“Bye, Dr. K.” She sprints to the house as I knew she would.
Dr. K? The fuck? How long were they talking that Evie is calling her that?
“Bye, Evie,” Sarah murmurs, almost to herself.
As soon as Evie’s out of earshot, I’m out for blood.“Don’t fucking ever speak to me or mine again,” I say, calm as a cow in tall grass right before the snake strikes.
Inside me, everything is burning.
She strokes the flank of the horse, who’s getting restless—probably because she can feel the tension in the air. “She saw me and asked questions about Bluebell.”
“You see my kid, you walk the other way. You see me, you walk the other way. You don’t say hello, you don’t chit-chat, and you sure as shit don’t get to pretend you’re not the woman I hate.” I walk to the fence, put my hands on it, and grip the wood hard. “The only reason Wildflower Canyon is tolerating your lying, cheating ass is because we’re short a vet since your daddy passed. Otherwise, we’d kick you out like we did all those years ago.”
Her mouth presses tight. I see her eyes go from surprised to hurt.
Good.
Then, just like that, her face goes blank. I can’t read her. I used to always be able to—or at least I thought I did, right up until the time she fucked my brother.
“Evie is beautiful,” she tells me softly, like I didn’t just rip her a new one.
I remember her cuddling up to me as we dreamed of a life together, of having a family.
“We’re going to make beautiful babies, aren’t we, Cade?”
“As beautiful as you, Dove.”
I started calling her that when she saved a dove that had gotten hurt. Even then, when she was fifteen and I was sixteen, she wanted to take care of animals. It was her calling—a dream she has now made a reality.
“None of your business what Evie is.” My molarsgrind together, the pressure sharp in my jaw. I let her see the hate in my eyes, make damn sure she knows there’s nothing she can say or do that’ll ever change how I feel about her.
“Take care of yourself, Cade.” She smiles politely, then gives Bluebell’s lead rope a gentle tug. “Come on, Bluebell girl, let’s walk you out a bit.”
I watch her lead the roan mare away, the dappled gray of her coat catching the late light as she favors her injured leg.
I turn away when I find myself staring at Sarah’s perfectly toned ass covered in tight jeans.
I cuss under my breath.
It should’ve been a peaceful evening. Instead, my pulse is still hammering from one look at Sarah Kirk.
I’ve managed to steer clear of her since she came back. But I knew I couldn’t do it forever—not in a small town like Wildflower Canyon.
She’s been getting friendly with Aria Delgado, Mav’s fiancée, and Joy, as well as Elena Wilder. These are important people to have on your side in our town, which is the only reason she’s even getting as much work as she is here, especially from the newer folks who don’t know what she did.
Those who remember, know her story—how she accused my brother of the darkest crime a man can bear, instead of just owning up to cheating on me.
They won’t forgive her. Won’t even let her near their animals.
I know Bodie’s trying to lure new vets toWildflower Canyon, and as soon as that happens, I’ll blackball Sarah—drive her out of town again so that I can have some peace.
Because, regardless of how many years have gone by, she’s still the only woman I’ve ever loved.
CHAPTER 2
sarah
Ifinally saw Cade Mercer for the first time since I returned to Wildflower Canyon.
