Since seeing him last week, she’d thought of him almost constantly. She closed her eyes and squeezed them tight.
You have to stop this, Veronica! You’re an engaged woman.
“Veronica, honey…you all right? You’re lookin’ a little pale,” Dottie asked in a concerned voice.
Veronica opened her eyes and smiled at her. “I’m fine. Just, uh, thinking about seeing Cameron tomorrow.” Not exactly a lie.
Dottie smiled at her. “That’s nice. I’m anxious to meet this man of yours.”
Doc walked into the reception area just as Dottie spoke. He stopped in his tracks at her words. He swung his head around to Veronica.
“Your boyfriend’s coming…here, Roni?”
“It’s her fiancé, not just a boyfriend. This man’s gonna marry her,” Dottie said smugly.
“Yes, Doc. Cameron will be here tomorrow. I’m bringing him to the retirement party. You can meet him then.” Veronica smiled.
Dottie smiled at her and turned to leave to answer the phone. As she walked past Doc, Veronica saw the woman stick her tongue out at him. His eyebrows shot up. Veronica wasn’t sure if that was simply teasing or there was something else going on between them.
Later, Veronica sat in her home massaging her sore feet. How was it possible for this little animal hospital to work her harder than the big one she’d left behind in Arizona? She knew the answer, of course. She’d had help there so she got breaks, but not here in Dry River. Here, she was constantly on the go. In one day, she might have to set breaks, administer medicine, euthanize a cat, and go out to a cattle ranch where a cow was having trouble giving birth. Suddenly, her thoughts returned to Lincoln, and she wondered how he was getting along with that stallion.
You should be thinking of Cameron, not Lincoln Cole.
“This is ridiculous! Lincoln is not at all interested in you. Get over it,” she said aloud, but then remembered how sexy good-looking he was. If he had been hot when he was younger, that was nothing compared to the man he’d become. Now, he towered over her five eight frame by at least eight inches. His coal black hair was still thick and her palms itched to touch it. And those blue eyes were still just as stunning in his tanned face.
She jerked at a sudden knocking sound on her front door. She wasn’t expecting anyone. At least not tonight, so when she opened it she couldn’t stop the shocked gasp, which emerged from her throat.
“Aren’t you going to invite me in, babe?” Cameron greeted her with a grin and a laugh.
“Cameron. You’re early. What are you doing here so soon?” She wasn’t happy about this, not at all, but she couldn’t tell him that. She knew he wouldn’t take it well.
“I wanted to surprise you.” His eyes narrowed. “Can I come in?”
Veronica felt awful about the way she’d greeted him, but she really hated surprises. She stepped back allowing him entrance. “Of course, I’m sorry. I’m just tired…long day.”
Cameron smiled at her. “I was able to get off from work early so decided to fly in tonight instead of waiting till morning. I rented a car and once I found Dry River, I was able to find the animal hospital. I was surprised the place was closed so when a woman walked by, I stopped her and asked if she knew you. She told me that Doctor Bailey lived behind the hospital. So here I am.” His eyes ran over her and stopped on her hair. “I’ve never seen you wear your hair like that.”
She had her long, blonde hair pulled up in a ponytail, which was very much not her usual style. It was usually up in a bun. He leaned in and kissed her. When he tried to deepen the kiss, she pulled back from him. He frowned at her.
She shrugged. “I said I’m tired, Cameron. I was on the go all day today and I just want to soak in my big tub. The phone is over there with the phonebook, you can call a hotel.”
“Call a hotel? What the hell’s wrong with you, Veronica?” She heard the shocked anger in his voice. They’d been sleeping together for three months so she knew he’d planned to stay with her while he was here.
“I’m tired! Don’t you get it? I’m totally exhausted and all you want to do is sleep with me.” Veronica rubbed her temples as they started to throb.
“Of course, I want to sleep with you. I haven’t seen you in two weeks. Then when I do, I get this attitude.” He stared at her.
Veronica closed the door realizing anyone passing by would hear them arguing, and then walked to the couch. She lay down on it and waved her hand for Cameron to take a seat. She watched him set his suitcase down and move toward a chair, glancing around her small home. She tried to see it through his eyes. The couch and chair were red cloth with a coffee table sitting in front of the couch and an end table beside the chair. A large braided rug sat centered in the room. The TV hung mounted above the fireplace mantel. There were hanging baskets of houseplants at the windows, which she had not put curtains or blinds on because she liked the light. Four large palm trees sat in each corner. She loved her home, but Cameron had already started to sneer at it.
“This is the best you could do? With the money you make?”
Veronica sat up and glared at him. “It’s convenient for me to live here. I could get calls anytime of the night and would need to get to the hospital quickly. And, since I bought the house along with the practice, this is rent free.” She spread her arms wide at the space. She was so angry, she couldn’t see straight. “Just because you live in a huge new condo, doesn’t mean I have to anymore. I love my little house. Maybe you would be better off in a hotel.”
Cameron dropped his coat on the chair she’d meant him to sit in, and walked to the couch. Squatting down in front of her, he took her hands in his. “I’m sorry, babe. I love you and I never want to make you angry with me. I’m not dissing your home. It’s just that I’m so used to the condo that…well, this is just a bit of a shock. It’s a nice place.” He shrugged. “Not what I’m used to, that’s all. Can we just forget this and move on?”
Veronica stared at him. “Move on to the bedroom, you mean.” It wasn’t a question.
Cameron sighed, dropped her hands, and stood. He walked around the living room as if looking it over then came back to stand near the chair, but didn’t sit down. “I don’t know what’s going on. Yes, I know you’re tired, but I was hoping you’d be happy to see me. Hoping I’d get a warmer welcome when I put in the effort to come early after working all day too. Not this cold shoulder attitude.”
Veronica felt about an inch tall. He looked so confused. She pushed herself up from the couch and moved to stand in front of him. She slid her arms around his waist and pressed her cheek against his shoulder. He didn’t tower over her like Lincoln did.
Stop it!
She took Cameron’s hand and led him to the bedroom. She could do this, she thought, as she got on the bed. But once he started kissing her and taking her clothes off then his, all she could do was close her eyes and wait for it to be over. It genuinely pained her to realize that Cameron had come to mean so little to her since seeing Lincoln again. She was a fool to think about a man she hadn’t seen in years. She mentally shook her head. Besides, Lincoln would never want her again and that was no one’s fault but hers.
THE RETIREMENT PARTY was in full swing when Veronica and Cameron arrived. She saw Dottie heading their way as they entered and internally cringed at what Cameron would think of her.
“Hi, Roni. Is this your man?” Dottie kissed Veronica’s cheek.
“Yes, this is my fiancé, Dr. Cameron Richardson. Cameron, this is Dottie Gleason, Doc Gleason’s wife.” Veronica smiled.
Dottie stuck her hand out to him and he took it in his. “What kind of doctor are you, Cameron?”
“I’m a dentist in Phoenix. I own one of the best practices in the area,” Cameron told her. Dottie frowned at him as if she disapproved.
“Are you going to be moving your practice here? We already have a really good dentist here.” She frowned even more when he laughed.
“No. I won’t be moving here. Once Veronica ge
ts over her infatuation with this town, we’ll be back together in Phoenix.”
Veronica saw Dottie’s head whip around to look at her with raised eyebrows. Veronica shook her head slightly with a small roll of her eyes, trying to let Dottie know that she wasn’t going to leave the one thing she’d wanted for as long as she could remember. She must have communicated it because Dottie winked at her. She took Veronica’s arm and led her over to where Doc was sitting.
Veronica glanced over her shoulder to see Cameron following with his hands stuffed in his pockets. His eyes were scanning the crowd. She could see the distaste on his face. Veronica clenched her jaw at the snub he was giving her hometown. Doc shoved his chair back from the table he was sitting at and stood when they got closer to him. Veronica introduced him to Cameron and they shook hands. Doc smiled at him.
Veronica happened to turn to look around to see who else had shown up when she spotted Lincoln with two other men. The crowd parted like the Red Sea as they moved forward. Surely, that wasn’t Dakota Walker and Storm Bateman with Lincoln. Yet, the closer they got, she knew that was exactly who they were. Not only had Lincoln grown into a tall handsome man, but at least two of his friends had too. Her breath actually caught when she stared at Storm. He was drop-dead gorgeous. She shifted her eyes to Dakota, and thought the same about him, but when she looked at Lincoln, she couldn’t breathe. The three best-looking men in the room were heading straight toward them, presumably to see Doc.
“I heard you were back, Roni. It’s good to see you, again.” Storm hugged her.
She smiled, and said hello to him then turned her gaze on Dakota. All three of them had grown into very tall men. Dakota hugged her, and then she introduced them all to Cameron. When Cameron put his hand out, Storm and Dakota shook it, but Lincoln glanced away. Veronica heard Cameron mutter, jerk, under his breath. Lincoln whipped his head back around and narrowed his eyes at Cameron, but Cameron didn’t back down from him. That surprised her. Cameron had never been confrontational—ever.
Veronica watched as Lincoln turned his head in her direction and allowed his eyes to travel in a brash manner over her, from head to toe. She could feel her cheeks flaming and she noticed Cameron become tense beside her. He wrapped his arm around her waist in a clearly possessive manner. One side of Lincoln’s mouth curved up into a smirk. Cameron pulled himself up to his full height, but Lincoln still towered over him. No two men were more opposite each other. Cameron was light skinned, short blond hair with brown eyes. Lincoln was tan skinned, thick black hair and had blue eyes. Complete opposites. Lincoln suddenly gave them an abrupt nod and turned to walk away. Dakota and Storm quickly followed him. So like the old days, she thought. Veronica felt the air go out of Cameron as he relaxed.
“What an ass he is. Has he always been like that?” he asked her running his fingers through his hair in a clearly relieved fashion.
“I’m not sure. He’s four years older than me, so we didn’t have a lot of contact,” Veronica explained.
Cameron burst out laughing, “I’m sure he’d like some contact with you now, the cocky son of a bitch.”
There was no way Veronica was going to explain her past with Lincoln to Cameron. She looked to where the three men had gone, and how women were now surrounding them. Lincoln was drinking a beer, sitting on a stool, with some young woman standing between his legs. He didn’t have a hand on her, but the woman didn’t seem to mind. She seemed content enough just to be near him. Veronica knew how she felt. Cameron caught her looking their way.
“Is there something over there you like, Veronica?” He whispered near her ear.
Veronica spun around and glared at him. “No. Don’t be silly.”
Cameron shrugged. “Some women like men like that…that bad boy image. Do you?”
Veronica shook her head. It wasn’t some women, fool. It was most women. Yes, she was one of them but she’d never admit it to Cameron.
“No, Cameron, I don’t.” She internally chastised herself for the denial.
You’re getting far too good at lying about Lincoln Cole.
As she glanced around the room, she gave an audible gasp when she saw Lucas Taggart walk in with Emily Walters, who Veronica could have sworn was married to Adam Walters. She remembered getting a wedding invitation quite a few years ago, but she hadn’t been able to make the wedding. Why was she with Lucas then? Behind them, she saw Montgomery Bradford walk in with a beautiful redhead on his arm. Emily smiled when she spotted her, and Veronica felt pleased when her old friend headed toward her with Lucas in tow.
Veronica smiled and hugged her when she got to her. Lucas stood behind her, grinning. He’d been so hot when he was younger, but he was completely handsome now. Those dark eyes of his were shining with happiness as he placed a hand on Emily’s shoulder.
“Roni, it is so nice to see you,” Emily said with genuine joy.
“You too, Emily, how are you?”
“Fine…you remember Lucas, don’t you?”
“Of course I do. How are you, Lucas?” Veronica smiled and reached out her hand, which he shook and released.
“Great, Roni. It’s good to see you back.”
Veronica raised her eyebrows in curiosity when they clasped hands. “When did this happen?”
Lucas laughed. “We were married a while back. We didn’t have a big wedding or anything. No invitations were sent out.”
“Married? Oh, my God. I’m so happy for you both. I seemed to have missed a lot.”
“I’ll tell you all about it one day. Lucas and I have two little boys too.”
Veronica shook her head as if to clear cobwebs. “Whoa! And Mont?” She inclined her head toward the handsome man with a redhead on his arm.
They laughed. “He’s married to Isabella Lofton. They have twins…a boy, and a girl, and she’s pregnant again. That’s another long story,” Emily told her. “You’ll love her. We all do.”
Veronica was about to say something when Mont and Isabella walked up to her. Mont hugged her, and then introduced her to his wife. Isabella smiled and shook her hand.
“Hey, girl,” Chloe Baxter said from beside her.
“Oh, Chloe, it’s so good to see you,” Veronica said hugging her. She’d seen her a few times on her visits to Zellene’s over the week, but hadn’t really had a chance to talk to her.
Lucas wrapped his arm around Emily’s shoulders. All five of them had turned into the most handsome men, but Lincoln just made her shiver with sexual energy when she looked at him. She’d never wanted a man more and that was wrong on so many levels. Engaged, she feared her fiancé didn’t affect her, not the way Lincoln did.
Lincoln, Dakota, and Storm had made their way back over to where she stood. To join Lucas and Montgomery, she reckoned. Veronica loved talking with all of them. It seemed that most of the town accepted them now as good men instead of the bad boys they’d been. She noticed a little distance between Chloe and Storm. She was frowning at Chloe when she suddenly looked at Veronica and winked. Veronica chuckled. Not much bothered Chloe, except her parents but that was a whole other story too. Cooper Lang was the only bad boy missing from the group.
The party went on for hours. When it finally started winding down, everyone toasted Doc and Dottie, wishing both the best. Doc made a speech and told everyone to be nice to his replacement. Veronica laughed and raised her glass to him. She kissed him and Dottie both on the cheek then left with Cameron to head home. She sure hoped he didn’t want to have sex again. The last thing she wanted to do was go through that again.
Lucky, for her, it was very late when they got home, and Cameron’s trip had caught up with him. He fell asleep almost immediately. She silently thanked God for small favors.
Had Lincoln left with that woman he’d been talking to earlier, she wondered as she turned the pages of a magazine. Was he making love to her even now? Veronica grew anxious at the thought.
Lucky bitch. Veronica had a suspicion that Lincoln wouldn’t be in it just for himself…
unlike Cameron. She was ashamed to admit to anyone that Cameron had never given her an orgasm. Was it her? Was she frigid? Even the first time they’d made love, she’d gotten nothing out of it. He was only the second lover she’d ever had. Her first was in her freshman year at college. They’d both been so young and both virgins, so she hadn’t experienced any pleasure then either.
She looked over to Cameron. He was snoring. She reached into her nightstand, got her earplugs out, and stuck her cell phone in her pajama bottoms pocket. She’d feel it vibrate, even if she couldn’t hear it ring. Probably the best action she was going to get in bed tonight.
“ALL RIGHT, KING. I’M getting a little tired of you not wanting to cooperate.”
Linc walked slowly toward the white stallion, talking in a low voice. The horse backed away from him, but no longer put his ears back as before. His legs had healed and he was pawing the ground with one hoofed foot. Linc moved closer and the horse bobbed his head up and down, snorting. Reaching out a hand, Linc ran his hand across the nose of the horse. When he saw that the horse wasn’t trying to get away from him, he stepped closer. King stayed where he was.
“What a gorgeous horse you are,” Linc crooned. “You just need a little love and attention, don’t you, boy?”
He moved slowly alongside the horse. He needed to move his hands all over the horse to get him used to his touch so he ran his hand down the horse’s back, and then to his flank. He moved back around to the front and rubbed the horse’s ears, all the while talking in a low tone of voice. Moving around to the other side, he did the same thing. After he’d done so, he moved to stand in front of King and just stood there, looking at the horse. King snorted and then butted his head against Linc’s chest making him grin.
“Just an old softie, aren’t you, boy? You want everyone to think you’re big and bad, but you’re not. You just want attention like everyone else.”
Linc rubbed the horse’s velvety nose and started to walk away. The horse followed him. When Linc stopped, the horse butted him in his back. Linc chuckled. Walking over to the wall, he took a halter and reins down. Moving back to the horse, he slowly moved the halter over King’s head and put the reins on. Taking the reins, he led the horse from the stall. He now wanted to put King with other horses to see how he would do. Horses learn from watching each other. Linc walked him to the corral and the other horses began neighing, welcoming their new friend.
Lincoln Bad Boys of Dry River, Wyoming Book 4 Page 3