Chapter 5 - Tucker #2
Her expression shifts from worried to confused. "About the catheter? I thought you were going to call at five—"
"Not about the catheter. About..." I take a breath. "About dinner."
"Dinner?"
"Yeah. Tomorrow night. After you do Butterscotch's final check.
" The words are coming out too fast, jumbled, but I can't stop them now.
"I know it crosses professional boundaries, and I know you probably have policies about dating clients, and I know I should have just called or texted instead of showing up here like some—"
"Tucker." She takes a step closer, and there's something soft in her expression. "Are you asking me out?"
"Yeah. I am. I should have done it this morning at the ranch, but I chickened out, and then I was standing there watching you drive away and I realized I was being an idiot.
" I run a hand through my hair. "Wade said love is worth trying, which is insane because Wade's never said anything like that in his entire life, but he's right.
And I know we barely know each other, and this might be moving too fast, but I haven't felt this way about anyone in seven years and I—"
"Tucker." She's smiling now, and those beautiful dimples are showing. "Breathe."
I breathe.
"I would love to have dinner with you tomorrow night."
I stare at her. "Really?"
"Really." She adjusts her glasses, "I was hoping you'd ask. But I didn't think you would because of the professional boundaries, and I couldn't ask because, well, those same boundaries, and—" She stops and laughs. "I guess we're both idiots."
"Yeah. We are." I can't help but smile. "So... dinner? There's a place in town, Maria's, that does good Italian. Nothing fancy, but—"
"That sounds perfect."
"I should let you get back to work," I say, even though I don't want to leave.
"Yeah. I have a cat coming in for vaccinations in twenty minutes." But she doesn't move either.
"Tomorrow at nine for Butterscotch's check?"
"I'll be there. And Emma can give me the unicorn picture."
"Yes! I should have shown you that today. Oh, and also, fair warning, she's also planning to interrogate you about whether you prefer horses or cats."
Marley laughs. "I'll make sure I have the right answer prepared."
"It's horses, by the way. Any other answer fails the test."
"Good to know."
I force myself to turn toward the door, to actually leave before I do something really stupid like kiss her in her clinic in the middle of the workday.
"Tucker?"
I turn back. Marley's standing behind the reception desk now, her hands resting on the counter, that lovely smile still on her face.
"I'm glad you came by," she says. "I'm glad you didn't chicken out."
"Me too."
I walk out to my truck feeling lighter than I have in years. My hands aren't shaking anymore, my heart rate is almost normal, and I'm grinning like an idiot but I don't even care.
Wade was right. Love is worth trying.
And tomorrow night, I'm taking Marley Williams to dinner.
Not as Butterscotch's owner. Not as a client. Just as Tucker, a man who's interested in a woman with cute glasses and dimples and a way of making him believe that maybe, just maybe, he deserves something good.
I climb into my truck and pull out my phone.
*Dinner tomorrow night. She said yes.*
Wade's response comes immediately: *Told you so. Now don't fuck it up.*
*Thanks for the vote of confidence.*
*Anytime. And Tucker? I'm happy for you.*
I set my phone down and start the truck, and as I drive back toward the ranch, I catch myself humming. Actually humming, like some character in one of Emma's cartoons.
When I get home, Emma's bus is just pulling up to the driveway. She climbs off with her backpack bouncing against her shoulders, her pigtails lopsided from the ride, and when she sees me waiting she runs over.
"Daddy! Can we go see Butterscotch?"
"In a minute, Bug. First I need to tell you something."
Her eyes go wide. "Is he okay?"
"He's fine. Better than fine." I crouch down to her eye level. "But Dr. Marley is coming back tomorrow morning to make sure he's completely recovered, and she really wants to see that unicorn picture you drew for her."
"Really?" Emma's face lights up. "She really wants to see it?"
"Really. And..." I take a breath. "And then tomorrow night, Dr. Marley and I are going to have dinner together."
Emma's quiet for a moment, staring at my face with those hazel eyes that are too wise for seven years old. Then she grins, a huge, gap-toothed grin that makes my heart swell.
"Is it a date?"
"Yeah, Bug. It's a date."
"Are you nervous?"
"Terrified."
"That's okay. In the movies, people are always nervous on first dates. But then they have a good time and fall in love and live happily ever after."
"I don't know about happily ever after—"
"I like Dr. Marley," Emma interrupts. "She's nice, and she cares for Butterscotch like he's important."
"He is important."
"I know. But not everyone thinks animals are important. Dr. Marley does." Emma throws her arms around my neck. "I think she's perfect for you, Daddy."
I hug her tight, this brave little girl who's been my entire world for seven years, and I think about how much everything is about to change. But maybe change isn't always bad. Maybe sometimes it's exactly what you need.
"Come on," I say, standing up and taking her hand. "Let's go check on Butterscotch. And you can tell him all about how Dr. Marley is coming to see him tomorrow."
We walk toward the stable hand-in-hand, Emma chattering excitedly about what she's going to say to Marley tomorrow, and I think about how Wade fell in love in two weeks and how that seemed impossible but now doesn't seem so crazy after all.
Because I'm pretty sure I'm already falling for Marley Williams.
And for the first time in seven years, that doesn't scare me.
It feels right.