She turns to let herself out of the stall and looks right at me.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” she huffs, shaking her head.
“Hello to you too.” I stride forward, undoing the chain around the metal gate so she can get out of the stall. Josie slips out and I hook the chain back, closing the gate.
“What are you doing here?”
“Probably the same thing you are. Looking at horses.”
Her eyes narrow as she inhales. Unlike last night, her hair is messy, she’s not wearing makeup, and she has on her usual jeans and a tank top. “You’re unbelievable, you know that, right? Like literally, I don’t believe you. I won’t make that mistake twice.”
Fuck, what is it about this woman that gets to me like this? It’s the fire in her eyes, the way I know all her buttons are being pushed just by being here in my presence. I swallow hard, talking down my cock.
“I joked before about you stalking me, but this is really crossing the line,” she says and a couple walking by looking at horses stops and turns, suspiciously eyeing me. “Especially after last night.”
“Are you all right, miss?” the guy asks after his wife nudged him.
“I’m fine,” Josie replies, taking her eyes off me just long enough to politely smile. “Thank you, though.”
The guy tips his head and then continues on. Josie steps closer, hands going to her hips. “What? Did you come here to make sure I didn’t get another horse that you’d subsequently have to get rid of before you can convince me to put the farm up for sale?”
“Josie,” I start and inch closer, not even aware that my body is moving toward her. But I can’t seem to stay away. “I’m not trying to scare you away so you’ll sell me the land. If I ever expanded the animal hospital then, yes, I would need more space.”
“You’d need my space.”
“Logistically, it would make sense. My house would be in the middle of the small animal hospital and the large animal hospital.” In the back of my mind, a voice is yelling at me to stop talking. Yet another is telling me to be completely honest with Josie because I have nothing to hide. “But I’m nowhere near expanding. I work pretty much nonstop and can’t take the time away to put into all the planning that would go into an addition of that size. Think about it,” I go in, shuffling closer still. A cool breeze blows in, bringing a chill to the air. Josie shivers and tiny goosebumps break out along her arms. I swallow hard, resisting the urge to reach out and run my hands up and down her arms before closing her in a tight embrace to warm her up.
“Mr. Rudolph is a real estate agent. He jumps at the slightest mention of a sale.”
Josie bites her lip as she considers my words. Someone leads a horse down the barn aisle, and they’re having a hard time controlling it. It feels natural when I reach out to bring Josie closer to me, keeping her out of harm’s way. I watch, ready to jump in if necessary. The handler gets control of the horse as he passes us by, and my eyes go right back to Josie.
“You’re right,” she says but the anger doesn’t leave her pretty face. “So, if you weren’t trying to scare me away so you could snatch up the farm then what…you really didn’t think I was competent?”
“No,” I snap back, seeing Dr. Brenden come down the aisle.
“Really?” Josie raises her eyebrows and I know she’s not going to back down. Aware I’ve started digging myself into a hole, I just stare back at her, ignoring the deep stirring I’m feeling inside. I want her as much as I can’t stand her, and now that she’s here right in front of me, I don’t know how I’ll resist pushing her up against a wall and kissing her just to shut her up.
“Really. I don’t think you’re incompetent. You’ve proven you’re not, but I will always stand by what I said: it’s a big undertaking running a rescue.”
“I’m aware.”
“There are buckets outside.”
“What? Oh, right. He has no water. Not many of them do.” Her brows furrow, anger replaced by concern.
“This place is hell on earth for most of the horses here.” I take a step, walking in the direction of the buckets. “You’re going to bid on that gelding?”
“I am.” She flicks her eyes to me, waiting to see if I’m going to try and talk her out of it. “Turns out, he has the same sire as the horse I had when I was a teenager.”
“Wow. What are the odds?”
“Right?” We walk in silence the rest of the way and Josie grabs a bucket, rinses it out, and then fills it up. She goes to pick it up and water sloshes out.