Page 60 of The Flirty Vet

"That's really nice."

"It is. Sometimes, when it's really hard and I miss her the most, the only thing to get me through the day is knowing those two munchkins depend on me."

"Where's your sister in all of this?"

"Good fucking question. Kat, she's a complicated one. Bridgette and Kolby also have different dads. Neither one is involved in their lives."

"Ugh, straight dudes."

"Yeah, exactly." I drag a hand through my hair. "We all knew Kat could hit the bottle pretty hard. She's got some pretty dark demons. But we thought she'd slow down once she had kids. She didn't. While Mum was around, Kat still managed to function. For the most part. She'd go on benders from time to time, and we'd all have to step in occasionally to help with the kids, but that's what families do."

Col smiles. "It's what they should do. Not all families are as close as yours."

"True."

I blow out a heavy breath. This next part sucks. It's still raw, and part of me doesn't want to share it. But another part of me does. Talking about shit like this helps. Don't know how exactly, but it does.

"Kat's the oldest and the plan was always for her to take over the farm. That was cool. I have my vet career, Emma runs the mechanics in town. We were all fine with that. But after Mum died, she really lost her shit. Started going on these massive benders. She'd be gone for weeks. One time, she was gone for close to two months."

"Oh my god. Wilby. That must be so hard for the kids. And for you."

"It's hard on all of us. I cut back at work and stay at home, and with Gran's help, look after the kids and try to keep up the pretence that everything is fucking hunky dory. But kids aren't stupid. They know something's up. Their mother isn't there, and their aunt isn't, either, because right now, Emma is trekking all over the place trying to find her."

I take a breath, tears welling up in my eyes. "I'm livid with her. For doing this to her kids, mainly, but also for fucking us over financially. We are so screwed, Col, it's not funny. We stand to lose everything we have."

"Shit. I'm so sorry."

I look at him, and I can tell that he gets it. Maybe because he works with farmers, so he's probably heard sob stories like mine before. Lord knows we're not the only ones doing it tough. Farming is a hard life, not for the faint of heart. But the pain in his eyes is real. I can feel it. It's not pity, either, it's real empathy.

"We've taken a bit of a detour," I say, because, boy, have we fucking ever. This whole thing began with me about to tell him about my dad.

"Talking is…good," he says, sounding like it's a new revelation for him. "I feel a bit better for sharing some of my stuff."

I smile. "Glad to hear it. You still want to know about my dad, or are you all talked out?"

"I'm still here." He chuckles to himself, shaking his head. "And I'd like you to know––"

"What?" He cut himself off, but this time I'm not going to let it slide. "What is it?"

"I was about to say, I could listen to you forever."

"What's so funny about that?"

He's grinning. Just looking at me with those incredible eyes of his and grinning. I can see a million thoughts spinning through his mind. "Nothing. I like hearing you talk. And at least this time, you're not talking shit."

"That's…fair."

I laugh.

He laughs.

And, fuck me, this feels good. This feels real. Like it could be the start of something.

Could be, but won't be, because, hello, how the fuck would that even work? We don't even live in the same bloody country.

"So, your dad?"

"Uh, yeah. That part. So Mum was smart enough to not think third time lucky. She swore off men. At least baby-making ones. She met these two guys, Andrew and Gus, who were a couple, when she did some Vets Without Borders thing."