The next morning, everyone was up at dawn. Noah had to go back to school and Liam needed to return to his clinic as well.

Me? I was just trying to process everything I learned yesterday. Sleep hadn't been easy to achieve, and I was up with the first sound. While Noah and Liam had breakfast, I took a quick shower.

My hair was still wet when I stepped inside the kitchen. Noah was finishing his cereal and Liam was making a sandwich. I smiled. Their routine was on point. Liam looked up and his lips tugged up. "Do you have plans for today?"

I shrugged. "Work on my blog, I guess."

He put the spoon of jam in his mouth. "Why don't you come to the clinic?"

Butterflies fluttered in my stomach. After last night's talk, I felt like there was some sort of connection between us. It was nice, but weird at the same time. "Okay."

Noah stood up and placed his bowl on the sink. "And I can show you my school!"

Chuckling, I nodded. "I'd love that. Thank you." He grinned widely, and my heart warmed.

"We can get something to eat at Rosie's after dropping Noah," Liam said as he washed the plates they'd used.

"Sounds great." Loki stopped to nuzzle me with his nose. I patted his head. He was sweet once you got over how huge he was.

Ten minutes later, we were driving to town. The red building, the one I thought was a church, was Noah's school. It had a bell tower, and it was the cutest thing ever. Noah was all excited, he grabbed my hand and showed me his classroom, too.

After dropping Noah in school, we stopped at Rosie's for a donut and coffee. Damn. That woman could cook. I really wanted to take cooking classes with her. "I think you're Rosie's favorite client now!" He shook his head grinning as the car came to a halt.

My cheeks felt warm. "She's my favorite baker, for sure."

The clinic was small, but the inside looked like a mini-hospital. Liam greeted an old woman before introducing me to her. Mary was his assistant, and she was really kind. She showed me around the office while Liam got to work.

We stopped at the cradles where there were two injured dogs. One had a broken leg and the other one was waiting for a hysterectomy. The phone started to ring, and she left. I sat on the floor next to the German Shepherd. One of his back legs had a cast, and he looked miserable. I talked him for a while, before petting him, when something brushed against my leg. "Jesus," I jumped, placing a hand over my chest.

"That's Missy," Liam leaned on the threshold, holding a tablet on his hands. How long had he been standing there?

The cat moved fast around the room, jumping up and down and I stared at her amazed. She only had three legs. "Someone found her down the road and brought it here. Nobody has claimed her, so now she lives here," Liam explained while I kneeled to try to touch her, but she didn't keep quiet. "I tried to move her to the house but she and Loki didn't get along."

"Loki is intimidating."

Liam laughed at that. "We had to take her back here for Loki's sake. She wouldn't stop jumping on him." I cracked up at that. Missy was out the door in the blink of an eye.

"I can understand why, though."

He licked his lips. "Are you ready for an adventure?" He walked closer and gave me a hand to stand up. His warm touch shot little tingles through my hand to the pit of my stomach.

"Where are we going?" my tone was soft, breathless, even.

His lips quirked, and those dimples made my heart flip. "You'll see."

Mary was at the door holding a suitcase with medical equipment ready to go. "Good luck!"

Liam took the suitcase and nodded to her. "Thank you, Mary."

"Luck? Do we need it?" I asked warily as we made our way to the car.

He opened the door for me, sporting a smirk. "You don't faint with blood, do you?"

My lips parted as I took a seat. Oh my. That didn't sound good.

***

The car stopped in front of a stable. The gate squeaked as Liam opened it. We could hear horses whinnying, and the clop of their hooves as they moved. They were restless. Hay was scattered everywhere as we crossed through the hallway, passing many stalls until the last one. A man around his fifties stepped outside to greet us.

"Thank God you're here Liam, she seems in pain."

"Tom, meet Ella Hall, Ella, this is Tom."

Tom's clasp was tight as we shook hands. The man was sweating, and concern etched around his face. "How long has Rainbow been in labor?" Liam asked as he took out a pair of long gloves from his suitcase. They were up to his shoulders long. My eyes widened.

"Three hours. But something feels off."

Liam bobbed his head. "Okay. I'll see what's going on, Tom." He patted Tom on the shoulder before glancing at me. "Ready?"

Like, when did I become his assistant? I dragged my feet to reach him. "I don't need to wear gloves like those, right?"

He laughed. "No. Just try not to faint." Oh. He was enjoying this too much.

I crossed my arms. "I don't get scared easily."

The dimples showed up again as he smiled. And my heart did the whole somersaulting thing all over again. This was starting to get out of control.

"Good. Stay behind. Mares are usually uncomfortable being watched when they foal."

"What?" I asked in a murmur, not wanting to disturber the mare.

"Have the baby," Liam answered grinning.

I stayed by the door as he walked inside the stall. Rainbow was standing up, completely still, but she kept whinnying and her tail kept swooshing to the sides. She was beautiful, white as the moon with gray spots. I observed him as he came closer, talking softly to the mare, until he stroked her neck. It was mesmerizing. Slowly, he moved his hands until he could feel her abdomen, and started palpating it, all while talking to her. The horse jerked at some point and Liam grimaced. Oh no. Tom was right. Something was wrong.

He stepped outside the stall and told Tom that the foal —the baby horse— wasn't in position yet. If he didn't try to move him, they were both at risk. They talked about the stakes and came up with a plan to help Rainbow deliver her foal.

"Do you want me to call someone to take you home?" Liam asked as Tom left, completely distressed, to his house.

"And miss a watching how a mare foals? No." I shook my head.

Liam smiled. "This won't be pretty and we'll probably stay here all night."

My brows furrowed. "What about Noah?"

"My mother-in-law will take care of him. She always helps me when there's an emergency."

"Oh. Okay," I nodded.

He wasn't kidding. After he helped Rainbow position her foal —with those gloves up to the shoulder and while I tried not to bulge my eyes out as he introduced his hands inside the horse— we had to wait. And wait. And then wait some more.

At midnight, Tom brought us coffee and a couple of sandwiches, and relieved us for a moment so we could have dinner outside.

We walked to the fence next to the stable. "Hold this," he said as he passed me the thermos and the food. He grabbed me by the waist and I my heart leaped to my throat as he hoisted me up on the fence.

His gaze was intense and my lips parted. Neither of us moved for a second as we looked into each other's eyes. His were warm like honey, rimmed with dark brown and for the first time since we met, I noticed the light green flecks around the pupil. He swallowed hard as he let go of me, but I felt out of breath, too. He jumped up to sit next to me and with trembling hands, I passed him his food.

"How long have you lived here?"

"Almost seven years." He unwrapped his sandwich as the breeze teased my cheeks. "Giselle wanted to raise Noah here. Ballard was her hometown."

Giselle. I wanted to know more about her, but I didn't dare to ask. I started to eat my ham and swiss sandwich instead. It tasted so good, but it could have been the hunger talking.

"Caiden and she didn't get along," he said as an afterthought. "Of course, Caiden was in his asshole phase. He couldn't believe I traded the city for this." He bobbed his head glancing at the front.

When I moved to Missoula, I thought it was peaceful. Until then, I had no idea what the term meant. This. This was peaceful. It was quiet and every breath you took filled your lungs with crisp, clean air.

"And when Giselle passed away, I couldn't move. I had to give Noah the life she always meant for him."

"It's beautiful here, Liam." A few strands of hair fell on my eyes, and I swept them to the side.

"It is," he murmured after a moment, making me look at him. "She taught me that the simple things in life are usually the ones that make you happy."

I blatantly ogled at him. My eyes followed the line of his nose to his lips and my stomach felt tight as he turned to me. "She sounds awesome," I murmured breathlessly, trying to ignore the way his lips hypnotized me as they moved.

"She was."

Feeling too warm, I brushed the back of my neck. "How old was Noah when she..." I couldn't finish the sentence. It was as if death was all we talked about.

"Three years." He looked away as he swallowed hard. "It was a car accident. And after seeing Caiden's decay, I'm glad she didn't have to suffer."

Without thinking about it, I placed my hand over his. His eyes cut to me. "You're a great father Liam."

What are you doing? I started to pull away my hand, but he held it. My pulse accelerated as his thumb brushed against my knuckles. The air seemed charged with energy now. He started to lean closer while my heart thumped loudly against my ears.

"Liam!" Tom yelled, and we both pulled apart. "Rainbow just laid down!" He sounded worried. Liam hopped down. He ran a hand through his hair as I jumped down as well. He didn't say anything as he glanced at me, but he did give me one of those breathtaking smiles before running towards the stables.

When we got there, he took over. He couldn't help the mare until she started to push, and he was still worried that the little baby was placed incorrectly. To everyone's relief, he wasn't.

Liam was right. Witnessing a mare foal wasn't pretty. It was gross. There was blood, the amniotic pouch and a bunch of other stuff that I didn't even know what was, but after thirty minutes in, the little foal was out. The newborn was too skinny, and glossy, but I couldn't keep my eyes of him. Amazed wouldn't cover it.

Liam made sure that everything was okay before we left. I wasn't sleepy when we got home. Liam had impressed me so much. Every moment we spent together made me feel more in awe at him.

The car stopped in front of his house but neither of us moved. That weird electric current was back again, and my heart rate was up to the roof already. Biting my lip, I pushed open the door, feeling out of breath.

Hugging myself, I made my way through the little cobbled path to the door. Leaves crushed under Liam's steps as he walked behind me. When I reached the door, I stopped. He stopped too but he was close, too close.

His breath teased the nape of my neck and a shiver ran down through me. My lips parted as he gently touched my arm. I closed my eyes as his caress traveled from my elbow to my neck. His breathing was faster as he turned me so I could face him. His pupils were completely dilated. His eyes were shinning, filled with need and lust. My chest fluttered and my knees felt weak as his arms curled around my waist.

"Ella..." I loved how my name rolled out of his mouth. He cupped my chin. I don't know who leaned in first, but we met each other halfway.

His lips were soft and rough at the same time. A passionate fire ignited in me. I wanted him. I wanted him bad.

He moaned from the back of his throat as he pushed me against the door. My hands were everywhere, on his hair, across his chest, below his waist. Before I knew it, I had wrapped both legs around him, and he was carrying me through the field to the barn. I don't even know how he opened the door, I was too lost in him.

Softly, he laid me over the hay, hovering over me, breathing hard. His gaze was scorching as it traveled around my face and I was panting as hard as him. He took off his shirt and helped me get out of mine. His touch sizzled under my skin as we got lost in each other.