Almost Fired by the Cowboy - Natalie Dean Page 0,15

Amazing. Nova hadn’t felt so vital at a job since well… ever. And although she knew Elizabeth would have been fine without her help, it just was such a nice change that Nova’s efforts provided noticeable relief.

Maybe that was why she was so drawn to animal care in the first place. Her lofty dreams had been to be an actual vet, but considering how expensive and long she would have to go to school for that, it was much too far out of her reach. Especially considering that her grades had only been average growing up. If only scholarships took into account that being constantly made into a villain by her family could really tank a teenager’s motivation to do anything.

Nova shook her head as she hobbled to her car, thighs protesting with every single step. She wasn’t going to ruin the wonderful feelings in her by thinking about her family. Not when helping Elizabeth had helped her feel so useful and smart. Basically everything they’d told her she wasn’t. She’d proved them wrong, and that was that.

She was also absolutely filthy.

She was going to need to take a shower again, but she didn’t mind. It would give her more time to soak in the wonderfulness of the moment. To turn over every detail ad nauseam until the whole thing was memorized. She—

Nova was so absorbed in her thoughts and her protesting muscles that she hadn’t exactly been paying attention to where she was going. One moment she was walking, the next she collided with something very solid.

“Ow!”

She bounced off the thing, rubbing her nose as her eyes watered. Had someone suddenly erected a wall on her usual path? Oh, nope, it was Sal.

“Sorry,” Nova said automatically before it clicked in her brain exactly who she was talking to. Oh.

He didn’t say anything for a moment, instead staring in that very strange way of his, the same stilted look he had given her at the end of their conversation in the barn. For being such a handsome guy, he sure was awkward.

Or maybe that was just how he was around people he hated. Oh well, no skin off Nova’s nose.

“Are you alright?”

“What? Oh, yeah, I’m fine. This blood isn’t mine. Birthing, you know, messy business.” She hadn’t expected him to show concern, but it was good to know that he cared about if she was bleeding or not—even if it surprised her that he did.

“Blood? What? Oh, no. I meant your leg.”

Her leg? What did he mean?

Right, what had happened in the barn. She didn’t mean to, but a laugh escaped her as she shook her head. “You don’t have to worry about that, friend. My knee has a mind of its own, and I’ve popped it back in so many times I can do it blindfolded. I’m just sore from physical therapy and then rushing down here.”

But Sal didn’t respond right away, still looking at her with a befuddled expression. “Why don’t you just… fix it?”

It was then that it all it clicked in Nova’s head. He wasn’t staring at her because he thought she was bizarre or he didn’t understand how to talk to someone who worked for him, it was because he was genuinely confused about the situation. She’d heard about the rich being out of touch, but she’d kind of forgotten because of not knowing any actual rich people.

“Surgery is painful and not exactly a guarantee. My knee could just keep doing the same thing. Besides, even if it was a one-hundred-percent deal, I can’t exactly take all the time off work that’s needed for the recovery. You really can’t do anything while your knee is healing.”

“You could save up enough money to be able to take off work for a little while, right?”

She blinked at him, but then that blinking turned into another laugh and she just shook her head. “Funny, very funny,” she said with a chuckle, heading to her car. And as she walked, it didn’t take long for her mind to drift away from giant ranch heir and head right back to the beautiful life she’d helped come into the world.

Her luck really was changing for the better. She could feel it.

7

Salvatore

Sal rubbed his face with his hands, suppressing the growl that he was building in his chest. He was smart! He’d always had good grades, he was witty, and never had an issue understanding new ideas. So why was he struggling so hard to put together a plan to help his