At first, Brandon had tried to impress her with that money, which according to many people was his standard move when he wanted to impress a woman. She’d made it clear to him from the very beginning that she was there for one reason and one reason only, to graduate and go home to South Dakota and practice there. Not only had her adoptive parents sacrificed a lot for her, the town had stood behind her, knowing that in the end they would gain a valued member of the community.
When Brandon discovered that his money wasn’t going to buy his way into her life, he’d changed tactics, professing a great love for large animals and shadowing her everywhere she went. At first it had been annoying but eventually she’d let her guard down and they’d begun dating. By the middle of their first year in vet school they were inseparable, spending most of their time together studying and working in the large animal barn.
At times Chloe questioned their relationship, knowing that it couldn’t last, once she’d even tried to break up with Brandon but he’d insisted that they were on the same path. Describing to her the ranch they’d own one day, sheep-free of course, and she’d relented and stayed with him. Brandon always seemed to take it in stride when she scored the highest on tests and performance reviews, bragging about her to anyone and everyone who would listen.
But as graduation neared, Brandon began to change, and when he discovered that Chloe had gotten one of the coveted interviews at Coldwater Canyon and he hadn’t, it had all blown up in her face. Brandon wouldn’t have even known about the job if she hadn’t told him, but once she had it was like he became a man possessed. He did everything he could think of to get an interview, including going to Dr. Morgan to ask for a recommendation, which hadn’t worked.
He came home one night and slammed the door to their apartment, “You’re never going to believe this.” He shouted from the entry way. “I didn’t get an interview in Coldwater Canyon, the invitations came out today and I didn’t get one. No one will even say who did get one.”
Chloe had been in the kitchen making a celebration dinner; she had been one of the lucky few to get an invitation, in fact she was supposed to spend the weekend up there at the end of the month. Without even thinking, she blurted out, “I got one.”
The look Brandon gave her was one of pure venom, “You what?” He’d shouted.
“I got an interview in Coldwater Canyon, I go at the end of the month.” She’d said, suddenly aware that the air in the room had gotten very cold.
Brandon looked at her for a second, then stomped back to the bedroom and slammed the door. Later that night, he’d left without even saying goodbye and didn’t return until the middle of the night, slipping into bed next to her smelling like perfume, sex, and alcohol. She’d laid awake most of the night, afraid of what Brandon’s behavior meant for their future, and the ranch they’d been planning for almost two years. She’d finally moved to the couch in the early hours of the morning, too heartbroken to stay in bed with Brandon.
The next morning, he’d come out of the bedroom with a packed suitcase and tried to slip out the door, but she’d woken from where she’d finally fallen asleep on the couch. What had followed had been one of the most difficult mornings of her life, a morning that she’d never forget, a morning that had destroyed a piece of her, a piece that she was sure could never be repaired.
“Brandon, what’s going on? Don’t you see that if I get this job, Dr. Morgan can’t hold me here all summer?” She’d asked, the tears streaming down her cheeks.
“Well, you wouldn’t be in this position if you kept your smart mouth under control. Frankly I don’t blame Dr. Morgan for sanctioning you. I would have kicked you out of the program.” Brandon said, with a sneer.
Chloe was so shocked she could only stare at him, but he wasn’t finished yet. “Just because you’re some kind of genius with the animals you seem to think that you’re better than all of us. I’ll let you in on a little secret, you’re just a country hick who doesn’t know a thing about the world. Thanks to you, I’m going to graduate second in the class, second only because I’ve been copying your tests and papers for the last year and a half. Did you actually think I was going to give up my life for you? The only reason I even wanted that interview in Coldwater Canyon was to meet the Montgomery’s, I have no intention of spending my life up there.”
Chapter 6
By the time Chloe pulled into Michelle’s driveway, she’d managed to make herself feel even worse than she had before. Taking a deep breath, she got out of the car, glad that she was here, but upset with herself all over for being such a fool. The sting of Brandon’s deception still so great that it threatened to overwhelm her, something that she needed to remember the next time she found herself thinking about Jack in any other way than professional.
Michelle met her at the door and recognized the look on Chloe’s face almost immediately. “Hey you.” She said, grabbing Chloe and wrapping her up in a big hug. “It feels like I haven’t seen you in months.”
Chloe laughed, feeling the tension and pain seep out of her almost instantly. “I know, but it’s only been a few weeks.”
“You have to tell me all about your new job.” Michelle said, knowing that it would distract Chloe from thoughts of Brandon.
After they’d settled outside on Michelle’s patio, big glasses of wine in hand, Chloe told Michelle all about the canyon, her new patients, and the new clinic. Michelle who knew Chloe better than just about anyone, knew that she was leaving something out. Her words came too fast at times as if she was skipping some important fact or information. When Chloe stopped talking, Michelle only looked at her silently.
Chloe had left all mention of Josh, his brothers, and the sheep out of the conversation, not ready to mention them, but Michelle wasn’t going to let her get away with that. “What about the sheep? You were pretty mad about them the last time I talked to you.”
“Yeah, well if I want to be in the canyon the sheep are part of the deal.”
“That’s it? Come on Chloe I know you pretty well, something’s bothering you.” Michelle said, the concern on her face enough to loosen Chloe’s tongue just a bit.
“It’s Jack Montgomery, he’s driving me crazy. The man is impossible.”
Michelle considered Chloe’s words for a second, while they made perfect sense, the blush that crept onto Chloe’s cheeks didn’t quite match what she was saying. “What do you mean?” She finally asked.
“He’s insulting, dismissive, and it’s clear that he doesn’t trust my judgement when it comes to the sheep.” Chloe said, hoping that would end the conversation, admitting out loud that she was attracted to Jack wasn’t something she was ready to do.
“So, that’s pretty typical of most of the men you work with. Why Jack is so much worse?”
Chloe was beginning to feel like she was in the middle of a counseling session, but knew that once Michelle started digging it wouldn’t be long before she got the answers she was looking for. With a big sigh she said, “I’m attracted to him.”
Michelle tried to hide the satisfied look on her face but didn’t do a very good job. “So what’s wrong with that?”
“Do you actually have to ask that?” Chloe asked, looking at her friend as if she’d lost her mind.
“Chloe, just because you’ve been hurt in the past is no reason to stop living. Brandon was a mistake, but that doesn’t mean that you have to cut yourself off from the chance of finding happiness with someone else.” Michelle said, repeating the same speech she’d been giving Chloe for months.
“I don’t think you understand; this isn’t a man I should be attracted too. He’s all those things I said and more. He goes out of his way to insult me every chance he gets, it’s like he does it on purpose.” Chloe tried to explain.
“That’s because he’s attracted to you too.” Michelle said, with conviction.
“Even if that’s true, he’s only attracted to my body not me.” Chloe said, blushing even deeper.
Michelle jumped on
that, “What makes you say that? Has he done something?”
“Well, no but I might have been out in front of my cabin in that bikini I bought when we went to the Caribbean.” Chloe couldn’t help but smile at the memory of Jack’s face when he saw her stand up. “I mean I could be wrong, but he was almost speechless.”
“Uh huh, and?”
“Oh, I don’t know. His brothers were there and I’d swear that he got jealous.” Chloe finally said, after a big pause. “But we had a huge battle over the sheep just this afternoon, and attracted or not I can’t be with a man who doesn’t respect me. Besides, he’s at least ten years older than me and he’s a single father.”
“Now you’re just making excuses.” Michelle said, then added, “It’s time to move on from Brandon and maybe Jack is just the man to do that with. Have a fling, have some fun, it doesn’t have to mean anything. Sometimes sex is just sex.”
Chloe thought about Michelle’s words for a second, it would be so nice to give in to the overwhelming desire she felt for Jack, but it would only end in disaster, of that she was sure. “I’m just not the kind of person who’s capable of separating physical from sexual, there’s just too many reasons why it’s a bad idea.”
“I guess I can understand that, but I also want you to remember that not all men are like Brandon and just because he fooled you doesn’t mean you’ll be fooled again. Life’s too short to let it be ruled by the mistakes we’ve made.” Michelle said, giving Chloe a big hug.
Chloe felt more confident when she left Michelle’s house, some of what she was feeling for Jack making more sense to her. She’d decided that her attraction to Jack was nothing more than the normal response to a breakup, a rebound attraction that would fade with time. It had been silly of her to think that there was anything more to what was happening than that. After all, Jack was the last man she would normally be attracted to. He was so much older and a single parent on top of that, which meant that there was probably an ex-wife out there somewhere.
But her confidence only lasted until she saw Jack the day they were scheduled to move the sheep, she’d been avoiding him during their stay in LA. Only going to the holding pens when she knew he wouldn’t be there and leaving as soon as he showed up, today she wouldn’t be able to do that. As soon as she pulled into the parking lot, it was clear that no matter how she rationalized it the sight of Jack still made her insides so soft, and a thrill shimmered through her. At first, she was tempted to just put the truck in reverse and drive away again, but she had a job to do and she was going to do it.
Getting out of the truck, she headed toward the men who were all gathered around the truck that would transport the sheep to the canyon. She’d given strict instruction that they weren’t supposed to load up without her, and although she’d heard that Jack had fought it, she was pleased to see that they’d followed her wishes.
“About time you got here Dr. Barton.” Flynn said, when she joined the group.
“Well you know how valuable my time is Flynn.” She replied enjoying his teasing. Although she’d been avoiding Jack, she’d spent some time with both Flynn and Owen and genuinely liked both men.
“Can we just get on with this?” Jack ground out between his teeth when Chloe gave Flynn a big smile.
“Geeze Jack, take a deep breath, we’ve got all day to move these sheep.” Owen said, tired of his brother’s grumpy mood, which they’d been enduring for three days.
After Chloe had given the sheep a clean bill of health and separated the pregnant ewes for separate transport, she stepped back to let the drovers do their job and get the sheep loaded. But what she’d thought would be a simple procedure quickly turned into a circus. The dogs completely out of their element, the drovers unable to give them the proper commands, the sheep wandering around the parking lot. Luckily, there were enough of them that it was easy enough to get the sheep back in the pen, but they were excited and already showing signs of stress by that point.
There was silence, then everyone began talking at once, their voices getting louder and louder as they vied to get their opinion heard. Finally, Chloe had had enough, “Everyone, stop talking!” she shouted over the voices.
There was a sudden hush, “How many times have you all loaded sheep?” she asked, looking from face to face.
“Well, uhhh, once.” Owen finally spoke up.
“So the dogs aren’t trained to load sheep? Are you all crazy?” She asked, stomping her foot, which she knew was immature, but she couldn’t yell the way she really wanted to.
Her questions were answered by silence, although Jack opened his mouth to defend them, then thought better of it. Taking a deep breath, she began to give orders, “Take those dogs and get out of here, head up the canyon, we don’t need you here anymore.”
In only a few minutes, she had everyone organized and the sheep peacefully making their way onto the truck. Less than an hour later, they were on the road to Coldwater Canyon, their precious cargo quietly riding through the traffic of LA. Only then was Chloe able to take a deep breath, the last leg of the journey would be the easiest as long as traffic wasn’t a nightmare, which in LA was always a possibility no matter what time of day.
Jack pulled in behind the truck that was carrying the sheep, hoping to block the sight of Chloe in her truck, lead driver in the convoy. His entire body was rigid with tension and he knew exactly why, Chloe had rocked his world today when she taken over the loading of the sheep. Instead of the anger he should have felt when she’d taken over, he’d only been turned on, the blood rushing to his groin in an automatic response to her anger.
It wasn’t the anger that turned him on, it was the fire in her eyes, a fire that represented a woman full of passion. It was that passion in her that he’d responded to, it had radiated off her in waves, setting off a chemical reaction in his body that he was unable to control. As he watched her bully and boss men twice her size, he longed to pull her into his arms and kiss her until her anger turned to desire. He’d never been attracted to a strong woman before and he had to admit that part of the attraction was the prospect of taming that strength, turning it into passion.
Realizing almost too late that traffic had slowed down, he slammed on his breaks just before he hit the truck in front of him. Cursing his preoccupation with Chloe, he slowed down wondering how he was going to manage to keep his hands off her when they were sure to be constantly thrown together over the summer. It was only the beginning of July and there were still almost a hundred sheep to bring over from home, and he was quite sure she would be right in the middle of every transport.
Which was actually a good thing since on their own, they’d made a mess of getting the cattle loaded this morning. He’d never realized just how difficult it would be to get them in the truck, but Chloe had apparently had plenty of experience with just such a thing, something that he was going to have to explore. He’d assumed that she’d come from a cattle ranch, but only someone who’d raised sheep would be able to handle them the way she had today.
As much as he hated to admit it, he was more than curious about Dr. Chloe Barton. He wanted to know more about her, and that was even scarier than the physical attraction he felt for her. Knowing he’d never be able to ask her himself, he decided that first he’d do a little digging on the internet, and if that didn’t tell him what he needed to know, he’d have to go to Paige who seemed to be the closest to her here in the canyon.
Chloe spent the entire trip back to Coldwater Canyon in a battle with herself, first thinking about Josh then trying to put him out of her mind. But as soon as the truck stopped, she pushed him from her mind and concentrated on getting the sheep unloaded and on their way up the road to the ranch. It would be dark in only a few hours and she wanted the sheep in the pasture before full darkness came. Luckily, unloading the sheep proved to be much simpler than loading them, and in only an hour they were all trotting happily behind the lead sheep, the dogs doing their job now that they were back in their element.
/> They watched the sheep grazing on the green mountain grass as the sun went down, everyone feeling relief that they’d made it here in one piece. One by one everyone left, but Chloe and Jack lingered by the pasture unable to pull themselves away from the scene before them. Jack happy to see his dream finally coming true, Chloe thinking that maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to have a few sheep around. But finally it grew completely dark, the only light from the stars and a moon that was only half full.
“I guess I better head home. I have a full day of appointments tomorrow.” Chloe finally said, when it was becoming obvious that there was no reason to stay any longer.
Jack didn’t want her to leave, “How did you do that with the sheep today? I didn’t think we’d be able to get them loaded, it was like you were talking to them.”
Chloe looked up at him, taking deep breath when his blue eyes met her brown ones, he looked so handsome standing in the moonlight. His hair rumpled from the long day, a dark shadow of a beard on his face, he looked like every woman’s fantasy of a lover and it was all she could do to keep herself from kissing him. Luckily, she wasn’t the kind of woman to make the first move, in fact she’d never even thought about kissing a man the way she was thinking about kissing Jack.
Jack didn’t think she was going to answer but finally she managed to say, “I guess I kind of was, back home we didn’t use dogs so it was more about body language.” She explained.
“I thought you came from South Dakota?” Josh asked, clearly confused.
“I do.”
“But isn’t that cow country?” Again Jack felt like he was missing something.
“It is, but we raised sheep.” Chloe said, then suddenly realized that Jack had thought that she came from a cattle background.
“I thought......” Jack was beginning to feel stupid.
“You assumed that I didn’t know jack about sheep. Right?”
“Yeah, I guess I did.” Jack said, cursing himself for not coming right out and asking instead of making assumptions. “And I’m sorry for that. Can you teach me to talk to the sheep?”
Be My Everything (Brothers From Money Book 11) Page 6
