Page 37 of Hooking Up

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With as much strength as she could muster, Bella tried to focus on what the veterinarian was saying to her. He’d seen such injuries in the past. He wasn’t the top man for the job, but he felt the tear was simple and his skills were adequate.

Her brain was too fogged with worry for her prized animal, and thank goodness Quint and Carter started plying the man with questions she couldn’t even begin to think of asking.

Leaning against Carter, she listened to their deep, soothing voices. Things would work out. They had to.

Something was decided between the guys, but she’d missed it. She watched Carter walk away with the vet while Quint led her to the seating area. She cleared her throat and wiped her eyes, but they wouldn’t stop streaming.

“I’m sorry. I’m acting like a drama queen. The world only needs one Wynonna Calhoun.”

Quint’s eyes were dark with concern. “You’re fine. It’s understandable that you’re upset. Our livestock are our best friends as well as our livelihood.”

“Yeah. I’ll be out of commission for a while without her. Or I’ll have to go home and get another horse that I’ve worked with in the past. I wouldn’t expect to win, though.”

“Maybe not. What’s the real story behind you and Wynonna’s rivalry?” He entwined their fingers.

She had a feeling he was trying to take her mind off the fact that her animal was about to go into surgery. Drawing a deep breath, she said, “Wynonna’s okay, I guess. We just got off on the wrong foot, and I suppose neither of us are willing to make peace.”

“What happened?”

The waiting area was cozy and nobody else was around, since it was a Sunday. She couldn’t even imagine what the bill for an off-hours surgery would be, but she’d worry about that later. If she had to, she’d turn to her family for help. They’d always supported her.

But after discovering that Josey Wheels was injured, Bella had stared at her phone and struggled with calling her father. In the end, she’d pocketed her phone, gotten in her truck and gone to find the two men who she’d become so close to recently.

Quint stroked her hair behind her ear and drew her head down on his shoulder. “You don’t have to tell me about Wynonna if you don’t want to.”

“No, it’s okay. I’m just gathering my thoughts. It started my first year racing when her brother started hanging around me.”

She felt Quint’s shoulder tense and she shifted to find a comfier spot to rest her head. “We were just friends, or so Ithought. I was with Frazer at the time, so I didn’t have my eyes open to things like flirting from other men.”

He turned his lips against her temple, and she issued a soft sigh, snuggling closer. “Wynonna didn’t like you hanging out with her brother?”

“No, and when he found out who I was dating, he got grumpy. He told me that my boyfriend had come onto Wynonna, but she was only seventeen at the time and he was going to have him arrested for corruption of a minor and all that.”

“Did Frazer touch her?”

“I don’t know. Maybe. Probably. He was an ass. Either way, things got tense between all of us because I didn’t know better and I defended Frazer. Nothing ever came of the allegations, but we never discussed it further. I guess we agreed to disagree, and we’ve kept a wide berth of each other ever since. She is a diva, though. You have to wear sunglasses when she’s in the arena because she’s so shiny.”

He laughed out loud. “Shiny?”

“Yeah, all those sparkles and rhinestones.”

“She’s pretty young still.”

“Yeah, she’ll learn you don’t need all that crap to make a statement out there. All you need is skill, a prayer and a good horse.” At the mention of her horse, she welled up all over again.

Carter returned, tucking a slip of paper into his pocket. When he took up the chair next to her, she tipped her head from Quint’s shoulder to his.

“Everything’s going to be all right, sweetheart.” He kissed her other temple. “I feel confident in this doctor’s abilities.”

“And I Googled him.” Quint’s statement made her straighten.

“You did?”

“Yeah, we couldn’t let some chest-thumping vet with a god complex touch your horse.”

Melllllt.Every hard edge inside her melted when she was with these guys. As strange as it might be to give herself to two men, she couldn’t imagine being happier.

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