Tempted by the Single Dad Next Door
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Amy Ruttan
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16
CHAPTER ONE
“DON’T LOOK AT me like that!” Harley Bedard stared down into the big, round, saucer-sized brown eyes of her black-and-silver-colored cockapoo. The only reason Willow was staring at her like that was because Harley was finishing up her quick breakfast of a scrambled egg before starting her morning rounds. Willow always begged for eggs, cheese, chicken, tuna. Basically anything she ate, her dog wanted.
Badly.
Willow shifted, but her gaze was still intense. She stuck out her little pink tongue, wetting her black nose and silvery beard.
Repeatedly.
Harley groaned, but smiled at her goofy little dog. It was hard to resist that adorable face. She held a piece of scrambled egg in her palm and Willow eagerly ate it up.
“Don’t say that I don’t do anything nice for you,” Harley muttered as she patted and scratched Willow’s ear. The dog sneezed a couple of times, her feathery tail wagging. “You ready to do our chores?”
Willow sneezed again, shaking her head.
She took that as a yes.
There was a lot to do today. She had to check on the dogs that were in the kennel. Today wasn’t a doggy day care day, so there wouldn’t be an influx of clients with their pups driving down her gravel lane, but she did have a grooming session booked in. Her client had three dogs known as the wild bunch, so she tried to schedule that groom on a day when doggy day care wasn’t running. Her friend Christine, who ran the local cat rescue, needed her help assessing a new load of kittens and older cats that had been dumped, and then there was a summer renter coming to sign a lease for the tiny home that she had on the other side of her yard behind the chicken house. When she bought the property three years ago, the small cabin had already been there. She’d refurbished it. Usually, she would get the odd tourist who wanted to be in the heart of Huron County for a couple of weeks and loved her little guest home tucked away on her thirty acres just outside of Opulence, Ontario. This time it was different. The house was booked for the whole summer.
The person renting her property was the son-in-law of local vet Dr. Michel Van Dorp. He was semiretired and didn’t hide the fact that he wanted said son-in-law to take over his practice.
The vet clinic was integral to this part of Huron County as it was an agriculture community. Harley worked there when needed as a veterinary technician. Only when she had the time, though. Her kennel and grooming business were growing larger every year. Thankfully, she had hired help.
A new vet and a revitalized clinic would be so good for the community. Michel wanted to keep working, Harley knew that, but he couldn’t keep up. He was getting older, and his health hadn’t been the best since his daughter, Daphne, died two years ago.
Daphne had only been three years older than Harley. It shocked everyone when she died, and it nearly killed Michel.
He had been trying to retire for five years and had brought in other vets, but none of them stayed. People from the city said they liked country life, but they liked it when it was sunny and nice and perfect. No one liked delivering a cow in minus forty weather.
It wasn’t her business. It was up to Michel to figure it all out. All that was within her control was her business Cosmopawlitan Opulence, her animals and her summer rental. She had worked out a reasonable deal with Michel to house his son-in-law, Dr. Ryker Proulx, for the summer. Michel was optimistic it could be longer. He was so certain Dr. Proulx would want to stay. Harley had her doubts, she really did. Unless you were from here, no one really stayed.
She knew that firsthand.
Four years ago, she’d fallen for a veterinarian who had come to Opulence. They’d met while Michel was showing him the ropes, and Jason had completely swept her off her feet. He’d said that he loved her and the country life, and after a whirlwind romance, he’d proposed.
She should’ve known it was too good to be true.
They planned a big, white wedding. Family and friends from all over Huron County came to see her marry her very own Prince Charming. They had dreamed about extending the veterinary practice, buying land, raising a family. Jason had promised so many things.
Love.
Partnership.
Trust.
Harley had bought the most extravagant, sickeningly fluffy white wedding dress. She was so excited for the fairy tale, floating down the aisle to the man of her dreams.
She’d showed up at the church, ready for her happily-ever-after. Except, Jason hadn’t.
He’d jilted her at the altar.
When she got back to their home, she saw his bags were packed. Jason came out of their bedroom. He looked apologetic, but clearly his mind was set. She knew that look of determination well.
“Why?” she asked, hugging her arms.
“I’m going to Toronto. I have an opportunity there that I could never get here.”
“But what about us?”
Jason picked up one of his bags, hefting it over his shoulder. “You wouldn’t be happy in the city. You weren’t even happy in Hamilton, and that’s smaller than Toronto. You told me that. It’s better this way.”
“Is it?” Her voice was breaking.
“It is. You’re happy here. You have big plans. I’ll be happier in the city, and I have goals that I want to reach. Marriage, right now, isn’t a good idea. This was all a mistake.”
She didn’t respond. She just stood there, numb.
“Bye, Harley.”
It had absolutely crushed her heart.
He didn’t want the life they had planned together.
She had been an idiot, and she was never going to get her hopes up again. Never going to put her heart on the line again.
No way.
No how.
She had worked hard to buy her thirty acres on her own after Jason left her. Before she met Jason, when she was working in Hamilton she’d put in hours of overtime, scrimping and saving. Then she returned to Opulence, her hometown, met Jason and they fell in love. She’d taken some of her savings, spending money on the wedding that never happened. After that, she’d tucked anything she made away again. Since then, she’d been building her business slowly in Opulence, and now she’d finally got her feet back under her.
Things were looking up. She had her animals, her farm, that’s all she needed.
Wasn’t it?
Willow barked, getting her attention, and Harley glanced down at her.
“Message received. We’ve got work to do.” Willow sat down.
Harley slipped on her rubber boots and grabbed her noise canceling headphones, because it got loud in the kennel.
She had to take care of Toby and Gordo, the two dogs currently boarding with her, and then make her way out to her barn to check on her rescue alpacas, Gozer, Vince and Zuul, aptly named after characters in one of her all-time favorite movies. She needed to feed her flock of maniacal chickens that liked to lay eggs all over the place and chase her. She let Willow out, who followed her.
Willow was only twenty pounds, hardly a good security dog. She had been with Harley for eight years now, since she’d helped the veterinarian at the clinic in Hamilton repair Willow’s shoddy knees. The runt of the litter, Willow was the one puppy the breeder couldn’t sell and Harley promptly fell in love with her.
She made her way to the kennel. As soon as she walked in there Toby and Gordo made it clear they were excited to see her. The headphones helped drown out the excited barks and yips. She loved it when dogs were so happy to see her, but her eardrums didn’t love it so much.
“Come on,” she called out over the excitement. As she opened the door to the fenced backyard Gordo, Toby and Willow all bolted. Thankfully, the three of them got along so she didn’t have to separate them. She refreshed their water and put food in their bowls.
She’d let the dogs play while she made her way to her alpacas. Her rescue alpacas snuffed and stood up in their pen, happy to see her. Harley made sure the pasture gate was secure before she opened the stall door.
Once everything was done, she let the alpacas out to munch on fresh grass. Vince, Zuul and baby Gozer trotted from the barn, frolicking in the morning sun, while she grabbed a pitchfork to muck out their stall.
“Bonjour.” There was a gentle tap on her shoulder from behind.
Harley screamed, tossed the pitchfork to the floor, spinning around to grab the lapels of the stranger, meaning to flip the guy, but instead she slipped on some excrement and fell into a pile of dirty hay. The stranger fell on top of her, or rather between her legs, landing with an “oof!”
Harley ripped off her headphones. “Who the hell are you?”
Intense gray eyes, with a hint of yellow, met hers as he shook dark hair from his face. Her breath caught in her throat, her face prickling with a rush of heat as their gazes locked.
Her heart skipped a beat and she forgot for one fraction of a second that this guy she had just tossed to the ground, who was lying almost on top of her, was in fact a stranger.
“I’m Dr. Ryker Proulx. Your tenant for the summer,” he said, climbing off her.
“Oh!” Of course.
She had just tried, very unsuccessfully, to Krav Maga her new renter. Hopefully, he wouldn’t give her little rental a bad Yelp review.
She was a bit taken aback. She had never met Michel’s son-in-law before.
Daphne had moved to Montreal after university and got married when Harley had been in school. Like a lot of people who left their small town for greener pastures, Daphne had never returned other than to visit family.
Looking at her husband, Harley could see why.
There was no doubt in her mind Ryker was handsome, but she’d been bamboozled by good looks before.
“Sorry! Couldn’t hear you.” She groped around in the straw to find her headphones, holding them up as if to say ta-da.
At least she didn’t say that out loud.
“See?” she said, wanting to point out that she didn’t just pull random guys on top of her in the barn. “I didn’t hear you arrive.”
Ryker brushed some of the straw off his shoulder. “I figured as much.”
“Welcome,” she blurted out, still sitting in a pile of alpaca poo.
Oh. My. God. Harley, get ahold of yourself.
Her brother David always said she rambled and blathered around dishy men. So did he. She could feel the warmth of the flush rising up her neck to her cheeks. It was the ultimate tell in the poker game of trying to hide your attraction for someone you just met.
She sucked at the card game too.
A small smile lifted his lips. He held out his hand to help her up. She took it, her pulse quickening, a knot starting to twist in her belly as he pulled her up. He was taller than her, and her heart raced as she looked up at him.
Ryker was exactly her type. His dark hair was longer, but not so long that it brushed the top of his shoulders. His generous mouth was set in a hard line, as he gazed around her barn. There was a hint of a five o’clock shadow on his chiseled jaw.
He was dressed in a black leather jacket, a white T-shirt and well-fitted jeans that had not seen a day’s work in the field. His black leather boots were polished too.
Everything about him screamed city, that he didn’t belong in Opulence, and that further solidified her belief, in that moment, that he would not be staying. He was a summer visitor.
“Shall we go sign the agreement?” Ryker suggested.
“Yes. Is Michel here?”
“Oui. He was knocking on your door when I saw you slip into the barn,” he replied in a distinct French-Canadian accent.
“Okay.” It wasn’t the best way to meet a new tenant, throwing him into a pile of poop, but it was what it was. She quickly made her way out of the barn and saw Michel standing by his red pickup truck.
“There you are!” Michel exclaimed.
“You’re early,” she replied, hoping Michel didn’t notice that his son-in-law was covered in straw, dirt and manure.
“I thought you might be up,” Michel said brightly as she approached his truck.
“I’m always up early.” She grinned. “I am glad you swung by. I have a busy day. I have to go down to Blyth and help out at the cat rescue this afternoon.”
“I figured as much. I heard they got a bunch of strays in,” Michel said.
“They did,” she confirmed, looking back over her shoulder at Ryker uneasily. He was still wiping off straw and dried crap.
“Harley, I would like to introduce you to my son-in-law, Dr. Ryker Proulx from Montreal. Ryker, this is the vet tech I often bring in and as you know, she’s your landlord for the summer too!”
Ryker turned to her, those gray eyes fixing on hers with a momentary widening of shock and a quick travel up and down her person that sent a shiver of anticipation through her.
“The vet tech?” Ryker asked.
Michel nodded. “Yep.”
Her gaze locked with Ryker’s again. He still looked surprised. She knew she looked a fright, wearing her baggy overalls, rubber boots that came up to her knees, a grungy tank top, and her hair barely brushed and put up in a very large top knot. At least they were both covered in alpaca crap and straw.
Get a grip.
Her inner voice was right. Who cared what she looked like? And the way she looked had nothing to do with her ability as a certified and well respected veterinary technician.
She wasn’t here to impress him, even though there was a part of her deep down that wanted to... She locked that niggling thought away. Dr. Proulx was her tenant, a widower and Michel’s son-in-law.
Most important, Harley was fairly certain Ryker was here temporarily, and she wasn’t interested in dating anyone. Especially someone who wasn’t staying.
“Pleasure to meet you properly, Dr. Proulx,” Harley said, clearing her throat and shaking all those thoughts away as she extended her hand.
Michel’s eyes widened as he realized the state she and Ryker were in. “What happened?”
“I surprised her. We both took a tumble,” Ryker explained coolly, accepting her proffered hand. She felt a little zing of warmth shoot up her arm and quickly pulled her hand back, annoyed at her reaction to him.
“Well,” Harley started, clearing her voice. “I just need to go let Toby and Gordo back in their kennel. The tiny home is on the other side of the yard. It’s unlocked, so do have a quick look around and make sure it’s what you want and I’ll meet you both back here.”
“Sounds good, Harley,” Michel responded.
Harley needed to focus on her work and not the way her body had reacted so traitorously when she met Ryker. He was off-limits. That way there was no risk of a broken heart. Like what happened with Jason.
However, it had been some time since she had had that kind of physical attraction to a man. Ryker Proulx was dangerous to her equilibrium and even though he was technically about to become her neighbor, at least she could keep him at arm’s length. The only times she had to interact with him would be if she saw him on the property or if he needed her at the clinic.
It would be totally professional.
Besides, she liked Michel too much to get involved with Daphne’s widower, and after what happened with the last vet she fell in love with, she was never, ever going to date a veterinarian again.
No matter how hot the vet was.
Ryker watched Harley walk away. He had spied the fences of the kennel and saw the sign at the head of the driveway. Cosmopawlitan Opulence.
He’d cringed at the cutesy name, but Michel had huge respect for Harley.
Honestly, when Michel had mentioned that he had a friend who had thirty acres, ran a kennel and owned a tiny home that they rented out, he had assumed the woman was closer to Michel’s age. He had been shocked to see a younger woman, maybe in her early thirties, running such a successful business and owning quite a bit of farmland.
He was also taken aback by her stunning beauty, even covered in muck and straw. She looked a wreck in baggy overalls and her golden hair tied up in a messy bun, but when their gazes locked, his heart had beat just a little bit faster and when he landed on top of her, his blood had heated at the brief touch. Yet it was her eyes that had shocked him. They were so blue, and he saw a spark of strength buried deep in that cerulean color, before his gaze traveled down to her soft, pink, plump lips. For one brief second, he thought about what it would be like to kiss them.
Only for a brief moment, and then the guilt overcame him, for a split second.
Daphne had been gone for two years. She had been his world, they had a beautiful son, Justin, and then when they thought they were pregnant with their second, her pregnancy turned out to be ectopic. Her tube ruptured and she bled out so fast there was nothing to be done.
All he could do was take care of their son.
The problem was, they were isolated in Montreal.
After Daphne died Ryker had thrown himself into work and taking care of Justin. Friends had drifted away. Even Justin’s friends, because he no longer wanted to play sports or do anything without his dad.
So no, maybe not fully isolated, but it mostly was just Justin and him.
He had no family left. Ryker had been an only child, and his parents were dead. They had talked for a couple years about moving back to Daphne’s hometown, to be near her parents and so Justin would have cousins who lived close by.
It would be family, but now Daphne was gone and he wasn’t completely sure that he could leave everything behind and live here. Montreal was his home. Justin’s home. He’d told Michel he would stay for the summer, to see how it worked out.
The truth was Justin was struggling. Montreal reminded him of his mom and he never let Ryker far out of his sight. Ryker was actually surprised that he’d been able to come here to sign the lease, but Nanna was occupying Justin for now. He was hoping the summer here in Opulence would help the boy heal.
Justin thought they were on an extended summer vacation. He was nine and just so excited to be near his grandpa, his nanna and some cousins. Ryker hadn’t seen Justin this happy in so long.
To keep himself busy, Ryker had offered to work for his father-in-law. A small-town vet practice would be a break from the hustle and bustle of a city practice.
So when Michel offered up his friend’s tiny home as a rental for them, Ryker thought it was perfect, until he learned that the so-called friend was a good-looking, sexy blonde. Maybe, he needed to find another place to rent.
“Well, let’s go see the place. It’s just on the other side of that coop,” Michel said, walking toward the chicken house in question.
“Maybe we should find somewhere else,” Ryker said cautiously.
Michel paused and raised his bushy eyebrows. “This is the closest rental to the vet clinic, at a decent price. There’s not much for rent in Opulence.”
“Right. So you’ve said,” Ryker groused. He had no choice.
“I know Harley looks a little rough around the edges, but she is a smart, savvy businesswoman and part-time vet tech.”
“Part-time?” Ryker asked, all too aware that Harley was not only his landlord, but someone who would be working with him.
“Yes. She works sometimes at the clinic. Just part-time as she’s really busy here. There’s a shortage of good, reliable and bondable pet services. When I’m not at the vet clinic, people do have to drive thirty, sometimes forty minutes. There are wait lists for groomers.”
Ryker was shocked.
Wait lists?
He took for granted the city life, where there was always some artistic doggy or pet spa popping up.
“Besides,” Michel said, interjecting through Ryker’s thoughts of doubt. “This is the only place that has a lease term that you’re looking for. The rest are cottages that rent an enormous amount week to week and are mostly fully booked, sometimes a year in advance.”
Michel was right. Ryker was stuck. The vet tech and working at the clinic part worried Ryker, but if she worked with him, then she was definitely off-limits. As long as he compartmentalized her in his mind like that, maybe this could work out.
He couldn’t tell Michel his real hesitations for wanting to stay here. He couldn’t let his father-in-law know that for the first time since he lost Daphne he was physically attracted to someone.
That wasn’t going to happen.
“D’accord, let’s go see this place then.”
Michel nodded and Ryker fell into step beside him.
There was frantic barking and he glanced over his shoulder, pausing to watch as Harley opened the door to the gated play area of her kennel. Two dogs came bounding over to her, tails wagging happily, before finding their respective places to do their business. Harley’s little dog trotted in front of her.
She had her noise canceling headphones back on. She was tossing balls and other soft toys at the dogs as they bounded around happily outside, running all around her and demanding her attention.
Harley was smiling and laughing as she took a ball from the big, horse-like dog and tossed it again. It was clear she was passionate about what she did, and Ryker couldn’t help but smile, watching her.
That passion was what he felt for animals, too.
Before he got married, he had a red setter that had been his best friend. Daphne had loved his dog, Temart, too and even in his old age the dog had been so protective of Justin as an infant. A lump formed in Ryker’s throat as he thought of his old dog.
These were memories he thought he’d locked away, but watching Harley out in that kennel with those happy dogs brought those memories rushing back and it overwhelmed him. There was a part of him that wanted to join in on the fun—he couldn’t remember the last time he’d let loose and tossed a ball to a dog. It surprised him how she affected him so.
Someone he barely knew.
Don’t think about her. Don’t let her in.
And he had to keep reminding himself of that. All he had to do was rent a place from her and possibly work with her on a professional level. That’s it. Just because he was attracted to her, it didn’t mean anything. He was not opening his heart to the prospect of pain.
He couldn’t deal with that kind of loss again. It was too risky.
All that mattered to him in this world was Justin’s happiness.
He’d loved and lost. And he was never going to go through that again.
