“Where’s the vet?”
Being short, she was used to people sometimes overlooking her. Being female, she was used to occasionally being dismissed. But the blast of his dismissal hit her exhausted emotions and all of his sexiness fled. If she could have incinerated him with her glare, she would have. He may have been a foot taller than her, but she pulled herself to her full height, arched an eyebrow, and held his gaze. “I am.”
The man didn’t even try to cover up his incredulity. “You’re Sam? The veterinarian?”
Planting her hands on her hips, Samantha cocked her head to the side. “Which stuns you more? That my name is Sam? Or that a female can be a veterinarian?”
The man held her gaze for a moment, then scowled and turned without answering, walking back to the tow truck. He deftly maneuvered it so he would be able to hook up her truck.
Glancing toward Scott, Samantha snorted. “The man doesn’t say much, does he? And what little he does say, he manages to put his foot into his mouth.”
Scott’s lips twitched. “You can trust him, that’s all you need to know. I need to go check on Lizzie.”
She watched Scott return to the farmhouse and felt guilty. He had enough on his plate dealing with Lizzie and everything happening to Weston Farms and didn’t need to take on Samantha’s irritation.
She turned to let the truck driver know that he needed to back her truck up closer so they could get to the animals, but the sight in front of her caused her feet to stutter to a halt as her mouth dropped open.
The man had walked into the field and kneeled to pick up one of the heavy goats into his arms, cradling its lifeless body carefully, giving evidence that he understood the precious burden. He walked back and laid it gently into the back of Sam’s pickup truck before going back into the field, and with just as much care, bringing the second goat’s body.
Her breath was shallow, her focus entirely on watching his actions, strength mixed with gentleness.
Within a few minutes, he had hooked up her truck and walked past her, still not saying anything. He opened the passenger door of the tow truck, turned around, and looked at her. She blinked out of her reverie. Assuming his action was his way of saying it was time to go, she grabbed her satchel, walked to the door, and looked up. The truck was huge, and she was glad there was a running board. He stuck out his hand, and she placed her much smaller one in his, allowing him to give her a boost. With her ass planted onto the seat, she glanced at him. “Just so you know, my name is Samantha. But everyone calls me Sam.”
“Joseph.” Then he slammed the door shut before walking around to the driver’s side.
Her cheeks puffed out. Great. I get Mr. Fucking Personality to spend part of my morning with. Tired and wishing she’d had another cup of coffee, she turned and faced forward. The memory of watching him carry the goats so carefully stuck with her, and she sighed. At least he’s nice to animals. “So, was it my nickname or that I’m a woman that made you think I wasn’t the veterinarian?”
“You look like you’re barely eighteen.”
Swinging her head around, she glared. “You’re about eleven years off,” she muttered, trying to ignore the way his presence filled the cab of the truck. Giving up, she looked out the windshield and counted the miles until they could be out of each other’s company. Unfortunately, that took a while.
Joseph pulled into the driveway of another farm, and without telling Samantha what he was doing, climbed out and walked over to the fence and leaned a muscular arm on top of the post. He talked to the older man working in the field, obviously having more words in him than had been evident with her. The farmer nodded his head, handed Joseph a shovel, and the two men shook hands.
Walking back over to the truck, he climbed inside and stuck the shovel behind the seat. “We can bury the animals on the back of his property.”
Having no response to that and not being in control of her own vehicle at the moment, she remained quiet. They soon pulled to the side of the fence, and Joseph climbed out, grabbing the shovel. He walked to a far corner and began digging a hole in the soft