.”