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Then Came You

Animal Magnetism - 5

Jill Shalvis

Acknowledgments

To Kelly Garcia for her endless patience and veterinarian advice. All mistakes are mine!

Also to Kristi and Christie and Lillie for always being willing to read and cheer me on, telling me to keep going even when I wanted to toss the book into a ravine and go work at Taco Bell.

One

I wanted to thank you for having me, Dr. Connelly—” Emily Stevens broke off and shook her head. Not quite right. She tightened her grip on the steering wheel in the parking lot of her new job. “I really hope to make a positive impact—” Nope, even worse. No one liked a brown-noser. She cleared her throat, looked into her rearview mirror and forced a smile. “I’m thrilled to be stuck in West Nowhere, USA. ”

Your own fault.

She drew in a deep breath, applied lip gloss—because everyone knew that was the same thing as courage—and got out of the car. It was early autumn, and the chill in the early morning air only served to remind her just how far from Los Angeles she really was. She looked around, taking in the towering, intimidating Bitterroot mountain range, backdropping what could only be described as a vast, wide open valley of the most pristine, remote land of meandering rivers and lakes she’d ever seen. Emily figured it was filled with bears and wild mountain lions, and probably Bigfoot for all she knew.

Having come from the land of freeway overpasses and interchanges, the wildest animals she’d ever seen were of the two-legged variety.

In front of her was Belle Haven, a wood and glass building housing an animal center run by Dr. Dell Connelly and his two brothers, Brady and Adam.

If only Belle Haven had been her number one choice on her list of dream jobs.

Or even last.

But it hadn’t been on her list at all.

She sucked in a breath.

She could do this. She had to do this. In her first year of vet school, she’d accepted one of only two available grants. The repayment was a year of internship at either of the two animal centers who’d donated the money, and she always paid her debts.

She’d hoped for L. A. , not Sunshine, Idaho, but that’s what happened when your mom’s multiple sclerosis flared up right before you left for college and you ended up doing school half-assed while trying to keep the rest of your life together—the other scholarship recipient got their first choice.

Shit happened, and Emily knew that better than most. Shit happened, people got sick and died, you picked yourself up and kept going.

What was one year anyway? And besides, by tonight it would only be three hundred and sixty four days left . . .

Pulling out her phone, she accessed her calendar, the one she’d labeled The Plan. It kept her sane, listing everything that had to be done, including her goals. More recently she’d added a list of the pros and cons of Idaho, though so far only the con column had anything in it.

Under today’s goal she’d typed: make a good impression.

Huh. Not nearly as helpful as she’d hoped. Next time she’d have to be more specific. She slipped the phone back into her pocket and kept moving.