Page 31 of Bad Decisions & Back Roads

“Half owner of Carolina Equine now.”

“Half owner?Real responsibility, huh?”

“Who are you working with?”

“I’m doing relief work for Vision Veterinary.”

“If you’re freelancing, come work for me.I’ll pay you double.”He threw an arm across the stall behind him and leaned on it.“We mostly do horses, but I’ve got people asking all the time for the other animals.Sure would be nice to offer that service.”

“You don’t even know if I’m any good.”In the years since our internship, we occasionally texted each other about tough cases, but only rarely discussed personal stuff.

“I know you’re good with horses, which is excellent for my business.And…” Hudson looked down at the hoof I was working on, then back at me.Something warm settled into his voice.“I know exactly how good you are.”

My fingers stilled.There was history in that tone.Old want.Old admiration.Honest interest from his end.We might’ve kissed once, but it hadn’t been enough for me to push it further.

A prickle ran over the back of my neck.My head lifted.Just beyond Hudson, farther up the aisle, a tall shadow stood half-hidden between shafts of dusty sunlight and barn-dark.I knew who it was in my gut simply by the angle of his shoulders.

Timothy.

My pulse turned traitor with one brutal kick against my ribs after another.Heat flashed low and hard through my body so suddenly it made me grip the hoof knife tighter.What was he doing here?

Hudson was a safe option.He was the sort of man a sane woman should want.He probably had a fully funded retirement plan and a half-paid for house.But he reminded me far too much of my ex.

The shadowed man down the aisle did not.

The way Timothy stared at Hudson standing close to me…

Possession rolled off him in dark, furious waves.Or maybe this didn’t really have to do with Hudson and had everything to do with Timothy despising me.

“What do you think, Gia?”Hudson asked.

I dragged my attention back to Hudson.“What?”

“If you won’t work for me, let me take you to dinner.For old time’s sake.”

Every bit of attention I had was aimed up the aisle at the man glaring holes straight through me.Was that jealousy burning his eyes like he hated himself for feeling it?Or was I imagining it?

Something reckless woke up inside me.I turned fully toward Hudson and smiled, a slow change of my lips that I knew Timothy could see.“Are you asking me on a date, Hud?”

Hudson grinned, bringing out the cute dimple on the left side of his cheek.“Yeah.I guess I am.There’s just no one like you, Gia.”

“All right,” I said lightly, though my skin was on fire.“Text me later and we can look at schedules.”

Hudson leaned in close.“I still want you working for me.I’m not giving up that dream.You’re the best with the big animals.”

My cheeks warmed.But not from Hudson.

No, my body was locked on the man stalking toward me now, boots heavy against the barn floor in a slow, deliberate, and somewhat predatory pace.

Hudson waved and headed off.

The second we were alone, my eyes lifted to Timothy.The look on his face stole the air from my lungs.That wasn’t indifference.It also wasn’t something gentle.

I returned to working on the cow’s hoof.She couldn’t stay in the restraint for too much longer.

Timothy stood there, staring at me and making my body burn for an indefinite period of time.I flushed the wound a few more times and applied the poultice before the bandage.

Finally, I blurted, “For the love of God, say whatever it is you’re dying to say before you burn a hole in my back.”