Chapter 3

Theresa paced the length of her office while she waited for the phone to ring. It had been almost a week since she’d visited the Holmes’ ranch to see the stud and mares and she still hadn’t heard a “Yay” or “Nay” from Henry Holmes or his sons about moving forward. She needed to get her business off the ground and doing so with a job such as the one Henry offered would be a fantastic springboard.

She’d attracted a few small animals as patients and was concerned that, if she wasn’t careful, her business would evolve into the standard, stereotype veterinary office she’d wanted to avoid. The thought of being stuck in an office from morning until night caring for dogs and cats made her shudder. She wanted the variety and freedom large breed animals provided. She wanted the scents and ambiance of a stable, not an office. She needed the word to spread about her competency and skills. She needed Henry Holmes to give her a chance.

The buzzer sounded, notifying her that someone had entered the waiting room. She still hadn’t hired a receptionist, so she went out to the front desk to receive the visitor herself. It was Mrs. Johnson with another stray cat. An elderly woman of seventy, Mrs. Johnson was a fairly well-to-do animal activist who had a pension for collecting stray animals and bringing them to receive medical attention before releasing them back into the wild. Her reasoning for releasing them after they were deemed in good health was that she didn’t have a place to put them. She feared the repercussions for mature dogs and cats in shelters. Even no-kill shelters would often relocate the animal after a certain number of days to a facility that couldn’t or wouldn’t make that promise. So, she and a few of her devoted followers would catch the animal, bring it in for a physical and whatever care it needed, and then release it again.

Theresa wasn’t sure how she felt about this practice. She agreed with Mrs. Johnson that the animals deserved the opportunity to stay in good health and that it was also a benefit to the area to keep them so, but she wasn’t sure it was a benefit to release them again; for them or the area. After playing the devil’s advocate during the first few visits and getting nowhere, she kept her opinions to herself and cared for the creatures as best she could; reminding herself that, not only was she doing something good for the homeless dog or cat, but she was maintaining her business until it went in the direction she desired.

She smiled with relief when she saw David Holmes hold the door for Mrs. Johnson as she exited the reception area. Finally; communication from the Holmes ranch.

“I was wondering if I was going to hear from you,” she said softly.

David moved into the center of the room and looked around. “This is nice.”

“It’ll do for now,” she said.

“Big aspirations, huh?” he said with a grin.

“Are there any other kind?” she asked.

“Well, you’ve got the job. It took Pa a bit longer to decide cuz he couldn’t get a straight answer outa Jeffrey,” David explained. “My brother can be a real pain at times.”

“Did I do something to offend him?” she asked with surprise. Her mind raced to recall the time she spent with him. He’d been quiet and only spoken when necessary, but she hadn’t attributed it to anything she might have said or done. After all, she’d heard about him becoming a recluse after his divorce and assumed it was part of his way of life.

“Jeffrey’s a mystery these days,” David shrugged, “but he knows his horse flesh.”

“If he’s so knowledgeable, then why did he hesitate to hire me?” she asked, not bothering to disguise her offense in the matter.

“Couldn’t say,” David said. “He says you know your stuff. So, I just don’t know.” He gave her a broad grin. “I thought I’d take you out for a little celebration. Dinner, maybe?”

At the mention of food, she realized she’d been so preoccupied with worrying about getting that job from Henry that she neglected to eat all day. Her stomach ached from emptiness. “That sounds really good.”

“You name the place,” he said as he did his best to hide his elation at her acceptance.

“If you want to go right now, it will have to be casual,” she said sweetly as she gestured to her outfit with her hands.

“I’m ready when you are,” he said eagerly.

“Then, casual it is.” She grabbed her handbag from behind the reception desk and pulled out her keys. “Do you like Mexican?”

David wasn’t fond of Mexican, but he’d eat dirt if it meant sitting opposite Theresa. So, he gave a quick nod and motioned her to the door. “After you.”

“Do you have a preference in restaurants?” she asked as she slid out of the door and waited for him to follow so that she could lock it.

“It’s your night,” he said as his body passed so close to hers she could feel its heat.

Theresa gave an involuntary shudder of delight at his nearness. Not only did he closely resemble Jeffrey, but he smelled wonderful. She inhaled as inconspicuously as possible while trying to detect the brand of cologne he wore.

“It’s Paul Sabastian,” he said slyly.

Theresa cleared her throat uncomfortably. “Oh.”

“What are you wearing?” he asked as he placed his nose so close to her neck she could feel his breath.

“I believe it’s called stray cat,” she chuckled as she carefully backed away.

“It’s nice,” he said playfully. “Who makes it?”

“Mrs. Johnson,” she said with a roll of her eyes. “I’ll just lock up and we can be on our way.”

“Do you need any help?” he asked as he moved his body so close to hers that they could have melded together.

Theresa took a deep breath and did her best to control her body’s urges. There was no denying the animal magnetism emitted by David. If it wasn’t for the fact that she’d made a promise to herself to never date the clientele, she’d have been sorely tempted to forgo food and take him right back into her office for some good, hard core, sex. The thought was something that hadn’t crossed her mind since she’d broken up with Scott several years earlier.

She was surprised at how easily it came about with David. Remembering her body’s reaction to Henry’s handshake, she questioned if it was just something about the Holmes men in general that she found tantalizingly irresistible. Maybe she’d been giving Jeffrey far too much credit all those years.

She took a good long look at him, as if seeing him for the first time. Like his brother, David was tall with dark hair and blue eyes. His nose was slightly thicker than Jeffrey’s and hinted of a childhood break, but it was, none-the-less, a handsome nose. His lips were well-formed and thin, as were all the lips of the Holmes men. His broad shoulders and well-formed chest tapered seductively into tight, narrow hips and a small, solid backside. The way he’d tucked his form fitting, western style shirt into his faded jeans accentuated that fact. The major difference was the hair. Although his was dark, like Jeffrey’s, it was much thicker and wavier. It had a wild ambiance about it that she found appealing.

All in all, David Holmes was one handsome man.

She tried to remember meeting him as a child, but couldn’t. It surprised her. Someone as handsome as he was had to have been just as memorable as his older brother. Could she really have been that wrapped up in Jeffrey? She found the thought appalling.

Her face reddened at the thought of her own humiliating behavior back then. It didn’t matter that she was just a young and foolish pre-teen. The fact that David -and others- witnessed such behavior was mortifying. She was glad she didn’t realize just how bad she’d been when she was in Jeffrey’s company. She wondered if memories of her behavior were the reason for his hesitation in working with her.

If she could only turn back time, she’d have definitely behaved differently.