“Okay, fine. The place where you have a bed.”
“It’s a mess.”
“I don’t care. I want to get naked with you.”
“I think you need some time, Erin.”
His slight hesitation was like a cold splash of water. “Time for what?”
“To get over Owen. To think about what you really want.”
He laid his forehead against hers, and this was where she knew for sure she was about to get rejected.
Again.
She laid her palms against his chest, then . . .
Pushed. Hard.
“How dare you presume to know how I feel?”
His look of shock and concern didn’t fool her. “Erin. I didn’t mean—”
“What? You didn’t mean to hurt me? You’re only thinking of what’s best for me? How about letting me decide what’s best? How about treating me with a little dignity and respect and letting me choose what I want to do with my body?”
He took a step forward, reached for her.
She stepped back.
He laid his hand down at his side. “It’s not your body I’m worried about, Erin. It’s your heart.”
Said heart squeezed in pain. She shoved that pain deep inside, locked it up where it couldn’t hurt her. Where he couldn’t hurt her.
Now she was the one to step forward, so she could poke her finger at his chest. “My heart is just fine. And none of your business. And I get to choose what I want to do with my body. Clear?”
“Yeah.”
“Good.”
She started to walk out, then stopped and pivoted. “Why start this when you had no intention of finishing it?”
He cocked his head to the side. “What?”
“That kiss. Touching me. Only to put the brakes on and tell me you’re concerned about my heart? Don’t play games with me, Jason. I don’t like it.”
She turned and walked out of the room. She gathered up Agatha, grabbed her purse and keys and walked out the door.
Agatha curled up in the back seat and went back to sleep. Erin gripped the steering wheel to calm her shaky hands, alternating between righteous anger and hurting so much she had to constantly fight back tears.
Anger was better. It kept her from crying.
What was it with men who thought they knew what was best for her, anyway?
She knew what was best for her. She knew her own mind, her own body, and damn them all for getting in the way of that.
She was better off on her own.
CHAPTER
twelve
JASON DOVE INTO work over the next several days, burying himself in surgeries and ranch calls so he wouldn’t have to think about the colossal fuckup he’d made with Erin.
She was right about everything she’d said. He’d started something with her he hadn’t been prepared to finish. But she’d looked so beautiful there in the bathroom, and impulse made him want to kiss her. Then he’d made decisions for her that he’d had no right to make. His intentions might have been honorable, but he should have asked her how she felt instead of putting a stop to things thinking he knew what was best for her.
Because it was obvious he didn’t know shit. And all he’d done was driven their friendship—their relationship—several steps back.
He was no better than Owen.
He finished entering procedure notes into a patient’s file.
“Jason. I’ve got two emergencies coming in. Can you take one?”
He looked up at Carl Sunderland and nodded. “Yeah, I can take one.”
His vet tech set up the operating room for the emergency surgery, and he concentrated on what needed to be done for the abdominal obstruction case.
The surgery was delicate and complex, and his focus had to be on saving this two-year-old boxer’s life.
The problem with dogs—many dogs—was their utter love for chewing and swallowing things they weren’t supposed to. In Radar’s case? His owner’s sock, which had gotten stuck and festered into a rotten infection in his gut. Jason removed it and irrigated his belly, checking for any other obstructions. Fortunately, nothing else impeded Radar’s digestive tract, so Jason and his team closed him up. He gave the dog some strong antibiotics to fight off infection, and was confident Radar would recover.
After calling Radar’s humans and giving them an update, Jason did some office calls, finished up his daily reports and checked his messages. He was finally finished, and he’d made it through one grueling day. While rooting through his messages he saw there was one from his friend Clay Henry, who asked him to stop by after work if he had a minute.
Huh. He wondered if there was something wrong with Clay’s Labrador, Homer, or maybe one of his horses. Then again, Clay would just put in a ranch call if there was an issue with the horses or cattle, so that probably wasn’t it.
Maybe he just wanted a visit.
He stopped at home and took a quick shower to wash off the grime from the day, then changed into jeans and a T-shirt before driving over to Clay’s ranch. Since he didn’t know whether or not Homer was sick, he didn’t want to risk bringing Puddy with him, so he left him at home with his food and toys. He parked and rang the bell. Homer barked, which was a good sign.
Clay opened the door, a bottle of beer in his hand. “Hey, I thought maybe you’d call me.”
“Your note said to stop by.”
“Oh, sure. Come on in.”
Jason followed Clay in.
“I was just having a beer. Want one?”
“Definitely.”
Clay pulled a bottle out of the fridge and handed it to Jason.
“Rough day?” Clay asked.
“Busy one. How about yours?”
“About average.”
Since Homer had come over to greet him, Jason knelt to pet him. “Is Homer all right?”
“He’s fine. I just thought you might want to have a beer and dinner with us.”
Jason lifted his head and looked at Clay. “Us? Is Alice back in town?”
“Yeah. She got back a couple of days ago.”
He looked around. “Where is she?”
“In her office. She’s on a Skype call with a client. Since she’s on LA time, her day ends later than mine.”
Homer ran off, so Jason stood and grabbed his
