I smiled to myself. Ah, yes, Dr. Adler, or more accurately, Dr. Tall, Dark, and Sexy as Hell. The man was distracting, to say the least. He had to be at least six foot two and had an insane body. The man must work out regularly. He was built like a professional athlete, and I would know, considering that my brother was one. He had broad shoulders, a massive chest, and the sexiest forearms I’d ever seen.When did I become attracted to forearms?He had dark-brown hair cut short on the sides and a little longer on top with dark whiskey-colored eyes and a bit of stubble across his sharp jawline.
“Hello? Adds? You there?” Walker interrupted my daydream of Dr. Hot as Hell.
“Sorry, yes, I’m here. I’m still half asleep,” I lied. “The farm call went well. Ranger is good, the donkeys are good, but he thinks Tex and Cash need their teeth floated in the next couple of months.”
“All right, cool. They have my card on file. Thanks for handling that with Theo,” Walker said.
“No problem. Hey, while I have you, I found a pretty incredible hunter prospect out in Magnolia Valley. I want togo check it out. Until I find a place, can I use your last stall for her if it all works out?” I asked hopefully.
Walker laughed. “Of course you can. I’m not using it. Are you going alone, or is Ava going to go with you?”
I smiled to myself. “Actually, Dean is going to go with me and perform the PPE on-site to save a trip.”
“Oh, are we calling him Dean now? You two sound like you’re on friendly terms already,” Walker teased.
“Oh, shut up. He told us to call him Dean. Anyway, love to sit here and chat, but I need to get going so I can get that trip set up, and I’ve got to get to the winery to help Mom,” I said, trying to rush off the phone.
“Smooth, Adds. Way to change the subject and jump off the phone.” Walker laughed, calling me out. “All right, tell Mom and Dad that I said hi and I’ll call them later. Text me after you see that horse and let me know how it goes. Love you.”
“Love you too. Talk to you later.” I hung up the phone and sat up to look at the clock. As much as I was trying to avoid talking about the hot new vet, I did need to get going and get over there to help my mom.
Mid-October in Primrose Hill was still relatively warm at eighty degrees during the day and seventies in the evening, but the chill of fall should begin to make its way to the Hill Country any day now. I threw on some jeans, a lightweight blouse, and booties, then threw my hair up quickly in a bun on the top ofmy head before heading over to my parents’ place.
Primrose Estates Winery and Vineyard was our family business that my parents built from the ground up. It had been a dream of theirs since they started dating way back in college. My father was a winemaker and handled the vineyard, while my mother dealt with all things events and business for the winery. The company was thriving and growing quickly ever since my dad won several awards for his wines and received a large spread inTexas Monthlya couple of years back. It also didn’t hurt that my parents’ son was one of the best pitchers in the MLB, giving the winery and vineyard even more exposure.
I walked into my mom’s office and sat down in the chair across from her. “Hey, Mom, what can I help with today?” I asked.
My mom looked up from her laptop and smiled. “Hey, sweetie, there is a large group coming in for a tasting around noon, if you could help me get the Tasting Room prepared for them?”
“Sure thing. Let me just run by the vineyard to say hi to Dad first, and then I’ll meet you in the Tasting Room,” I said as I stood up. My mom smiled and nodded, turning back to her laptop as I made my way out the door.
On my way out to find my dad, I stopped and chatted with a couple of our employees that I hadn’t caught up with since I’d been home. As I made my way outside, I couldn’t help but smile. This place was heaven on earth, and it never lost its magic. Rows of vines stretched across the hills with ariver winding lazily through the property, catching the light of day. Off to the right sat the farmhouse that we grew up in—white and timeless—tucked against a rise where the river slipped behind it. Every corner of it felt like home. My siblings and I were lucky to grow up here.
I spotted my dad walking back from the vineyard toward the building that housed our massive wine cellar. He looked up, and I waved at him. He smiled as he walked toward me. “Hey, Adds, how’s it going?” My dad pulled me into a hug.
“Hey, Dad. Good, just wanted to come say hi before I help Mom out in the Tasting Room. How did the harvest go?” I asked. My dad had just finished harvesting the grapes over the last month or so.
“Great. Everything went smoothly. I think this will be a good year.” He smiled. “Mom mentioned that you found a new horse you were interested in buying?”
“I did. Eli connected me with a trainer out in Magnolia Valley that has this incredible five-year-old mare. I need a hunter prospect, so she could be perfect. I also met the new vet, Dr. Adler. He offered to go out there with me and perform the PPE if I liked her.”
“That’s great. I ran into Dr. Davis the other day when I was grabbing coffee, and he sang Dr. Adler’s high praises. Glad he found a solid replacement,” my dad said.
Solidwas one way to describe Dean.I smiled, grateful that my dad couldn’t read my mind. “For sure. All right, I’m going to meet Mom. I’ll see you tonight for dinner.” Since the winery closed early on Sundays, my parents always made a big dinnerfor whoever was in town to join. It was always chaos, since you never knew who would show up between my siblings and everyone else in town.The perks of a small town.I hugged my dad goodbye and made my way to the Tasting Room to help get it set for the afternoon group.
It was Sunday evening, and as I walked into my childhood home, I could hear the commotion coming from the back of the house, where the large living and dining spaces were. It looked like we had a decent-sized group for this Sunday’s dinner. My sister, Ava, was here already, along with Theo, Walker’s barn manager, and his wife, Olivia. Then there were Mr. and Mrs. Williams, the owners of the best coffee shop and bakery in town, called PrimCup, and my mom’s best friend, Liz King, along with her husband, Jackson, and their five kids that we grew up with—Grayson was Weston’s age and best friend, Farrah was my age and one of my close friends along with being Walker’s ex-girlfriend (a story for another time). She also had the cutest two-year-old daughter, Hadley. Aria was Ava’s age and best friend, and then the twins, Nate and Nolan, were the youngest of us all. The Kings lived only fifteen minutes down the road, in the neighboring town of Forest Park.
My two brothers couldn’t make it this time, as Weston was still in the Navy SEALs and stationed in Virginia, and Walker was in New York playing in the ALCS. Walker had a travel day back to Texas, so he insisted on FaceTiming me so he could sayhello to everyone. Ava forced Weston to FaceTime with us on her phone as well. We got the two phones set up at the end of the table, facing everyone.
“Hey, everyone! How’s it going?” Walker smiled into the camera. The group collectively said hello and congratulated him on a great start to the series. Walker pitched game one and shut out New York. His team unfortunately lost game two by a one-run margin in the eighth inning, but they played a great game.
“Hey y'all, I won’t be able to stay on long. I’ve got to head out soon, but Ava forced me to jump on, so here I am,” Weston said dryly, and everyone laughed. When Weston said he was heading out, it was code for he had to go on a mission and could not disclose where he was headed or for how long. It always made our family nervous, not knowing where he was and anxiously waiting until we heard from him again to know he was okay and back home. Everyone said their hellos to West, and we chatted with him briefly before having to let him go.
Walker chimed back in. “So, I heard that the new vet in town has made quite the impression on our sister, Adds,” he teased.Always the shit stirrer. I choked on my water, not prepared for that segue.
“Shut up, Walk. Just because I’m on a first-name basis with the guy at his insistence does not mean he made an impression.” I was already over this conversation.
“You know, now that you mention it, Walker, I did see sparks fly between the two of them at the farm yesterday.” Theo, the traitor, smirked.
