Page 67 of Stables

I don’t understand.

We both want this. There’s a void in me that is begging to be filled.

Curling my knees against my chest, I stare at our steaming cups.

He’s so much more than I expected.

And I do want him, so badly I might explode.

But I think he’s right. Am I willing to give in?

Or is there still a part of me that’s scared and just hoping to hide behind a physical escape.

Fuck.

Unfolding myself from the stiff chair, I rise with a mission to find him before he leaves.

“Dixon, I—”

His palms cup my jaw, framing my face, he tilts my chin.

“Soon,” he husks before his soft lips find my forehead, the day old whiskers scratching the bridge of my nose, then he releases me.

After grabbing his duffel, he pauses at the door, silhouetted by the streaming morning sun.

All muscles and man, filling the frame before he shuts it behind him.

Trust.

Do I?

I’m standing on the edge of it. Like a cliff above an ocean, I know if I take the leap, I could end up dashed apart on the rocks below.

Or, he could teach me how to fly.

Chapter 18

Dixon

“No offense, but I’mglad you’re off for a while, doc.” Maggie raises one eyebrow as she flips through the pages of a magazine.

“What is that supposed to mean?” I growl. We haven’t had any patients today, so the hours have dragged.

“Well, you’re not your usual ‘chipper’ self.” Her lips flatten before she rolls her eyes. “How long did you say you’re working at the ranch?”

“Couple of weeks. Gonna miss me, Mag?” I lean back, propping my feet on the desk and lacing my fingers behind my head.

“Like a hemorrhoid, doc.” She glances at the giant clock on the wall. “Love ya, Dr. McCullough, but I’ve never been so glad to see seven roll around.” Pushing her chair across the nursing area, she picks her phone up off the counter and sends a quick text. “Hubby wants pizza tonight. You have big plans?”

She asks me every evening, so I give her the same reply.

“Not this time.”

Except I do. I’m going home to Char.

My house doesn’t have the same appeal any longer. It’s empty, desolate, and too damn quiet.

Maggie squints at me. “Sure, doc.” Shaking her head, she dials one of the few restaurants in town, then moves away to place her order.

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