Page 25 of Meant To Be

“I still worry about you.” My heart felt warm when I looked over at him.

My brother cast me a quick grin. “It’s because you’re my sister. You worry about me, and I worry about you, and so on and so on. Shall we bet on how long Dylan will be out there anyway?” he asked lightly.

Anxiety tightened in my chest. “What do you mean?”

“You know him. He never stays anywhere too long, maybe a year or two at best. He is not a man to settle down. Not in where he lives or in romance. He’ll never commit. Not to a place or a person,” Wade said dryly.

I knew this. I knew it. Now, I understood why even more after Dylan told me about his parents. But I didn’t want to think about that.

I kept my tone light as I replied, “You never know.”

“Oh, I know this,” my brother said with confidence. “The longest he’s been in one place since college has been maybe a year. He has never had a serious relationship.”

“Well, you didn’t either until you and Dani reconnected,” I pointed out.

This conversational path was ridiculous, and I needed an exit ramp.

“Hey, I was serious with Dani in high school,” he countered.

I tried to breathe through the tightness in my chest and throat. My brain suddenly had to point out that when Dylan said he loved me, he’d actually said, “I think I love you.”

Think being the operative word. Of course, I’d said the same thing because I wasn’t sure either.

I forced my attention back to Wade. “The best thing is you and Dani found each other again. You never got over her.”

“I never did.”

My brother’s solemn tone caused my heart to twist. He loved Dani thoroughly, the way anyone would want to be loved. He wasn’t perfect, she wasn’t perfect, but they loved each other, flaws and all.

A few minutes later, Wade pulled into the airport's drop-off area. He gave me a giant bear hug, lifting me in the air before setting me down. “Text me when you get there.” He stepped back.

“Of course. Love you, big brother.”

A moment later, I walked into the airport as he drove away. I felt lonely. I wished Dylan was coming out to Alaska with me. I had a whole week for my doubts to make a ton of noise in my brain.

Chapter Nineteen

PIPER

Two days later

“What do you think?” Alice asked as she held her arms out and spun in a small circle.

We were in the reception area at the veterinary clinic where I was starting my job as the second veterinarian.

“It’s great,” I said. And it was. It was a cute little office in downtown Willow Brook, Alaska, with two exam rooms and a surgery room.

Alice’s auburn ponytail swung as she turned and smiled back over at me. Just then, Farrah came out of the back area. She was our vet tech and, according to Alice, “kicked ass” at her job.

“We have you all booked up already,” Farrah said. “I hope you’re ready to hit the ground running.”

“Absolutely.”

They had scheduled for me to come by and go over questions before my first afternoon here. I hadn’t wanted to waste time getting started. The move here wasn’t cheap between the travel and the fact that I hadn’t worked for a few weeks.

Tiffany, the receptionist, leaned her elbows on the counter surrounding the reception desk. “Don’t worry, everything will go smoothly.”

Alice grinned at her before adding, “Tiffany is the center of our universe here and runs this whole place. As long as you do exactly what she tells you, you’ll be fine.”

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