Liam was one of the top picks for the Olympic team this year. It would be amazing if we both got to go to Rio, but I couldn’t get my hopes up. I didn’t even know if I was going to be able to qualify without a team.
“I’m leaving in thirty minutes. Go shower and change. I’ll meet you at Gavin’s office.”
I rushed inside the bunkhouse and showered. I’d left my casual boots at Scott’s place, so I threw on an old pair of tennis shoes with a new pair of jeans. I really hoped they weren’t mad I ran out on them this morning, and left all my wet clothes on the floor, and stole their clothes.
I let out a sigh. I was going to have to do a lot of apologizing when they returned, but I was looking forward to all the ways I could make it up to them.
When I entered Gavin’s office, Liam and Blake were waiting for me.
“Let’s bring Grace up to speed,” Gavin said and gestured to the open chair next to Liam.
I squirmed in my seat afraid this was about me, Ty and Scott. “What’s wrong?”
“So, there is a new vet taking over the clinic. It’s the current vet’s kid, apparently. Passing the family business down and all. That’s not the big issue. The issue is that the Kingstons are pretty picky about who they bring onto the team. You and Liam need to go there and get a feel for the new girl. And, of course, get the horses scheduled for their physicals.” Gavin explained.
I breathed a silent sigh of relief. This had nothing to do with me. “So, what would happen if they don’t like the new vet? I don’t understand.”
“The Kingstons sent my brothers off to vet school so that we could end up having our own vet team on the property. Plus, because there are two of them, one could stay here while the other one travels with the team. Right now, we have a contract with the only vet in town. They are always on call for us and we bring them out here when we need them.” He paused. “Dr. Henry is getting on in years and ready to retire. We weren’t sure what he was going to do about his practice, but now that we know he’s passing his business along to his daughter, we really need additional insight before we go to Thomas and Declan without recommendation.”
I nodded. Everyone had been so welcoming since I got here that I wanted to help out where I could. “Alright. Let’s go.”
The ride to town was short. The town of Cottonwood Creek was thirty minutes away. I relaxed and went over last night in my head until Liam distracted me by turning the music up. We started singing at the top of our lungs. It was nice to have fun with him.
When we pulled up to the little clinic, I jumped out and looked around. It was located just off the main street and was larger than I expected for such a small town.
The bell chimed when we entered, and a young man stood behind the counter.
“We’re here to see Dr. Henry,” Liam said to the guy.
“No problem, Liam. He was expecting you. I’ll let him know you’re here.” He disappeared through a door behind the counter.
We waited for about five minutes before an elderly man came out to greet us.
“Liam,” he said with enthusiasm.
“Dr. Henry.” Liam returned and hugged the man. “Dr. Henry, this is Grace. She’s a rider, too.”
“Grace, it’s nice to meet you. Blake mentioned you were coming to take over riding Storm. How’s that going?”
I was shocked Blake had mentioned me to the vet. I wondered how much she had said. “It’s going great. I love that horse with all my heart.”
“That’s good to hear. If you ride like your sister says, you two will go far.”
My eyes blurred, and I blinked away the tears.
“Let’s head back to one of the rooms so we can talk.” Dr. Henry led the way to the first exam room. “I’m guessing you’re here for more than one reason.”
“We need to book the physicals for all the team horses, plus mine.” I didn’t know how much Liam was going to say about the other part of our mission and knew it wasn’t my place to decide.
“I guessed that much. I also assume you are here to officially meet Alex. One moment and I’ll go get Dr. Brooks for you.”
A minute after Dr. Henry left, a very pretty redhead walked into the exam room. She wore a lab coat and scrubs with her hair pulled up in a ponytail. I had to assume this was Dr. Brooks.
“Hi, I’m Dr. Alex Brooks. You’re Liam and Grace, I take it.” Her southern accent fit with the rest of the people around here.
“Yes. We were just meeting with Dr. Henry about—”
“The annual physicals.” Dr. Brooks finished for Liam. “Yes, he told me about that. When do you want to have them scheduled? Dr. Henry will assist me, but ultimately, I will be the one who completes the physicals. He’ll be taking a step back as we transition for me to take over.”
“Can you come out at the end of next week?” Liam asked, seeming less put off by the new vet than I thought he would be.
“Let me check.” She turned and typed away at the computer on the counter. “I can do next Thursday or the Monday after. Which works best for you?”
“Thursday please. We have a show that we need Coggins for at the end of the month. The sooner we have the results, the better.”
We stood there for a few seconds staring at each other with Liam uncharacteristically silent.
I shrugged. If Liam wasn’t going to dig for details, then I would. “So, why did you decide to take over for Dr. Henry?”
Dr. Brooks glanced at me then back at her computer. “After my divorce, I moved home to take care of my family. When my father decided to retire, I realized I wanted to stay here and asked him to pass the practice on to me.”
“What did you do before you came home?” I hoped I sounded like I was interested in her life and not just questioning her for the Kingstons.