cabin, pour that lemonade, grab that book, put her feet up, and enjoy the evening breeze on the porch swing. She definitely shouldn’t be turning toward the barn, wondering why he was back at Whisper Creek.
She
definitely
shouldn’t be abandoning all reason and following the sound of his whistling.
Again.
Two minutes later, she peered over a huge stall and found Daniel walking Apollo in tiny circles. The vet did not look amused, but the horse looked even less so. Daniel hadn’t seen her yet, and she didn’t want to spook him
or
the giant horse, so she folded her arms on the stall door and waited for him to complete a circle and come back her way.
When he looked over and saw her, she was gratified to see a smile steal over his face. “Hey, Hayley. They finally let you off KP duty?”
“Yep. I’ve been dismissed to my cabin for the night.”
He cleared his throat. “This is not your cabin, is it?”
“Why, yes. Special wedding guests get to stay in Stall Four.”
He raised his eyebrows. “So I shouldn’t believe Cole, who was complaining that the bridesmaids had commandeered the best cabin for two weeks?”
“Stall Four
is
the best cabin, isn’t it?”
Daniel laughed. “I suppose, if you’re a horse person.”
“I always wanted one of those stable-girl jobs where you got to live in the barn with the horses. This could be my chance.”
Without warning, her stomach stabbed as she pictured little Celia and Izzy sitting on her bed one of those nights where the fighting was really bad downstairs, making plans to run away and live in a stable with her.
Daniel peered over the stall wall. “Well, you’re going to have to kick out Moon Gypsy if you want to sleep in her stall. And you might need a shovel.”
Hayley pretended to ponder, giving herself a moment to shake the memory loose. “Y’know, maybe I’ll just stick with my queen-sized bed and claw-foot tub.” She watched him do another circle. “You really do work here all the time, don’t you?”
“Not all, but a lot.”
“So you have to walk him all
night
?”
He grimaced in response. “Possibly. Depends how things go. I imagine you don’t do a lot of colic in your practice, hmm?”
“Um, no. My teeny beasts tend to have the opposite problem.”
She kept watching as he circled, trying not to let her eyes wander down his body. Trying not to appreciate how his broad shoulders and pecs filled out his faded T-shirt so perfectly. Trying not to notice that his jeans fit even better than the ones he’d had on this morning, and that his smoothly shaved face had given way to delicious, dark stubble.
He was not her target demographic for the week, dammit. She
should
be heading to the evening trail ride, where the
cowboys
were going to be.
Apollo was quivery, and his already scary-looking head was dominated by wide eyes and laid-back ears. He was making no secret of his irritation with Daniel’s efforts to keep him on his feet.
“Easy, boy. Settle down. Settle.” Daniel’s voice was low and steady as he tried to stop Apollo from bouncing his head to break loose from the lead rope. “It’s gonna be fine. Settle down. Keep walking. Settle.”
“You’re going to get dizzy walking around in circles all night.”
“I’ll bring him out into the hallway once he’s a little calmer, but for right now, I feel better having him in here. It’s harder for him to break free of me.”
“
Now
do you wish you had an assistant?”
Maybe, say, one who’s five-foot-ten and has red hair?
“Yes.” He flashed a smile over his shoulder, and Hayley could swear that smile woke up a flock of teeny tiny baby birds in her stomach.
Just then Cole’s voice came from a stall somewhere down the barn, startling Hayley. “Don’t hire her. She’s a city gal specializing in show cats and dropkick dogs. Plus, she’s dangerous to have around.”
“I love you, too, Cole,” Hayley called. “And also I would like to point out that I’ve been
She
definitely
shouldn’t be abandoning all reason and following the sound of his whistling.
Again.
Two minutes later, she peered over a huge stall and found Daniel walking Apollo in tiny circles. The vet did not look amused, but the horse looked even less so. Daniel hadn’t seen her yet, and she didn’t want to spook him
or
the giant horse, so she folded her arms on the stall door and waited for him to complete a circle and come back her way.
When he looked over and saw her, she was gratified to see a smile steal over his face. “Hey, Hayley. They finally let you off KP duty?”
“Yep. I’ve been dismissed to my cabin for the night.”
He cleared his throat. “This is not your cabin, is it?”
“Why, yes. Special wedding guests get to stay in Stall Four.”
He raised his eyebrows. “So I shouldn’t believe Cole, who was complaining that the bridesmaids had commandeered the best cabin for two weeks?”
“Stall Four
is
the best cabin, isn’t it?”
Daniel laughed. “I suppose, if you’re a horse person.”
“I always wanted one of those stable-girl jobs where you got to live in the barn with the horses. This could be my chance.”
Without warning, her stomach stabbed as she pictured little Celia and Izzy sitting on her bed one of those nights where the fighting was really bad downstairs, making plans to run away and live in a stable with her.
Daniel peered over the stall wall. “Well, you’re going to have to kick out Moon Gypsy if you want to sleep in her stall. And you might need a shovel.”
Hayley pretended to ponder, giving herself a moment to shake the memory loose. “Y’know, maybe I’ll just stick with my queen-sized bed and claw-foot tub.” She watched him do another circle. “You really do work here all the time, don’t you?”
“Not all, but a lot.”
“So you have to walk him all
night
?”
He grimaced in response. “Possibly. Depends how things go. I imagine you don’t do a lot of colic in your practice, hmm?”
“Um, no. My teeny beasts tend to have the opposite problem.”
She kept watching as he circled, trying not to let her eyes wander down his body. Trying not to appreciate how his broad shoulders and pecs filled out his faded T-shirt so perfectly. Trying not to notice that his jeans fit even better than the ones he’d had on this morning, and that his smoothly shaved face had given way to delicious, dark stubble.
He was not her target demographic for the week, dammit. She
should
be heading to the evening trail ride, where the
cowboys
were going to be.
Apollo was quivery, and his already scary-looking head was dominated by wide eyes and laid-back ears. He was making no secret of his irritation with Daniel’s efforts to keep him on his feet.
“Easy, boy. Settle down. Settle.” Daniel’s voice was low and steady as he tried to stop Apollo from bouncing his head to break loose from the lead rope. “It’s gonna be fine. Settle down. Keep walking. Settle.”
“You’re going to get dizzy walking around in circles all night.”
“I’ll bring him out into the hallway once he’s a little calmer, but for right now, I feel better having him in here. It’s harder for him to break free of me.”
“
Now
do you wish you had an assistant?”
Maybe, say, one who’s five-foot-ten and has red hair?
“Yes.” He flashed a smile over his shoulder, and Hayley could swear that smile woke up a flock of teeny tiny baby birds in her stomach.
Just then Cole’s voice came from a stall somewhere down the barn, startling Hayley. “Don’t hire her. She’s a city gal specializing in show cats and dropkick dogs. Plus, she’s dangerous to have around.”
“I love you, too, Cole,” Hayley called. “And also I would like to point out that I’ve been
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