Jaci Burton - Hope Flames

“I love this,” Emma said, her sunglasses shading her eyes as she surveyed the stands. “I should have brought my business cards with me. I could walk row by row and hand them out.”

He arched a brow. “Really?”

She laughed. “No. I’m exhausted. It’s been a killer week, and all I want to do is sit back and watch the game. But it’s something my mother would think I should do to drum up business for the clinic.”

“She wants you to do more advertising?”

“Like you wouldn’t believe.”

“Do you need more business?”

“I can always use more, especially since I’m just starting out. But I’m not as aggressive as she’d like me to be. I think word of mouth spreads, and if you’re good at your job, the business will come your way.”

“I can see that, especially in your line of work.”

“She did have a good suggestion, though. She wants me to sponsor an adoption day at the clinic. I’d work with the local shelter and offer discount services to anyone who adopts an animal.”

He shifted to face her. “That’s a brilliant idea. Are you gonna do it?”

“Yes, I think I am. I’ve already been in contact with the shelter, and they’re interested.”

“I could come by and bring Boomer. He’s always a hit with the kids.”

“You’d do that?”

“Sure. I assume you’ll do it on a Saturday?”

“Yes. Jane Kline said she and Will—your friend Will? They’re thinking about adopting a dog. That might be a good time for them to look at some animals.”

He leaned back. “Yeah, Will loves dogs. And I know Jane’s kids, Ryan and Tabitha, have wanted a dog for a while now.”

“I guess I’ll make it happen.”

“You should, Emma. I think it would be great for your business. Your mom’s pretty smart.”

“She is. But if you ever meet her, don’t tell her I said that or she’ll come up with a hundred different marketing and advertising plans for the clinic.”

He laughed. “Duly noted.”

They settled in once the game started. Surprisingly, Emma knew her baseball, and she wasn’t afraid to show her pleasure—or her displeasure—as the game progressed.

“Masters has a rocket arm at third base,” she said, hunkered down in her seat, her feet propped up on the back of the empty seat in front of her. “He’s fired off some killers to first. But they need a new second baseman. Twice now, their shortstop Alioto has scrambled for the balls that hit second, and you don’t need your shortstop trying to cover both his position and second base. It’s clear that he’s trying to cover for how slow Trainor is.”

He looked over at her, studying her as she grabbed a handful of popcorn and shoved it in her mouth, then followed it up with two very large swallows of beer.

“Is that right?”

She pulled her gaze away from the game and looked at him. “Well, yeah. Can’t you tell? Trainor’s either hiding an injury or needs to lose some weight. And judging from the paunch in his belly, I’d say he needs to lay off the cheese-burgers.”

Luke snorted. “Maybe you should have a talk with his conditioning coach.”

“Somebody needs to, or he’s going to find himself booted down to Single-A ball.”

“I had no idea you knew so much about baseball.”

She shot him a grin. “I love sports. I played softball all through school. I’d have played it in college if I’d had the time. I was good enough to get a sports scholarship.”

“But that’s not what you wanted to do.”

“No. I had big plans to become a vet.” She stared out over the field.

“And now you’ve got your own practice.”

“Yes. Finally.” She shoved another handful of popcorn into her mouth. He wished he could see her eyes behind her sunglasses, because he could tell her thoughts had drifted.

“So you ended up changing colleges? You went to school in South Carolina?”

She focused on the game for a few minutes before she answered. “I had a hiccup in my school-and-career plan for a while. Kind of derailed me for a few years, so when I decided to apply to vet schools I couldn’t get back into school here in Oklahoma. That’s how I ended up in South Carolina.”

She turned her head to look at him. “How did you know about South Carolina?”

“It’s on your ‘About Dr. Emma’ page on the clinic’s website.”

“Oh.” Her lips quirked. “You’ve been to the clinic’s website?”

“Yeah. Have to know who’s treating my dog, you know.”

She laughed. “Of course. How very thorough of you. Did you run a background check on me, too?”

“Nah.” He grabbed a handful of popcorn and resumed watching the game. “Not yet, anyway.”

She looked at him, and he again wished she wasn’t wearing her sunglasses, because there was definitely something going on. She wasn’t smiling.

“I’m kidding, Emma.”

She laughed, but it was a nervous laugh. “I knew that.”

Okay, so the idea of a background check freaked her out. What did she have to hide?

Not that he did background checks on women he dated. He never investigated girlfriends—which Emma wasn’t, and would never be, despite her sun-kissed cheeks and the way she yelled at the players and how much Boomer looked up at her with adoration.

Or how much he wanted to kiss her again.

As she watched the game, she absently petted Boomer’s head. It was an unconscious act, but Boomer ate it up and leaned into her hand.

“He likes you,” Luke said.

Her gaze drifted to his and she smiled, the kind of smile that punched a guy in the gut. She grabbed a handful of Boomer’s fur and ruffled it. “I like him, too.”

“You’re so natural with animals.”

She shifted. “You seem surprised by that.”

“No. Well, yeah. My ex hated animals, and especially Boomer.”

“Your ex-girlfriend?”

“Ex-wife.”

“Oh. I’m sorry.”

“For me or for Boomer?”

She laughed. “Both of you. Who wouldn’t love this dog? He’s perfect.” She leaned down and pressed her forehead against Boomer’s. Her affection was so natural, and when Daisy came over and the dogs started to play, she stood.

“They’re restless and they’ve both been so good for so long. How about a walk?”

“Sounds like a great idea.”

They got their hands stamped by one of the attendants at the gate and took the dogs across the street to the park.

“If you don’t mind me asking, how long have you been divorced?”

“Almost four years.”

“Wow. A long time ago.”

“Yeah. We were both too young to get married, but we met my first year in college, and it kind of stuck. We got married my junior year, and she moved out to the ranch to live with me.”

“And that didn’t work out?”

He let out a short laugh. “Uh, no. Rebecca was country club and lattes for breakfast every morning, and going shopping with her friends, and getting manicures and pedicures. Being stuck on a dusty ranch with a bunch of stinky cows and a husband who wanted to be a cop wasn’t as romantic as it had sounded. She hated the ranch, hated the cattle and the horses, and she especially hated the dogs, especially Boomer.”

Emma stopped and stared at him. “Wow. Really?”

“I’m not exaggerating, Emma. The woman I fell in love with and married totally disappeared once she stepped foot on the ranch. Rebecca was sweet and fun and full of life and laughter, but she really goddamn hated that ranch and the life associated with it.”

“But you didn’t end up living on the ranch, either. So why not move off the ranch?”

They resumed their walk through the park. “She knew that was the eventual plan, but patience wasn’t one of her virtues. Besides, Boomer would have still come with us, and she made it clear she wanted a no-animal household. Then I brought up having kids, and she balked.”

“She didn’t want kids, either?”

“No, though that’s not what she told me when we were dating. She wanted travel and expensive cars and a big house. Not kids and definitely not animals.”

“Oh, for heaven’s sake. You’re kidding me, right?”

“I wish I was. There were just too many obstacles to overcome, so eventually she hightailed it back to Tulsa, and we got a divorce. It was a clean break. All she wanted was out of the marriage, and by that point I was more than happy to have her go.”

Emma laid her hand on his arm. “I’m sorry, Luke. It must have been miserable for you.”

“It wasn’t the happiest time of my life, that’s for sure. But I learned a lot from the experience, and next time—if there is a next time—I’ll know better.”

“Surely you want to get married again.”

He shrugged. “Maybe. Someday. I don’t know.”

Her lips quirked. “A little skittish about that first go-round of happily-ever-after?”

She read him well. “That’s an understatement.”

“That’s what you meant that night when you said that’s not how you usually do it.”

He stopped. “Huh?”

“When you were offering to take me out. You don’t ‘date.’”

She used air quotes around the word date.

“Oh, right. No, I don’t. Not often.”

She paused and pulled the leash around her hand. Daisy sat dutifully at her feet as Emma crossed her arms. “Well, after what you’ve been through, I can’t say I blame you. Women must scare the hell out of you.”

And that was a little too close to Emma having him figured out in one afternoon.

He wasn’t sure he liked that.

EMMA WATCHED THE myriad of expressions cross Luke’s face as he talked about his ex-wife. A lot of anger and resentment, for sure, mixed with sadness, which she appreciated. He had obviously wanted it to work out with his ex, and it so clearly hadn’t. He and his ex hadn’t been well-matched.

That happened. Sometimes people weren’t honest about what they really wanted in a relationship. No one knew that better than her.

Of course her situation had been different, and the person she’d become involved with had been deliberately deceptive.

At least they hadn’t gotten married.

She shuddered at the thought. She’d been tied so strongly to him as it was. If their relationship had been legally binding . . .

She shook off the unpleasant thoughts and focused instead on the interesting revelation about Luke. His reticence about taking her out became so much clearer now. It wasn’t that he didn’t find her attractive. Not that she really cared about that—much. Okay, maybe she did, just a little, but she dismissed the thought. Her ego could rest comfortably now.

It was Luke’s fear of relationships that held him back. He was obviously a one-night-stand kind of guy, gun-shy about women since he’d been burned by his ex.

Now that she understood all too well. They were kindred spirits in that regard, though she didn’t do one-night stands.

Or any-night stands, for that matter.

She watched Luke with Boomer, his patience and affection with his dog.

Someday he’d make a great father. You could always tell. Guys who were great with animals would also be good with children.

Not that she was shopping for a father for her as yet nonexistent children. And if she was, Luke wouldn’t be on her list, since he was currently living in one-night-stand land.

“You went quiet,” he said, pulling her out of her thoughts. “I was thinking about you.”

He cocked a brow. “Yeah? What about me?”

“You, your ex-wife, the fact you’re afraid of relationships, and how good you are with your dog.”

He laughed. “That’s a lot of thinking. And I’m not afraid of relationships. I’m just not in the market for one right now.”

“Me, either.”

“Did you get burned by an ex, too?”

And there was a conversation she didn’t want to have with Luke. Not in detail, anyway. “I did. In the worst way. Who doesn’t have an ugly breakup in their past?”

“True. Were you married?”

“No. It was just a bad relationship.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Me, too. And now I’m too busy with the new clinic.”

“Oh, come on. You don’t live it twenty-four seven.”

“That’s true, but relationships take time and commitment, and I don’t have the time or the energy for one right now.”

“I understand. So coming out with me today is perfect. No strings attached, but you can still get out and have some fun.”

She liked Luke. “You’re right. We’re perfect for each other. Neither one of us has any expectations of the other.”

“Yeah. Exactly.”

And for some reason, that made her wish for more.