Taming Wes: BOOK THREE|BILLINGSLEY SERIES

by Ellen, Melissa

  Lottie had stopped by the barn when she arrived home. It was obvious how much the horse meant to her. Not only was I immediately growing attached to Dolly, the way I always tended to do with my animal patients, but I instantly hit it off with Lottie. I wanted to be able to tell her everything would be okay with her horse.

  Part of me wondered if I’d see Wes again that day. But after the coldness I felt when he walked away, I was pretty sure he no longer wanted anything to do with me. It was all for the best, I reminded myself.

  By the time I left the Davis farm, I was too exhausted to even eat. Instead, I wanted to take a long, hot shower, have a cup of hot chamomile tea, and crash while reading a book. Unfortunately, I’d already promised to have dinner with my aunt and uncle. It looked like a bottle of wine and a pan of Aunt Jane’s brownies were going to have to do.

  * * *

  I took a deep inhale of the crisp fall air as I strolled down the town square sidewalk, headed for Ida’s. Uncle Robert had brought in a box of cinnamon rolls for the office on Tuesday morning. I swore with the first bite, it was like heaven had landed in my mouth.

  I’d made myself wait until today, Thursday, before I allowed myself to give into my craving for another one. I was a junky for junk food. It’s why I had to be careful about how often I ate it. Sugar loved to stick to my pre-existing curves. I was shorter than most on top of it all, a family trait. If I wasn’t careful about what I ate and religious about my workouts, I’d end up looking like a bowling ball.

  The door chimed as I entered, and the sweet smells of warm, fresh pastries and freshly brewed coffee filled the air as I walked into Ida’s. There was a short line of heads in front of me, one of which I recognized. There was no missing Lottie’s beautiful red hair. The woman was gorgeous. I had no doubt her and Tucker’s offspring were going to break millions of hearts one of these days.

  Taking her to-go cup from the young kid working the register, she smiled and thanked him before she turned and saw me.

  “Dr. Chaplin! Hey!”

  “Mrs. Monroe, so nice to see you. How’s Dolly?”

  She fluttered her one free hand at me as she smiled. “Please, call me Lottie. And she’s doing better. Still not a hundred percent, but she’s getting there.”

  I grinned. “Feel free to call me Devin, too. And I’m glad to hear it. I was planning to make a trip out there next week to check up on her.”

  Lottie was someone I hoped to become friends with. We’d both been city girls at one point, who’d chosen to move to Billingsley for our own happiness. Her move had a lot to do with finding happiness with her husband, Tucker. Mine, on the other hand, was to escape the man I’d fallen for. Regardless, we could somewhat relate to each other.

  “Great. Let me know when, and I’ll make sure to have Hannah cover the shop, so I can be there this time.”

  I’d learned during our previous conversation that Lottie co-owned the only fashionable boutique in town with her friend, Hannah Miller. I’d done a little window shopping the other day as I passed by on my way to Ida’s for a coffee. After tons of things caught my eye, I’d planned on stopping in there to check everything out up close.

  “Will do.”

  “Okay. Well, I’ll see you around!” She waved as she exited through the front door.

  I waved in return, then turned back to face the front of the line, eyeing the fresh pan of cinnamon rolls being brought out from the kitchen. My mouth drooled as my stomach growled. I was so focused on the cinnamon rolls, I didn’t even think twice when I reached for my phone, answering it without looking.

  “Hello.”

  “Dev… You answered.”

  Every muscle in my body tensed as his voice hit my ear. Noah. Shit.

  “It was an accident. Good-bye.”

  “Don’t hang up! Please! Just talk to me.”

  “We have nothing to talk about,” I bowed my head with a sigh, frustrated at myself for being too weak to hang up.

  “That’s not true, Devin. We can work this out. I told you I was sorry. I made a mistake. You can’t just throw years together away.”

  “Really? A mistake?” I spat, clutching the phone tighter, my heart rate and body temperature rising with every word he spoke. “Was the first time you screwed her at your office the mistake, or the hundredth time you did it in your apartment? Where I found you with your head between her legs! Maybe the mistake you’re actually referring to is getting caught!”

  The bakery fell silent as all eyes turned to me. I snapped my mouth shut, ending the call as a heated blush spread over my face. I turned on my heels and ran out the door as fast as I could, sans cinnamon roll and coffee. Slipping down an alleyway, I heaved myself against the side of a brick building as I caught my breath and tried to cool my anger—anger at Noah for what he did, and at myself for being the victim and allowing him to get to me to the point of a public outburst.

  The phone in my hand rang again. Seeing Noah’s name on the screen, I gripped it firmer, refraining from chucking it across the alley and into a wall. That’s when the tears of anger started to streak down my cheeks.

  Why can’t he just leave me alone? This was all his doing. He’s the one who threw away our years together, the one who pissed on our future like it meant nothing.

  I shut off my phone when it rang for a third time, dropping it into my purse and my face into my palms as I leaned against the wall.

  A few feet away, a door came open and the chatter of two women filtered through the rear exit as they stepped into the alley. Great. All I needed was to embarrass myself in front of a few more people. I pulled away from the wall, straightening quickly as I wiped the tears from my cheeks.

  “Devin?” Lottie’s voice called in surprise.

  “Are you okay?” asked the other woman, who, based on her very pregnant belly, I assumed was Hannah.

  “Uh, yeah. I’m fine… Sorry. I just…I got a little turned around, I guess. Low blood sugar or something making me loopy…” I was spurting out a bunch of nonsense. “I’m just gonna…” I pointed in the direction behind me with my thumb.

  The two exchanged a silent look as I spun to leave.

  “Devin, wait!” Lottie hollered, breaking out in a fast pace toward me. “Hey, are you sure you’re okay?” she asked softly, her expression full of sympathy as she neared me.

  “Yeah. Just had a rough morning, that’s all.”

  “Okay.” She bit her lip as she studied me. “So, I meant to ask you before and it just completely slipped my mind… Hannah, Leighton, and I get together every other Friday for a little girls’ night. Would you want to join us tomorrow night? It’s pretty low-key. We usually just take turns hosting dinner, drinking wine, and complaining about anything and everything,” she teased.

  “Sounds…perfect.” I snorted a laugh, rubbing at my runny nose.

  “Great! It’s my turn to host. See you around seven at my place?”

  “I’ll be there.” I gave her a weak smile.

  “Okay, see ya then!” With another wave, she took off back toward Hannah, who was also smiling and waving at me. I waved back and then slipped around the corner, choosing not to take the chance of any more public humiliation, and headed straight for the office.

  4

  WES

  I should have known. From the moment I saw her, I should have fucking known. Once I did, it was so damn obvious.

  Devin and Jenna.

  Cousins.

  Shit.

  Any thoughts I had about Devin and me went up in flames the moment I realized. I wasn’t going down that twisted road. I was smart enough to know it was a disaster waiting to happen. Jenna and I may never have been an actual item, but there were feelings there at one time, whether we acted on them or not.

  Yet, knowing all of that. I couldn’t get Devin Chaplin out of my mind. I’d spent all week battling thoughts of her and how she looked in those tight jeans she wore as she worked with Dolly.

  She was confident. Smart. Sexy. Feisty
as hell. Drawing me into her web like a black widow.

  I opened my list of contacts on my phone, knowing exactly what I needed to get my mind straight. Without thought, I typed out a quick text to Mandy. She responded immediately. I smirked. She was always on board for a good time. I slipped my phone back into my pocket, feeling lighter already as Billy’s truck rolled to a stop outside the tractor barn, where I’d been waiting for him to show up.

  We’d been up since daybreak working to get one of the tractors fixed, the oldest one in our fleet. It was setting us back on getting the remainder of the fields plowed and ready for our fall sowing. If we couldn’t get it up and running by this afternoon, we’d be working double time using the other running tractors to stay on schedule.

  I glanced at the nonexistent watch on my wrist. “‘Bout time you got back.”

  Billy frowned as he pulled the box of new parts from his backseat. “If you got a problem with how long I take, you can go into town yourself next time,” he stated, passing the bags of hydraulic oil to me as I made it to his side. “At least then I don’t have to listen to all the damn gossip coming out of Mrs. Adams’ mouth while her old man takes his sweet time getting everything rung up.”

  I lightly shook my head, stifling a laugh. That was exactly why I’d sent Billy to town in the first place. Mrs. Adams was one of the main players in what we liked to call the Billingsley gossip squad. I think they believed it was their duty to spread rumors like wildfire. Any time you stepped foot in Adams Tractor Supply, you knew you were going to get an earful from his wife as Mr. Adams retrieved your online orders from the stock room.

  “Who’s the poor headline victim today?”

  “Trust me. You don’t want to know.”

  He was probably right. I tried to stay clear of the town gossip. Nothing good ever came from it; I knew that from personal experience. For generations now, my family had been the focus of more than their fair share of it.

  I set the oil on the workbench and picked up a wrench, getting to work on installing the new parts. The old Ford tractor had seen better days. If it were solely up to me, I’d replace it with a newer model that didn’t cause us any problems. I was sick of repairing it every damn year, but my old man refused to part with it and buy a new one. And you didn’t argue with Beau Monroe…at least, not when it came to how to run the family farm.

  The few times I’d mentioned it, he got fired up, grumbling on and on about how the new tractors weren’t worth a damn, with their stupid technology, and how at least with this one we still had the right to fix it on our own. He refused to buy another new one until we had no other choice.

  “So, Dr. Chaplin is pretty hot, huh?”

  My hand stilled, gripping the wrench handle tighter at the mention of Devin, and the fact that Billy had been checking her out. I lightly shook my head, annoyed with myself and Billy, not sure where the hell his comment had come from. “Aren’t you happily married with a baby on the way?” I asked as I started cranking the wrench again.

  “Yeah. Doesn’t make me blind.”

  “Think Hannah would appreciate your wandering eyes?”

  He chuckled. “Hannah and Lottie were the ones who brought it up the other night. Seems they have it in their heads the two of you would make the perfect couple.”

  The wrench slipped from my hand and clattered to the concrete floor. I glared over my shoulder at Billy, who stood there with a cocky expression on his face, his arms crossed over his chest. I bent down and picked up the wrench, every muscle in my body tense.

  “Well, you can tell them it’s not gonna happen.” I turned back to the tractor, tightening the last bolt.

  Billy laughed out loud this time as he walked over to hand me a bottle of the oil.

  “What?” I growled.

  “Nothing, man.” He shook his head with more silent laughter.

  “Don’t get all shy on me now, Miller. You got something to say, say it.”

  Hands up, palms facing out, he took a few steps back. “Just funny coming from you is all. Never seen you turn down the chance to hook up with a cute girl like her.”

  “I passed up on Hannah, didn’t I?”

  His face went straight. “Fuck you, man. Don’t even go there.”

  It was my turn to laugh out loud. The man made it too easy. It seemed even after all this time, it still drove him nuts thinking about the time he assumed Hannah and I had hooked up.

  “Relax, Miller.” I grinned, glad my little jab had succeeded in shutting him up about Devin. “Get me that other bottle of fluid will ya?”

  He passed it off and we both gladly moved on to conversations about the upcoming football games happening this weekend.

  * * *

  I walked out of Tucker and Lottie’s barn after checking in on Dolly, headed for their house to make sure Lottie didn’t need anything. Tucker had been gone all week on an out-of-town job and wasn’t expected back until tomorrow. I’d promised him I’d look after everything in his absence. None of us had been prepared for Dolly to get so sick.

  I shot him a quick text to let him know she was looking better already. I had to admit, without Devin’s perceptiveness and quick action, things might have turned out a whole lot different. None of us ever would have figured Dolly had been fed acorns. Poor Lily felt terrible and cried on my shoulder. She’d thought she’d been giving Dolly a harmless treat.

  I knocked on the screen door as I let myself in, already grinning at the loud, boisterous laughter of Lottie, Hannah, and Leighton streaming down the hall from the kitchen.

  Lottie was the first one to notice me, and her lips curved up as she tucked herself under my arm, giving me a side hug. “What are you doing here?”

  “Just came to check on Dolly and give Tuck an update.”

  “On me or the horse?”

  “Both.” I winked, dropping my arm from her shoulders. “And it looks like you ladies are up to no good,” I added, surveying the numerous bottles of wine and excessive amount of food covering every inch of the island.

  “It’s girls’ night,” Leighton filled me in.

  “Which means”—Hannah slapped at my hand as I reached for a black olive off the veggie platter—“you’re not invited.”

  “Calm down, preggers. I’m not gonna eat them all. I’ll save you a few.”

  She glared at me and I grinned back at her, snatching one and popping it into my mouth before she could stop me this time. Riling Hannah up would never get old. And despite what she might lead everyone to believe, she loved it.

  “Where are the kids?” I asked, turning back to Lottie. “I wanted to hang out with them for a bit before I headed out for the night.”

  “Sorry. I already dropped them at Grams’ for an overnight stay. You’ll have to stop by there if you want to see them.”

  “Sounds like you gals have a crazy night ahead of you.”

  “You know it. Pasta and wine with a woman who’s thirty-five weeks pregnant. Doesn’t get any crazier than that,” Leighton poked at Hannah.

  I laughed. “What’s your problem?” I asked a disgruntled Leighton.

  “Just ignore her,” Lottie instructed. “She’s just mad because she wants to go to the bar and she was overruled.”

  “I see. Well, ladies”—I kissed the top of Lottie’s head before moving on to Leighton and Hannah, doing the same—“I’m out. You girls be safe and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

  “Well that leaves the options wide open for us, doesn’t it?” Hannah teased.

  I chuckled as I walked back down the hall and out the front door. I was still grinning, my eyes down as I hurried down the front steps, bumping right into a small figure.

  “Shit.” I grabbed her arms, keeping her from falling. “Sorry, I didn’t see you there.”

  I dropped my hands from her body as I looked down at Devin, a bottle of wine in her hand and a nervous smile on her face. She was dressed casually again, the same way she had been the first night I met her. It was obvious she h
ad no idea how sexy she looked like that, with nothing on but jeans, a pair of worn Chucks, and a plain T-shirt. The only difference tonight was her long, dark hair was down around her shoulders in loose curls, and she had on the smallest trace of makeup, bringing out her natural beauty.

  “Where you off to in a rush? Hot date?” she joked, her voice wavering slightly despite her effort to hide her nerves. Her smile faded quickly as she caught the expression on my face.

  “Would it matter if I was?”

  I hadn’t meant to sound so cold. But the girl got under my skin like no other, with just her presence. Plus, the truth that had been unraveled earlier in the week, and that I still wanted her despite it, irritated the hell out of me.

  She took a step back, shaking her head with a frown. “I’m sorry, Wes. I wasn’t trying to deceive you. Or play games with you. I hope you believe me. I’d like us to start over. As friends.”

  Friends.

  A humorless laugh erupted from my mouth as I pushed past her. “Go inside, Doc. There’s nothing out here for you.”

  I didn’t bother looking back at her, no matter how badly I wanted to. I didn’t want to be friends with Devin. As much as I hated to admit it, I didn’t think I could handle it. It was best for both of us if we avoided each other altogether. Problem was, it was a damn small town.

  Plus, after my earlier conversation with Billy, it seemed like the few women I kept close in my life were going to make it even harder for that to happen. They were like a dog with a bone when they got ideas in their pretty little heads. That Devin was here now only proved my worst fear. It looked like I was going to have to set them all straight, before they started putting their noses where they didn’t belong.