Page 16 of A Stable Daddy

Jim whistles appreciatively and slugs me in the shoulder. “Well, I’ll be damned, Oz.”

The best thing about this particular station? The guys are all as rugged and masculine as they come, but they’re also the mostaccepting, open folk I’ve ever had the good fortune to work with. Not a homophobic or bigoted or racist man among them. Rob must have some kind of hiring-voodoo luck charm or something.

“Yeah,” I nod, my attention drawn back to Ryan talking to Dusty outside Jemima’s stall. “It was a one-time thing. Never thought I’d see him again. I mean, it happened back in Brisbane.”

“Whoa, Brissie? No shit? That’s crazy, mate.”

“Right?”

“If you believe in signs from the universe, you should probably think of this as one of ’em.”

“I’mwayahead of you, buddy,” I assure him, frowning with disappointment when Ryan disappears out of view, finally entering Jemima’s stall. “It definitely feels like somethin’. I’d be stupid to ignore it.”

Jim claps his hand on my shoulder and squeezes. “Righto. Well, I’ll be gettin’ my arse back to Darcy before she thinks I’ve forgotten her. You go keep an eye on your man.”

Have I mentioned how much I love it here?

* * *

Ryan and I exchange numbers after he finishes declaring Jemima and her foal perfectly healthy. We all walk back to the main house to see him off, and Dusty blushes bright red when Ryan casually says he’d make a great vet nurse for how well he followed the directions over the phone.

I’ve got to admit that watching Ryan in his element is just as hot as seeing him subbing for me. He’s confident and intelligent, and he clearly loves animals just as much as I guessed he might.

If I’d thought he was the perfect Boy for me before today, this whole reunion experience is pushing that into dangerous waters, the kind where I start thinking of him as perfect for me in everypossible way….and, yes, I know that sounds a little crazy. But, remember: I’m the guy who didn’t do his due diligence before packing up my life to be with a man who wasmarried. To a woman.

“It’s getting late and the boys are all knocking off for the night,” Rob says, having also come out to thank the vet who saved his horses’ lives, “why don’t you join us for dinner before you drive back out to Denham? I’d feel better knowing you’ve got some food in you before you’ve gotta make that drive back.”

Ryan glances over in my direction with hesitation and I grin back at him, nodding. “We’d love for you to join us. Maybe regale us with stories about your job.”

Rob laughs. “That’ll make a difference from you lot telling yarns about the cattle.” He rolls his eyes as he grins back at Ryan. “They almost had me convinced that the herding dogs were magical.”

“They’re very intelligent dogs,” I insist. “One of the calves got left behind in the back paddock and none of us noticed, but Tilly knew. She hounded us all until we followed her out there.”

“Heh,” Dusty snorts with amusement, “hounded. ’Coz she’s a dog.”

Ryan laughs heartily at that, and it makes my heart sing.

On the night we met, he was so down and so broken, I had wanted nothing more than to see him smile. Tonight, I’m getting to see him laugh and joke with my new friends and found family, and it’s doing things to me that take me right back to those same dangerous waters I mentioned before.

He’s gorgeous. With the last rays of the setting sun lighting his skin up in orange tones, he’s glowing with beauty, both inside and out. His eyes sparkle with mischief and intelligence, and that smile makes my knees feel rubbery.

“So, what say you, Doc? Joining us for tea?” Jim asks, and I elbow him discretely. He elbows me back.

He raises his left wrist and frowns at his watch before he looks back up and smiles, shrugging before he nods. “Sure. Why not? Beats the two-minute noodles I’d make once I got back home, I’m sure.”

I immediately want to scold him for not eating right, but I manage to contain those urges for the time being. The next time I get him alone —and therewillbe a next time— I’ll make sure he’s taking care of himself. But for now, I laugh with the others, narrowing my eyes as Rob claps him on the shoulder again, and then follow everyone up to the main house to wash up for dinner.

Chapter Seven – Ryan

It’s not a surprise to find myself seated beside Oscar at the dinner table. (I say ‘table’, but it’s actually three long timber dining tables set together to make one super long one, taking up what was probably intended to be both the formal living room and dining rooms.) The chairs are an eclectic mix of styles, and the whole look really sets off the country vibe of the station’s main house.

It’s warm and inviting in here, the cream-painted walls decorated with photos in a variety of different sized and shaped frames. They’re displaying everything from the animals, to the staff, to the family who owns the place.

The stationhands are all seated along the dining table, chatting animatedly and passing bowls and trays of steaming dishes whose combined scents are making my mouth water and my stomach grumble.

It’s been a long time since I had a proper homemade meal. I usually buy pre-made stuff from Woolies. There’s no sense making a fuss just to feed myself, and Maddy was always the better cook of the two of us anyway.

A mild pang of grief strikes me as I think of Maddy. He would have loved it here. Being a country vet had been in his blood: he was the one who had gotten me into it, after all. He’d loved rural Australia and everything that comes with it, right down to the constant flies and the snakes.

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