Page 142 of Love, Lies, and Whiskey

“Like I did when I first came here,” she said, remembering the first time she’d seen Romeo, how quickly she’d fallen in love with him and how angry she’d been at the people who had neglected him.

“Exactly. It’s a whole different experience when you see a horse suffering and get to be part of its healing.”

They were flushing out and debriding the horse’s wounds when Lucas returned, and the horse was quaking from the pain.

“Tiny had to go take care of something. Can I pet her?” Lucas asked, reaching for gloves.

“Sure, honey,” Juliette said. “But steer clear from the wounds on her jaw.”

“You’re okay, girl. You’re doing great.” Lucas gently petted her, his voice soft and loving. “I know it hurts, and you’re scared, but you’re safe now. Nobody will ever hurt you again.”

Juliette and Seeley shared a knowing smile from opposite sides of the horse.

Over the next couple of hours, Lucas was a big help, supplying them with fresh cotton gauze to scrub the horse’s wounds with antiseptic, helping to refill the buckets, discarding trash, and whatever else they asked him to do, while telling the horse how brave and strong she was.

While they finished tending her wounds, Lucas went to prepare a clean stall and hang a hay net for her. “He’s pretty fucking amazing,” Seeley said.

“He is, isn’t he?”

“You’re amazing too, darlin’. I love working with you.”

“Me too. It’s even better than my teenage dreams.”

He leaned in and kissed her. “What would I have to do to convince you to come work with me instead of Jade?”

Her heart skipped. “Are you joking?”

“No. We make a good team. Our dreams might have been obliterated when we were teenagers. But every day, every minute, every damn second is a chance to restart those dreams, and I want that with you. What I want more than anything in this world is for Lucas to be healthy. Second to that is for the three of us to have the life we’d always hoped for. If you worked here, you’d have flexibility for whatever you and Lucas need, and there’s the added bonus of working with me every day.”

She laughed. “You’re serious?”

“Yes, darlin’. I’m serious.”

She got goose bumps.

“You don’t have to answer now. I know that beautiful brain of yours will pick it apart with what-ifs. What if we don’t work out? What if it’s too much togetherness?”

“You’re not wrong,” she admitted.

“We have sixteen years to make up for. I have no qualms about this. We’ve been talking about bringing in someone permanently, and there’s no one I’d rather work with than you. But I don’t need an answer now. Take some time and think about it,” he said as Lucas walked back into the room.

“She’s all set,” Lucas said. “Can we stay here again this week, so we can spend time with her?”

Juliette was still processing all that Seeley had said. “Um. That’s up to Seeley.”

“My house is your house,” Seeley said. “You never have to ask.”

“Awesome.” Lucas petted the horse. “What’s her name?”

“I don’t know that she’s ever had one,” Seeley said.

Lucas looked thoughtfully at the horse. “Can I name her?”

“Sure,” he said.

Juliette looked at the time and realized they had to get going to get ready for his treatment. “I’m really sorry, but Lucas and I need to get showered and get ready to go.”

“That’s okay. I’ll finish up here and bring Sasha and Tiny up to date, so they can watch her while we’re gone. I’m going to call the service and get someone in to handle the night shift, and then I’ll meet you at the hospital.” He looked at Lucas. “You were an incredible help, bud. Thank you. Do you want to think on her name for a while?”