Page 53 of The Doctor's Irreplaceable Love

“Really?”

“Yes, really.I’m named after my dad, as he was named after his father before him.That makes me Jack Harvey the third.”

“Wow, so Trip is—what?Is it like your military nickname?”

He laughed.“No.Are you seriously telling me you don’t know where it comes from?”

“I am—I have no clue.”

He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and carried on walking.“Then let me educate you.As I said, I’m Jack Harvey the third.As I’m sure you know, three is sometimes called a triple—and that’s where Trip comes from.”

She had to laugh.“Well, don’t I feel stupid?I’ve never heard that one before in all my life!”

He hugged her closer to his side.“Don’t feel stupid—you’re not.It’s just a little detail that you’ve never bumped into before.”

“No, but I honestly thought that Trip was your given name.”

“I think it’s used that way these days—as a first name in its own right.”

“It should be.It’s a cool name.”

He laughed.“Thanks.”

“While we’re on the subject of names and nicknames, do you know if Kitty was Jim’s wife’s real name?”

She felt bad when his eyes filled with sadness.“Kitty was short for Catherine.”He blew out a sigh.“She was a wonderful woman.Jim and Kitty Sheridan were like the heart of this valley.”

He nodded to himself, seemingly lost in his thoughts.

Shelley didn’t feel like she should intrude with questions, even though she was curious as hell about Jim’s late wife.There was one question that she had to ask.“Is he okay?I’m not asking you to tell me anything confidential.I just … I’m concerned.He didn’t seem quite right today.”

“He’s fine.He has some ongoing issues, but that’s to be expected at his age.”

She wanted to push—she’d felt like there was something off about the old guy today, but she couldn’t put her finger on anything concrete.If Trip said he was fine, he was fine.

When they passed the barn, she noticed a man standing outside watching them.It sent a shiver down her spine—and not the good kind.

Trip noticed and tightened his arm around her.“It’s okay, that’s Brody—the foreman.”

“Right.”

He chuckled.“He’s a good guy.In fact, you’ve met him before—you met him the first time you stayed over, when Travis and Retta and Bear were here.”

“Oh, I thought he was your friend.”

“He is—he’s my friend and also the man in charge of the herd.”He winked at her.“You know, the cattle.”

She pushed at his arm.

“I do know!I was surprised that you had cattle, that’s all.Although I probably shouldn’t act all indignant since I am almost totally clueless about how the cow business works.”

She laughed at the expression on his face.

“It’s okay—I do know it’s called the cattle business, but that’s about the total extent of my knowledge.I’m just your typical city kid.”

He frowned at that.“No, you’re not.You might be from the city, but you’ve picked up how things work around here.I bet you could even learn to run a cattle ranch if you had to—and that’s more than I’ve ever managed to do.”

“I don’t see me ever having to learn that,” she said with a laugh.It was a crazy idea!She might have been wondering if she’d be able to find work that held meaning and purpose for her, but she highly doubted that ranching would turn out to be her vocation in life.

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