Page 7 of Falling For Her Cowboy
“I don’t know about her, but that sounds pretty damn good to me,” a voice said behind her.
Melah spun around, reaching for her weapon that was not there. Her gaze locked on the figure leaning against the stall door, and she froze. His dark wavy hair stood up every which way as if he’d been combing his fingers through it. His blue eyes held a twinkle in them, but she could easily see the man was dead on his feet. His dark t-shirt and jeans had seen better days. She wasn’t sure what they were caked in—better yet, she didn’t want to know.
Her breath caught in her throat. This had to be the vet. She had thought his voice was something else—the man probably had to fight through droves of women daily.
“Melah, I take it?” He arched an eyebrow and tilted his head.
She jerked out a nod, unable to speak. She immediately wished she’d thrown on something other than her pjs when she’d come out to the barn.
She was currently done with members of the male species, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t appreciate this one in front of her.
“And who might we have here?”
“Daisy.” Melah didn’t miss the way his gaze ran over her. A shiver rippled through her. She’d guess it was only fair since she had just ogled him.
She stood straighter as he walked inside the stall. Suddenly the space seemed crowded.
“Um, thanks for coming so fast. I was worried about her.”
“I could hear it in your voice.” His lips curled up slightly in the corner.
Daisy hadn’t taken her eyes off the doctor since the second he’d appeared. He held out a hand to allow her to get a whiff of him. Melah almost found herself inhaling, too. She blinked and took a step back. What the hell was wrong with her? It wasn’t like she hadn’t been around handsome men before, and at the moment she was not looking for a man.
Her ex-fiancé had made sure of that.
Melah didn’t want to think of Pierce. When she’d needed him the most, he’d backed away fromher and believed all of the lies that had been spread about her. That betrayal cut her profoundly. Five years they had been together. They had planned a life, spoke of children and growing old together.
All of that was now gone because he’d taken the easy road and decided he couldn’t be with her if?—
Not tonight. She wasn’t going to go down that long road of sorrow and pain. She had enough to worry about at the moment. Daisy was her focus.
She blinked. Daisy tried to take a step toward Ridge—Dr. Harvey. Melah didn’t say a word as she watched the two of them. Her horse was friendly, but she always checked people out first before warming up to them. Melah didn’t blame her one bit. They were similar in nature, and it was no wonder they got along so well.
“Well, I see why you called.” Ridge frowned slightly as he took a step back to force Daisy to take another step. His gaze was locked on her front leg.
“She’s going to be okay, right? She’s not going to—” Melah couldn’t finish the sentence. She bit her lip and stared at the vet.
“Of course she’ll be fine.” Dr. Harvey swung his blue eyes to her.
Melah inhaled sharply. She hadn’t realized he’d backed up far enough to where he was standing nextto her. Daisy accomplished her goal and made it to Ridge. She sniffed the top of his hair, eliciting a hearty laugh from him.
“Daisy. Down, girl.” Melah couldn’t believe how her horse was acting. She’d only been in the doctor’s presence for a few minutes and already she was sniffing him.
“Why, it’s all right,” Dr. Harvey drawled. He reached up and gave Daisy a good rubbing in between her eyes. Daisy closed her eyes and leaned into his touch.
Melah had to admit, she was quite jealous of her horse. She couldn’t think of the last time she’d had attention from a member of the opposite sex. Much less have one of them rub on her—with her consent.
“Are you sure?” Melah couldn’t help but ask. Daisy was her baby, and she was responsible for her. She didn’t care how much it cost, he needed to save her. She didn’t have much but she’d figure out a way.
“Well, I need to look at her hoof. See what’s going on. I’m suspecting an infection. Let me grab my bag.” He gave Daisy a good solid pat on the side of her neck and jogged over to the door where he’d left a large worn leather bag on the floor.
Melah moved over to Daisy and rubbedher shoulder and neck. “Dr. Harvey said you should be fine. We’ll get through this, girl.”
Daisy head butted her gently and released a soft neigh.
“It’s Ridge. You can call me Ridge. No need to be formal.” He walked back to her and Daisy, this time with a few tools in his hands.
Melah tilted her head back so she could meet his gaze.
