Bossing the Cowboy (Circle B Ranch #4) - Kennedy Fox Page 0,30
want all my grandchildren to be happy too.”
“I’m plenty happy without a man to drive me crazy.”
“Raising a family will bring you so much joy.” She cups my cheek and smiles.
“Okay, Grandma. You’re right.” I return her smile, mostly to appease her, but a part of me wants that too.
She scoops up Rory, and her eyes light up with pure happiness. He’s her second great-grandchild, and Grandma Bishop just eats his cuteness up. Riley and Zoey’s son, Zach, turns two next month, so it’s been a while since we’ve had a newborn around.
“Your parents are proof you can have a career and a family. Working as doctors while raising two kids,” Grandma tells me.
“Speaking of doctor…” Maize lingers, looking over my shoulder.
I turn, and my eyes widen when I spot Connor. What’s he doing here?
“Did you know he was comin’?” Rowan asks.
“No…I didn’t even tell him about the party.”
My eyes meet Grandma’s, who’s looking awfully suspicious. She most definitely invited him.
Just great.
“Go thank him for coming,” Grandma urges.
“And ask if he plans to hire you,” Rowan adds with a smirk.
“Or if you can have his babies.”
“Maize!” I whisper-hiss.
“Go do all three.” Grandma snickers.
“Look what you two started.” I glare at my cousins.
My heart races as I try to hype myself into speaking to him. I haven’t seen Connor in two weeks. Between finals and getting ready for graduation, I couldn’t work. Seeing him in regular clothes is weird.
“Go!” Maize pushes.
I narrow my eyes at her, then walk away.
“Dr. Wallen, I wasn’t expecting to see you here,” I say kindly. He looks as nervous as I feel.
“I wasn’t sure when I’d see you next and wanted to give you this. And to say congratulations.”
He hands me a box. “You got me a gift?”
“It’s not much,” he says with a small grin.
I peel off the wrapping paper and pull back the tissue inside to find a stack of notecards and a thick leather notebook. Next to it is an expensive-looking pen set.
“It’s to help you study,” he clarifies. “Those are the notecards I made when I was studying for the boards.”
“You’re giving me your notes?” I ask, honestly shocked at his generosity.
“Yeah, you need them more than I do.” The corner of his lips tilts up just the slightest. “They really helped me, but you don’t have to use them. I studied best with repetition and quizzing myself, but if that’s not for you, I added the journal just in case you wanted to write your own notes.”
“Of course I’ll use them! I’ll definitely use the journal too.” I quickly flip through the notecards. “I see your doctor scratch handwriting wasn’t in effect yet,” I tease.
“No, you get that when they send you the official license.”
I chuckle and can’t believe he’s actually joking around with me. Who is this person?
“Well, thank you. I appreciate it. As much as I’m not looking forward to taking the exam, I’m so ready to get it over with and find a permanent job.”
His head tilts, and his brows furrow. “You’re not planning to come back to the clinic?”
I narrow my eyes, my shoulders tense. “Well, are you hiring?”
Connor releases a breath, and I can’t help but notice him lick his lips. “I was hoping you’d stay. You’re smart and have a lot to offer. I was even gonna offer to help you study in the evenings.”
“I’m sorry—what? Are you Dr. Wallen’s twin or something?”
He gives me a confused look.
“You’re being really nice, and honestly, it’s trippin’ me out.” Connor and I have never held this long of a conversation that didn’t involve him ordering me around.
I can tell he wants to laugh, but for whatever reason, he doesn’t.
“Just offering to help, Elizabeth. You’re an asset to the practice, and I’d be an idiot not to hire you. I’d hate to lose you.”
His words ignite a spark throughout my entire body. He’s talking about our professional relationship, but my attraction to him is giving me mixed feelings.
“Wow. I really wasn’t sure, but I’m relieved to hear that.” I beam, unable to hide my joy of not being unemployed. Assuming I don’t fail the exam.
“Of course I’ll still be your boss, but we can work side by side and maybe actually keep up with the schedule.”
I grin because the days are always jam-packed. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves now.”
“So you want to plan to get together next week?” he asks, shoving his hands in the pockets of his jeans.