Her eyes hardened.
“There. Right there. Yep, it does bother you.”
Dakota pulled her hand out of his and stood up. “So what if it does? I don’t owe you any explanations.” She returned to the mess on the floor and quickly picked up the larger pieces before grabbing the broom and sweeping the smaller shards into the dustpan. Once that was done, she opened a few drawers, sighing after she’d gone through three.
“What are you looking for?”
She opened another one. “You probably wouldn’t know anyway.”
He let out a frustrated breath. “What are you looking for, Dakota?”
“A clean rag.”
Brady pointed to a drawer near the dishwasher. “Third down.”
Dakota opened the drawer and pulled out a blue washcloth. “Thanks.” She ran it under water and got down on her knees and wiped up the spilled soup.
“You don’t have to do that.” Watching her clean up the mess while he sat there helpless didn’t feel right. He should be helping her.
She snorted. “Right. I’ll just let the soup sit here on the floor until your staff comes back. Then they can clean up the dried-on crud I left behind.” She paused and stared at him. “I’m a big girl, Brady. I can clean up messes I make.”
“I wasn’t saying you couldn’t. I just… ”
“You just what?”
Brady shook his head. “Nothing.”
She finished up cleaning and returned to the sink. With the water running and the bubbles foaming, she turned to him. “Do you want me to help you back to the couch?”
He glanced back toward the empty living room. The only light came from a lamp and the fireplace. It looked incredibly lonely. Turning back to face her, he forced a smile. “Naw, I’ll keep you company if that’s okay.”
She shrugged. “That’s fine.” Turning to the sink, she scrubbed the dishes without further comment.
Brady itched to start a conversation with her. His curiosity was in overdrive. Why didn’t she like him? Why wasn’t she as carefree as the other women he interacted with? He tapped his fingers on the table beside his plate. “Why did you want to become a vet?”
She paused and tossed him a questioning look over her shoulder. “I don’t know. I guess coming to visit my uncle and aunt at Terry Hill in the summers caused me to develop an interest in animals.”
“So why not go the training or competing route instead of medical care?”
“Actually, I didn’t like competing as a child.”
He stopped his drumming. “Really? I thought all little girls wanted to compete.”
She shook her head. “I loved the animals, but the people left much to be desired. The girls in my age group were bullies. They were brought up with money and opinions and I didn’t fit in. Just because my aunt and uncle let me ride their horses didn’t mean I was accepted. I preferred spending time with the horses and the workers’ kids.”
Brady could relate. The way he grew up was similar. With only his father to provide for him and his siblings, they didn’t have much growing up. Boy, things had changed.
Dakota pulled the plug from the sink and wiped her hands with the towel hanging on the stove. “What about you? You don’t seem like the vet type, especially since you run this ranch too.”
He rubbed the back of his neck and groaned. The aches were settling in, and he knew he would be walking funny for a while. She leaned against the counter and folded her arms, waiting for his answer.
“When my sister went off to college, it ruined my father—”
“Why on earth would that ruin your father?”
He gave her a half-smile. “When she graduated high school, we didn’t run the ranch. My dad was the head ranch-hand and my brother, sister, and I helped him out. She wanted to go to college so she could take this ranch places. He wanted her to stay put because she was one of his best workers. Not only that, but we barely had the money for clothes growing up, and she wanted to spend her life savings on school.” He shook his head. “Anyway, she went off to school and Mr. Hickory decided she had a point. But his idea was to grow the ranch by improving the medical care for the animals. He sent me off for vet training. Long story short, it put us on the map and when he retired, he sold the ranch to my father at a steal.”
“I assume your father changed his tune after that?”
Brady nodded. “He realized pretty quick that adding specialties to the ranch only made us more attractive to other businesses. The ranch’s value skyrocketed a few years ago when we partnered with Bolton Farms and the rest is history.”
She tilted her head to the side. “So you became a vet because your boss told you to?”
He squinted and looked at the ceiling. “In a way, I suppose so. He offered me an opportunity and I jumped at it. But I’d always loved caring for animals. It’s why he sent me and not my brother. Robert is the one with business sense. He sees opportunities for expansion whereas I prefer the grunt work and staying in the clinic.”
She chuckled—a melodious sound, and he smiled without knowing why. “Who prefers grunt work?” she asked.
A rush of heat crept up his neck. Brady shrugged. “There’s something about accomplishing something with hard work that makes me happy.
Chapter Eight
So the flirt liked hard work. Now Dakota had seen everything. Granted, when she’d met Brady, he wasn’t someone who worked at Terry Hill. She had no idea what kind of work ethic he had. A smile touched her lips.
“I think you have a pretty smile.”
And just like that, the happy feeling evaporated. Dakota rolled her eyes and nodded out to the living room. “Are you ready to get to bed? It’s getting late.”
Brady frowned. “Did I say something wrong?”
Dakota pointed to the clock on the wall. “It’s late. I have a long drive ahead of me, and you need your rest.” Of course she was avoiding answering that question. How many times did she have to tell him to quit hitting on her? She wasn’t going to fall for any of it.
He glanced at the clock, a resigned expression on his face. “You’re right.”
“Let me help you up.” Dakota approached him, reaching out her hands.
Brady waved his good arm at her. “I can do it.”
She smirked, folding her arms. “You think so, huh? Well, then go for it.”
He eyed her, gripped the table, and pulled himself to a standing position. Closing his eyes briefly, his fingers turned white as he held onto the table harder. “Okay, maybe it would be a good idea to have some help so I don’t fall and hit my head again.”
Dakota’s smile quirked up to the side. She walked around him and he lifted his arm around her shoulders. His body was firm yet soft and the temptation to wrap her arm around him to get a hug was strong. It didn’t help matters that he smelled amazing. The irony about these thoughts wasn’t lost on her. Brady Shipley was catnip for women and she was a fool to think she wouldn’t be affected by him.
By the time they made it to the couch, she practically shoved him onto it. He looked up at her with wide eyes for a moment before shifting in his seat.