AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Abso-fuckin’-lutely not,” I growl as I park in front of the barn and stare at the mini horse Trista is currently preparing to lead off a trailer. I step out of my truck and stomp over to her, shaking my head adamantly.
“Wyatt!” She draws out my name with a big, toothy smile from inside the trailer. “You’re home early.”
“What the hell is going on?” My teeth are clenched as I come eye to eye with a horse whose tongue is hanging out of its mouth.
“This is Handsome!” She wraps her arm around his neck and gives him a hug. “Ain’t he a beaut?”
“What the fuck is wrong with him?” I ask when I notice his tongue just sort of hangs there permanently.
“Nothing!” She swerves an accusing glare at me. “He’s perfect just the way he is.”
“Well, that’s not technically true,” a male voice corrects, and I glance past Trista to see a guy stepping out from behind the gate inside the trailer. He drops a bag of feed on the trailer floor and lays a hand on the back of the chestnut mini horse. “He has a neuromuscular disease that caused the relaxed-tongue issue. I’m afraid it’s untreatable. Just be sure any buckets or feeders you use with him don’t have anysharp edges, and make sure he doesn’t start chewing on your wooden fence out there. Lacerations are kind of common with this issue.”
He looks at me like he’s giving me these instructions. Like this horse is now my responsibility. “I’m sorry, but who the fuck are you?” I snap, my temper getting the best of me as I stare at the guy who looks about my age but several inches shorter than me. Hell, I think he might even be shorter than Trista.
“Wyatt, this is Avery.” Trista smiles and places her hand on his shoulder. “He’s the large-animal vet in Denver who I help. I’ve mentioned him to you before. We’ve been friends for years.”
Avery’s a man? Her best friend…is a dude?
“Gosh, how long has it been?” He scratches the back of his neck as he squints at Trista. “Ten years?”
“I was nineteen when I started at my first shelter, so that must be about right.” Trista smiles brightly. “Avery and I met when we were both asked to be guest judges for a golden retriever talent show—”
“At the downtown library,” he says, finishing her sentence. “God, that was such a weird event.”
“Weirdly awesome,” Trista exclaims, laughing and looking back at me. “This one contestant just lay on the ground and had his golden eat treats out of his mouth. Not at all a talent, but it was still fantastic. Honestly the best Sunday afternoon I can remember in a long time.”
“Jesus, you were only nineteen back then?” Avery asks, frowning over at the woman currently pregnant with my child. The way his eyes twinkle at her irritates the fuck out of me. “I thought you were older. You seemed older.”
Trista’s jaw drops as she whacks him on the arm. “You better not be saying I looked old!”
“No, no, no.” Avery laughs and clutches Trista’s hand to his arm. “You looked beautiful. You just seemed so mature for that age.”
“I’m an old soul.” Trista smiles over at him and bats her eyes.
I clear my throat to snap their attention back to me. I have yet to meet a single person in Trista’s life, and the fact that it’s this guy Avery who Trista spends an obscene amount of time with…unpaid, doesn’tsit well with me. Especially because I thought Avery was a girl until two fucking minutes ago.
“Thought you were a chick.” The intrusive thought spills out through my clenched teeth.
Avery laughs a boyish laugh that I hate. “Not last time I checked.”
“It’s just that Trista spends a lot of time with you,” I add, shoving the sleeves of my flannel up to reveal my ink. It’s a douchebag move that I’m not proud of, but I’m highly agitated at the moment. “She spends a lot of hoursvolunteeringfor you. I take it your vet clinic is for charity?”
“Gosh, no.” Trista laughs nervously, her head snapping back to Avery. “I told you he’s training me, Wyatt.”
Avery’s eyes narrow on me like a bull getting ready to charge. “She’s got big goals, and I’m trying to help her achieve them, that’s all. I think Trista is capable of great things.”
“You don’t have to tell me that,” I reply curtly, stepping closer to the trailer, my eyes locked on his, the horse’s floppy tongue lolling in the corner of my eye. “Just hard to make those dreams a reality when she’s always working for free.”
“Wyatt,” Trista snaps, her voice echoing inside the small trailer and spooking the animal.
“Lucky she found such a great situation here with you, then.” Avery offers me a tight smile that doesn’t reach his eyes. “Definitely an interesting way to start a family.”
His tone is very clearly judgmental, and I feel slightly betrayed when my eyes move to Trista. What has she told him about me? About us? How is she framing this?
Ignoring her frustrated glare, I glance at the animal in Trista’s hands. “What’s the plan here forHandsome?” I feel stupid the instant that name comes out of my mouth, but now I’m committed. “Just paying Millie, Reginald, and Strudel a quick visit?”Seriously, these fucking names are not helping me be intimidating right now.“And then getting right back in that trailer to return to where he came from?”
Trista smiles politely as she hands the halter off to her “friend” and walks toward me. I reach out to help her down off the trailer, and she doesn’t miss a beat when she hits the ground and drags me by thearm toward the barn, out of earshot from the vet with that annoyingly perfect smile and cocky glint in his eye.
