Chapter 4
Dean
Addison:
Haha, I don’t mind. It’ll save me time on my schedule to knock it out now, so really I’m going for selfish reasons.
Addison:
Oh, you weren’t going because it was impossible to resist my charm?
That was my second reason.
Addison:
Good answer. We can take Walker’s trailer, granted everything works out and we bring her home. Do you mind hauling it with your truck? I figured it would be easier, since your truck has everything you need for the PPE.
That works. I’ll pick you up around 8:30 tomorrow morning. Does that work?
Addison:
Perfect. See you tomorrow.
I woke up earlier than usual, and I couldn’t ignore the fact that I was looking forward to being in a car for two hours with Addison.
I didn’t know what it was about her, but I couldn’t seem to get her out of my head.
It had been about a week since I last saw her, which had been about a week of me gripping my cock in the shower to entirely unprofessional images of her.
Jesus Christ, I needed to get laid.
After pounding a cup of coffee, I tucked a navy polo shirt with “Primrose Veterinary Hospital” embroidered in the corner—since this was technically a work trip—into a pair of jeans and threw on my worn cowboy boots.
Once Coal was fed, I headed outside to take inventory of my work truck to ensure I had everything I needed to check the horse out.
Afterward, I made a quick call to my office.
“Hey, Rebecca, who’s on the schedule today for Grant and Lottie?
” I asked my office manager. Rebecca was in her fifties and had served as the office manager for Dr. Davis for the past fifteen years.
She knew everything and everyone. I quickly learned that she was going to be my right hand in keeping this practice functioning properly.
Grant and Lottie were my two certified veterinary technicians, and they handled a lot of our annual checkups and appointments that came up when I was out of the office or on a farm call.
“Hey, boss. Happy Friday! Nothing too crazy today for them while you are out. Ms. Peterson is bringing in her chocolate lab again because she swears Daisy has fleas, but we will once again explain to her that it’s allergies and Daisy needs an allergy shot.
” I could hear the annoyance in Rebecca’s voice and couldn’t help but laugh.
Ms. Peterson was terrified that the allergy shot would hurt her poor, sweet Daisy.
“Other than that, we just have a couple of annual wellness checks with vaccinations, and Mr. Jones is bringing Bandit in to get some blood work,” she finished.
Bandit was an old basset hound that we performed routine blood work on to ensure his medication was still at the correct dosage for his Cushing’s disease.
“All right, sounds good. Thanks for holding down the fort. Tell Grant and Lottie to call or text me if they need anything. I’ll see you guys next week.”
“Sure thing. Have fun with Addi today. You know she’s single, right? And those James girls sure are gorgeous,” Rebecca suggested.
I rolled my eyes. I swear, Rebecca was always trying to find me a wife.
She said that at thirty years old, it was time for me to have a good woman in my life.
“Not looking, Rebecca, but thanks for the suggestion. I’ll talk to you later.
Have a good weekend,” I said, trying to end this conversation.
Rebecca took the hint and said goodbye as I grabbed Coal and got into my truck to pick up Addison.
“So, Dean, why veterinary medicine?” Addison asked randomly about twenty or so minutes into our drive. Coal was already passed out in the back seat, snoring.
“Oh, so we’re just going to jump into that question right out of the gate? None of the basic ones first?” I chuckled.
“Oh, sorry, I didn’t realize that wasn’t a basic one. Let’s start with what’s your favorite color?” She smirked.
Fuck me, she was sexy. She’d walked up to the truck with her hair in a high ponytail that fell down her back, wearing a cream sweater that hung slightly off one shoulder with dark denim and a pair of cowboy boots, causing me to discreetly adjust myself in my jeans so she wouldn’t notice the slight hard-on she’d caused.
It was going to be a long day.
“Blue. And I grew up going to the polo fields out in California. My dad played as a hobby, and I just fell in love with horses. I loved being around them. They always calmed me, and I rode some of my dad’s polo horses for fun.
I was always fascinated by watching the doctors at the field help injured horses, and knew that was what I wanted to do.
I’ve always been a big animal guy. Growing up in my world, they were the only genuine beings I was around.
” I shrugged. I wasn’t sure why I was sharing so much with her.
That wasn’t something I normally did so freely, but she was easy to talk to.
She nodded and smiled. “That’s a good reason. But what do you mean by growing up in your world?” She looked at me curiously.
“I don’t like to share this with many people”—yet here I was sharing again—“but my family is prominent in California. My mom’s family owns a massive real estate development company, and my dad owns a communications company, one of the biggest actually, VRA Media.
” I looked over at her to gauge her reaction, as most everyone knew who VRA Media was.
Her eyes widened. “Seriously? Your family owns VRA Media? You are from that Adler family? Why on earth are you even working? Y'all have more money than God,” she said, shock lacing her tone.
I chuckled. “Yeah, I’m from that Adler family.
I work because living off my trust fund isn’t my style.
I know too many guys like that, and I don’t respect them.
They are entitled, out-of-touch assholes, and I never wanted to become that way.
So, I went to USC for undergrad and then moved to Texas to attend vet school at A&M.
That’s where I met Dr. Davis, and now here I am.
I have zero interest in being a part of that world again. ”
Addison sat there quietly, processing before she spoke. “Wow, I’m impressed, Dean. That is admirable.”
I smiled as I changed lanes and glanced back over at her. “So, now you know a little about me. What about you? Tell me what it’s like having a big-time MLB pitcher for a brother.”
She laughed. “Walker is the best, but it was an adjustment when he went pro nine years ago. He is so down to earth, though, I forget he is some hotshot pitcher most days. I have two other siblings as well. Walker is two years older than me. He’s thirty.
My oldest brother, Weston, is thirty-two and a Navy SEAL, and my younger sister, Ava, is twenty-six and just finished law school. Do you have any siblings?”
“Damn, you guys are all accomplished. Yeah, I’ve got a younger brother named Archer, who is chief legal, actually, for VRA Media.
We are only eighteen months apart, so we’re really close.
My parents weren’t really present when we were young.
We were mostly raised by my dad’s mother, my grandmother, and nannies,” I said.
“Ha. My siblings are accomplished. I’m still working on it.” She shrugged while looking out the window with a frown.
I looked over at her. “Hey. I did some research on you and noticed your national rankings in the hunter/jumper world, as well as your degree in business from Boston University. That isn’t nothing.”
“Ah, you found the Texas Monthly article about my dad’s award-winning wines and my parents’ winery and vineyard,” she said, rolling her eyes.
I was curious about her and her family’s story, given all the stories I’d heard about them around town.
The town adored the James family and treated them like celebrities in Primrose Hill.
So I found the Texas Monthly article about her dad and their family business, which also happened to mention the accomplishments of all their kids. It was impressive, to say the least.
“Sure did. I had to see what all the hype was about your family. This town really loves you guys,” I said. She finally smiled again, and my chest squeezed at the sight. Why did she have such an effect on me?
“I love Primrose Hill. I had been away for so long on the East Coast that I forgot how much I missed it. My mom was diagnosed with stage one breast cancer almost twelve years ago, and the way the town rallied around us”—her voice cracked slightly—“I’ll never forget it.
My mom ended up getting a double mastectomy and reconstruction surgery, and the town fed our family and took care of us all, as well as our business, without hesitation. ”
“I’m sorry to hear that your mom had to go through that, but that’s incredible to hear what the town did for your family. Glad I ended up here.” I paused for a moment, deciding if I wanted to share what was on my mind next.
Might as well, considering at this rate she already knows me better than most people. “I know what you guys must have felt during that time. I lost my grandmother to breast cancer about five years ago. She was eighty. Luckily, she didn’t suffer long. It took her pretty quickly.”
Addison turned to look at me, her green eyes shining with emotion, and an empathetic look crossed her face.
She reached out and placed her hand on top of mine that was resting on the center console.
“I’m really sorry to hear that, Dean. That must have been hard for you and your brother, especially since she played a big role in raising you two. ”
I looked at her and smiled, trying to ignore the electric current I felt shoot through my body as her hand touched mine.
Unsure of how to process my feelings when she touched me, I pulled my hand away and placed it on the steering wheel, needing the space.
I cleared my throat to break the silence. “Thanks, uh, I appreciate that.”
Way to make it awkward, jackass.