Page 24 of Unyielding (Poplar Springs #3)

TWENTY-FOUR

SHANNON

“ L ooks like you’ve got a healthy little girl here. What’s the name again? Rita?” Ruth squinted at her tablet.

“Vida,” I answered.

I tried to hide my disappointment that Declan wasn’t doing the follow-up appointment himself.

We’d texted and talked on the phone a few times since our magical night together, and even though I understood that the practice had gotten busier and that he was still working overtime to try to right a wrong, a tiny part of me worried that something was weird between us.

My worry doubled when I saw Ruth’s truck pull in instead of his.

“That’s right. Dr. Morris told me the two of you named her together. Sweet,” Ruth said, her eyes on the foal who was dancing around her stall and looking like she was gearing up for some zoomies.

I couldn’t help asking, “Where is Dec—um, Dr. Morris? I thought he’d be the one to come by.”

Ruth tutted while tapping on her tablet.

“I accidentally double-booked him today. He had to cover a client way out in Barnesville this morning because my old truck has been acting up. I figured you’d be a quick and easy appointment to handle myself, whereas he’ll be dealing with pig diarrhea for the next few hours, plus the drive.

” She shuddered. “The last time I made a call out there, it took me weeks to get the stink out of my truck seats.”

“Oof, yeah. I once slipped in some manure and didn’t realize I’d gotten it on my pants.

I threw them directly in the wash on top of some of my sister’s clothes.

I’m surprised you didn’t hear her screaming when she pulled everything out of the dryer to see it baked into her favorite outfit.

She gave me the cold shoulder for three days. ” I shook my head and Ruth chuckled.

I wasn’t na?ve. I understood why Declan hadn’t been making any time for me.

With all the contacts he’d made at the Cattlemen’s breakfast, plus the growing referrals through word of mouth, his schedule had filled quickly.

On top of that, he was determined to step up after the phone charger incident and was probably doing triple the work to show Ruth that he was worthy of taking over her practice.

But I couldn’t douse the tiny flicker of doubt inside of me that something else was going on.

Maybe he thought sleeping together had been a mistake?

“Didja hear me?” Ruth asked.

“What? I’m sorry, could you repeat that?”

“I said Vida looks great and you won’t need to see me or Dr. Morris for her or her mama until her one-month checkup, unless something flares up.”

“Oh, okay. That’s great,” I said, mustering up a half smile.

She tapped again on her tablet. “According to the file notes, your Cremello did well with the AI and it took. Did you want me to check on her while I’m here?”

“Yes, please,” I said. I pointed her to Iris’s stall, where she was munching away on the hay cubes I’d left for her. “I’ve been giving her the higher nutrient feed that Dr. Morris recommended, and she seems to be doing well.”

Ruth gave Iris a quick check and I kept quiet. When she pulled the stethoscope out of her ears, she said, “Everything seems okay. One of us will bring the ultrasound machine to the next visit and we’ll see if we can confirm the fetal heartbeat and if she’s having one baby or two.”

“Thank you.” As much as I appreciated the woman’s thoroughness, I was frustrated that Declan wasn’t here. He was the one who talked me into trying AI and I really wanted to share this moment with him.

I considered sending Declan a funny GIF about pigs as Ruth finished up her notes, but when I scrolled through our last few messages I realized that they were all him apologizing for taking so long to respond, or begging off on any of the tentative plans we’d made.

I calculated our time apart again. It had been five days since he’d spent the night, which wasn’t a crazy long time to not see each other given his workload, but it was enough to make me feel strange and uncertain.

“All set, Shannon,” Ruth said. “Should we use the card on file?”

I nodded. “That’s fine, thanks. I appreciate you coming out. It’s been a long time. It was nice to see you.”

“Pshaw.” Ruth laughed. “I’m sure you’d prefer seeing that handsome young doc instead of wrinkly old me.”

I blushed. Did Ruth know that Declan and I were involved? We hadn’t sworn one another to secrecy, but I had a feeling that Declan didn’t want Ruth knowing that he was romancing a client.

“What do you think of him as a vet?” Ruth asked. “I’m sure he told you that he’s on a trial run, and I need to get as much feedback from folks as possible. Then again, I know you two have a history, so you’re not exactly impartial.”

My eyes went wide. “What do you mean?”

“Well, he and your brother are friends, aren’t they? It seems to me that he mentioned something about that. Plus, I know that he’s told me he had a job here during the summers. I’m sure your folks wouldn’t have hired him back if they didn’t think he was a good worker.”

“Right, of course,” I said, trying not to sound flustered.

“He was great back then, and he’s even better now.

He—” I tried not to choke up. “Belle was in a bad way with the delivery and he managed to save them both. He knows his stuff, he’s intuitive, and he’s really wonderful with the animals no matter what he has to do.

” And the humans, too, but I didn’t say that aloud.

“And he ain’t hard to look at either.” Ruth cackled.

I felt my cheeks go pink. “Sure, I guess.”

“Well, I’m off. Take care, and say hi to your brother and sister for me.

I was pleased to see how well Lost Valley is doing.

The three of you have really stepped up with that trail ride program.

You didn’t hear it from me, but a couple of the other ranchers are fuming that they didn’t think of it first.”

“Oh, wow, thanks. I’ll be sure to let them know.”

I watched Ruth walk away. She was limping and you couldn’t miss how she pressed at her low back with her hand. It was definitely time for her to retire to the easy life. She’d more than earned it. And Declan was the perfect choice to take her place.

I returned to Vida’s stall and was about to give her a treat for being so good for her exam when my phone went off in my pocket.

When I saw that it was a message from Declan, it felt like he knew we had just been talking about him.

I nearly jumped for joy when I read that he wanted to take me out to dinner.

It was almost the weekend and his schedule looked light for a change.

I sent back a yes and couldn’t resist adding something about making sure his truck didn’t smell like pigs. I got a laughing emoji in response.

Vida butted her head against my side and I stroked the little foal while she tossed her head and made happy little noises.

“Maybe things are okay after all?” I murmured to the foal, finally feeling relief.