Page 92 of Roping Her In

She’d taken the Veterinary Technician National Exam today, and though it was only a practice session to get a feel for how the real exam would go, she’d failed.

Failed.

Hailey couldn’t even imagine showing up at the vet tech pinning ceremony, where she had been asked to speak as she was still number one in her class, and talking to her fellow graduates when she hadn’t even been able to pass the practice test.

She felt like a total fraud, and everyone would know. She couldn’t believe she’d failed this practice exam. She needed a four-twenty-five to pass, and she’d gotten a four-nineteen.

“Six points,” she muttered.

She’d scheduled the real test for a week after graduation, and she would know, just like she had today, if she passed or failed right after she finished. But she’d have to wait about a week to get her score, and if she failed, she’d have to wait thirty days to take it again.

Her fingers tightened on the steering wheel, and Hailey almost missed the turn into Studemeyer’s, one of her favorite places to get ice cream sundaes and huge orders of cheese fries. The real experience was inside the restaurant, where they made enormous banana splits with two bananas and up to four flavors of ice cream and three toppings.

Hailey had come several times with her vet tech friends, but she hadn’t been this semester, since she’d been working her internship hours. She pulled into a parking space, intending to go in and order from their to-go counter. It would still take at least twenty minutes to get a cake, and her stomach growled, which meant she’d probably order some food as well.

Her phone rang just as she put her car in park, and her nerves still teetered on the edge of a cliff, so she jumped in her seat, her adrenaline making her heartrate spike.

Jake’s name sat on the screen, and she quickly tapped to answer the call. “Hey,” she said.

“I got your message,” he said, and he sounded chipper enough. Of course, he always did, as long as they weren’t talking about her moving onto the farm, or what she might do at her job there, or what color she’d told Conrad she’d like the house to be—some shade of blue, she’d told him, and he’d agreed.

She only had one more week of her internship, and she’d taken today off to do this practice exam. She had meetings, and commencement, and the vet tech pinning ceremony the following week, and then she would be moving into the farmhouse and starting her new job with Conrad and JJ.

She wasn’t sure what she and Jake would talk about if they couldn’t talk about work. And while they had both confessed strong feelings for one another, it felt like their relationship had been boxed up, thrown into the air, and caught on a high tightrope. It could collapse, or fall apart, or completely break at any moment.

Hailey had started doing meditation at night to calm herself. She didn’t need to know every step and every single thing that was going to happen in the next month. One day at a time had become her mantra, and since attending church with Jake, she’d been praying morning and night for God’s guidance in her life.

“Are you there?” Jake asked, and Hailey jumped once again.

“Yes,” she said. “Sorry, I just pulled into Studemeyer’s, and I’m going to get food too. Do you want something to eat?”

“I don’t know what Studemeyer’s is,” he said. “But I’m pretty sure you know what I like.”

“It’s burgers and fries and chicken sandwiches,” she said. “And ice creams and cakes.”

He chuckled. “I can’t believe you didn’t pass that exam.”

Hailey closed her eyes and saw the red word Failed right there on the backs of her eyelids.

“Well, I did,” she said, and her voice pitched lower. “I have three more weeks before the real thing, but I just feel….” She didn’t know how to finish, and Jake didn’t immediately jump in with a suggestion. He never did, and Hailey really liked that about him.

“Listen, sweetheart,” he finally said. “You’re number one in your class, and passing this test doesn’t change that. Everyone knows how good you are out in the field, and that’s really what matters anyway.”

“I know,” she said.

“And you’re not working for a clinic that requires a passing score on the test. Heck, we don’t even require that at Three Rivers.”

“You’re right,” she said. “I just feel like I’m not…they should ask someone else to speak at the pinning ceremony if I can’t pass this test.”

“It was a practice exam,” he said. “And you take those, so you know what the real one will be like.”

“I think I rushed it,” she said. “You get three hours, and I was done in less than two.”

“All right,” he drawled. “So next time, you’ll slow down, and you’ll nail it.”

She nodded, wishing she could take some of his confidence with her into the exam next time.

“And they’re asking you to speak at the pinning ceremony, because they know how incredibly amazing you are,” he said. “This test doesn’t matter to them.”