Chapter One

Chapter One

Dallas

Six months later

THE LAST MONTH has been so damn busy. After searching for five months, I finally found the land I wanted to buy so I could build my clinic. Every single day for five months I spent looking at one property after another and there was something wrong with every single one of them. Especially when it came to the amount of land that was included. I want a good chunk so I can put in some play areas for the dogs I may have in my care without them being cooped up all together or being stuck inside unless I go out with them for a walk or something. Once I found the land I wanted, everything started moving at a rapid pace and now I'm finally ready to open the doors of the Clinton City Vet Clinic. It's an unoriginal name, but that's never been one of my strong suits. It doesn't really matter as long as I can do what I love and help animals that need it. Honestly, it's been my entire focus and that's been great because it hasn't given me time to think about Adam unless it's late at night and I'm ready to fall into bed. Then, I can't seem to get him off my mind.

So many times over the last six months I've wanted to reinstall the dating app and see if he's still on there. To message him and see how he's doing or if he even bothered to respond to the message I sent him. When I blocked him, the messages and shit we'd spent countless hours sending didn't go away like I thought they would and I didn't have the strength to delete the thread myself. That's why I deactivated my account and uninstalled the app from my phone. The temptation to go in and re-read our messages was too strong for me to ignore. Adam had his chance with me and he decided I wasn't worth the time to show up in person despite the connection we were forming through our messages. That's on him and him alone. It doesn't mean it doesn't still hurt though. It does more than I thought it would. With Adam, there was no keeping the walls up and trying to hide my true self from him. He'd go along with the weird shit that would come flying out of my mouth at the most random times and everything else. For the first time, I thought I found a guy who liked me for me and nothing more. That's one reason why I didn't tell him who my dad is.

I've had guys in the past want to date me simply because of who my dad is and it sucks. My dad isn't famous or a man who would ever consider doing something for someone else because of their role in my life. He's the mayor of Clinton City and takes his job seriously. The citizens of Clinton City being safe and protected is his biggest job and he does absolutely everything in his power to ensure the drugs stay out of our city and the crime rate remains low. There's no way you can ever truly get rid of crime from a town, but he does what he can to work with the local law enforcement and the Fallen Brethren MC. We all know they do a lot to keep the drugs out of Clinton City and the crime rate low. Their club can do things the cops, lawyers, and judges can't do. Where the officials of our city are restricted by laws, rules, and regulations, the club can sneak under all that and take care of business without as many people getting hurt because they do everything they can to protect the innocent people.

I don't know how often my dad has worked with the club, but I know it's happened in the past. That's one of the reasons I didn't freak out when Adam mentioned he was in a motorcycle club. There's only one in Clinton City and that told me he's a member. Hell, my dad might know exactly who Adam is. But, that's not something I need to think about because Adam is no longer any part of my life and I'll keep it that way because I have too much going on in my life to think about a biker who's surrounded by women all day long and can have anyone he wants. It's honestly kind of my fault for thinking he'd want the fat girl when he can have the women resembling models.

"Dallas! Where are you?" I hear my best friend Emmie call out from the front of my clinic.

"In the back," I answer her, my voice muffled with my head in the back of one of the kennels where the dogs will be held if they have to stay overnight or I board them for an owner.

I hear the clicking of Emmie's heels as she makes her way through the clinic and heads for me in the back. Emmie has been my best friend for as long as I can remember. We met in elementary school and she stuck to me. Both of us were the smallest in our class and we got picked on because we were so small. Instead of letting the mean girls get to us, we found things to bond over and formed a lifelong friendship that no one will ever take from us. She doesn't care who my dad is or what he does for work. Emmie treats him like he's her dad too and picks on him relentlessly when we're all together. We're complete opposites and most people would think it would hinder our friendship, but it only makes us stronger.

"What the hell are ya doing with your ass in the air, Dallas?" she asks, laughter filling the room I have lined with kennels.

This backroom has the bare minimum in it. The walls are painted white and the floor is simple tile so it's easy to clean if any of the dogs have an accident before I can get them outside. Each of the kennels does have a doggy door that leads outside to a fenced-in area for each dog to spend time if they choose to. Inside each kennel is a bed, food and water bowls, and a small toy for the dogs. I've got a small room that will hold any cats I have to keep overnight or board for their owners. These are the two rooms I plan on spending most of my time when I'm not working because I'll find any excuse I can to play with animals and give them love. It's one of the main reasons I wanted to become a vet. I've got plenty of animals of my own at home waiting for me to come feed and water them.

Backing out of the kennel after making sure everything is as I want it, I look up at Emmie as she stands above me. Emmie has long blonde hair with the brightest blue eyes that have a hint of gray in them. Her body has curves but she works out seven days a week so she's toned and always has that golden tan skin. Some days I hate her for the tan alone and she knows it because I tell her. She's taller than I am now and that's only accentuated by the heels she wears daily. Emmie is one of those women who can actually run in heels and not get tripped up. I even think about putting heels on and I'm tripping over the air around me. It's not fair! Adam wouldn't have blown her off if they were the ones talking, he'd have done everything in his power to show up for their date and made sure he secured a second one before the first ended.

"Waiting for a man to come take care of me obviously," I tell her, a smirk on my face because that's not what I was gonna say at all.

Emmie starts laughing her ass off. She's laughing so hard she has to bend over and hold her hands on her knees or she'll fall to the floor next to me.

"Okay. So, um, I think you're going about finding a man to take care of you wrong if you're hiding out back here with your ass in the air," she says, causing another round of laughter to spill from us. "Though, from the back can be good. So, maybe do that when you're not hiding out in the kennel of your clinic that's not even open yet."

"Very funny," I deadpan, getting off the floor and closing the door of the kennel but not locking it.

"What else do you have to do here today?" Emmie asks, looking around before walking over to the window to look out where I have the two large play areas fenced off.

"I don't honestly know. I've been through the exam rooms and made sure they're all fully stocked. All the equipment is set up and working properly from the tests that I've run with them. The operating room is also set up and stocked completely. Everything in the front at the receptionist desk is ready to go. I mean, you can change whatever you want up there, but you have everything you'll need. Have you been practicing the programs you'll be using here?" I ask Emmie who will be my technician and bring the animals in to find out what's going on with them before I step foot in the exam room because she knows how important this is to me and wants to be a part of it.

"I have. I've got them all down and won't have an issue with anything when you open the doors. What about the receptionist you hired? When is she supposed to get to town?"

"She'll be here tomorrow. The trip had to be extended by a day because she ended up blowing a tire in the middle of nowhere and the radiator shit the bed at the same time. She had to wait for them to get the parts in before they could fix it. Her name is Charlotte and she feels horrible," I tell Emmie as we leave the back room and I make sure the lights are turned off.

"That sucks. Are you still gonna stock the breakroom for us?" Emmie asks, her mind always on food and what she's gonna snack on next.

"Of course. I'll go shopping tomorrow night and bring everything over here so it's ready when we open the doors in two days. It will give Charlotte a day to get her things moved into her apartment and if she needs help, I've already volunteered to help her. What are we doing the rest of the night?" I ask my best friend knowing she showed up this late for a reason.

"Not much, honestly. You've been here working so much that I know you're tired and ready to head home. So, I thought we'd grab a bite to eat and then you can head home to curl up on the couch with all of your animals," she informs me as we walk through the clinic and make sure everything is shut off.

Tomorrow I won't be here until I go shopping and bring the groceries in. It's something my dad and Emmie made me promise because I've been working sixteen hour days to get everything ready to go inside and out of the clinic. They've helped where they could, but when I take on a project I'm truly passionate about, it's best to stay out of my way. Emmie and my dad learned that early on. The same goes when I get in a mood and start cleaning. It's best to just let me do my thing and I'll talk about things when I'm ready.

Once we're sure everything is shut off, Emmie and I make our way outside and head for our cars.

"I feel like eating at Brothers tonight. Are you good with that?" Emmie asks me as she opens her door and waits to get in.

"Yeah," I answer, dread filling me because I know it's one of the businesses the club owns and I've been avoiding them so I don't have to worry about possibly running into Adam.

"If he's there, you can ignore him, babe. I won't let you get hurt and you know this," Emmie tells me, knowing where my thoughts are without me saying a word to her.

"I know you will. Let's get this over with," I tell her, getting in my car and letting her leave first.

Everything I still have to get done today runs through my head as we make the trip through town. I've got to feed my animals, let them out to get fresh air, clean my house, make something to snack on while I watch a movie when I finally manage to get in bed, and so many other things. There is never a second of my day that I'm not busy doing something. It's been like that since we lost my mom. I took over her role and made sure my dad didn't feel like he was missing out on something because he had no one to help him carry the load of having a daughter, working full-time, and everything else a parent does every single day. It didn't take me long to get into a routine that enabled me to do everything I wanted to accomplish in a day no matter how many hours that left me to sleep before getting up and starting all over again.

Brothers is an amazing place to eat if you don't want to go to the diner or anywhere else in Clinton City to eat. Their burgers are thick and juicy and you'll always make a mess of yourself when you eat one. I don't know what they do to the fries or mozzarella sticks, but again, they're amazing and I usually have a hard time deciding between the two of them. You can get almost anything you want to eat at Brothers too. They don't just serve your typical bar food here. It's one of the many reasons the place is so popular if you ask me. Emmie and I used to come here all the time and it's been a while since we stopped in. Longer than I'd like to admit and it's because of me.

When we pull into Brothers, I notice a few bikes parked off to the side of the parking lot. It's where the club members usually back their bikes in here. Nerves fill me at the thought of Adam possibly owning one of those bikes. One of the things Adam and I talked about was seeing where we went after meeting. He doesn't want to put some random girl on the back of his bike and I understand that. Honestly, my dad used to ride and he would only ever take my mom out for rides. I would go on short rides up and down the street when I was a very little girl, but my dad wouldn't put anyone else on the back besides her. I wasn't surprised when he sold it after she passed away because he loved riding with her and didn't go out very often if it was just him. So, I can't blame Adam for how he feels about his own bike when I've seen that kind of thought in action with my dad.

After parking next to Emmie, I get out of my car and we head inside. The place is pretty empty right now, but I know it's just a matter of time before all the tables are filled with customers and the stools in front of the bar are packed. There's hardly ever a time this place isn't crawling with so many people that there's hardly room to move or breathe. I've been in here with Emmie on a Friday night. It's insane and you can hardly move an inch in any direction. Especially with all the women in here trying to snag a biker for themselves. They all come out dressed in hardly any clothing with make-up caked on their faces. I've watched them throw themselves at the bikers and hardly ever get turned away from them. Emmie and I simply stay to ourselves and have a good time watching everyone as we dance. I hate dancing with Emmie because she always gets asked to dance and leaves me alone. At the same time, I slink back to our table and sit alone while she has fun. It's not her fault she's gorgeous and can get any guy she wants.

"Take a seat anywhere and I'll be right with you," Lyssa says, a smile on her face.

Lyssa grew up with us in Clinton City and she's always been so sweet to everyone around her. I was surprised the first time I saw her working here, but I get why she'd want to. Lyssa hasn't had the best life and is now a single mom to the best little boy. I've spent some time with them here and there over the years. Lyssa's a hard worker and I know the members of the club protect their employees as they do one another. So, I can't blame her for wanting to work in a place like this.

Emmie leads me to a table closer to the back and lets me sit with my back to the bikers sitting a few booths behind us. I can barely hear them talking despite the place being as empty as I've ever seen it before. Not that I'd ever eavesdrop on one of their conversations. You just don't do that. We don't bother looking over the menus because we both know what is served here and will make up our minds at the very last second. It's what always happens with us when we're here. I could literally walk in here wanting one thing and then when I order, it's not what comes out of my mouth. Emmie always laughs at me because this happens every single time. So, we just don't bother saying what we want to eat here.

"Those bikers are fine as fuck," Emmie says, her eyes on the booth behind me. "I know you don't want anything to do with them, but I will say right now that if one of them gave the slightest sign they were interested, I'd be all over it in a heartbeat."

"I know you would. And I wouldn't stop you. Just because I didn't have a good experience with one doesn't mean the same will be true for you. Go for it if that's what you want, Emmie," I tell her, watching as Lyssa makes her way over to us while brushing a few loose pieces of hair out of her face.

"Not gonna do that shit while you're here with me, Dallas. You mean more to me than that," my best friend answers as Lyssa stops at our table for our orders.

Emmie and I order our food and each have a soda to go with our meal. Lyssa assures us our food will be out soon and goes to get our drinks before Emmie and I start talking about everything and nothing at all. We've been friends for so long that most of our conversations only make sense to us and no one else gets what we talk about. She keeps me entertained and only lets her attention travel to the bikers' table a few times while we enjoy our meal before we head out to go home for the night.

The trip to my house isn't a long one as I prepare myself to tackle my ever-growing to-do list. First thing is spending time with my animals though. They always come first with me and that's never gonna change. I currently have two cats, one dog, and a rabbit. If I had a bigger house and yard, I'd have more animals. Eventually I'll be able to get my goats and horses. It's something I've always wanted and I'll make it happen one day. For now, I'll focus on what I do have and count my blessings because my animals are my entire world.