Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 69775 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 349(@200wpm)___ 279(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69775 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 349(@200wpm)___ 279(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
The Pomeranian had six pups, and of those six pups, most of them were healthy sizes. The small runt was the exception, and it appeared that the mom dog had decided that six was one too many for her and had taken to leaving this one on his own.
Though, she was feeding it, that was all she was doing.
I’d walked by the kennel she was in earlier to find this poor thing kicked off in the corner looking pathetic.
And since Boone was in surgery with a horse, I had taken it upon myself to get some lovings.
I hadn’t been aware that Holly wasn’t leaving with the rest of them, though.
“I wasn’t aware that Boone was seeing anyone.”
I snorted. “Boone hasn’t been single since he was sixteen.”
Her frown was fierce. “I’ve been working here for almost six months, and you have yet to be mentioned by anybody. Nor were you here at all. Then you just show up like you’ve always been here?”
I didn’t get mad.
Her tone of voice wasn’t angry or anything, just curious. As if she truly didn’t understand.
And she wouldn’t.
Not if she didn’t live here.
Though, our star-crossed lovers’ story didn’t have Boone and Nettie in it. It had Bartholomew and Antoinette. If she had heard anything, it would be those two names.
“Did you live here before you went to school?”
She shook her head. “Not Sawtooth. Bear Pass.”
I smiled. “Ever heard of the Bartholomew and Antoinette saga?”
Her eyes narrowed for a second in concentration, then lit with recognition. “That’s you two?”
I nodded.
There were downsides of being famous—at least in the sports world.
One being everyone knew everyone’s business, and didn’t care about deep diving into your life.
When I’d turned down the professional soccer world to go to college and play D1—something that Eddy and I had spoken about extensively before she’d been hit by a car and her college dreams had been ruined—we’d decided that we would always have a backup of a college degree if anything went wrong.
How right we’d been when that car had hit Eddy and torn her knee to shreds.
Her accident had almost derailed both of our careers. Not because I was hurt physically along with her, but mentally. I didn’t want to play soccer without her. But she’d sat me down after I’d lost my baby and urged me to keep going for the both of us.
I had, though it’d never been the same.
I had more fun on the field going over drills during her coaching practices than I did playing professionally anymore.
I played because she wanted me to. Not because I still loved the game.
I hated being away from her. I hated being away from Boone. And I really hated the idea of having to go back after having the baby I was currently carrying.
I resisted the urge to cup my belly, hesitant to let anyone know that I was pregnant just in case.
“Y’all are like famous,” she drawled, sounding more Texan than Montanan. “I grew up on a horse ranch outside of Bear Pass. I’ve lived here my entire life and barely left the ranch. But y’all’s breakup was so widely publicized that the ranch hands were even talking about you.”
That I knew.
Famous sixteen-year-old no-longer-pregnant soccer player breaking up with her rich as fuck boyfriend who’d supported her through everything was big news in our small area. Especially since Gail had made it even bigger news when she’d spread the news far and wide, practically giddy that she no longer had to deal with the “gold-digging sixteen-year-old looking for a leg up in the world.”
As if she didn’t know that I was on the fast track to having my own money.
I may not have had a job the four years before I graduated, but that didn’t matter. I’d made my fair share in endorsements and athletic scholarships.
University of Wyoming had been great.
They’d even sponsored my sister as well, allowing her to get her teaching degree, to keep me happy.
I loved them, and I would forever be grateful for how they’d treated me and my sister at one of the lowest points in our lives.
“So why’d you decide to become a vet?” I asked curiously, stroking the little dog’s head.
I’d secretly named him Froto, just in case Boone let me keep him.
He was a staunch “no dogs unless you can take care of them” kind of man.
Truthfully, he was right.
I was never home.
He was never home.
Having a dog would be selfish behavior.
However, we’d soon be bringing a kid into this world, and someone would at some point have to be home to take care of our child. Why not add a dog to the mix?
“Do you want the practiced answer, or the answer that is true, that I never tell anyone?”
I blinked. “Obviously, I want the honest answer. I like you, Holly.”
And I did.
She may be frustrating to Boone with her ‘barrel racing baddie’ and ‘girl bossing too hard’ adjectives that she added to everything when explaining her patients to Boone, but I freakin’ loved it. I loved that she was keeping him on his toes. I also loved that she was holding him accountable for everything that he said.