His Forever Texas Rose

by Stella Bagwell

  Trey didn’t know what to say or think. Frankly, she’d shocked him. Asking her about the marriage proposals she got every week was something he’d always done out of fun. But this time she’d thrown him a real curve, and he recognized with a bit of guilt that he was jealous of the idea of Harley, a brawny and virile farmer, loving his grandmother. She was the only relative Trey had that lived close to him. And the only one who’d ever really shown him much affection and love. He resented the idea of having to share her company with anyone else.

  “I’m sorry, Granny. I didn’t mean anything like that. Hell, you could pass for sixty easy. Probably even pass for Harley’s age,” he told her.

  Smiling wanly, she waved a dismissive hand at him and rose to her feet. “You don’t have to spread it on, Trey. I’m not angry with you. In fact, as soon as you finish those beans, I’m going to give you a big piece of chocolate sheet cake.”

  He watched her go over to a row of cabinets she’d painted a sunny yellow color, and as she gathered makings for coffee, he was reminded of exactly how long she’d been living without a husband. He thought, too, of how much fuller her life would be with Harley.

  Yours would be a heck of a lot fuller, too, if you’d find a good woman to love.

  The voice drifting through his head came out of nowhere, and before Trey could stop it, Nicole’s image followed the unnerving words.

  Cursing under his breath, he left the table and went to stand next to his grandmother. “You go sit down, Granny. Let me do this. I know where to find everything.”

  For a moment she looked as though she wanted to argue with him, but then she smiled and patted a hand against his chest. “All right, I’ll go sit and you can tell me a bit more about this new receptionist. I might just have to bring one of my dominickers over to the clinic to check on her. The hen, that is,” she added slyly.

  He rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Granny, you and me both know that there’s not a thing wrong with any of your hens or you would’ve already had them over to see Doc. And I’ve never known of you to want to spy before. What’s come over you?”

  With a knowing chuckle she headed back to the table. “Spring is in the air, Trey. It makes a woman start dreaming and a man start thinking.”

  He’d been doing plenty of that these past couple of days, Trey thought, as he opened a can of coffee and spooned a hefty amount into the brewing machine. And it had all revolved around a strawberry blonde with silver-gray eyes and a smile that could wither the sun.

  Chapter Three

  By the time Friday arrived, Nicole was getting more into the swing of her job. Nothing was hard about answering the phone, or writing down names, dates and times. The difficult part was trying to figure out which cases to put on Dr. Hollister’s priority waiting list and which ones weren’t quite so urgent. When it came to their pets, some people were very persnickety. Like Mrs. Daniels, who was standing in front of a long counter that separated Nicole’s desk from the customers. The black-and-white Boston terrier was far too large to be holding in her arms, but the middle-aged woman with frizzed blond hair didn’t appear to mind the extra weight, or the loud barks directed at her face.

  “The only opening I have is at four thirty this evening, Mrs. Daniels. Or you can try your luck as a walk-in, but as you can see, the waiting room is full and you might be sitting for a few hours.”

  The woman pursed her lips in disapproval. “Nicole, I realize you’re new here and don’t understand the situation, but I am one of Dr. Hollister’s long-running customers. I’m here frequently, and I know if you were to go tell him the dire situation that my darling little Susie is in right now, he’d want to check her out immediately. She won’t eat a bite. Not even a scrap of sirloin! This is an emergency!”

  Nicole was hardly an expert on dogs, or any kind of animal for that matter, but it seemed to her that the only thing the squirming, barking Susie needed was to be on her own four feet and left alone to do what dogs love to do.

  “Uh, Mrs. Daniels, when was the last time Susie ate anything?”

  The woman looked properly offended that Nicole had even asked such a question. Dear Lord, where did Chandler find the patience to deal with these types of pet owners?

  “Last night, before bedtime,” the woman answered. “I gave her a plate of macaroni and cheese and frankfurters. She loves it and I was treating her for her birthday. You see, she turned three yesterday. And don’t try to tell me that the table scraps have upset her tummy. There’s something else wrong with her!”

  Nicole was trying to decide the best way to deal with Susie, and her owner, when another woman walked up carrying a pet carrier with a yellow striped cat inside. The animal was emitting a loud, hoarse meow, which caused Susie’s barking to grow downright ferocious.

  Just as Mrs. Daniels turned to give the cat owner a withering glare, Nicole heard a door behind her open and close. Glancing over her shoulder, the sight of Trey entering her workspace left her weak with relief.

  Turning her back to the waiting customers, she mouthed the word help to him. Nodding that he understood, he ambled over to her as though he had all the time in the world.

  Mrs. Daniels instantly directed her ire at him. “Mr. Lasseter, will you tell this woman that Dr. Hollister is—”

  “I’m sorry you’ve had to wait, Mrs. Daniels, but it can’t be helped. Dr. Hollister had to leave on an emergency call. He probably won’t be back until much later this afternoon. If you’d like, I can show you and your dog back to a treatment room and I’ll see if I can figure out what’s wrong with her. Then Dr. Hollister can treat Susie whenever he returns.”

  Somewhat mollified, the woman sniffed and lifted her chin to a proud angle before she shot Nicole an I-told-you-so glare. “Thank you, Mr. Lasseter.”

  “I’ll be right with you,” he told the woman, then taking Nicole by the arm, he led her away from the counter and out of earshot from the crowd in the waiting room.

  “Has Doc really been called away?” she asked, while trying to ignore the way the warmth of his hand was sending tingles up and down her arm.

  Trey nodded. “An emergency C-section for a mare on a ranch about twenty miles from here. He’ll be tied up for a while. He took Jimmy to help him because I have a little more experience with handling small animals and I’m needed here in the clinic to do whatever I can.”

  Surprised, she asked, “You mean you’re going to stand in for Chandler here in the clinic?”

  Grinning, he patted the side of her arm. “Not exactly. No one can stand in for Doc. But don’t look so worried. I can handle simple things like fleas or ear mites. Just don’t schedule any delicate operations for me to perform,” he joked.

  “What do I tell the people who are sitting out there waiting and expecting to see the doctor?”

  “Most of the clients are accustomed to Doc being called away from the office. The ones that have animals with a serious problem will reschedule their appointments.” He winked at her, then added in a teasing voice, “Right now, I’d better see if I can smooth Mrs. Daniels feathers.”

  She watched him slowly saunter out of the room, while wondering if his laid-back style of dealing with things stemmed from an uncaring attitude or an overabundance of confidence. It had to be the latter, she decided. From what she’d seen so far this week at the clinic, the man worked too hard and cared too much.

  In any case, Trey had come along and rescued her when she’d desperately needed help. And once this trying day was over, she was going to make sure he knew how much she appreciated him.

  * * *

  Trey was washing up after treating the last patient, a dog with a flea infestation, when the door to the treatment room opened and Nicole stepped inside.

  “Knock, knock,” she said, her pretty face peering around the edge of the door. “Is it safe to come in?”

  He grinned at her. “Sure. I won’t tr
y to stitch up your ear or give you a shot for heartworms.”

  She stepped into the room. “The waiting room is empty. And everyone left happy—I don’t know how you managed it.”

  He sprayed down the long treatment table with disinfectant and wiped it dry. “One animal at a time. It wasn’t that bad. Thankfully, all the problems were simple today and I could deal with them.”

  She smiled at him. “I guess you’ve learned a lot from Chandler over the years.”

  He nodded. “Normally, I just assist Doc with large-animals. That’s what I enjoy the most. But in the beginning when Doc first opened the clinic, I had to help him with the small patients, too. Nothing better than watching firsthand. And Doc is a genius. He hates it when I say that, but it’s the truth.”

  “He’s a humble man.”

  She pushed back a strand of hair that had fallen over one breast, and Trey found himself watching the graceful movement of her hand and how the silky hair slipped through her fingers. It was the same color of the mane and tale on his sorrel mare, Lucy. Sort of blond and red with a bit of gold in between. Except that Nicole’s hair would be much finer and softer than Lucy’s, he thought.

  Clearing his throat, he asked, “Did you need me for something?”

  A pretty pink color seeped into her cheeks, and like a fool, Trey couldn’t help but notice that the blush matched the color of the flowers on her cotton dress.

  “Actually, I came back here to thank you. Before you walked up, I wasn’t sure who was going to have a meltdown first. Me or Mrs. Daniels.”

  He chuckled. “Yeah, she can be worse than demanding. It wasn’t exactly fair of me to take her ahead of the others, but she can get so overbearing that it’s upsetting to the other clients. The way I look at things, it’s better to get her taken care of and out of the building than to have an uproar in the waiting room.”

  “Well, I really appreciate you rescuing me.”

  “You were doing fine on your own.”

  She chuckled. “Not if her dog had gotten loose. I expect she would’ve terrorized the whole waiting area.”

  “That’s happened before. Mrs. Daniels used to have a Doberman and he got loose once. It took about fifteen seconds for the waiting room to empty.”

  “Oh my,” she said with another laugh. “I thought this job was going to be much quieter than the one I had at the travel agency. I arranged and booked travels for corporate groups. It could sometimes get hectic. But this can get a little stressful.”

  He leveled a meaningful look at her. “Changing your mind about hanging around here?”

  Her lips parted at the same time her brows disappeared beneath the bangs covering her forehead. “You mean quit? Leave?”

  He nodded and then, with a sheepish shake of his head, said, “Sorry, I shouldn’t have thrown a question like that at you.”

  Frowning slightly, she said, “No need to apologize. Your question didn’t offend me, but it did catch me by surprise. I’m curious—do you think I look like a quitter?”

  He’d certainly held that opinion of her a few days ago and even voiced those thoughts to Chandler. But nearly a whole work week had gone by since then, and she’d continued to prove Trey’s prediction wrong.

  “Not exactly a quitter. I was only thinking this job might not be what you expected. Not anyone on staff has it easy around here, including you. In fact, I wouldn’t trade places with you for a million bucks. It wouldn’t be worth it to have to deal with people like Mrs. Daniels.”

  She shrugged. “My job at the travel agency could get crazy. Companies planning travel trips for employees were often changing their minds, canceling at the last minute, demanding their money be returned or threatening lawsuits because the trips ended up being less than pleasant. I’m used to demanding people. But here it’s different because of the animals. They are what’s really important. As for me hanging around—I’m here to stay. I hope that doesn’t disappoint you.”

  Disappoint him? It scared the hell out of him. Even though he’d scarcely crossed paths with her since the day he’d met her, she was constantly in his thoughts. The longer she was here, the bigger the chance of him making a fool of himself over her.

  “Not at all.” He cleared his throat and glanced away. “I’m glad you plan to stay.”

  She let out a sigh, and he looked up to see an impish smile curving her lips.

  “I’m going to make a confession,” she said. “I’m a terrible cook. So if you know a good restaurant in Wickenburg, I’d love to take you out to dinner. That is, if you’d like to go and you don’t have anything better planned. It’s the least I can do after the way you saved me from Mrs. Daniels.”

  Trey figured if he caught a glimpse of his image in the mirror right now, he’d be looking at a mighty goofy expression. Aside from working together here at Hollister Animal Clinic, he’d never imagined this woman wanting to spend a minute with him.

  “Aw, Nicci, you don’t need to do anything for me. That’s just a part of the job.”

  “Listen, Trey, you’d be doing me a favor by joining me for dinner. You can give me advice about which dining spots in town are good or should be avoided.”

  Join her for dinner? He wondered if, somewhere between the cat with the abscess and the dog with the torn ear, he’d stepped into another dimension.

  He tried to chuckle, but it came out sounding like a strangled bullfrog. “You might not like the food that I do,” he said.

  She laughed, and he decided this Nicole was a totally different woman from the one he’d found a few days ago sniffing back tears in the break room.

  “I’m not a picky eater. What do you say? Are you free tonight? I realize it’s Friday night and you might already have a date. If that’s the case, just tell me. We can always go at a later time.”

  He hesitated as his stunned brain tried to assemble a response. If he had any sense at all, he’d thank her for the invitation and tell her he was too busy to go to dinner, or anywhere else with her. Ever. But when it came to women, Doc had always insisted Trey lost his mind.

  “Naw. I don’t have a date. I—uh, don’t have a thing to do except wash a sink full of dishes.”

  Hell, he might as well have told her his house stayed in a mess. And she probably didn’t like messy men. Yet the wide smile that was slowly spreading across her face said otherwise.

  “Great. I’ll pick you up around seven. How’s that?”

  She’d pick him up? Lord, he couldn’t believe this was happening. “Uh—sounds perfect.” He proceeded to give her directions on how to find his place north of town. “If you get on the wrong road or can’t find me, just call.”

  Nodding, she pulled a blank appointment card from a pocket on her skirt and handed it to him. “Better write your cell number on that—I’ll enter in my phone later. Just in case I take a wrong turn.”

  He scribbled down the number and gave it back to her, then on second thought, he asked in a bewildered voice, “Are you sure about this?”

  “Sure, I’m sure,” she said on her way out the door. “Be ready. I’m always starving.”

  Trey was still staring in wonder at the empty doorway when Cybil, a tall middle-aged woman with a head full of frizzy blond curls, walked into the room.

  “What’s wrong?” the vet assistant asked. “I just saw Nicci hurrying back down the hallway, and there’s a sheepish look on your face. Did you say something awful to her?”

  Only that he’d have dinner with her, he thought wryly.

  Turning back to the work counter, he dropped the instruments he’d used to treat the dog into a jar of disinfectant. “Not hardly. Why would I?”

  “You wouldn’t intentionally. But you open your mouth before you think. And Nicci’s a sweet girl. She’s not like those girls you dance with at the Fandango.”

  Cybil was a good friend and a dependable assistant wit
h the small-animal patients, but that didn’t mean Trey appreciated her nosiness, especially when it came to his love life, or lack of one.

  “I never thought she was,” he said flatly.

  Cybil shot him a look of warning as she pulled a trash bag from a basket and fastened the top with a tie. “I just think it would be a shame if you ended up breaking her heart.”

  Trey’s short laugh was incredulous. “Me break Nicci’s heart? That’s funny, Cybil. You ought to do a comedy act.”

  Cybil shook her head. “I’m serious. I can tell that Nicci likes you a lot. And I’d hate to see you take advantage of that.”

  Nicci liked him a lot? Not in the way Cybil was thinking.

  “Don’t worry. The only thing Nicci will ever be to me is a friend.”

  * * *

  Later that evening, Nicole tossed a piece of clothing onto the pile she’d already tried on and dismissed. Darn it, she wanted to look nice, but not overly so. And sexy, but only in a subtle way. A pair of tight jeans might give her the right sort of country flavor, but she had no idea where Trey might want to eat. Jeans might not be dressy enough. On the other hand, he might want fast food, and a fancy dress would look ridiculous.

  You’re behaving like a silly schoolgirl, Nicole. It’s not going to matter what you wear tonight. Trey Lasseter isn’t going to look at you in a romantic way. And you should’ve never been so forward to ask him out in the first place.

  Nicole grimaced at her image in the dresser mirror. Maybe she had been a little forward to ask Trey to dinner. But for the past few years everything she’d done had been for someone else, never for herself. It was time she changed.

  Seeing that the hands on the clock were fast ticking away, she finally grabbed a mint-green dress with narrow straps over the shoulders, a close-fitting bodice and a straight skirt that belted at the waist. The summer garment was cool and casual, but nice enough, she decided.