5-VIVIENNE

I took my hand out of the horse's mouth once I felt everything smooth and neat and nodded towards its owner.

“I think this will fix the problem,” I said, setting aside the file I used on the animal's teeth. “When you get home, let him graze for a while before you feed him.”

“I didn't know something so small could be so strong.”

“I'm almost six feet tall. I'm not small at all, Mr. Jones,” I stated, grabbing my kit to carry it to my truck.

“You can call me Darren if you prefer, darling.”

I could call him a pig, but I didn’t want to offend them.

I bit the inside of my cheek and closed the hatch with more force than necessary when I saw that the man had followed me.

“And I didn't mean your height, sweetheart,” The man continued as I turned to him. His flirtatious smile made it clear what he meant.

“I'm not interested in a Sugar Daddy, Grandpa.”

It wasn't the first time I'd been hit on at work. It wasn't the first time a man older than my father had made a pass at me either, but at least I didn't know those men had wives and children waiting at home while they did it. I guess a lot of men didn't mature with age.

His smile faltered a bit.

“Don't dismiss the idea before you try it, darling...”

I couldn't help the sound of disgust that escaped from me at his words.

“Take your horse and get out of here, pal. We already found out why Otis didn't want to eat. You can leave now.”

“Listen to me, you little brat. You don't want to talk to me like that...”

“Or what?” I snapped, straightening up when he came closer to try to scare me.

“Or I'll talk to Jacob and complain about the poor treatment I've received from you.”

“I think Jacob will be here in a few minutes. Maybe you should get it over with, Darren.”

We both turned to George, who was leaning against the back door of the clinic.

I didn't know my boss was there, or how much he’d heard, but I greatly appreciated it.

“I think I should go,” The man said, taking the reins of the horse to direct it towards his trailer. “Perhaps the next appointment should be at my ranch.”

“Perhaps you should wake up if you think I'm going to send Vivienne to that filthy place with you,” My boss spat out, surprising me. “Good luck getting Kristy to answer your call. Don't think we forgot what you tried with her last time.”

“Fuck you, Woods,” The man growled, before slamming his truck’s door and pulling away.

It hurt me to see the poor horse hitting the walls of the trailer and I couldn't help but curse the horrible man for treating the animal so badly.

But if he’d spoken to me that way, what kind of treatment could I expect him to give to an innocent creature?

“Are you okay?” My boss asked once we stopped seeing the truck. “I'm sorry you had to deal with that son of a bitch. Normally I'm the one who does it, but I was talking with the surgical supplies’ provider.”

“Now I understand why Kristy refused him the entrance.” I shook my head, still disgusted with what had happened.

“I'm really sorry you had to deal with that idiot, Vivi. But there are not many like him in this place.”

“I don't know why his wife is still with him,” I said, following him as he pointed me toward the stables a few feet from us. “What are you showing me?”

“Lucy's here,” Was the only thing he said before leading me into the compound.

“When did she arrive?” I asked excited.

A week had passed since we arrived at The Eden and this was the first rescued animal to arrive since then.

Except for routine checkups on a few animals, an emergency I attended at a neighboring farm, and constant visits from town customers, all had been relatively uneventful.

Everything had been normal.

Until now.

“Jacob texted me saying they just dropped her off at her stable.”

And then I saw her.

A beautiful chestnut mare who had injured her rear left leg and whose owner had not been able to afford the therapies, so he’d contacted Jacob to take her in with the condition that he could visit her when he could.

George told me Jacob hadn't had any problem accepting the deal with the elderly widower living on his pension. So, Jacob took his truck and trailer this morning and traveled to Sheridan to look for the shelter's newest resident.

“It's impressive,” I murmured, moving closer to get a better look at her. I smiled as the animal approached and lowered her head when I raised my hand. “And you're so sweet, another point for your, honey.”

“And there's something else.”

I let out a squeak of excitement when I noticed the ultrasound machine at his feet.

“The owner said the neighbor's horse was hanging around her a few months ago, but he didn't give it a second thought until he saw her starting to gain weight…Wanna do the honors?”

“Hell, yeah!”

I started to put on the special glove for this type of procedure and deposited a large amount of lubricating gel. Once I had emptied the feces from the rectum, I took the ultrasound machine George offered me and that he had already prepared, and I started to insert my hand together with the device.

I did a sweep from Lucy's pelvis to her cervical star, finding what we had originally suspected.

“She's pregnant,” I confirmed excited, pulling my arm out of the mare. “Should we do a transabdominal ultrasound to confirm for how long?”

“I knew you'd say that, honey,” George laughed, taking the scanner from my hand to switch it. “You look like a girl in a candy store, Vivi.”

“Can you blame me? The baby mares and foals are a beauty. This definitely puts a stop to my episode with Mr. Jones.”

“What did that asshole do now?”

I was startled by the sharp tone with which Jacob spoke.

“Good God, Jacob, where did you come from? You should wear a bell or something to prevent future heart attacks.”

My idea was to lighten the man's mood a bit, but it didn’t work. After all, it was Jacob we were talking about.

In the few times we'd crossed paths, he'd been decently courteous…and cold.

Jacob never smiled and took everything very serious and although everyone around him joked and laughed, the boss never shared the jokes.

There was always an air of respect towards him.

Cause yeah, the workers had fun and even joked with each other regardless of Jacob being present, but he was never part of those games.

I was starting to believe that the day we met and he smiled at me and shared something personal with me was an isolated episode.

“I asked you a question, Vivienne,” He said impatiently, letting me know he had entered Lucy's stable and stopped in front of me.

“It was nothing, Jake, really. Mr. Jones made a pass at me, but nothing happened.”

George snorted loudly.

“The son of a bitch thought that just because Vivi was new, he could threaten her with you. That filthy weasel.”

I was about to say something more, but I noticed Jacob's face had lost a bit of color.

“Don’t call me like that ever again.”

He practically spat out the words.

“Like what?” I stammered, surprised at the furious tone he used in my direction.

“Jake. Do not call me that way. Never.”

“Hmm, I’m sorry? I didn't…realized I did it. I won’t do it again. I promise”

“Good,” He growled, backing away. “And as for Darren, if that son of a bitch thinks he's coming to harass my women, he's dead wrong. From now on he can seek help elsewhere because I won’t allow that kind of abuse.”

I nodded as an answer, it was the only thing I managed to do because I was left speechless by the fierce tone he’d used.

And also, because he’d implied I was his woman, well, one of his women, but that possessive tone had played havoc with me.

“Well, if anyone is interested in knowing, in six months Lucy will be a mom.”

I looked away from Jacob and now I was the annoyed one.

“Hey! That's not fair. I wanted to do the echo.”

George just shrugged and turned off the machine.

“I didn't want to interrupt the contest of stares between you two. It's very entertaining to see all that pent up energy between the two of you by the way. You should do something about it.”

I swallowed hard as Jacob's eyes widened and his cheeks turned an adorable reddish color.

It wasn't the first time he'd blushed in my presence, and that fact made my determination to see him strictly as my boss to waver a bit.

But every time that happened, all I had to do was to remember the way he'd spoken to Taylor and it would pass.

“Is everything okay with the pregnancy?” I asked, changing the subject.

“Everything's perfect with this cutie,” George agreed, holding up the gear we'd used.

I went over to help him.

“And Lucy?” It was Jacob's turn to ask, “Is she okay? I want to tell Paul that Lucy is okay.”

“Lucy's health is in perfect condition, Jacob,” I replied, stroking the mare's neck.

“Fine,” Was the only thing he said before heading out the door. “I have to go, see you.”

My boss' soft chuckle took my eyes off Jacob's ass as he walked away from us.

“He likes you,” He said, surprising me.

I snorted once I snapped out of my trance and followed him out of the stables towards the clinic.

“If so, then the man has an unusual way of flirting.”

“The man has had a few rough years, honey. It wasn’t easy to adapt to this new life he now has.”

Blessed curiosity that always won me over.

“What do you mean with that? What happened to him?”

“Jacob was a fireman,” Was his reply.

“Was? Why did he stop being?”

George hesitated a bit before answering me.

“He had an accident that left him disabled and forced him to quit the job he loved so much. Jacob hasn't been the same since then,” My boss explained with a serious tone. “And Vivienne, I'm not defending him, but I saw the way he treated you when you arrived… and for a moment I saw again the boy he used to be. I know it's not easy to deal with someone as dry and gruff as Jacob is, but please bear with him a little.”

“I would say you’re right because I understand what you are trying to tell me, George. When we were walking to the clinic the day I arrived, I met another person. But when he picked me and Taylor up at the clinic and treated us so coldly and spoke so rudely to my daughter after learning what she had been through… I don't want to be around someone like that. I will not expose my daughter to a person who can hurt her with so few words.”

“And I understand you, but Vivienne, didn't you think that maybe the boy was scared?”

“Scared,” I repeated confused.

“Scared,” He agreed, opening the door for me to enter the clinic. “Since the accident, Jacob has completely isolated himself. He left behind the life he had in Main Port. Work, friends, girlfriend… Everything. In the two years he's been living here, he's barely dated anyone, Vivi. And it didn't end well. You are the first woman I’ve seen that has affected him in some way and perhaps what he felt when he met you scared him. Think about it for a bit, honey.”

I froze in the hallway leading to our offices as George walked into his and closed the door behind him. My mind turning over and over to my boss' words.

Would it be possible?

Could I allow myself to believe that whatever we’d felt when we met had scared Jacob to the point he didn't know how to process what he felt?

Today had been the first conversation we'd had since he spoke the way he did to my daughter because whenever we found ourselves in each other's presence, we'd look for some excuse to disappear, so he hadn't given me many chances to find out if what George had told was true or not.

“Mommy? What are you doing there?”

I was so lost in my thoughts I didn’t notice my office’s door opened and that Taylor was looking at me with confusion.

“I was looking for an excuse to go into town and couldn't think of one, babe,” I said, smiling at my daughter before walking in and closing the door behind me. “I have the morning off tomorrow and I was thinking of going to Walmart, what do you say? You wanna go with me?”

“Yes!” My daughter yelled, making Lily jump on her feet to then start to complain, “It's starting to get cold, Mom, and I think we'll need more winter clothes. I was thinking about new boots. Purple ones. Better pink ones. No, maybe there's a half purple, half pink pair.”

“Or maybe we could buy two pairs, what do you say?”

Another squeak from my daughter let me know that she was excited about the idea.

Her pig's screeching let me know that she wasn't happy with the situation and that we should shut up so she can continue sleeping.