Montana Desire

Chapter 16

Cori

The cold air felt amazing on my face, and the afternoon light seemed to glitter through the trees as I drove. Everything felt beautiful. And it had for the past few days.

I couldn’t lie. I’d been floating on a cloud since the wedding, and everyone could tell. The owners of my patients commented on how happy I seemed. When I went to see Lena at the coffee shop, she and Evelyn could tell too. They tried desperately to pry details about Grant out of me, but I resisted.

It didn’t matter, though. I couldn’t keep the smile off my face, and that told them enough about what had happened between us.

The one person I hadn’t actually seen or had to face again was Grant. I did call him, but a new horse at the ranch threw a wrench into any plans. That was fine. Good. Because already, I was completely wrapped up in him. I wanted to see him and have a repeat of the night of the wedding.

No matter how sure I was, I wondered if Grant was right about going slow. Or deliberate. Which was a far sexier word and reminded me of how deliberate he’d been with me.

I needed to not think about him like that while I was just out and about, because now I was warm enough to sweat. But I liked Grant. More than liked him. It was as if now that I’d seen him, I realized I’d been watching him all along.

Right now, I was driving back from Jerry’s, checking on the calf I’d delivered. Both mom and baby were doing great. And I was close enough to the Pearson ranch that I wanted to check on Sunrise, but it was too far to go get Grant for him to come with me.

There were no vehicles in front of the ranch house. I could be in and out fast. Plus, this could be a good reason to call Grant.

I pressed his number and put it on speaker as I turned down the lane. “Hello?”

“Hi.”

“Everything all right?” The alertness in his voice made me feel better. Constantly aware. Constantly making sure that I was okay.

“Yes,” I said. “But I wanted to tell you that I’m at the Pearson ranch. I had another visit in this direction, and it’s too far to come back to Resting Warrior first. But as far as I can tell, no one is here.”

There was silence for a few moments. “Do me a favor and keep your phone close. Call me if you need me, and let me know when you leave. If you see him, just go.”

“Yeah. I will. This won’t take long.”

He wasn’t angry at me, but I felt his concern through the phone. Grant wasn’t a person who would stop me, but even now when we were barely involved, he wanted to make sure that I was safe.

“Talk to you soon?”

“Count on it,” he said before I ended the call.

My heart beat a little faster as I parked my truck closer to the stable. They weren’t here, but Joel hadn’t been here when I’d arrived last time either.

I grabbed my medical bag and did my best not to sprint through the stable. It seemed like no one was here, which was also strange. The stable felt like a ghost town. I wished that I wasn’t scared, but now that I was here, I was. This was a bad idea, but I was already too far to turn back.

Sunrise was in her stall, once again lying down. Barely breathing. “Shit.” I whispered the word. This horse was about to die. I’d taken blood samples from Jerry’s cows, and I didn’t have any more vials. Damn it.

I didn’t see any injuries, but Sunrise was clearly in distress. She whinnied when I touched her side, breathing labored. The air in the stall smelled vaguely spicy. What was that?

Could she be poisoned?

Fuck. I needed to get out of here. Mr. Pearson had already been strange enough about this horse that I didn’t want to get caught by him. Or Joel. But I needed to come back and get a blood sample.

I hated walking away from an animal in pain.

As soon as I was in the truck, I sent Grant a text that I was leaving and sped to the clinic. I needed answers. Though I worked with a lot of horses, I wasn’t a horse specialist. But I knew people who were.

Why would someone poison their own horse? It was beyond me. I didn’t stop moving until I was fully in my office, my heart still racing. Why did it feel like I was still running from something?

I hadn’t had time to fully research what could be wrong with Sunrise, but I did now. Nothing. I found nothing strictly medical indicating something that would just make a horse waste away without any other indicators. So then, that could indicate something not medical.

Sitting down at my computer, I drafted an email, laying out my suspicions and questions to three of my colleagues from vet school who worked with horses. And worked with horses not in Montana. There couldn’t be any chance this would get back to Joel or his father. Not after he’d so specifically told me to leave the animal alone.

“Cori?”

I almost jumped out of my skin. “Oh my God.”

“I’m so sorry,” Jenna laughed from the doorway. “Didn’t mean to scare you.”

Hand on my chest, I caught my breath before looking back at her. Jenna was my vet tech and was my saving grace a lot of the time. “No, you’re good. Sorry. Just a little jumpy.”

“Okay,” she smiled. “Just letting you know that I’m going to head home, okay?”

I looked at the clock. “Oh wow, I didn’t even realize it was that late.” It was now after five. I’d gotten lost in my research and then completely lost the thread of time.

“Yeah. See you tomorrow?”

“Sure thing.” I waved to her. “Have a good night.”

She shut the door behind her, and I looked back at the screen. The email was about as clear as I could make it, given the fact that I didn’t have a lot of information. It wasn’t enough, but at least it was a start.

I sat back in my chair and ran a hand over my face. The adrenaline from earlier had drained out of me, leaving only exhaustion. But I wanted to know exactly what was going on with Sunrise, and I was fighting the temptation to drive out there right now to take a blood sample. I didn’t even care if someone would be home. That horse was suffering, and it made me sick to think about it.

My phone chimed, and I glanced at the screen, hoping for Grant’s name. But it wasn’t. It was Joel.

I’ve been thinking about you, Cori. Just want you to know that. I think about you all the time and can’t wait to see you again soon.

I dropped the phone on my desk like it burned me. Shit. I didn’t know if this was run-of-the-mill stalker stuff or a warning that he’d seen me on his father’s property today. Either way, I felt like I was going to vomit. Joel was unstable. I don’t know why I’d let myself ignore that while we were dating.

My phone chimed again, and I jumped up from my chair, sending it flying back. I wanted to ignore it but forced myself to look.

This time, it was Grant. Thank God.

Can I call you?

I didn’t give him the chance, pressing his number for the second time today and listening for his voice. It was smiling through the phone. “I thought I was going to call you.”

“I figured I’d save us a step.” My voice sounded hoarse.

“Fair enough. Is anything wrong? You sound a little…off.”

I didn’t want to bring up my ex-boyfriend in every conversation. Especially since there was nothing about that text that was directly threatening. I tried to force myself to be calm and normal. “I’m okay. Just a little stressed. What’s up?”

“That’s perfect, then. I was wondering if you wanted to come over tonight. I’d like to cook you a stress-reducing dinner.”

I froze for a second. “You want to cook for me?”

“Yes. I do.”