“What?”
“The petting zoo, the kids’ camps…” She chuckled. “Me.” Then her face flushed, and she jerked her hand off his arm. “Not that you have me. That’s not what I meant. It’s just that you’re forced to put up with me.”
And that was what it should have felt like to him—more work, an inconvenience, a burden…
But when she was as happy as she was now, her face literally glowing, making her happy like this felt like a gift. One that he was receiving as much as he was giving.
“It’s fine,” he said. But he wasn’t sure that he was. Not anymore. He wasn’t even sure who he was anymore. Before she’d moved into the Four Corners, he’d always known that he was a true cowboy, one focused only on ranching. But now…
He seemed more focused on her and what she wanted. But that was just because he didn’t want to add to her stress. It wasn’t for any other reason. At least not one that he would let himself entertain.
Because Trish was too vulnerable. And he was too set in his bachelor ways. But she was his best friend’s daughter. And maybe that made them friends as well.
Just friends.
* * *
Trish didn’t believe Brett. Not that he was fine. She knew she’d turned his world upside down with her arrival. Probably even before that with how he’d had to live in limbo until the will was settled.
She wasn’t sure that it was legally settled yet. She hadn’t talked to Nolan since she’d dropped by his house that day. But in her mind, it was settled. The Lemmons were her partners in the ranch as much as Frankie was. And Maci oversaw them all as the executor of the estate. Her dad had made the right decision in his will.
After looking at the books, she knew there wouldn’t have even been a ranch left for anyone to inherit if not for Brett and the others helping her father. And now they were helping her. There was no way that Trish could have handled the ranch entirely on her own. She needed the Lemmons. But she knew they didn’t need her, especially Brett. He just wanted to work the ranch. And he did. But he also spent so much time helping her with the petting zoo and the bunkhouse. And now this trip to the Willow Creek Veterinarian Practice, which was actually a big barn on the outskirts of Willow Creek.
Excited to see the rescue animals, she clamored down from the truck the minute he parked it next to the barn. It was then that she first noticed he had hooked a small animal trailer to the back of the vehicle. “We’ll be able to bring them home with us?” she asked, even more excited than she’d already been.
He nodded. “Yes, we need to get them used to their new surroundings before we open up.”
We.
Despite thinking her dream was a bad idea, he was still all in with her. He hadn’t tried to talk her out of doing something he hadn’t wanted her to do. Instead, he’d put aside his discomfort and helped her. She didn’t know if she’d ever met anyone quite like him before. Brett was supporting her even more than her father had. Her dad had refused to come to her wedding because he hadn’t approved. She suspected that Brett, had they been friends, would have come.
And were they friends now?
He and the vet obviously were because once they stepped into the big barn, a blond-haired man stepped forward and heartily shook his hand with one of his while slapping Brett’s back with the other.
Brett pulled back and introduced them, “Trish Dempsey, this is Cash Cassidy, or Dr. Cash, as everyone has always called him. He’s also my stepcousin.”
She shook the hand Cash extended to her. “Nice to meet you.”
“Have you met many of us yet?” Cash asked. “There are a bunch of us. Since my grandma married his grandpa Lem, I think we’re both related to pretty much everyone in Willow Creek now.”
Brett chuckled and nodded. “That does seem to be the case.”
“And speaking of relatives,” Cash said as a sandy-haired, older woman walked up. “This is my aunt Darlene, mother of my Haven cousins.”
“Nice to meet you,” Trish said. “There really are a lot of Havens, Cassidys and Lemmons.”
Cash chuckled. “Seems like we keep multiplying. Kind of like our animals. We really need to find homes for some of them so we’ll have space for more in need of rescuing.”
Darlene sighed. “Yes, but it’ll be hard to let some of them go.”
“Hard for you or for Mikey and Faith?” Cash asked. “Faith is my daughter. Mikey’s my nephew. They pretty much live here when they’re not in school.”
“They’ll be able to visit whatever animals we take,” Trish said. “I want them for a petting zoo I intend to open for kids attending day and summer camps at the Four Corners.”
“Oh, that’s a great idea,” Darlene said.
Trish glanced at Brett to see if he would argue. But he didn’t say a word. And she felt a pang of regret that he wasn’t happy about her idea. Though she appreciated his help, she would have liked to have him be as excited about it as she was.
