Cowboy Vet

Had he just—?

Nah, she told herself. He hadn’t just looked at her breasts. No way. Dr. Rand Sheppard wouldn’t give her a second glance.

She pulled her shoulders back nonetheless, under the pretext of hooking her thumbs in her belt loops, her elbows bent so that her breasts strained against the white T-shirt she’d worn beneath her beat-up jacket.

He glanced down again, only this time his eyes narrowed and he frowned, his mouth a flat line. “Look at what?”

He was checking her out.

Jessie couldn’t believe it. He wasn’t happy about it, she could tell, but that’s what he’d just done.

She pulled her shoulders back even more, thrusting a hip out for good measure. “Look,” she said, making her voice softer, “I understand you don’t like me.” But you like my breasts. “Let’s put that aside for a moment,” she said rocking slightly. “You’re in a bind.”

“I could hire somebody tomorrow if I wanted to.”

“Then why don’t you?” she asked.

“Because they’re not qualified. Everyone who’s applied so far has no experience and minimal education.”

“Which just proves my point…or the point I was about to make. Hire me until a qualified applicant comes along.”

He glanced down. And there it was again: the look. The one he tried too hard to deny—sexual interest.

He found her attractive.

In-ter-resting.

“If you find someone tomorrow, I’ll leave,” she added. “But I’ll stay as long as you need me.”

“I still don’t think—”

“Rand,” she said, clutching his arm.

He acted as if she’d touched him with a twelve-gauge needle.

“Don’t—” he pulled back “—touch me.”

Her eyes widened in surprise.

After all these years. After all the surly expressions. All the barbed comments. All the sarcastic retorts. He found her attractive.

“Sor-ry,” she said. She tried unsuccessfully to suppress a smile.

“I don’t like to be touched,” he muttered.

“That must play hell on your love life.”

He didn’t answer.

She bit back a laugh. “As I was about to say,” she resumed, “I don’t mind being temporary help. Heck, it’ll give me experience I can put on my résumé. Or are you willing to put the lives of the animals at risk by having someone like Brandy assist while you’re out on calls?”

His lips went tight.

She knew she had him then.

“I’ll bow out of your clinic the minute you find a suitable replacement.”

A horse neighed, the answering calls momentarily filling the barn. Rand turned away, staring down the long aisle.

“Fine,” he said, glancing back to her. “But it’ll just be temporary.”

“Got it,” she said, trying hard to conceal her delight. “Temporary. When do you want me to start?”

Again he looked pained. “Tomorrow.”

“Why not today?”

He shook his head.

Probably he needed to get his wandering eyes under control.

“Call me if you need me,” she said.

All he did was nod.

Dr. Sheppard found her attractive.

Miracles would never cease.

IT’D BEEN A MOMENT of insanity. An act of desperation brought on by a long night spent keeping a colicky horse alive, followed by the emergency C-section.

At least that’s what he told himself the next morning, because there was no other reason he’d invite Jessie to work for him.

It’s just temporary, he told himself as he slipped into the warm clinic.

“Morning, Doctor,” Pauline said, shooting him a jowly smile that never failed to make him smile back.

“Mornin’, Pauline.”

Rand flipped through the mail he’d forgotten yesterday, thanks to back-to-back emergency calls. He’d sunk into bed exhausted, and praying that nobody’s horse would founder or get colic or need emergency sutures.

“You’ve got three small-animal appointments, two need shots and one has a foxtail down his ear—or so the owner thinks. The foxtail is coming in first thing,” Pauline said, peering over the eye-level counter that surrounded her like a corral. “I’ve scheduled your large-animal clients for this afternoon.”

“Thanks,” Rand said, tapping the edges of the envelopes on the Formica counter where they kept the patient sign-in sheet on a clipboard.

“And Jessie Monroe is waiting for you in your office.”

The look Pauline gave him suggested he’d invited her least favorite politician to join him.