Hope for Tomorrow

** Three Doctors at Christmas **

Maisy Wells and her father are stuck at her brother's alpaca ranch, being forced to work for room and sometimes board.

Veterinarian Jack Colten just bought the local vet office in town. The previous vet leaves fast, afraid for his life, thanks to Maisy's brother.

When Jack meets Maisy, he knows he has to help her. But will she accept the charity she needs to survive?

Excerpt

She mopped the floor of the alpaca stables as she muttered to herself. "Maisy Wells. Voted most likely to succeed. Master's degree in chemistry with an area of interest in phytochemistry, because she loved the idea of using plants to solve problems. She had her whole life planned out as she wanted it to go. The dream was to settle down with some wonderful man, have two daughters named Hope and Holly, get her doctorate, do research to help mankind—"

But it wasn't in the cards. She couldn't be more depressed about it, either, until her dead mother's words rang in her head. "Negative thoughts make a negative person." She whispered the words aloud, the tears filling her eyes as she thought of her mother's other favorite phrases. "Hope for tomorrow and your dreams will come true." Her mother could turn any situation to the positive, regardless of what it was. If only she hadn't died. The woman's hopes and dreams hadn't come true, so the phrase about hoping for tomorrow didn't always work. But she did like the name Hope after hearing her mother say that phrase for years.

Maisy had to use positive thinking. She had to turn it around to dream of the future or it definitely wouldn't come true. She wanted to get a job in chemistry at a university so she could teach and do research on making crops better and searching for cures by using plants. If a man entered her life, so be it, but her future wasn't going to depend on any other person. However, if she did get married, she wanted her husband to stay at home with their children. The thought made her laugh aloud, since no man she knew would ever do that.

The more Maisy thought about it, she was done with college and just wanted to be a mother, with lots of children. The rest of the dream sounded like more work than she could handle, if she were married. Just thinking about it made her smile and chuckle. A family would be so nice. In about a week, it'd be Christmas. To think of a Christmas with family sitting around the tree opening presents sounded wonderful.

But it didn't matter now, because Christmas was just another day to Maisy. She'd never have that 'happily ever after' life she really wanted.

"Do you always talk to yourself and laugh when you're alone?" It was a man's voice she didn't recognize.

As she spun toward the voice, she slid on the wet newly mopped floor. A stranger stood in front of her, but she didn't have time to do anything before she hit the floor, twisting her right ankle with a crack resonating in her bones.

This really wasn't going well at all. It was typical for all of her days, but since it was Monday, it was a double-bad day.

The pain of what had happened hit her brain, making her instantly nauseous. "Owww!" Maisy grabbed her ankle, still seated on the floor. "If you're a burglar, take what you want but leave me alone. If you're going to kidnap me and take me away from here, you'll have to carry me. Just tell me it's better than where I am right now in my life."

The man ran to her side. "It's that bad?"

"You have no idea. I'm alone even though I live here with my family." She pointed back toward the small home but knew the guy couldn't see it since they were inside the barn.

The man pointed toward her ankle and knelt beside her. "I was talking about your injury."

"Oh." She winced, but kept an eye on the guy. He was young and very good looking; with dark hair and the bluest eyes she'd ever seen. His chin was square and with his high cheekbones and other features, his heritage suggested the possibility of a European influence or maybe Native American Indian. But his skin was rather pale, making her wonder about his background. That undergraduate course in genetics was paying off, in case she had to identify this guy. "Who are you? An angel or something?" When she moved her foot, the pain made her moan. She lowered her head to stop from passing out. Even her stomach ached.

"New veterinarian in the area." He touched her leg. "Do you mind if I take a look?"

"As long as you don't shoot me or put me to sleep if it's broken." She nodded toward her leg. "Go for it. I even shaved my legs this morning, on a whim. Lucky you."

While he laughed aloud, he removed her shoe with a gentle touch, and then took off her sock. It hurt like crazy, but she watched him studying her ankle. "Good job on the shaving," he said. "Want a job with me? I can make you my top animal shaver for surgeries."

"Very funny. My ankle really hurts." She looked down at her skin. "It's swollen, isn't it?"

"It's hard to tell since it just happened. Do you have an Ace Bandage near here?"

"Inside. Go get my dad and tell him you're the new vet. I'm sure he'll want to talk your ear off for an hour or two." Something wasn't right. "Wait. What happened to Doc Johnson?"

The guy kept looking at her ankle. "He's retiring in a month. I don't think he told many people yet. I'll be taking over his practice when he's gone."

"A new vet." She grabbed his left hand and looked it over. "Single. Interesting."

He lifted his blue eyes in surprise. "Why?"

He was so magnificent-looking, Maisy had to collect her thoughts for an extra moment. The pain in her ankle made her suck in a breath before continuing. "I'm sure Louise Sutton will have her claws in you. Be careful of that one. She's dated half the men in Montana, or so she says, and compares them against each other with ratings she puts on social media and her blog. You really don't want that woman. Her family doesn't even know she's like that, because they live over in Billings. She got a job as a seamstress in town and rents out a room. But she does gets around, if you know what I mean." She winced, just from the blank stare he shot her. She was oversharing again, one of her biggest vices.

He chuckled. "I'll make a note of that." He stood up and offered her his hand. "Can you stand?"

She moved her foot and groaned in agony. "Nope." When she put her hand on the concrete floor to steady herself, she felt something in her pocket. "Oh wait. I have my dad's phone. I forgot it was in my pocket. I'll call inside." She pulled the old cell phone from her pocket. "This is all I have if you want to rob me."

He laughed again. She must be funny or stupid sounding. Probably the latter.