I rolled my eyes. I swear, Rebecca was always trying to findme a wife. She said that at thirty years old, it was time for me to have a good woman in my life. “Not looking, Rebecca, but thanks for the suggestion. I’ll talk to you later. Have a good weekend,” I said, trying to end this conversation. Rebecca took the hint and said goodbye as I grabbed Coal and got into my truck to pick up Addison.
“So, Dean, why veterinary medicine?” Addison asked randomly about twenty or so minutes into our drive. Coal was already passed out in the back seat, snoring.
“Oh, so we’re just going to jump into that question right out of the gate? None of the basic ones first?” I chuckled.
“Oh, sorry, I didn’t realize that wasn’t a basic one. Let’s start with what’s your favorite color?” She smirked.
Fuck me, she was sexy. She’d walked up to the truck with her hair in a high ponytail that fell down her back, wearing a cream sweater that hung slightly off one shoulder with dark denim and a pair of cowboy boots, causing me to discreetly adjust myself in my jeans so she wouldn’t notice the slight hard-on she’d caused.
It was going to be a long day.
“Blue. And I grew up going to the polo fields out in California. My dad played as a hobby, and I just fell in love with horses. I loved being around them. They always calmed me, and I rode some of my dad’s polo horses for fun. I was always fascinated by watching the doctors at the field help injuredhorses, and knew that was what I wanted to do. I’ve always been a big animal guy. Growing up in my world, they were the only genuine beings I was around.” I shrugged. I wasn’t sure why I was sharing so much with her. That wasn’t something I normally did so freely, but she was easy to talk to.
She nodded and smiled. “That’s a good reason. But what do you mean by growing up in your world?” She looked at me curiously.
“I don’t like to share this with many people”—yet here I was sharing again—“but my family is prominent in California. My mom’s family owns a massive real estate development company, and my dad owns a communications company, one of the biggest actually, VRA Media.” I looked over at her to gauge her reaction, as most everyone knew who VRA Media was.
Her eyes widened. “Seriously? Your family owns VRA Media? You are fromthatAdler family? Why on earth are you even working? Y'all have more money than God,” she said, shock lacing her tone.
I chuckled. “Yeah, I’m fromthatAdler family. I work because living off my trust fund isn’t my style. I know too many guys like that, and I don’t respect them. They are entitled, out-of-touch assholes, and I never wanted to become that way. So, I went to USC for undergrad and then moved to Texas to attend vet school at A&M. That’s where I met Dr. Davis, and now here I am. I have zero interest in being a part of that world again.”
Addison sat there quietly, processing before she spoke. “Wow, I’m impressed, Dean. That is admirable.”
I smiled as I changed lanes and glanced back over at her. “So, now you know a little about me. What about you? Tell me what it’s like having a big-time MLB pitcher for a brother.”
She laughed. “Walker is the best, but it was an adjustment when he went pro nine years ago. He is so down to earth, though, I forget he is some hotshot pitcher most days. I have two other siblings as well. Walker is two years older than me. He’s thirty. My oldest brother, Weston, is thirty-two and a Navy SEAL, and my younger sister, Ava, is twenty-six and just finished law school. Do you have any siblings?”
“Damn, you guys are all accomplished. Yeah, I’ve got a younger brother named Archer, who is chief legal, actually, for VRA Media. We are only eighteen months apart, so we’re really close. My parents weren’t really present when we were young. We were mostly raised by my dad’s mother, my grandmother, and nannies,” I said.
“Ha. My siblings are accomplished. I’m still working on it.” She shrugged while looking out the window with a frown.
I looked over at her. “Hey. I did some research on you and noticed your national rankings in the hunter/jumper world, as well as your degree in business from Boston University. That isn’t nothing.”
“Ah, you found theTexas Monthlyarticle about my dad’s award-winning wines and my parents’ winery and vineyard,” she said, rolling her eyes. I was curious about her and her family’s story, given all the stories I’d heard about them around town. The town adored the James family and treated themlike celebrities in Primrose Hill. So I found theTexas Monthlyarticle about her dad and their family business, which also happened to mention the accomplishments of all their kids. It was impressive, to say the least.
“Sure did. I had to see what all the hype was about your family. This town really loves you guys,” I said. She finally smiled again, and my chest squeezed at the sight. Why did she have such an effect on me?
“I love Primrose Hill. I had been away for so long on the East Coast that I forgot how much I missed it. My mom was diagnosed with stage one breast cancer almost twelve years ago, and the way the town rallied around us”—her voice cracked slightly—“I’ll never forget it. My mom ended up getting a double mastectomy and reconstruction surgery, and the town fed our family and took care of us all, as well as our business, without hesitation.”
“I’m sorry to hear that your mom had to go through that, but that’s incredible to hear what the town did for your family. Glad I ended up here.” I paused for a moment, deciding if I wanted to share what was on my mind next.
Might as well, considering at this rate she already knows me better than most people.“I know what you guys must have felt during that time. I lost my grandmother to breast cancer about five years ago. She was eighty. Luckily, she didn’t suffer long. It took her pretty quickly.”
Addison turned to look at me, her green eyes shining with emotion, and an empathetic look crossed her face. She reached out and placed her hand on top of mine that was resting on thecenter console. “I’m really sorry to hear that, Dean. That must have been hard for you and your brother, especially since she played a big role in raising you two.”
I looked at her and smiled, trying to ignore the electric current I felt shoot through my body as her hand touched mine. Unsure of how to process my feelings when she touched me, I pulled my hand away and placed it on the steering wheel, needing the space. I cleared my throat to break the silence. “Thanks, uh, I appreciate that.”
Way to make it awkward, jackass.
She smiled slightly, clearly uncomfortable by my abrupt movement, before turning back to face the road, setting her hand back in her lap. I turned up the volume on the radio from my steering wheel and drowned out the silence with some country music. A new Morgan Wallen song came on, and she said softly to herself, “I love this song.” So, I turned it up louder, and we spent the last thirty minutes of the drive just listening to music, my eyes on the road, my hands firmly gripping the steering wheel, and her staring out the passenger window. Coal was still snoring away in the back.
As we pulled up the long gravel drive of MVH Farm, I noticed as a man and a woman stepped out of the massive barn and made their way toward us, both waving hello. MVH Farm was impressive. It had expansive pastures and small water features on both sides of the property. There were no hills, since it wasoutside the Hill Country, but it was still a nice piece of land nonetheless. “That’s Henry and Vivian. They own the farm,” Addison told me while climbing out of the truck with Coal following behind her—traitor dog.
Addison walked over to Henry and Vivian and shook both of their hands. “Hey, I’m Addison James. It’s great to meet you both. I’m excited to check out this mare you have. Eli said I needed to see her.” She turned toward me. “This is Dr. Adler. He will be conducting the PPE if all goes well with the trial ride.”
I stepped up, shaking both of their hands as well. “Hey, call me Dean. Great to meet you both.”
Henry and Vivian both smiled warmly at us. “Great to meet you both too, and we’re happy you made the trip. We think you are going to love Dahlia. We’ve seen what you can do with your horse, Cash, and Eli’s horses over the years, and have no doubt that you two will make quite the pair,” Vivian said with a wink.
