Becca stared up at him, clearly shocked at his refusal. “Have I offended you in some way?”

Couldn’t she just take no for an answer? He sighed and stared down at her, trying to figure out what to say. She looked up at him with the prettiest blue eyes, her arms crossed under her breasts, and for a moment—a brief moment—he wished he’d said yes. That he’d gone out with her. Because, sure, she was tiny and pushy and talked a lot . . . but she was also soft and pretty and he wondered what it’d be like to take her in his arms and kiss her until she couldn’t even string a sentence together.

But that made parts of him ache, and Hank knew he wasn’t good with relationships, so he just shook his head and continued on down the long hall that ran along the back of the house and led toward the vet clinic. Once they got closer, he could hear the delighted giggles of his daughter, mixed with shrill puppy whines, and his bad mood eased a bit.

Libby was the only girl he needed in his life.

Hank opened the door and gestured inside. Becca looked at him curiously, then went into the clinic. Doc sat in his chair at his desk, the doors to the two small exam rooms closed. In his arms Doc had one tiny puppy, a bottle in its mouth, and four others were squirming on the floor on a blanket with Hank’s equally squirmy little daughter.

“I . . . oooh!” Becca started to speak and then made a girlish sound of delight. “Puppies?”

“Miss Becca!” Uncle Ennis looked over at the woman in pleasure. “What brings you here?”

There was a look of pure rapture on Becca’s face as she moved toward the blanket and picked up one of the squirming black-and-brown bundles on the blanket. He’d never seen a woman look like that before. The ecstasy on her face was almost uncomfortable to watch. Almost.

Except he couldn’t bring himself to stop staring at her.

“I brought your groceries,” Becca said, lifting a tiny puppy to her face and then closing her eyes and holding it against her cheek. “They’re so little. How old are they?”

“Two weeks. The mother got run over by a car and a buddy in Ten Sleep brought them to me because he didn’t have time to bottle-feed with calving going on. Knew I’d been laid up.” Uncle Ennis leaned back in his chair. “Been a long time since I seen you, Becca. You’re looking great. I appreciate you coming up.”