Montana Desire

“Mr. Pearson wanted me to show you a horse. Said he’d be out to talk with you when you got here.”

I frowned. “Okay.” Usually, he called me. Maybe after my insistence at wanting to take Sunrise to the clinic before she disappeared, he didn’t want to give me a chance to prepare?

“What’s going on?”

“Not sure,” Gene admitted. “Just a couple days ago became really lethargic. It’s Hazelwood.”

A stallion. Large and gray. I’d, of course, looked him over more than a few times in my tenure as the Pearsons’ vet on call. But he’d always been a healthy horse. He was still standing, which was a good sign, but he was also on edge, whinnying when I got close.

I smelled that odd, spicy sweetness on his skin. “Hi there,” I said quietly. “Not feeling well?”

He tossed his head but still allowed me to stroke his neck. “Thank you, Gene. You can let Mr. Pearson know that I’m here.”

“All right.”

He disappeared, and I moved quickly. This was the same. I wasn’t going to lose another horse because I wasn’t prepared. I’d brought more than enough for what I needed.

“Here,” I said. “Be good and don’t panic, all right?”

In this circumstance, I wasn’t above bribing an animal, and I let him eat a sugar cube out of my hand. I had the syringe all ready to go, and I eased the needle into a vein at the juncture of his shoulder and neck. He made a sound, but I spoke to him softly. “It’s all right. I promise. I’m trying to help you.”

“Cori?” Mr. Pearson’s booming voice echoed across the stable.

Shit.

I pulled the rest of the blood into the vial and eased the needle out of Hazelwood in time to cap it and drop it into my bag as he turned the corner. “Over here, Mr. Pearson.”

“Ah.” His stare was intense. “Good to see you.”

“You too,” I swallowed. “Gene told me that Hazelwood was having trouble. Just checking him out, but he looks fine. Just a little tired.” I pasted on a smile. Right now, I wasn’t going to give any hints of my suspicions.

“That’s what I thought,” he said with a sharp nod. “Figured I’d have you check it out, though.”

“Yeah.” I closed my bag and stepped out of the stall. “No problems.”

He gave no sign that he knew I’d taken the sample. Good.

“Any other horses you have concerns about?”

“I don’t think so,” he said. “You keep us all in good shape.”

Except for Sunrise. “I do try. I’ll just finish up my rounds, and I’ll be off to my next appointment. Of course you have my number if you have any concerns.”

I felt him watching me as I made my way down the row of stalls until I turned the corner. It wasn’t until I was out of sight that I realized how fast my heart was beating or the amount of adrenaline that was rushing through me. It was fine. He had no reason to think anything strange.

The rest of my rounds were quick, and I was coming up on that deadline to get back to the truck so that Grant didn’t have to be in more pain looking for me.

“Cori.”

Joel was behind me.

Oh no. He wouldn’t do anything with his father here, right? Would his father care? It didn’t matter. Three minutes and Grant would be looking for me. On top of that, I knew what a coward he was now. He thought he was a man, making all these rules and trying to make me bend to his vision of who I should be.

He couldn’t be more wrong.

“Joel.” I stood in the middle of the aisle, far from either side, so he couldn’t corner me against a wall or in one of the stalls.

“What the fuck are you doing here with that piece of shit?”

I looked him up and down. “I don’t have any idea what you’re talking about. The only piece of shit I see here is you.”

His face went red. “Your neighbor. The pissant who tried to threaten me—”

“Who tried to stop you when both of us thought that you were going to hit me? For something as simple as wanting to try something new in bed? Yeah, Joel, can’t imagine which one of you that makes the pissant.”

One step closer. And another. I hated the fact that my body locked up with fear. But I kept myself calm. I could turn and run if I needed to. No matter how much pain he was in, Grant could and would protect me.

That was the thing, though. Being with Grant made me realize that I could defend myself. Joel had no rights to me.

“You’re with him?” he asked. “I heard you went to the wedding together.”

I didn’t answer. It wasn’t any of his business.

Joel scoffed. “Guess I was right about you. Never thought you were such a whore to go to someone so fast after we broke up, but the truth always comes out.”

A laugh bubbled up and out of me. Once it was there, I couldn’t stop. It was so ridiculous. How had I ever thought I’d loved this person? The truth did always come out, and the truth was that Joel’s soul was ugly.

“Grant is amazing, Joel. And I don’t care what you think about it. Because in the short time since you dumped me, he’s given me more than you did in all the time we were together. I don’t miss you, and I certainly don’t give a shit what you think about my character after what you’ve tried to do to me.”

He opened his mouth, and I cut him off. “No. You’ve said and done enough. I don’t care how close our families are—if you ever touch me again, I’ll have you arrested and I’ll sleep like a baby. Do me a favor? Stop talking to me. Pretend I don’t exist. It’s better for everyone.”

I turned on my heel and left him looking after me. His hands were fisted tight and he had a thunderous look on his face, so I walked a little faster. There was a piece of me that was terrified he was going to follow me and that my bravery would all come crashing down, but he didn’t. I made it out of the stable just as Grant was opening the door of the truck to come looking for me.

Even across the yard, I saw his relief. And then his whole body went tense as he looked behind me. I didn’t have to turn to know who was there. Grant reached out and pulled me to him. “You’re all right?”

“Yes.”

“Did he try?”

I shook my head. “No. I roasted him with my words before he could think about it.”

Grant’s eyes danced. “Well done.”

“Only because I knew you were out here and I could run to you.”

“You still did it,” he said. “I’m proud of you.”

“Kiss me.”

His hands slid down my spine. “He’s staring like he wants to kill us both. Are you sure? I’m not afraid of him, but I don’t want to make things worse for you.”

“Joel is a spoiled child who misses his toy. He’s never going to believe it’s gone if he doesn’t see it,” I said. “Kiss me. Please.”

“My pleasure.”

As soon as his lips met mine, I faded away, and somewhere in the distance, I heard the sound of angry footsteps on gravel, stomping away.