The Doctor's Calling

The Doctor's Calling
Stella Bagwell

When love comes calling, what’s a girl to do?Laurel Stanton never thought she had a crush on her grumpy boss – until Russ Hollister announced he was leaving his vet practice. When he proposed that she move with him to a ranch and continue to be his assistant – it made her rethink everything…For Russ, to focus on the horses and cattle on the Cantrell ranch was the chance of a lifetime. But suddenly, facing a day without lovely Laurel’s patience, smile and soothing touch would be pure purgatory. He’d made her one offer – but should he make her another?

Monday morning. I’ll give you my answer then.

Laurel’s promise continued to haunt and shock him. All along, he’d thought she wouldn’t hesitate to follow him to his new job. Now he wasn’t so sure. What would he do if Laurel told him she didn’t want to accept the job? Find another assistant to replace her?

He couldn’t replace Laurel. He knew that and he figured she knew it, too. No one else would put up with his moods and demands the way she did. No one else would devote herself to his work as she did. And lastly, no one else at his side would feel right.

After what he’d been through, he never dreamed he’d allow his peace of mind to hinge on another woman. But here he was, agonizing over what Laurel might or might not do.

Had he lost his mind? Or was he just beginning to realize exactly what his assistant had come to mean to him?

Dear Reader,

Change, no matter what prompts it, is the thing that moves our lives from one direction to another. Sometimes we choose to make our own changes and other times they’re forced upon us. Good or bad, how we deal with them reveals the sort of person we truly are.

Laurel has already experienced traumatic redirections in her life and she’s decided her day-to-day rut of work, and little else, is the safest way to keep her heart from being crushed. As for Russ, he’s already concluded that it’s high time to move his life down a totally different trail. But will the woman he loves agree to follow him down that path to happiness? As you might guess, it’s going to take some mighty big changes to get these two together.

Elsewhere, in Lincoln County, New Mexico, things are ever shifting. Babies are being born and new people are moving in! I hope you’ll decide to join the Donovans and the Cantrells as they continue to help family and friends find love and happiness in the land of enchantment.

Thank you so much for reading, and God bless the trails you ride.

Stella

About the Author

STELLA BAGWELL has written more than seventy novels for Mills & Boon. She credits her loyal readers and hopes her stories have brightened their lives in some small way.

A cowgirl through and through, she loves to watch old Westerns, and has recently learned how to rope a steer. Her days begin and end helping her husband care for a beloved herd of horses on their little ranch located on the south Texas coast. When she’s not ropin’ and ridin’, you’ll find her at her desk, creating her next tale of love.

The couple have a son, who is a high-school math teacher and athletic coach. Stella loves to hear from readers and invites them to contact her at stellabagwell@gmail.com.

The Doctor’s Calling

Stella Bagwell

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

To our son, Jason,

and the changes he made for all of us

when he dropped a finger onto a map.

Love you!

Chapter One

“What did you say?”

As the question left Laurel Stanton’s lips, she was transfixed on the man seated behind the large, messy desk. Dr. Russ Hollister had owned and operated Hollister Animal Clinic for twelve years, and Laurel had worked as his assistant for the past five of those. It was unimaginable to think her days with him were coming to an end.

His gaze locked on hers, he picked up a pen and tapped it absently against a stack of files. At thirty-eight years old, he was a tall, muscular man with big arms and hands to match. His shaggy blond hair was never combed and a dark five-o’clock shadow always covered the lower half of his face. But that was easily explainable, she thought. The man never had time to shave or get a decent haircut.

“Just what I said,” he spoke with exaggerated patience.

“As of January twenty-fifth, I’m taking the position of resident vet at the Chaparral Ranch. The Cantrell family owns the cattle and horse operation. I believe you’re acquainted with them?”

Laurel had gone through high school and college with Alexa Cantrell. Now her friend lived in Texas with her Ranger husband and their children. Alexa’s mother, Frankie, spent most of her time in Texas, too, where she had grown sons from a previous marriage. Only Quint, Alexa’s brother, remained here in New Mexico to keep his late father’s ranching dynasty going.

Laurel swallowed hard as a sinking weight hit the pit of her stomach. She’d noticed that Russ had been acting a bit unlike himself here lately, as though his mind were preoccupied with more than work, but she’d never dreamed he was about to do anything this drastic. What in the world could have come over him?

She said, “I’ve been friends with the Cantrells for years. They’re great folks, but—”

Bewildered by it all, her voice trailed away, however, he seemed not to notice as he quickly replied, “That’s one of the main reasons I decided to make this major job change. The family is trustworthy, solid and dependable. I can be sure that the ranch will always remain in their hands and I won’t ever have to deal with the uncertainty of a new owner coming in and replacing me.”

Being a resident vet for a prominent ranch like the Chaparral was an impressive position to hold. Plenty of veterinarians would give their eyeteeth for such a job, she thought. Besides the prestige, there would be many other advantages, such as not having to deal with tons of paperwork, the demands of the public and traveling all over the county in the middle of the night. Still, Russ had always been his own boss. It was hard for her to imagine an independent guy like him willing to be an employee rather than the other way around.

“But you own this clinic,” she reasoned. “Your business is so great that you can’t handle it all. Why—”

Before she could get the whole question out, he interrupted, “That’s right. I can’t handle it all. It’s grown to be too much for you and me to deal with.”

Questions and doubts tumbled through her mind as her gaze slipped over his rugged features. She’d never thought of Russ Hollister as a handsome man. He was too rough around the edges for that description. But he was sexy as all get-out and totally unaware of the fact, which made him even more unbearably attractive.

Five years ago, when he’d first hired her, he’d been a married man. But three years later, that had all changed when divorce had parted him from a classy, career-driven wife. Ever since then, Laurel tried not to think of him in terms of being “available.” He was nothing more to her than her boss, or, from the sound of things, soon-to-be former boss.

Pressing fingertips against her puckered forehead, she tried to put her concerns into words. “I realize you’re overworked and—”

“We’re both overworked,” he corrected.

“Okay. I agree. You have to deal with people and things that would frazzle the nerves of a saint, but this place and all the animals—who will care for them? You’ve been here—”

“I don’t need for you to tell me how long I’ve been here, Laurel. The floors in this old building are stained with my blood and sweat. But that’s soon ending. I’ll be leaving the end of next week. And Dr. Brennan will be taking over shortly afterward. So there’s no need for you to worry. The horses from the track and all the other animals around here won’t go without a vet.”

But what about her? What about the long, arduous hours she’d invested in this clinic? In him? Were they all for naught? She wanted to fling the questions at him.

This isn’t about him or what he means to you, Laurel. This is about your job, your livelihood, the sum of what makes up your life. This isn’t about your personal feelings.

Russ was a demanding boss who spoke bluntly and, more often than not, took her for granted. But he was also honest and fair. And where animals were concerned, his heart was as big as Texas. It wasn’t enough for him to simply cure a patient from illness or injury. He always went a step further to make sure the animal would remain healthy and happy. There was never a time he put himself before the welfare of his patients. She admired him greatly, and though he often irked her with his caustic tongue, once she’d begun working for him, she’d never considered working for anyone else. She was hopelessly devoted and attached to the man.

Suddenly feeling weak in the knees, Laurel sank into one of the hard metal chairs that were normally reserved for pet owners. But it was eight o’clock at night—far past closing hours—and the building was empty, except for him, her and the few cats and dogs that remained at the clinic for more extensive care.

“I see,” she said, her voice low and hoarse, then asked, “Does Dr. Brennan have an assistant?”

Shrugging, he leaned back in the wide leather chair, and the indifference she saw on his face made her wish she had the guts to reach over and pop her palm against his jaw.

“I haven’t questioned the man about his staff,” he said frankly. “That’s his business.”

After five years, Laurel was used to his curtness, and most of the time she ignored it. But his announcement had knocked her for a loop. She wasn’t in any mood for sarcasm.

Her back teeth grinding together, she quickly rose to her feet. “Well, did you ever think it might have been more thoughtful to let me in on this a bit sooner? Jobs aren’t exactly hanging from tree limbs right now. But I suppose I’m just an afterthought in all of this.”

He arched a brow at her. “Sit down.”

The quietly spoken command made her hackles rise. “Why? I still have work to do before we close up. And I’d like to get to bed before midnight.”

“I’m not finished with this conversation yet. That’s why.” He pointed to the vacated chair as though she was a child instead of a thirty-year-old woman, and it was on the tip of her tongue to tell him what an ass he could sometimes be. After all, her job was coming to an end. But what else could he do to her, she asked herself. Fire her before the week was out? The thought sent a bubble of hysterical laughter rising in her throat, and she realized she was very close to breaking down in front of this man who had little to no patience for weakness in human beings. Yet he had a massive heart where animals were concerned.

Biting back a weary sigh, she sank into the stillwarm seat. “Okay. Lay it on me,” she invited with a fatal dose of sarcasm.

He frowned. “First of all, I didn’t share all of this with you earlier, because I knew you’d be upset.”

She sputtered in disbelief. “Upset! That’s putting it mildly. I’m going along thinking my job is secure and you spring this on me! Wouldn’t any normal person be upset?”

He didn’t say anything for a moment, and she suddenly felt his gaze roaming her face and hair. She had no doubt her gray eyes were sparking fire and her cheeks were pink. As for the rest of her, she was certain she looked as tired as she felt. Her long chestnut hair had loosened from its thick, single braid and now hung raggedly against the front of her left shoulder. What little makeup she’d applied this morning had been washed away by the early-morning drizzle that had fallen while she and Russ had trudged into a cattle pen to treat a bull with an infected horn. Her blue jeans and green-plaid flannel shirt could no longer be deemed clean, and her black cowboy boots were caked with dried red mud.

It was rare that Russ ever took the time to really look at her, and Laurel never fussed with her appearance. Not for him or any man. But now as she faced him in the dimly lit office, she realized his warm brown eyes made her feel quite uncomfortable and very much like a woman.