Bad Boy Romance: Nick (Romantic Suspense Alpha Male Romance) (New Adult Rock Star Contemporary Short Stories) (Hard Rock Star Series Book 2) by Jade Allen Page A
Authors: Jade Allen
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it could
house the stables and training area. Wow! This place must have cost a
fortune, she thought as she brought the car to a halt.
She parked in front of the house
and took a deep breath, addressing her steering wheel as if it were a piece of
her, “There is no reason to be nervous. I’m trained for this, and while it’s
been a few years since my last equine patient, I know what I'm doing… I
think.”
Vanessa got out of her car,
pulling her medical bag with her. The tinkling of glass and rustling of plastic
spoke of a newly-stocked bag of vials, syringes and tools. She also grabbed her
laptop bag and slung the strap over her shoulder. She was in no way afraid to
admit if she needed to research symptoms, and with one of the largest
veterinary databases just a click away, it seemed silly to not use it.
Slamming the door shut, she
pushed her sunglasses on top of her head and made her way up the path toward
the house. A large, rugged man opened the door before she even made it up the
porch stairs.
“You’re the vet?” he asked,
calling down to her. Vanessa looked up at the man’s broad flannel-clad chest;
she was too short to quite make it to his eyes without stepping back off the
steps.
“I am. Sorry I’m a bit late.”
She didn’t like being late, especially to her first job in a new town.
He waved a hand at her. “Ah, no
big deal; it always happens to people the first time they come here. I reckon
the driveway puts another 10 minutes on the clock,” he said as he jogged down
the stairs, reaching for her laptop bag as a gesture of goodwill. “Let me get
that for you Miss—?”
Relieved of the cumbersome bag,
Vanessa smiled. “Thanks. My name's Dr. Vanessa Burke, but please—call me
Vanessa.”
He nodded. “It’s nice to meet
you, Vanessa. I’m Gabriel Wolff, but you can call me Gabe.” He motioned to the
barn, “Let’s get straight to business. I’ve recently accepted a new batch of
former racehorses from Benny Diamond for retraining—”
“Benny Diamond? As in, the Benny Diamond who bred the most successful two-year-old racer, Whisper Free?”
Gabe chuckled, “Yes, as a matter
of fact, it is. I’ve been retraining his horses for a while now. The only thing
is, three days ago, they all started getting lethargic. Yesterday, one of them
looked really unsteady on her feet. I haven’t seen this before.”
“Is your core business
retraining ex-racehorses?”
“Yes, mostly. Even though
racehorses are often then most unflappable because of their exposure to loud
and unusual environments, a lot of trainers don’t have the time or patience to
reschool horses to become showjumpers, dressage horses, trail horses, even pony
clubbers, and there are lots of people and parents who will fork out good money
for a decent horse. I pick them up from the auctions, or trainers send them to
me directly. I’d love to fill my pastures with every broken horse I ever find.”
Vanessa had never seen a man so
endeared by horses before. Without thinking she placed her small hand on his
arm and squeezed, her hand cupping Gabe’s workman’s bicep by accident. He tensed
under her touch, but didn’t say anything. “I’ll do my best to figure this out.
But you’re going to have to fill me in on their routines, and you can’t leave
anything out. The tiniest thing can be the cause.”
A rare grin cracked Gabe’s
sullen face, “Hank picked well; I wouldn’t expect anything less. I have a few
ranch hands that you can talk to as well. Jimmy is my number two, but today’s
his day off. You know, I can grab his number for you before you leave if you
need more information—that is, if you don’t need to come back later or
tomorrow.” His eyes trailed down Vanessa’s body and she blushed. “But I’m
around most of the time.”
Vanessa wasn’t sure if it was
the shadow of the barn in the heat, or the way Gabe’s eyes lingered on her
curves, but her skin rippled with goosebumps. A man hadn’t looked at
house the stables and training area. Wow! This place must have cost a
fortune, she thought as she brought the car to a halt.
She parked in front of the house
and took a deep breath, addressing her steering wheel as if it were a piece of
her, “There is no reason to be nervous. I’m trained for this, and while it’s
been a few years since my last equine patient, I know what I'm doing… I
think.”
Vanessa got out of her car,
pulling her medical bag with her. The tinkling of glass and rustling of plastic
spoke of a newly-stocked bag of vials, syringes and tools. She also grabbed her
laptop bag and slung the strap over her shoulder. She was in no way afraid to
admit if she needed to research symptoms, and with one of the largest
veterinary databases just a click away, it seemed silly to not use it.
Slamming the door shut, she
pushed her sunglasses on top of her head and made her way up the path toward
the house. A large, rugged man opened the door before she even made it up the
porch stairs.
“You’re the vet?” he asked,
calling down to her. Vanessa looked up at the man’s broad flannel-clad chest;
she was too short to quite make it to his eyes without stepping back off the
steps.
“I am. Sorry I’m a bit late.”
She didn’t like being late, especially to her first job in a new town.
He waved a hand at her. “Ah, no
big deal; it always happens to people the first time they come here. I reckon
the driveway puts another 10 minutes on the clock,” he said as he jogged down
the stairs, reaching for her laptop bag as a gesture of goodwill. “Let me get
that for you Miss—?”
Relieved of the cumbersome bag,
Vanessa smiled. “Thanks. My name's Dr. Vanessa Burke, but please—call me
Vanessa.”
He nodded. “It’s nice to meet
you, Vanessa. I’m Gabriel Wolff, but you can call me Gabe.” He motioned to the
barn, “Let’s get straight to business. I’ve recently accepted a new batch of
former racehorses from Benny Diamond for retraining—”
“Benny Diamond? As in, the Benny Diamond who bred the most successful two-year-old racer, Whisper Free?”
Gabe chuckled, “Yes, as a matter
of fact, it is. I’ve been retraining his horses for a while now. The only thing
is, three days ago, they all started getting lethargic. Yesterday, one of them
looked really unsteady on her feet. I haven’t seen this before.”
“Is your core business
retraining ex-racehorses?”
“Yes, mostly. Even though
racehorses are often then most unflappable because of their exposure to loud
and unusual environments, a lot of trainers don’t have the time or patience to
reschool horses to become showjumpers, dressage horses, trail horses, even pony
clubbers, and there are lots of people and parents who will fork out good money
for a decent horse. I pick them up from the auctions, or trainers send them to
me directly. I’d love to fill my pastures with every broken horse I ever find.”
Vanessa had never seen a man so
endeared by horses before. Without thinking she placed her small hand on his
arm and squeezed, her hand cupping Gabe’s workman’s bicep by accident. He tensed
under her touch, but didn’t say anything. “I’ll do my best to figure this out.
But you’re going to have to fill me in on their routines, and you can’t leave
anything out. The tiniest thing can be the cause.”
A rare grin cracked Gabe’s
sullen face, “Hank picked well; I wouldn’t expect anything less. I have a few
ranch hands that you can talk to as well. Jimmy is my number two, but today’s
his day off. You know, I can grab his number for you before you leave if you
need more information—that is, if you don’t need to come back later or
tomorrow.” His eyes trailed down Vanessa’s body and she blushed. “But I’m
around most of the time.”
Vanessa wasn’t sure if it was
the shadow of the barn in the heat, or the way Gabe’s eyes lingered on her
curves, but her skin rippled with goosebumps. A man hadn’t looked at
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