Misters of Love: A Small Town Romance Boxset

by Piper Sullivan

  She nodded and left my office as quickly and quietly as she’d entered. I grabbed my bag along with a few extra supplies and took a deep breath before I made my way to the front office. “Of course, Mrs. Slattery, I have you booked first thing tomorrow and if this run doesn’t take too long, I’ll give you a call. Promise.” Stevie flashed a professional smile and ended the call before turning and offering me a blander version of the same smile. “The kits are already in your truck and I’ve rescheduled nearly all of today’s appointments.”

  “Perfect. That means you can come with me.” I don’t know what possessed me to say that, but Stevie nodded and stood as she finished typing.

  “I need five minutes to finish these calls and I’ll meet you in the truck.” She didn’t sound bothered or like she might try to wiggle out of going so I nodded and made my way outside, preparing myself for spending time with her in my truck, which usually seemed huge. Today, as I climbed inside and flipped on the air conditioning, it felt like a box. A tiny, suffocating box.

  A few minutes later, she came out carrying a box almost as big as she was. She set it on the ground, giving me a glimpse of her round ass that, as her boss, I shouldn’t even notice, while she locked the door. Finally, what felt like hours later, she hopped in the passenger seat and flashed a smile at me.

  “Okay, boss man, let’s hop to it.”

  The car was on the move and we drove towards the interstate in silence. In absolute silence, but it wasn’t a tense silence, thank goodness. “Don’t do anything crazy when we get there and let me do the talking.”

  Stevie snorted and shook her head. “Really?”

  “Yes. These situations can turn bad quickly, Stevie, and I don’t want you to get hurt.”

  She folded her arms and notched her chin up in a sign I recognized as defiance. “I don’t want you to get hurt, either. And last I checked, you were a doctor, not a cop.” Confrontation swam in her violet eyes and, as amused as I was, I needed to make myself clear.

  “No, but I am a man. A big one, at that.” I held up my hands to stop whatever smart ass remark she was about to let out. “That alone usually encourages people, mostly men, against starting trouble.”

  She sank back against the passenger seat and sighed. “Fine. I’ll let the big man do the talking, but if I can help, I will.”

  She wouldn’t, but there would be no point telling her that now. “Are you all settled in at the cottage?”

  Stevie nodded, her gaze fixed on a point in the road. “Yep. The place is nice and cozy. Far from town, though.” I wondered if she would use this as a way to bring up the kiss, but a minute passed and she said nothing else.

  “You’ll appreciate it once you get more acquainted with the meddlers.” Being difficult to get to made it easy to stay out of their crosshairs. Mostly.

  Stevie turned to me, a sly smile on her face as we crossed the sign that led to what used to be Carmichael Ranch. “I don’t know, Scott, those ladies seem pretty spritely to me. When they want to, I have a feeling they’ll find their way to you just fine.”

  I glared at her and shifted the car into park before killing the engine. “Bite your tongue.”

  With a comical smack of her lips, Stevie snapped her mouth shut and looked around at Carmichael Ranch. “What the hell is this dump, and how do they have any animals here?”

  She wasn’t wrong. The main house of the ranch was a filthy white that likely hadn’t been washed in years. The screen door was half-fixed to the hinges and the top wooden stair was missing, making it a hazard. “Probably why we got the call.” I jumped from the truck and looked around at the property. The land was in worse condition than the house, somehow, with barely a hint of grass anywhere and hard, brittle dirt as far as the eye could see.

  “Scott, look!” Stevie was already headed toward the small cage and the whining creature inside. “You’re a pretty boy, aren’t you,” she cooed and held her hand up to the cage so the chocolate lab puppy could smell her. He whined and Stevie opened the cage.

  “Wait!” I put a hand on her wrist and glared at her. “Slowly. This dog might have been abused.”

  “Clearly.” She rolled her eyes and shook off my hold, opening the cage and giving the puppy time to come to her. “You’re all right, aren’t you, boy? Come on out, I’ve got some water for you.” She produced a bottle and waved it in front of the pup. “You know you want it,” she teased before producing a bowl and pouring the water inside, then scooting back.

  “I thought you were gonna let me lead.”

  She laughed. “I will. When it comes to big scary humans who want to fight.” Stevie stood and wiped the dirt and grass from her butt, a wide grin on her face. “Oh, look, he’s drinking it.”

  I looked on as the puppy lapped up the water greedily until it was empty, and he turned big brown eyes up at Stevie with a whine. “Now you’ve done it.”

  She wasn’t paying attention to me, though. Her attention was fully on the dog as she crouched down and poured more water with one hand and gave him a rub with the other as a reason to check the tag. “Hershey. Cute.”

  It was cute but, dammit, Hershey had been severely neglected and he couldn’t be more than six to eight months old. He was malnourished, underweight, and scared of his own shadow. “Let’s go see what’s in the barn,” I barked and started to walk. I could hear Stevie talking to the dog.

  “Stay here,” she told him and caught up with me at the entrance of the barn. “Holy hell, it smells worse than a barn in here.”

  My nostrils flared and I steeled myself for what I knew might find. “Stay behind me. Please.”

  “Fine,” she groaned and I felt her breath on my back.

  “Dammit.” The yearling was a golden-colored filly with a matted blond mane, ribs poking out and legs weak and wobbly. “Son of a bitch,” I bit out and slowly approached. “Hey, girl.” The horse let out a startled neigh and looked to me with wide, scared eyes. “It’s okay. I’m here.” I set my bag down and went to the door, coaxing her to me.

  “Here.” Stevie shoved something soft and moist in my hand. “Use these.”

  I looked down at the apple slices and frowned. “Where in the hell did you get this?”

  She turned and showed the bag flung over one arm. “I have oats, too, but I think the apple will work just fine.”

  She was right, of course. The filly ate the slices and begged for more, suddenly no longer afraid of me. It took two full apples, but eventually we got her out of the barn and towards the trailer hitched to my truck. “Let’s just get this over with.” I couldn’t stand to see another living creature suffering, especially so unnecessarily, and the longer we stayed here, the angrier I would become.

  “I’ll go get Hershey and meet you at the car.”

  “Wait. Look.” The pup was back in the small cage and the bowl was overturned. “Go to the car, Stevie. Now.”

  “But—” Any words of defiance she’d been about to issue died at the sound of a gun cocking.

  “Now, Stevie.”

  “Fine,” she grunted and jogged towards the car. “Come on, girl.” She patted her hip and, surprisingly, the horse wobbled after her. Slowly.

  “Yeah, Stevie, go now or you’ll find buckshot in your pretty little backside. You’d better get yourself gone, too, or I won’t hesitate to shoot.” The man stepped into the light from the shadows, the shotgun in his hand aimed right at me.

  “You don’t want to do this, Mr. Carmichael. We just want the animals, but if I have to get the sheriff involved, it will include charges of neglect and abuse of an animal. That’s a serious crime in this part of the state.”

  The man grunted and kept his gun trained on me. “These are my animals and you can’t just take’em from me, damn you.”

  “That’s where you’re wrong. It’s my duty as a veterinarian to rescue these animals and get them back to good health.” It would take time and resources I didn’t have, but I always found a way.

  He snorted. “Then you
turn around and sell ’em, I’m sure.”

  “You expect me to give them back to you after you how treated them?” This guy was lower than dirt as far, as I was concerned. “You chose to have these animals and decided not to take care of them. You. Not me or any future owners they might have. You.”

  I knew immediately it was the wrong thing to say when his thick finger slid to the trigger. “Like you would even understand, a fancy vet like you, coming out here to steal my animals and profit off them.” He shook his head, growing madder by the moment. “You can’t just take’em.”

  Another gun cocked and I froze, unsure if I should look for the new potential shooter or focus on the one in front of me. “Oh, that’s where you’re wrong, mister. We have every right to take these animals. The question is, are you gonna make us do this the hard way?”

  Stevie? I turned and glared at her, but her gaze was fixed on Mr. Carmichael. “What the hell?”

  She nodded toward the dog. “Get Hershey. Goldie is already in the trailer.”

  “Goldie?”

  “Later, Scott. Grab Hershey,” she said again and raised the barrel higher, as if readjusting her aim on Mr. Carmichael. “And if you try to shoot at my friend here, I’ll make sure you’re filled with more than buckshot. Got me?”

  He laughed. Tossed his head back and laughed, like he’d just heard the funniest dirty joke the world had ever heard. “Do you even know how to use that thing, little girl? You sound like a city girl to me.”

  Stevie looked at the old break-action shotgun she’d found in my truck like it was a new piece of technology. “I’m better with a nine millimeter, but the gist is the same right? Point”—she aimed the gun right at Mr. Carmichael’s chest and smiled—“and shoot. Right?”

  Carmichael’s eyes rounded in fear, over whether she was a novice or crazy enough to shoot him, I didn’t know. But I knew his fear was genuine. “Crazy woman,” he grumbled and lowered his weapon. “Take the damn things, then.”

  “How old is the pup?”

  “Don’t know,” he snapped. “Found him on the side of the road about six months ago, was a little scrap of nothing then. Cold and wet, until I took him in and took care of him.”

  Stevie snorted. “Some job you did. He probably would’ve been better off on his own.” She shook her head as I walked towards her with Hershey in my arms, licking my face. “If I hear you have animals out here again, I’m coming back and sticking you in that damn cage, got it?”

  Carmichael nodded and grumbled something under his breath before turning away and slipping inside the house, animals already forgotten once again.

  Once we had Hershey loaded up and Goldie comfortable in the trailer, we got the hell off the ranch, just in case Carmichael changed his mind. “Are you out of your mind? What in the hell were you thinking?”

  Stevie turned to me, a frown on her face. “I’m not out of my mind. In this situation, I was the big strong man rescuing you. Deal with it.”

  “Are you for real right now?” I couldn’t believe this stubborn woman. “You escalated the situation.”

  “Seems to me I’m the one who settled it. If I waited in the car like you wanted, you two would still be out there dick measuring.”

  “It was reckless.”

  “No, it wasn’t. I know my way around quite a few guns, thank you very much. This is Texas, after all. Right?”

  She had a point. Ty and I had been around guns since we were boys. You needed them when you drove country roads and spent time in the wild. “It was still reckless,” I said, instead of any of that.

  “It’s done,” she barked back, folding her arms and looking out the passenger window, effectively dismissing me.

  It was done, dammit, but it still didn’t sit right with me, a woman coming to my rescue. No matter how hot she’d looked holding that shotgun, and no matter how old-fashioned and sexist it sounded, it was how I felt.

  But there was something else. The more I learned about Stevie, the more I wanted to know about her.

  Stevie

  Big Mama’s Diner had the most eclectic menu of any small-town diner I’d ever seen, but nothing beats a big fat juicy burger. Even still, I took my time going through the menu to make sure the crazy old proprietress hadn’t added anything new since I got to town.

  “Stevie. Fancy seeing you again.” Ginger flashed a wide smile when she spotted me as she came out the kitchen with two hot plates on one arm and a carafe of juice in another. “I’ll be with you in a sec.”

  “No worries,” I told her and turned back to the menu, even though I already knew what I wanted and I was pretty sure Scott would appreciate a healthier version of whatever I ordered. The man forgot about lunch more often than not, skipping it completely when the office wasn’t busy, which was almost never since he was the only animal doctor in town.

  “All right, what can I get ya?”

  That was easy enough. “A bacon burger with extra ketchup and no cheese. A turkey burger with everything but cheese. Two orders of fries and a chocolate milkshake.”

  Ginger’s chestnut brows rose. “Someone’s hungry. Or is this for the big man?” The quirk of her lips told me she had something else on her mind and I started to feel antsy, the way I usually felt when it was time to move on.

  “Lunch for me and for Dr. Henderson.” It was better to remain formal in public since this town had a hankering for matchmaking. Who knew? “That’s all.”

  “Hmm,” she said vaguely, ripping the order sheet from the pad and sliding it to the cook. “I heard you were a pretty big badass with a shotgun.” This time, her smile bloomed big and bright as she shook her head. “Never would’ve guessed it about you, though.”

  I frowned as two thoughts competed for authority. The first was wondering how in the hell she’d heard about that, since Scott didn’t seem like the gossiping sort. The second was a bit more personal. “That’s what the old man said. Why is it so hard to believe?”

  Ginger shrugged, unmoved by my emotions. “You’ve got the whole city-girl thing going on, kind of like Nina only more… citified, I guess.” She shrugged again. “I’m guessing all you need is a little time.” She smirked and shook her head, like she was in on some joke the rest of us weren’t. “But if you wouldn’t mind sitting down for an interview for the paper, that would be great.”

  Luckily, Big Mama chose that moment to make her appearance with a broad smile and her newly-designed shirts with Big Mama’s splashed across the front. “Stevie, I thought I heard you out here, girl. I heard you handled that old Carmichael coot but good.” She smacked the counter and laughed. “Lunch is on me today, because you’ve got spunk. And balls.” She held up a closed fist and I assumed she wanted a bump, so I gave it to her. “All right! If you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask.”

  I didn’t know what I was supposed to need, but I nodded and returned the money to my back pocket. “Thanks, but it’s not necessary. I just wanted to get out of there, and the gun seemed like the easiest way to make that happen.” And to make sure he thought twice about firing at Scott.

  Big Mama huffed her displeasure at the way I downplayed events—in just ten days, I’d learned just how much the good folks to Tulip loved drama and gossip. Any kind would do, and today, I guessed, it was my turn.

  The bell above the door sounded and Eddy walked in with Helen and Betty behind her. The three women didn’t look like they were natural friends but, according to Scott, thanks to the Hometown Heroes calendar, matchmaking and meddling had brought them all much closer. I turned away before Eddy could spot me. but it was too late. Not to mention the fact that the diner was small enough that there was no place to hide.

  “Three specials please, Ginger, and if you can rush it, we’re off to do manicures at the senior home!”

  Senior home? I kept my thoughts to myself, grateful the topic of conversation had changed. Ginger nodded and jotted down the order before disappearing into the kitchen. Suddenly, a pair of strong but bony arms wrapped ar
ound me and squeezed tight. “Stevie, Scotty told me what you did for him, and though he didn’t seem too happy about your heroics, I am genuinely grateful to you for saving his life. Anything you need, don’t hesitate to ask. Please.”

  Big Mama must have seen the discomfort in my eyes because she laughed. “Eddy, let the poor girl breathe.”

  “Sorry.” She pulled back. “It’s just… my Scotty.”

  “I was just doing my job, Eddy. That guy was a jerk and he mistreated his animals.” Four sets of eyes were on me and I started to back away until a big wide wall stopped my progress.

  “That’s my line, isn’t it?” It was a deep voice I vaguely recognized but only once I turned did I realize it was Ty, Scott’s older brother. And Sheriff of Tulip, the one who’d caught us kissing on the side of the road.

  “Sheriff.”

  “Stevie,” he returned, trying hard not to laugh. “Seems like you saved his life, if the rumors are true.”

  I shook my head, doing a sneaky look around to see where the hell Ginger was with my order. “No, I saved the most adorable puppy in the world and a scared filly. Scott was never really in any danger.” Mostly.

  “So modest, too,” Big Mama added with a smile as she boxed up two slices of pie I didn’t order and placed it in my bag, which was growing bigger by the minute. “I like you, Stevie.”

  “Uh, thanks.” I grabbed the bag and made my escape before anyone could ask any more questions.

  Scott

  I stood in front of the reception desk for several long moments, watching Stevie work. She bit down on her bottom lip when she was deep in concentration, turning it an even brighter shade of pink. She continued working as if unaware of my presence, but I knew that couldn’t be true.

  “Eddy’s invited you to dinner tomorrow night.”

  My words didn’t startle her, which meant she’d known I was there the entire time. Her gaze moved slowly, but eventually, those violet orbs made their way to mine. I couldn’t read the emotion in them until a small crinkle formed between her ebony brows.