“He’s not overbearing,” Nicole said as Boone walked through the door. His heart jumped. He knew he shouldn’t have left Nicole alone with his parents and Heather, even if he had been interested in Dwayne’s new horse.

Thanksgiving Day had been beautiful, with a plenty of food and gratitude and good cheer. But it was Friday now, and apparently his family thought all bets were off and they could ask whatever they wanted.

Boone paused before entering the kitchen, not wanting to eavesdrop but needing to know what they were asking her.

“Well, that’s good,” his dad said. “Sometimes Boone likes to fix things that are unfixable.”

What did that even mean? There was nothing to fix with Nicole anyway.

“Chase,” his mother said, and Boone suspected his mother knew he’d come in. He got himself around the corner and into the kitchen.

“What did I miss?” he asked.

“Nothing,” Nicole said, stepping over to him with definite anxiety in her expression. He put his arm around her and wanted to lead her out to the truck and on out of Hill Country.

“We were just asking Nicole about how you guys met and started dating,” Heather said. She too wore a hint of nervousness on her face, and Boone really disliked that his father had that affect on everyone and didn’t seem to notice or care.

“Oh,” Boone said. “Did she tell you about my running shorts?”

“It came up,” Heather said lightly, and Nicole started laughing.

“Thanks for that,” Boone growled in her ear, flashing her a smile so she’d know he wasn’t really upset, and he said loud enough for everyone to hear, “Well, we’re going to head back into town.”

“So soon?” His mom stepped around the counter. “There’s still cookies and ice cream.”

“I’m stuffed, Mom,” he said, not wanting to hurt her feelings but not wanting to hang around the ranch any longer. This visit had definitely been one of the best he’d had, but his father hadn’t changed all that much.

“All right,” she said. “I can box you some for the drive tomorrow?”

“Sure.” He waited while she did that, and then he nudged Nicole toward the door. Heather and his mother talked in the kitchen, a binder open on the counter between them as Heather went over her forthcoming wedding plans.

“Boone, can I have a moment?” His father had a way of appearing right when Boone thought he could make a clean getaway.

“Sure. You go on ahead, Nicole.” He handed her the keys to his truck though she wore an expression that said she didn’t want to leave him alone.

He smiled at her, and she went through the front door, and Boone sat on the couch in the living room, waiting for his father to say whatever it was he felt like he needed to say.

He sat down with a sigh and said, “She seems nice.”

“She is,” Boone said. He had not mentioned their brief marriage conversation. His mother had already cried at the fact that he even had a girlfriend. He didn’t need to go getting her hopes up.

“Are you sure she’s not…beneath you?” His dad wore a look of genuine concern.

“I don’t even know what that means, Dad.”

“I just want what’s best for you.”

Boone stood, the conversation already stale. He’d heard all of this before. “Dad, you have no idea what would make me happy.” He started for the front door and opened it. “Ranching didn’t do it, and you think I settled for a career in veterinary medicine.”

He spun back to his dad, who had also stood. “But I didn’t. I’m good at what I do, and I love it. And I love her too. She’s not beneath me. If anything, she’s out of my league.”

His chest hurt, and his mother appeared at the mouth of the hallway, followed by Heather. “Good-bye, Mother.” He looked at his sister, unwilling to break her heart but needed to preserve his too. “I don’t know if I’ll make it to the wedding, Heather. I’ll let you know.”

With his attention then on his father, Boone said, “‘Bye, Dad. Take care.”

“Boone,” his mom said, but Boone held up his hand. He turned and left the house, almost running straight into Nicole.

“Come on,” he said, almost brushing past her when he wanted to grab onto her and anchor himself. His anger boiled along with his father’s words

He wasn’t sure why his mind seized onto them when he should let them go, but they did. Are you sure she’s not beneath you?

Why did his father think he was anything special? If anything, his dad had spent the better part of Boone’s adult life disapproving of everything he did.

“Did I hear you say…? Never mind.”

“What?” Boone snapped, realizing too late his mistake. “I”m sorry, Nicole,” he said, his anger softening but not going away. “I’m—my father is impossible.”

“He seems to love you,” she said carefully.

“Oh, yeah? Is that what you’d call it?” Was she seriously going to side with his dad?

“But at the same time, he takes little digs at you. He wanted to know if you’d ‘interfered’ in my life yet.”

Boone slammed on the brakes and twisted to look at her. “Interfered?” His fury roared, and Boone’s jaw clenched so hard his bones ached. “That’s just….” He peered at her. “Have I?”

“Boone, of course not.” Nicole reached up and cradled his face in her hand. He tried to seize onto the comfort her touch had always brought him, but it was slippery and he couldn’t quite do it.

“Let’s go home,” she said, and Boone liked that idea best out of any he’d had recently. So he set the truck north and barely looked in his rear view mirror.

By the time they rolled up to her place in the older part of Three Rivers, Boone’s anger had simmered out.

“Your mother has messaged you a number of times,” Nicole said, indicating his phone on the dashboard.

“I know.

“Are you going to call her?”

“Not tonight,” he said, looking at Nicole. The tension between them felt unfair, and Boone got out of the truck to get her bags down for her. “I’ll bring your dogs back in the morning, okay?”

“Okay.” She stretched up and kissed him, and Boone watched her walk inside and close the door behind her before he turned to get behind the wheel again.

Courage Reins wouldn’t be open as late as it was, but Boone couldn’t wait to get out there in the morning. He had a lot to tell Juniper and he didn’t think he’d get much sleep tonight as his father’s words and Boone’s questions continued to rotate in his mind.

Boone visited with Juniper twice before he sat down to Tuesday evening’s City Council meeting. He had indeed been informed of the concern over the building’s safety for humans and pets alike, and the name on the letter had been a law office in town.

He’d called the number and found out that the person responsible for the whole situation was Penelope Whitby. He didn’t know her, and Nicole hadn’t been able to find her or any name like hers in their client files.

Nicole sat beside him, and he held her hand as a way to keep himself calm. The meeting started, and Boone learned why he’d never want to be a politician or a public servant as it seemed nothing was talked about and then voted on.

An hour in, the topic of the animal shelter building hit the table, and Boone perked up. A petite blonde woman stood at the microphone and started speaking about the heating and air conditioning issues, and Nicole leaned over.

“That’s Penny Welch,” she said. “She used to work at the animal hospital.”

Boone kept her eyes on him. “She did?” He’d never seen her before, and he would’ve remembered heels that high.

“Yeah, Doctor Von fired her a couple of years ago. I’d heard she’d moved and gotten married, but apparently, she’s back.”

“…and that building is unfit for animals to live in full-time,” Penelope said. “The animal hospital should be updated or relocated. It’s inhumane otherwise.”

“Why does she care?” Boone tried to get a better look at the woman’s face, but she seemed to know he wanted to see her and she kept her eyes straight forward on the City Council members.

“I don’t know.” Nicole straightened and when Penelope finished, Boone stood.

He slicked his palms down the front of his slacks, glad he dressed up for work each day. “Hello,” he said into the microphone. “I’m Boone Carver, and I own and operate Puppy Pawz.”

“You’ve read the complaints by Miss Whitby?”

“Excuse me,” Penelope said, standing from her chair only a step away from the microphone. “It’s Mrs. Whitby. I’m married to Doctor Louis Whitby.”

Boone gaped at her, the name tickling some old memory in the back of his mind. He’d known a Louis Whitby in veterinarian school, and the man hadn’t passed several exams and dropped out for a semester to study some more.

Boone had moved on and never heard from or seen the man again. What a small world that he’d be in Three Rivers, Boone thought.

“You’ve read the complaints by Mrs. Whitby?” the City Council member said again, a definite measure of exasperation in his voice.

“Yes.” Boone faced the front of the room again, wondering why Louis wanted to shut down his clinic. “And as the city owns the building and I simply rent it, I’d love to see this Council approve a budget for repairs on the building.”

He took a breath and sent a prayer heavenward before he spoke again. “But rest assured that the staff and animals at Puppy Pawz are perfectly safe. The pipes are not leaking, as Mrs. Whitby claims. I would know; I work in the building every day of the week. She hasn’t stepped foot in my clinic since I’ve been here, and that’s been over a year.”

“I’m afraid we don’t have anything in the budget for this year,” the councilman said.

“The air conditioning sometimes goes out, and my office administrator calls immediately and gets it fixed. There is no suffering going on at the animal hospital.” He shot Penelope a defiant glare, and she glared right back.

“So we can table this discussion for now,” the councilman said, looking down his row. “Do we want to vote on that?”

“Perhaps we should do an investigation,” a woman beside him said. “See if the claims have any merit.”

“Who’s for that?” the councilman asked, and every hand at the front of the room went up. He faced Boone again. “We’ll contract with someone who can make an honest and fair assessment on the conditions at the animal hospital and be in touch.”

Boone nodded, not exactly the outcome he wanted, and walked back to his seat. At least they hadn’t shut down his clinic or ordered him to find a more expensive building.

“We need to find out everything we can about Louis and Penelope Whitby,” he muttered to Nicole, only mildly satisfied when she said, “I’ll get on that first thing tomorrow.”

It seemed everything and everyone was against him at the moment, as Heather hadn’t been pleased when Boone had confirmed he would not be returning to Hill Country for her December twenty-eighth wedding. Even his mother’s pleas had not swayed him.

And now this.

As he left the meeting with Nicole’s hand in his, he thought At least I have her.