Page 33 of Saddles and Snowstorms (Sagebrush Cowboys #4)

Rowan

B rooks was terribly quiet on our way back to the clinic.

He walked beside me, his gaze on the sidewalk with his hands stuffed into his pockets.

Something about him was off, a sort of nervous energy that I’d seen in some of the animals I’d treated.

He was anxious and worried, I could sense it.

Had the unexpected party at the diner really thrown him off that much?

I wanted to ask him what was wrong, but I figured it would be best discussed behind closed doors. The clinic was only a block away. Another minute or two wouldn’t hurt us.

However, as we rounded the corner, I saw another vehicle sitting out front of the vet clinic, one I hadn’t seen in months.

It was a high-end black pickup, once sparkling clean but now coated in a fine layer of dust thanks to the country roads in Sagebrush.

On the door of the truck was a logo I knew all too well.

It read “Austin Animal Hospital” in big white letters, the silhouettes of several pets behind them.

It was my old boss’s truck, and he was standing beside it, leaning against the passenger door as he typed on his phone.

What the hell was he doing in Sagebrush?

I froze, my blood turning to ice in my veins. Dr. Blake Harmon had been my mentor, my boss, and ultimately the reason I’d left Austin. Seeing him here, on my turf, sent a wave of panic through me .

“You know him?” Brooks asked quietly, noticing my sudden change in demeanor.

“Yeah,” I breathed. “That’s my old boss from Austin.”

Brooks stiffened beside me, his body going rigid. I could practically feel the walls going up around him. Whatever openness had been developing between us was rapidly disappearing.

“I should go,” he mumbled, taking a step back.

I reached out and caught his wrist without thinking. “No, stay. Please.” The desperation in my voice surprised even me. “I... I might need the moral support. I have no idea why he’s here.”

Something flickered across Brooks’s face—uncertainty, maybe even protectiveness. He glanced at Harmon, then back at me, and gave a short nod.

“Dr. Walsh!” Harmon called out, finally spotting me.

He pushed off from his truck and strode toward us, all confidence and expensive cologne.

His salt-and-pepper hair was perfectly styled, his smile practiced and empty.

He looked exactly the same as he had in Austin, right down to the designer jeans and custom boots that he liked to wear around the office.

“Blake,” I said flatly, not bothering with his title. “What brings you to Sagebrush?”

“Can’t a man check in on an old colleague?” He extended his hand, which I reluctantly shook. His gaze drifted to Brooks, assessing him with a quick once-over. “And who might this be?”

I felt a surge of protectiveness. “This is Brooks Callahan. He’s a local rancher.”

Brooks didn’t offer his hand, just nodded curtly, his expression unreadable beneath the brim of his hat. The tension radiating off him was palpable.

“Pleasure,” Blake said without meaning it. “Mind if we talk inside, Rowan? Professional matters.”

I hesitated, not wanting to be alone with him but also not wanting to air whatever this was in public. “Sure. Brooks was just helping me with something.”

Blake’s smile didn’t reach his eyes. “I won’t take much of your time.”

I unlocked the clinic door, letting them both inside. Brooks stayed beside me. Blake on the other hand, waltzed on in and started looking over the place.

“Nice little office you got here,” he said, nodding his head. “Not much room to grow though.”

“Most of the work I do here is large animal,” I replied, not moving from the door. “What brings you out here, Blake?”

The vet stopped, cocking his head to the side. His smile was failing. “Can’t we be friends, Rowan?” he asked. “I already apologized to you about everything that happened.”

“You mean after you fired me?” I shot back. “After you chose to believe Tyler, the one that had been doing the bare minimum for you for months? You were going to make me a partner and then you let some idiot change your mind with a bunch of hearsay and no evidence in less than twenty-four hours.”

“I know,” Blake nodded, letting out a long sigh. “You’re absolutely right.”

“Then I had to go and prove myself innocent just to stop y’all from smearing my name all around town!”

“I didn’t do that,” he replied, firmly this time. “That was Tyler. Not me.” I opened my mouth to retort, but he held up a hand. “I know you’re upset, and you have every right to be. But I didn’t come here to make life more difficult for you.”

I let out a long sigh, letting down my guard slightly.

Blake wasn’t a bad guy, I knew that. He’d given me a job right out of vet school, he never treated me poorly except when Tyler was whispering in his ear.

Besides the last couple of weeks at his vet clinic, I’d been really happy there.

I wanted to hate him, but the truth was, he’d been good for me for the majority of our time together.

“So why are you here then?” I asked at last. “It’s not a short drive to come all the way up here.”

Blake’s practiced smile returned as he leaned against the counter. “I came to offer you your job back, Rowan. More than that, actually.”

I blinked, stunned into silence. Brooks shifted beside me, his boots scuffing against the linoleum floor nervously.

“The partnership,” Blake continued. “It’s still on the table.

Tyler’s gone, thanks to you. And it turns out you weren’t the only one he tried to sabotage.

I should have listened to you, and I’m sorry I didn’t.

He tried to bring me down after you but now that his license is revoked, there’s not much he can do to anyone anymore.

” He paused, shaking his head. “Anyway, I want you to come back to Austin.”

My heart hammered in my chest. Six months ago, this would have been everything I wanted to hear. The vindication, the job offer, the partnership that would have set me up for life in a thriving practice. But now...

“I don’t understand,” I said. “You drove all the way from Austin just to offer me my old job back?”

“Not just the job. The partnership. Full stake in the business, Rowan. We’re expanding—opening two more locations in the greater Austin area. I need someone I can trust running one of them.”

I felt Brooks go completely still beside me.

“That’s...a generous offer,” I managed.

Blake’s eyes lit up. “It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity, especially for someone as young as you. But you deserve it. You’re one of the best vets I’ve ever known and trustworthy to boot. I’d be honored to have you running one of my clinics.”

I glanced at Brooks, whose jaw had tightened under his scruff. His eyes were fixed on some distant point on the wall, deliberately avoiding mine.

“When would you need my answer?” I asked, turning back to Blake.

“Well, I was hoping to bring you back with me today,” Blake said with a chuckle that died when he saw my expression. “But I understand you’ve got a practice here. I can give you a week, maybe two, to sort things out.”

My mind raced. Two weeks to decide whether to abandon everything I’d built in Sagebrush—the clinic, my growing reputation, the connections I’d made. The people I’d met.

“And what about Sagebrush?” I asked. “They’d be without a vet again.”

Blake shrugged. “Small towns adapt. They did before you came along.”

I felt Brooks bristle beside me, his shoulders squaring.

“These folks need a vet,” Brooks said, his voice low but firm. It was the first time he’d spoken since we’d entered the clinic, and both Blake and I turned to look at him .

Blake’s smile tightened. “And I’m sure they’ll find one. Or Rowan can hire one for you. He’ll be making a small fortune with me, so that shouldn’t be too difficult.”

Blake’s words hung in the air like a bad smell. The way he talked about the town—my town—made something twist in my gut. I looked at Brooks, whose face had darkened, his eyes narrowed beneath the brim of his hat.

“I need some time to think about it,” I said finally.

Blake nodded, seemingly satisfied. “Of course. Here’s my card with my cell on it.” He pulled a crisp business card from his wallet and set it on the counter. “Call me when you’re ready to come home.”

Home. The word echoed strangely in my ears. Austin hadn’t felt like home in a long time, not since everything fell apart. But was Sagebrush home now?

“I’ll walk you out,” I said, needing some air.

Outside, Blake paused by his truck. “You know, Rowan, I always thought you were meant for bigger things than this.” He gestured vaguely at the dusty main street of Sagebrush. “You’re too talented to waste away in some backwater town where the most exciting case you’ll get is a cow with bloat.”

I bristled. “I’ve treated more interesting cases here in two months than you see in a year,” I shot back, my temper flaring. “Don’t act like what I’m doing here doesn’t matter.”

Blake raised his hands in surrender. “I didn’t mean it like that. But you could be doing so much more. Making so much more. Living a life with culture, restaurants, people who actually understand what you do.”

“The people here understand just fine,” I said, thinking of Dolly, of the ranchers who respected my expertise, of Brooks who’d shown more interest in my work than anyone back in Austin ever had.

Blake shook his head, a patronizing smile on his face.

“Just think about it, Rowan. That’s all I’m asking.

Think about what you’re giving up to stay buried out here.

” He paused, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

“You don’t have to run away anymore. Tyler is gone.

He’s not gonna bother you again. Don’t let all your dreams go to waste just because we had a misunderstanding. It’s not worth it.”

With that, he climbed into his truck and drove away, leaving a cloud of dust in his wake.

I stood there, watching until his taillights disappeared around the corner, a stone forming in the pit of my stomach.

When I turned back to the clinic, Brooks was standing in the doorway, his expression guarded.

“You going back to Austin?” he asked, his voice carefully neutral.

I sighed, running a hand through my hair. “I don’t know,” I admitted. “It’s a big decision.”

Brooks’s face was unreadable, but something flickered in his eyes—disappointment, maybe, or resignation. He turned away, his shoulders stiff under his plaid shirt.

“You should take it,” he said, his voice low and gruff. “Sounds like a good opportunity.”

I stared at him, surprised by the hollowness in his tone. “Brooks?—”

“I should get back to the ranch,” he cut me off, already moving toward the door. “Got chores waitin’.”

“Wait,” I called after him, but he was already pushing through the door. I hurried to follow him outside. “Brooks, hold on a second.”

He paused on the sidewalk, his back to me, hat pulled low over his eyes. When he turned, his expression was carefully blank, but I could see the tension in his jaw.

“What?” he asked.

“I haven’t made any decisions yet,” I said, taking a step toward him. “I need time to think.”

Brooks looked down at his boots, scuffing one against the concrete. “Ain’t much to think about,” he said gruffly. “Big opportunity. Nice office. Lots of money. Sounds like what anyone would want.”

I took another step forward, trying to catch his eye. “It’s not that simple.”

“Seems pretty simple to me,” Brooks said, still not looking at me. “You got a chance to go back to a real city. Back to where you belong.”

The words stung more than I expected. “Who says that’s where I belong?”

Brooks finally looked up, his dark eyes meeting mine. There was something raw there, something vulnerable that he was trying desperately to hide. “Look at you, Rowan. You ain’t made for this place. Never were. Just a pit stop on your way back to where you’re really headed. ”

“That’s not fair,” I said, my voice rising slightly. “You don’t get to decide what I want or where I belong.”

“Don’t I?” Brooks challenged, a hint of anger breaking through his carefully constructed facade.

“I’ve seen your type before. City folks come out here thinking they’re gonna find themselves or whatever, then the first chance they get to go back to their real lives, they’re gone.

” He shook his head, his eyes turning glossy. “You ain’t any different.”

“You don’t mean that…” I whispered. “You… You can’t…”

“We both knew this wasn’t gonna last,” he said softly, turning away from me once more. “The blizzard’s over. Time to stop pretendin’ this is gonna work.”

My chest seized, my breath catching in my throat. Before I could work through the icy cold filling my body and find my words once more, Brooks walked away. In a matter of seconds, he was climbing into his truck before driving out of town.

All I could do was stand there, tears running down my face.