by Roni Adams
Charli was the first one to move and reached Beth's side with open arms. “They're worse than a bunch of old gossiping women."
Tyler watched the two women hug, but his concentration was entirely on the small petite blonde who had the power to crush him like a bug with one look. He'd had a lot to drink last night, but he remembered begging her to take him back. Worse, he also remembered her turning him down.
Beth stepped away from Charli. “Where's Cord?"
Buck set the paper down and picked up his fork. “He went out to the barn to see Sam. Did you need something?"
She shook her head. “I can't get the internet to work at the clinic and I've used up my limited tech tricks."
Tyler stood. “I'll look at it for you.” It was the perfect excuse to spend some time with her. He could drag this out all morning if he was lucky.
She nodded reluctantly, her gaze bouncing off his and landing somewhere in the distance. “Thanks. Clinic's open, go on in and see what you can do. I'm heading into town. Anyone need anything?"
Tyler's heart sank. “You aren't going to be at the clinic?"
She shook her head. “No, I've got some errands to take care of and a few calls to make.” Spinning on her heels, she went back the way she came.
Tyler sprang up and followed her. “Does your computer have a password on it?"
Beth pulled open the front door before looking back over her shoulder. She shook her head. “Nope."
"What have you tried so far? Did you reboot?"
She glared. “I said I'd tried all the usual things. I think there's a problem with the connection. Just let Cord fix it. He's done it before."
Tyler didn't know a ton about computers, but if Beth needed something, even as small as this, he was going to try and fix it. She turned around and kept on walking. He followed. “Beth?” She ignored him and kept going. “Will you wait a minute?"
She stopped but didn't immediately turn around to face him. He reached her side and touched her arm. When she looked up, narrowed eyes revealed her annoyance.
He dropped his hand. “I'm sorry, you know, for the conversation. My brothers are idiots, you know that."
"They aren't the problem, you are."
He frowned.
Beth tucked her short hair behind her ear. “Why did you come back? Why now?"
Tyler searched her blue eyes. They were full of anger and hurt, but also of curiosity. Before he could respond, she went on.
"I was just starting to get my life back on track. Things were going good, and I was actually happy for the first time since you walked out on me."
Tyler hated the way she phrased it but couldn't refute her words. She looked away towards her clinic and small cottage. He wished he knew what she was thinking. Then again, maybe it was better he didn't know.
"Now what?” She swung her gaze back. “Okay, so you left me a note and I didn't read it. I'm sorry for that, but you're the one who left. Now, after eighteen months, you decide you've made a mistake? You come back and I'm supposed to welcome you home with open arms? To pick up where we left off?” She shook her head. “I can't do that. I don't want to do that.” Her voice broke.
His heart squeezed as shame washed over him. He wanted to pull her into his arms and take away all the pain he'd caused and was still causing. She was right. Deep down, that was exactly what he wanted to happen. He wanted her to simply forgive him and give him another chance.
But he had no right anymore; he'd given that up the moment he left. No right to her and no right to her future. No matter how much it was going to kill him, he had to face the fact that no matter what he wanted, Beth wanted to move on. She didn't want him. Physically, he knew he could change her mind, but she'd only regret their weakness and resent him more.
He took a physical step back. “Okay. I get it. I'll back off, leave you alone."
She held his gaze for a long second and then walked away without another word.
Beth drove off the ranch. She couldn't get away fast enough. Her eyes burned with unshed tears, and her head ached from a sleepless night.
Tyler's face and his pleading look as she walked away haunted her. She drew a long shaky breath and let the cool air blow in the window of her truck. The song that came on the radio was one of Tyler's favorites and it mocked her. She rested her chin on her hand. Whether or not she loved him was never the issue; she would never not love Tyler. The other night, when she'd made love with him, for a time she'd begun to believe that maybe there was a chance. But in the light of day, she knew that while the physical relationship hadn't changed a bit, everything else had. She wasn't the same girl that Tyler left behind. Unfortunately, however, that girl was still inside and warring with the woman she'd become. The woman who knew, regardless of what he said or did, Tyler had left her before and he'd leave again.
It only now occurred to her that he hadn't answered her question. Why come back now? Obviously, a visit home for the holidays was understood, but to stay? What was his motivation? She shook her head. No, once the holidays were past, once the excitement of him coming home had worn off and everyone settled back into their day to day lives, he'd grow bored. He'd come to resent his brothers orders, fight with Sara about the horses when she returned to her job, buck heads with everyone once more, and then in his frustration, he'd disappear, again.
Beth turned the truck into the small community parking lot and climbed out. A truck drove by, then his brake lights came on, and backed up. Beth frowned, wondering who it was.
The SUV wasn't familiar, but the man who stepped out of it and turned to face her sure was. Her heart swelled and she scrambled to get free of her seat belt and out of the truck. “Doc!"
She flung herself at him and, despite his seventy plus years, he caught her up in a tight hold. “Whoa there, little girl.” He patted her back and set her back on her feet. “That's quite a homecoming for an old geezer."
Beth assessed him as she stared him up and down. “You look great. This travel stuff sure agrees with you."
Doc stepped back and nodded. “Can't say I'm not enjoying every minute, but it's good to be home for Christmas. What are you doing in town? Work or pleasure?"
She shrugged and glanced around. “I had to run a few errands, but you know it's never not work.” She patted the cell phone at her hip.
"You got time for a cup of coffee? Already had breakfast with Cole, but figured I'd wander into town and see what kind of trouble I could get in."
"You bet."
Feeling lighter than she had in days, Beth took his arm and walked across the street to the diner. The small restaurant was bustling for mid-morning, but they soon found a table.
"Angela, how about two of those cinnamon buns your Mama always makes,” Doc asked the waitress as she set two cups of coffee on the table.
"You got it, Doc. Extra icing, right?"
"Is there any other way?"
Beth shook her head. “All that sugar isn't good for you."
"Don't be worrying about what's good for me or what isn't, there, little girl. I'm doing just fine."
Beth stirred her coffee. She hadn't seen Doc in person in over six months and there was so much to tell him, and yet nothing came to mind. “I can't believe you stayed away from here for half the year."
The older man set his coffee down and looked directly at her. “You and that partner of yours needed some space. Even after a year of retirement, the minute I got back to town, folks would come to me with their issues. It was time for me to make like horse crap and hit the trail."
She laughed, then her smile softened. “Cole missed you."
"He's another one needs to cut the apron strings. That boy needs to get married and have himself some youngin's."
Beth's cheeks grew hot and she quickly drank more of her coffee.
"Don't worry, little lady, I'm not suggesting anything. If you and Cole were going to work out, it would have happened long before this."
She set her coffee cup down. “What d
o you mean?"
Doc sat back, his tanned arms, still muscular after years of hard work, stretched along the back of the booth. “You don't love my son, not like a woman needs to."
"No, and I'm sorry.” She sighed.
"Nothing to be sorry about. When it's right, it's right. My Emma and I, when we met, fireworks, pure and simple. We couldn't get to the altar fast enough."
Beth grinned. It wasn't hard to imagine Doc and Cole's mother with the hots for each other. Doc had that type of personality, and she could only imagine once he set eyes on the local farm girl, she'd have had no choice but to ride the tidal wave with him. “She was a wonderful woman."
Doc's expression shifted slightly. There was a time when he'd lost himself in drinking when Emma died of cancer. If it hadn't been for Cole, and actually for her too, he might not have come back around. He nodded and Beth reached out and squeezed the hand that rested on the table.
"Enough of the past,” he said, patting hers. “You know I want to hear it all. What was your worst case so far and what's been your best?"
Walking back out onto Main Street over an hour later, Beth was surprised that in all their ‘shop’ talk, her old friend hadn't once mentioned Tyler.
His large, meaty hand came down on her shoulder. “I'm only in town through the New Year, but I'll get over to see the clinic and that new foal before I head back out."
Beth would be sad to see him go again, but the terror she felt the last time he left was gone. She had a confidence she didn't have last year. She and Grant were slowly filling his shoes, and even though they'd never be Doc, folks had finally stopped asking her to call her old mentor to get a second opinion.
"Sounds good.” She reached up and kissed his cheek. “Have a good Christmas and give my best to Catherine.” Doc and Cole would be spending Christmas Day with his sister up in Austin.
She stepped back, but the look on his face made her frown. “What?"
"Don't make the same mistake I made."
"You? I thought you didn't make mistakes?” she teased.
"I made the biggest one of all when I put that job before my family and before my personal life. Don't do that, Beth."
"Doc..."
He shook his head. “I'm not telling you your business. If you love him and he loves you, you'll work it out. But don't let it be a decision between your job and your heart. That's nonsense. You're a damn good vet. You worked under one of the best.” He grinned, but then he wagged his finger in her face. “Remember, you can be a good vet anywhere in this country; it doesn't have to be in Sweet Meadow."
Beth tucked her hair behind her ear. “This is home, Doc. I care about these people, and my family is here."
"That situation I can't help with, but I'll tell you that if I find out what's holding you back from happiness is that practice, I'll..."
"It's not the practice, Doc, not now. I'll admit that last year it would have been hard for me to tell you I didn't want to take over for you, but now it's a part of me, a real important part. I don't want to leave."
"All I'm saying is, I lost the most important person in my life at a way too early age. The time I missed with her, the regrets I have will never go away. I don't want you to do the same thing."
Beth nodded. “I know. I understand."
Someone called his name and he turned to wave, then gave her a hug. “Have a good Christmas and give my best to the family."
Beth watched him walk away. Doc always felt he'd short-shifted his wife and son with the hours he put in as the only vet. Never once had Cole complained to her about the childhood he'd had; the years he and his mother were alone for dinners and sometimes entire days while Doc was working. Cole was just like his mother: very understanding and patient, willing to do whatever it took to make life easier for his father.
She shoved her hands in her light jacket and walked up the street towards the bank. Her life would have been less complicated if she'd only fallen in love with Cole Pritchard.
Tyler never understood, nor was he patient. All the years she'd worked with Doc, even before she went to school, Tyler would fume when she had to change plans with him because of a vet emergency. As patient and calm and easy going as he was around horses, the same man had none of that when it came to her job coming before him. Just another reason why she was better off without him. No matter how much her heart thought otherwise.
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Chapter Nine
Beth pulled up to Sara's house, grabbed the bags from the front seat, and climbed out. She loved the house her sister and brother-in-law built. Although big, because they both wanted a large family, it still held a warm feeling to it. Casual and homey, and anyone who spent any time here immediately felt comfortable. There was no pretentiousness to this house. The front porch wrapped around to the back of the house, and just like at home, everyone seemed to go in through the back door.
She shoved open the back porch door, slipped off her boots and hollered into the bright kitchen. “Hey, where are you?"
From overhead she heard her sister holler down, so she deposited the bags on the counter and headed up the back stairs.
Voices came from the nursery and she walked in to find Sara sitting in the rocking chair with Charli cross legged on the plush carpet next to her. “What are you guys doing?"
Charli shrugged. “Yakking and putting some more things away for the baby."
Sara rocked back and forth, her hands resting on her swollen belly. “Charli and her Dad bought this kid so much stuff we'll need to build a second room just for his new toys."
"His? Is it a boy? You didn't tell me that.” Charli stood up and Beth immediately felt like the runt of the litter.
"I know it's a boy. Something inside me just feels it."
"I'm going to laugh when you get a little girl.” Their friend walked across the room and stared at a picture on the wall.
The woman made everything she did look sexy, even walking. Had she slept with Tyler? Beth had no clue where that thought came from, but a very vivid image of the long legged redhead rolling around in bed with Tyler made her stomach clench. She'd known Charli her entire life, but they'd never been close, since Charli was mainly Sara's friend. She'd never spent much time with her—how much time had she spent with Tyler?
"Did you get the stuff at the store?” As Sara started to climb out of the rocking chair, Beth watched Charli moved to help her. Sara took hold of the other woman's arm and smiled in gratitude. Beth frowned. Any time she'd tried to help her sister she'd gotten her head bit off.
"Yeah, I can't believe you've gone through all the peanut butter that you bought the other day,” Beth muttered.
"I know. I'm eating it on everything. I actually smeared it on a steak the other night."
Beth pulled a face as Sara walked to the door.
"I'm going to make a sandwich."
"Okay."
Charli didn't follow and neither did Beth. She wanted to know; she needed to know.
"Nope."
Beth frowned. “What?"
The redhead pinned her with her blue gaze and crossed her arms over her ample chest. “No, Tyler and I didn't get it on."
Her cheeks burned and she looked away, fussing with the baby's blanket. She folded it and laid it on the edge of the crib. “I wasn't even wondering about that or thinking it."
"Yes, you were. You've been thinking it since he told you he'd spent the past year and a half with us."
Beth lifted her chin. “It doesn't matter; it's none of my business. Tyler is free to do whatever he wants with whomever he wants."
"Yeah.” Charli turned back to the small dresser and continued to fold the tiny outfits.
Beth shook her head. Obviously, the other woman was on Tyler's side completely and she wasn't going to stay in here with that hanging heavy between them. “I'm going to help Sara."
"Did he tell you why he didn't come back at Christmas last year?"
Beth paused. She assumed it was be
cause she hadn't come to him in September. “No. I just figured he didn't want to come home."
"He was coming home ... but he had a car accident and ended up in the hospital."
Beth's heart rose to her throat. “What?"
"He wanted to surprise everyone. He left in the middle of a wicked storm on Christmas Eve morning.” Charli closed the dresser drawer and opened another one. “The truck went off the road and into a gulley. There was some internal damage and he ended up having to have surgery. He was in the hospital for several weeks and made me promise not to tell anyone. He didn't want anyone leaving the Double B for the holidays because of him.” She folded the tiny undershirts and set them in the drawer.
Beth's jaw dropped. Tyler had been hurt and hadn't told anyone? And what about Charli, why hadn't she called? “I can't believe you didn't call his brothers! What kind of friend are you?"
The other woman whirled on her. “Tyler is a grown man, in case you haven't noticed. If he says don't call the family, I'm not calling them. But if the accident had been the slightest bit worse, if the doctors had told me it was life threatening, then of course I would have called."
"You know how close this family is; you knew they would want to know."
"Precisely. They would all have descended on him in the hospital, and what good would that have served? He was in no shape to deal with everyone. He felt guilty enough without ruining everyone's Christmas by having them in Abilene, or worse, Cord having him transferred home."
Was the other woman really that cold? Did she have no clue what it would have meant for them to know he was hurt? “Still, you have no idea. You don't have a family like this. You don't get it."
The redhead shrugged. “Maybe, maybe not. But I know when I make someone a promise I keep it. I don't say one thing and do something else."
Beth frowned and slammed her hands on her hips. “That's pretty wild considering the man you were protecting broke his promise to me and walked away from his family. He doesn't deserve your loyalty."
A harsh blue gaze slammed into hers. “I think the world of Tyler. I'm amazed at his ability with horses. I'm blown away when he takes a practically wild animal and gently, patiently turns it into a horse that someone could trust their child to ride. But what I don't get is why he obsesses so much over what you want."