Page 123 of The Doctor's Irreplaceable Love

“Maybe we should come to your place,” said Laney.

It took Shelley a moment to realise that Laney was speaking to her—and that she meant Trip’s place.

“Oh, I …”

“You know damn well that Trip won’t mind.And besides, if we all come over there, Br—

Brooke scowled at her as she cut her off.“I think we should start out at your place.You’ve been saying for ages that I should come over, and now I can.”

Shelley decided that she’d have to ask Laney later why Brooke wouldn’t want to come over to Trip’s ranch to ride.Although, judging by the color of her cheeks, she was guessing that it might have something to do with Brody.

Chapter Twenty-Six

On Friday afternoon, Trip tidied his desk before leaving the clinic.He hadn’t started taking Friday afternoons off yet, but he didn’t mind since Shelley was over at Jim’s place.He enjoyed going down to the bakery to hang out with everyone, but he didn’t want to head down there without her.

He’d called Harper earlier and told her that he could pick Alana up from her rehearsal.He’d thought she’d be happy about it since it meant she’d be able to hang out with Shelley for a while, but she hadn’t been as enthusiastic as he’d expected.He didn’t know much about women’s friendships, but he was hoping that there weren’t any problems between her and Shelley.

Brooke greeted him with a smile when he stepped out into the reception area.He smiled back.She was a good kid, and she'd already proven that she was going to be great at the job.It wasn't the same as having Shelley working here still, but…

"How’re you doing, Brookie?Are you enjoying this?Feeling like you're settling in?"

She nodded enthusiastically."I am.Thanks so much for giving me this chance, Trip.It's awesome.And if there's anything else I can do, all you have to do is say."

"You're doing great.I think this is going to work out well for both of us.So, what do you say?Do you want to shut down and we'll get out of here?"

"But… it's only early."

"That's the whole point, Brookie.It's Friday afternoon.We want to get out of here early, don't we?"

She nodded slowly."What are you going to do?Shelley's at Jim's, isn't she?"

"She is.And I'm going to pick Alana up from her rehearsal.Tanya's still up here in town too—she was hanging out with a friend after school."

"Oh, you don't need to do that.I can go get them."

"You need to get the hang of having some time off.And besides, I want to do it.I haven't hung out with the girls in far too long.I used to be close with them when they were smaller, but I haven’t seen much of them lately."He gave her a wry smile."If they're interested, I want to talk to them about coming by the ranch soon—see if they’re into my mom’s old wardrobe anymore.

“When they were small, they used to love coming over and dressing up.Her ballgowns and all the fancy clothes she used to wear in Hollywood were far too big for them back then.These days, the clothes might fit them better, but I don’t know if they'll be interested anymore.

"Do you think they’ll think it’s cheesy?Or that they’ll think her old clothes are … I’m trying to remember the word Emmett used—retro cool, I think he said.Is that even a thing?"

Brooke’s eyes were wide."You still have your mom’s old ballgowns?"

He shrugged."It's not like I'm hanging onto them for any particular reason.Other than, like I said, the girls used to love dressing up in them.I didn’t want to throw them away in case the day came when they were interested again."

"Well, if they’re not interested—please, whatever you do, don’t throw them away."

He cocked an eyebrow."You’d be interested?"

She nodded vigorously."I’d be so much more than interested.I’d love to see them."

"Then you should come over.Go through them all.You can have anything you want.I mean, if the girls are interested, they may want to pick out some things too, but…" He shrugged."You can sort it out between yourselves."

"Oh my God, Trip, that’d be so awesome.Thank you so much."

"You’re more than welcome.I wish I’d known sooner that you might be interested in them.But come on, let’s get out of here.Do you know what time Blane and the others are arriving?Will you get to see him tonight?"

"I hope so.He said he’ll call when he lands.You know what he’s like—he doesn’t say much.Doesn’t like to make plans in case he’s going to let me down.I just wish he understood that he couldn’t let me down, no matter how hard he tried."She shrugged.