Beside Dusty stood a very tall and attractive man with sandy brown hair. “This is my brother, Sam,” Dusty said. “Sam, Dr. Annie DeSimone.”
“Dusty’s told me a lot about you.” He held out his hand.
“It’s nice to meet you.” Annie took his hand. Strong grip. No spark. Bummer for Dusty’s plan.
“Hey, dog.” The happy drawl of Chad McCray echoed behind Annie. Although he was the youngest McCray, he was the tallest, and his hair was dark brown, not black like Dallas and Zach’s. His facial features were similar though. Grade A stud, like the others.
“Chad, you know Annie?” Sam said.
“Sure he does,” Dusty said. “They met at the Bay ranch.”
“You’re lookin’ good, Doc,” Chad said. “Can I get you something to drink?”
“Uh, sure,” Annie said.
“We’ve got soda, water, iced tea, beer,” Dusty said. “We’ll have wine with dinner.”
; “Iced tea’ll be fine for now,” Annie said.
“I’ll be right back,” Chad said, giving her arm a squeeze.
“I see you’ve caught his eye,” Sam said, smiling.
“Not really. We’ve only met once.”
“That’s all it takes for Chad. He does like the pretty ladies.” Sam took a drink of his beer.
Annie curled her lips upward into a smile that she hoped didn’t look too fake. She wished she had asked Chad for a beer. She saw him returning with her iced tea, and then jumped as something nudged her from behind. She turned to see Dallas’s dog, Jet, sniffing her. “Hey, fella,” she said, kneeling down to pet his happy face.
“Here you are.” Chad leaned down to hand her the drink. “You know this mutt?” He gave Jet’s ears a squeeze.
“Sure. It’s Jet. Dallas’s dog.”
“Oh.” Chad’s eyes widened for an instant. “Yeah, he’s a good boy. I’ve got his sister from the same litter.”
“Really? I’d love to meet her sometime.”
“Anytime. She’s great. Her name’s Marnie. In fact, she’s due for an annual. I’ll bring her in to see you next week.”
“I’ll be glad to look at her,” Annie said. “I love all animals, but dogs are my favorite.”
“Don’t tell anyone, because I’m the resident horse and cattle expert on the McCray ranch, but they’re my favorite too.” His smile caused cute little crinkles around his brown eyes. “Uh-oh.”
“What?”
“Don’t look now, but we’re getting the evil eye.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Dallas. Behind you.”
Annie scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Dallas is hardly my concern.”
Chad’s full lips twisted into a lazy grin. He reached toward her and softly stroked her upper arm with one finger. “I’m right glad to hear that, Dr. Annie.”
Annie smiled. “I’ve heard you’re the biggest flirt in the four corner states, Chad.”