The Wild Side of Spring

By Verity Norton

When Trent Montgomery first sees Dr. Megan McCullough sitting across the room with her hair clipped back in an uptight bun, her posture rigid, and her nose in a book, he is fascinated.

Little does he know that when he struts across the pub and sets down his beer beside her cup of tea that the doc is anything but appalled by his mud-caked jeans.

Much to her dismay, she is attracted to the arrogant and cocky mud magnet. But then she always did have a soft spot for men dressed in mud.

• Language: English
• Publisher: TheFictionWorks
• Release date: Mar 21, 2015
• ISBN: 9781581243055

Book preview

Nisbet

Chapter 1

Real cute place you’ve landed in. Trent Montgomery climbed onto a stool and looked across the bar at his best friend, his look undeniably mocking along with his tone of voice.

So, you like Canden Valley. Nick Callen returned the look in kind and set down a pint in front of Trent.

What’s this?

Belhaven. A favorite around here. Try it, you’ll like it.

Skeptical, Trent took a swallow. Not bad.

So, what do you really think of my new home?

Trent shrugged and glanced around the The Village Pub that was a world apart from the big city where he and Nick had spent most of their years growing up. Still, there was something about the place. He understood Nick’s attraction to it, and to the woman he was about to marry.

What’s not to like in this one-horse town? A little on the small side, but I’m not complaining. Came here to play best man for my best friend and landed a job at the same time. I should be able to handle a couple months here. It did mean missing some rugby games—basically the end of the season—but that wasn’t the worst thing that had ever happened to him. Maybe he could catch some practices with the local team and at least stay in shape. And the women I’ve seen around here are as beautiful as you’d find anywhere, even in San Francisco. Only difference is, here they tend to be wearing jeans—the utilitarian kind—and boots and not a whole lot of makeup. Kind of refreshing. And he’d actually seen more than one woman riding a horse right into the middle of town. Definitely his kind of women.

Good observation. How long have you been here now? A day and a half?

You know if there’s one thing I notice, Callen, it’s a beautiful woman. And since I’ll only be here for a couple months, I’d say, it’s a nice place to land. Just can’t imagine spending a lifetime in this little valley of yours.

Nick set down the glass he was drying and rested his elbows on the bar. It is good to have you here, old friend.

Trent heard the emotion in Nick’s voice. Hey, I wasn’t the one who was incommunicado for several months.

It was only a couple months, and I did email.

Gee thanks. But I have to admit, now that I’ve met the reason for your distraction, I can’t say as I blame you.

Yeah, Skye is something else.

Trent wouldn’t argue with that. He took a long pull of his beer and leaned across the bar to look his friend in the eye. He was a slightly shorter, less buff version of himself, except that Nick’s hair was sandy blond to his black, and Nick wore glasses while he didn’t. Okay, so maybe their green eyes were the only thing they had in common. The fact that they’d been best friends since grade school must have given him the illusion that they were practically twins.

You’ve changed, Jackson—sorry—Nick. Hell, you’ve even changed your name.

Nick straightened. I didn’t exactly change it. I just started using my middle name. Out of necessity. He hadn’t wanted the woman with whom he’d been smitten at first sight to know he was a journalist. He needed to pass for a bartender in order to work side-by-side with her to break down her defenses.

Trent scraped his fingers through his thick black hair. If you say so. But you have changed, man. A lot.

Love will do that to a guy.

Yeah, but bartending when you’re an award-winning journalist?

It was a means to an end. And it’s not so bad. Kind of fun actually.

Yeah, yeah. You told me the story of how you seduced Skye McCullough with your bartending skills.

Nick laughed aloud at that. Hardly. His bartending skills were not something to impress anyone. However his patience, persistence, and sense of humor had won out in the end. Along with the help of her family.

But now that the girl has agreed to marry you, don’t you think it’s time you went back to writing fulltime?

I’m easing out of this. He gestured toward the bar. I’m only covering for Skye now and filling in when her uncle needs me. His voice softened noticeably. And sometimes I come in to write or to work with her just so we can spend time together.

Romantic.

It is. Speaking of which, you could use a little romance in your life.

Trent rolled his eyes. I get plenty of romance. Women fall all over me, remember, big gorgeous rugby player engineer that I am?

Nick remembered too well. He also remembered that his friend rarely stuck with any of them for more than a week. I said romance, not sex.

Semantics.

Ha.

Just because you’ve caved and given into the concept of marriage, doesn’t mean I have to. He turned slightly on his barstool and took in the pub. Shit! That woman over there, except for the uptight bun and the rigid posture, looks a helluva lot like your bride-to-be.

Nick chuckled. Get used to it. She’s one of the fourteen McCullough cousins. They all have dark brown hair and blue eyes. Could pass for siblings.

More like twins. Trent hadn’t taken his eyes off the woman who was across the room, sitting upright with her nose stuck in a book.

If Nick didn’t know any better, he’d say Trent was smitten at first sight, but he wasn’t about to tell him that. He would set out to prove him wrong. You want me to put in a good word? he offered. Or at least introduce you?

Hell no. When have I ever needed anyone’s help winning over a woman? Name?

Nick looked his mud-covered friend up and down. Coming in off the job site, he was going to need all the help he could get. He just didn’t know it. Dr. Megan McCullough.

Doctor, eh? Might explain the hair stuffed behind her head and pinned all tight like that, and her nose glued to that book. Is she as uptight as she looks?

I don’t know her all that well, but she seems nice. Just busy, being the only doctor in town.

Does the woman ever have fun or even smile?

When she’s hanging out with her family, yeah. The only time Nick had seen her having fun was at a family function. He ran into her at the book café next door on occasion, and she did come into the pub for lunch sometimes, but he couldn’t exactly say she was having fun. More like taking a break and burying herself in a book. Skye had mentioned that she liked to go dancing at the Dunedin Inn up the highway, along with her cousins, but he hadn’t seen that firsthand.

Trent slapped a twenty dollar bill on the bar and stood up.

What are you up to?

Not even attempting to hide his smirk, Trent glanced at his friend. I’m going to meet the woman . . . and as soon as possible put a big smile on that gorgeous face of hers. And I don’t plan on doing it anywhere near her family.

Nick shook his head and groaned. She’s not your type.

All beautiful women are my type.

A bit shallow, aren’t you?

Always have been.

Yeah, right, Nick thought. The truth was, his best friend was still nursing old wounds. He was drowning the pain in women. Better than alcohol at least. Maybe Trent had come to Canden Valley for another reason besides being his best man and besides the engineering job he’d picked up. Maybe he’d manage to heal some of his old wounds while he was here. Canden Valley and the McCulloughs had done that for more than one person, including him. Nick hoped they could do it for his childhood friend as well.

Just remember, you mess with one McCullough, you mess with them all. And his fiancée was pretty much the fiercest one in the group.

You’re not scaring me.

Just warning you. This is McCullough country after all. And you haven’t witnessed Skye’s slap upside the head yet. He felt compelled to warn him of one more detail. And if you’re just out to get laid, don’t go after a McCullough.

Another warning?

Yep.

Okay, I’ll bite. Why not?

Because I’d have to protect her from you.

Point taken. And trust me, I want a lot more than to get laid.

Glad to hear it, because as I said, I’d have to take her side. Nick glanced across the room at Skye’s Cousin Megan. On second thought, maybe Trent Montgomery was exactly what she needed. If anyone could loosen the serious doctor up, it was his best friend. Good luck. You’re going to need it.

Is that a challenge?

Only if you make it one.

Trent raised an eyebrow, and Nick knew he was turning this, as he did most things, into a competition. As a kid, they’d pretty much done that to survive, but Trent had carried it on a lot longer than was necessary. Nick could only figure it was a defense mechanism. Apparently he still needed one.

Pint in hand, Trent strode directly to the doctor’s table. She didn’t so much as look up until he’d set his glass down beside her cup of tea.

Yes?

I thought you might like some company. She looked him up and down, and he wondered if she was seeing the ripped thighs and torso or the mud that was covering his jeans.

I don’t think so. Her eyes found their place in her book. Apparently all she’d seen was the mud. Damn, he could have sworn she was eyeing the bod.

I’m new to town and would really appreciate some friendly company.

Megan McCullough grimaced as once again she looked up at this audacious man. Was he serious? He was trying to pick her up with mud caked all over his jeans that were clinging to those unbelievably muscular thighs? She shook her head to get her focus back in alignment with her outrage. In the middle of the day? In her family’s pub? Megan nodded toward the bar. Try the bartender.

He’s busy.

She raised a single eyebrow, and Trent looked over his shoulder at Nick who was standing there with a bar full of stools and no one to serve. You’re prettier.

Megan stifled a laugh. And I’m busier, so if you don’t mind.

Don’t mind a bit, he said when she returned to her reading.

By the time she realized what was happening, he had pulled out a chair and sat down. What are you doing? I told you I’m busy.

And I told you, I don’t mind. I’ll just sit here watching you read.

You can’t.

Why not?

Could the man be any more arrogant? Because this is my table, and I don’t want you here.

His smile came slowly and extended all the way to his eyes, and she felt her heart lurch. Why did the gorgeous and sexy ones have to be so damned cocky . . . and muddy?

Okay, I’ll leave, darlin’.

Thank God.

On one condition.

And what would that be?

That you agree to go out with me. Tomorrow night.

Not on your life.

Sorry. He leaned back in his chair and stretched out his legs. Then I’m staying.

Megan slammed her book shut and glowered at him. Then I’m not.

Don’t let me chase you away, beautiful.

He was finally right about something. Damned if she’d leave. She sat up taller and said, This is my family’s pub. If you don’t leave my table willingly, I’ll have you bodily removed.

Sounds like fun. As long as you’re the one doing the bodily removing.

I’m serious. Now leave my table, you arrogant ass, or I’ll call the bartender over.

Trent scooted back his chair, not because he was in an obliging mood, but because he didn’t want to put Nick in an awkward position. Okay, I’ll go hang with the bartender, but tell me this. Are you a snob?

No! I’m not a snob! Why would you even ask such an absurd question?

Ah, he had found her sensitive spot. Because you refuse to go out with me. Figured you don’t like the mud.

The mud is fine. It’s the man covered in it I don’t like.

Ouch. And why is that?

As I said before, you’re an arrogant ass.

He grabbed his beer and saluted her. Thanks for making my lunch break so enjoyable. See you around, beautiful.

Not if she had anything to say about it. She reached up and touched her hair that was clipped so tightly against her skull, it almost caused a headache. Beautiful? She hadn’t heard that word in conjunction with herself in a very long time. And lately, she certainly wasn’t feeling very beautiful. Her eyes drifted toward the mirror behind the bar, but they never made it that far. They were too focused on the ass of the arrogant ass who was walking away from her. Jeez, could an ass be any sexier than that one?

She forced herself to look down at her book, as if she could make sense of a single word. It could have been upside down for all she knew. The man had danger written all over him. He was precisely the kind of man she had to avoid. Been there, done that. Through college and medical school, she’d found the only men she went for were the truck drivers and grease monkeys. Something was radically wrong with her. It wasn’t as if there were that many, and they were more than one-night stands. More like one-week stands. But still, not brilliant choices. Lust had won out over logic every time. Not good for a doctor. It did not complement the image she was attempting to fulfill as respectable village doctor. What she needed was a steady, upstanding professional man, even if he didn’t make her melt at first sight.

How’d it go? Nick asked Trent as he climbed back onto his barstool.

Pretty well, I’d say.

Didn’t stay long.

Yeah, well, she threatened to have me bounced from the only pub in town. Couldn’t risk that.

Ah, it went that well, did it? Sure you don’t want me to put in a good word?

Not a chance. I haven’t had this much fun or this much of a challenge in years. In fact, do me a favor and don’t let on that you know me.

Why the hell not?

I just have a hunch it’s to my advantage that she not know who I am.

Yeah, right, Nick thought. He just wanted to prove he didn’t need any help from anyone to get the girl. She’ll know soon enough. You’re going to be in the wedding, and so is Megan for that matter.

Trent grinned at that news. Great, so that gives me a little over two weeks to win her over. At the very least to get her to go out with me before she finds out who I am. Not that it’s ever taken me that long.

Nick rolled his eyes. Fine, but as I said before, good luck. You’ll need it.

Maybe not as much as his friend thought. After all, as he’d been walking back to the bar, he’d looked straight in the mirror just in time to catch the woman staring at his ass. With a great deal of appreciation.

Chapter 2

Megan fumbled the sterile gauze bandage so badly that she had to toss it. Her patient watched her curiously while she reached for another one.

Sorry, Sally, she told the older woman.

Are you okay, Megan? She still couldn’t bring herself to call her Dr. McCullough, considering that as an employee of her grandparents’ general store, she’d watched the girl grow up.

Fine. I’m fine. Just a bit distracted. Not a good thing for a doctor to admit. She exhaled and carefully unwrapped the gauze and neatly placed it over the abscessed blister that she had just lanced. I’ll give you a prescription for antibiotics, and Darla will give you instructions on how to take care of this. She looked Sally in the eye. Do not wear any closed shoes. In fact, it would be best if you stayed off your feet for at least a few days. Preferably a week.

Sally snorted. Right. As if that’s going to happen.

Megan tugged off her latex gloves and disposed of them. Then she stepped closer and looked her patient in the eye. Things happen for a reason. It’s your body’s way of telling you to slow down and take a break.

Sally wondered if the young doctor’s body was trying to communicate the same thing to her.

Don’t make me call my grandfather, Megan threatened.

Okay, okay. I’ll take a couple days off. It’s just that your Cousin Sean is so busy with some case or other that he doesn’t have time to cover for me at the store. And Rosa is visiting her mother down south, and Danny’s only part time now.

I’m sure Sean can find someone. She hadn’t even realized her cousin, the local PI, had a case. Had she been that consumed with her own work lately? It had been a while since she’d even been into the Canden Valley General Store that her grandparents owned and her cousin managed. She’d try to get over there tomorrow, maybe even have one of Sean’s new wife’s famous ice cream sodas. If she could get out of her office before the store closed.

Sally climbed down from the exam table and hobbled over to the nearest chair to finish dressing. So, now are you going to tell me what’s got you in such a turmoil, honey?

I’m not in a turmoil. Just a bit distracted is all.

Sally shook her graying hair out of her eyes and looked up at the doctor. I’ve pretty much known you all your life, Megan McCullough. When you drop a needle and spill some of that doctor ointment of yours and have a scuffle with a gauze pad all in a period of five minutes, I know something’s got you more than distracted.

Damn. Had she done all that? What was wrong with her? She had to get that man out of her thoughts. He was an arrogant ass and didn’t deserve even one minute of her time, let alone an entire afternoon. But for the life of her, she couldn’t stop seeing those incredible green eyes staring into hers as if challenging her to something. Whatever it was, he was definitely winning.

Well? Sally asked.

Megan looked over at her patient. She had to talk to someone and she sure couldn’t talk to her family. If one McCullough knew something, they all did. And considering that there were fourteen McCullough cousins, that was a lot of people knowing her business. You won’t breathe a word?

Sally zipped her lips with her finger and thumb. Promise.

You won’t say anything to a single one of my family members?

Absolutely not.

Or anyone else?

Absolutely not. Sally scooted back in her chair until she was completely comfortable as if that would help her listen better.

Well, there’s this guy—

Sally grinned but held her tongue. It was about time there was a guy in this one’s life. Go on.

I was at the pub, just finished eating lunch and was relaxing with a book, and he comes over and interrupts me. Her back went rigid as she recalled the incident. The nerve of the man. I told him I was busy, but he sat down anyway. All covered in mud!

Mud?

Un huh. He’s some kind of—I have no idea what, but whatever job he does, it’s very messy. Anyway, he sits down at my table and persists in talking to me even after I tell him to leave. And he just sits there smirking at me all smug and telling me the only way he’ll leave is if I agree to go out on a date with him.

Did you?

Of course not!

So, what did he do?

He sat there staring at me with those piercing green eyes, smiling and flirting and looking me up and down as if he was going to devour me. And he stretched his legs out showing off his muscular thighs and his ripped torso and—anyway, he’s the most arrogant man I’ve ever met. Not that I even met him. I don’t even know the man’s name. Not that I want to.

Ripped torso, muscular thighs, green eyes, and she hadn’t even gotten the guy’s name? Hmm. And you don’t want your family to know about this, uh, encounter because—?

Because—I don’t know. They’ll try to fix me up or something. You know my family. They’re a bunch of meddling matchmakers.

Not exactly. They were just good at spotting attraction and love when they saw it. Usually before the subjects themselves knew it. So, this green-eyed hunk has you in a turmoil. What are you going to do about it?

I’m not in a turmoil! She turned away from her keyboard where she’d finished inputting patient notes, and stomped her foot. I’m not! Really! I’m just distracted. He upset me, that’s all.

And why would he upset her? Sally wondered, but refrained from asking the rhetorical question. So, what happened? You never told me the end of the story.

I threatened to have him bodily removed from the pub if he didn’t leave me alone.

Whoa. She was that attracted that she had to get rid of him? And did you?

Fortunately I didn’t have to. After more leering, he finally got up and left. She stifled her smile at the memory of watching him walk away.

So, that’s the end of it, Sally said, hoping it wasn’t. It was time Megan McCullough met a man and settled down. She was way too consumed with work. He left the pub?

No he went over to the bar and hung out with Nick for a while, but not before accusing me— She swallowed hard in an effort to get out the words. Accusing me of being a snob. He thinks that just because he does some kind of menial labor and was all muddy, that I wouldn’t go out with him. But it wasn’t that at all. God knows it wasn’t. If anything, for some bizarre reason, it made the man even more attractive. It was just that he was so darned cocky! And presumptuous. Anyway, I left the pub unscathed while he was still talking to Nick. And hopefully I’ll never have to see him again.

Sally couldn’t help laughing.

What’s so funny? Megan accused.

Nothing, nothing at all. She stood up and hugged the young doctor. Now, don’t you worry, I’ll be a good patient and stay off my feet.

Glad to hear it, Megan said. And just so you know, I’ll be coming over to the store to check up on you.

Got it. Now you take care, honey.

I will, Sally. And thanks for listening.

Happy to. And she’d be a lot happier if she could tell someone else, such as the girl’s grandparents. But a promise was a promise. This one would be a tough one to keep was all.

Megan went into her office and sank into her desk chair. She couldn’t believe it. Now the jerk had her confiding to her patients about him! If she ever saw him again—! She clenched her teeth hard and sat up tall. She couldn’t think this way. She had to focus on work and not the possibility of ever seeing him again. But if she ever did— She would give him a piece of her mind.

She covered her mouth with her hand as a laugh emerged from her chest. She was ready to pummel the man because she couldn’t stop thinking about him and had resorted to telling a patient about him. Damn. It wasn’t his fault that she had a thing for mud-caked laborers.

She pushed away from the desk and stood up feeling much more empowered. She was the one in control here . . . of her thoughts, her actions . . . her desires. Now she just had to get through the rest of the day without thinking about some muddy jerk who had wandered in off the streets of Canden Valley.

Trent?

Trent stared out at the scenery that was filled with anything but buildings. Not something he was used to.

Trent?

He wondered for a brief moment what it would be like to live in a tiny village like his best friend had opted to do. He had been surprised—to say the least—when Jackson—rather Nick—had shown up at his apartment with his fiancée on his arm and had asked him to be his best man. While Skye had gone off to visit with one of her cousins who lived in San Francisco, he and Nick had sat down for a long talk.

At first he thought his good buddy had lost it completely. But after hearing him talk for a few minutes, it was easy to see just how much in love the man was. He didn’t care where he lived, just so it was with Skye McCullough. And the truth was, he loved this little valley he’d discovered. And the people in it.

Trent shook his head along with his thoughts. Hard to imagine, but he wished him luck. Although he did live in the small town of Brisbane, he was close enough to San Francisco to enjoy big city life. He liked the variety too much to leave. He had the best of both worlds. A small town that put him close to his family in Millbrae, and at the same time he was close enough to the city and could hang out in a different bar every night for a year and not run out. In this Canden Valley of Nick’s, there was only one choice, the pub where he and Skye worked. The pub where he’d first set eyes on the uptight doctor whom he couldn’t shake from his thoughts. Damn. He couldn’t wait to get to know that woman and unleash what he suspected was simmering just below the surface.

Hey, Montgomery!

Huh?

About time, Todd said.

What’s about time?

I’ve been trying to get your attention for a bloody ten minutes. Where the hell have you been?

Right here.

Yeah, I see you, man, but you’re about as far from this shit hole as you can get. Which woman you got on your mind this time?

Trent cringed. Was he that easy to read? Or that predictable? But, hell, the man barely knew him. They’d been out once for beer, but—shit, obviously he was easier to read than he’d realized. What do ya need? He headed toward the hole his crew had dug.

I need to know if you want us to take a soil sample here.

Trent crouched down and sifted the soil through his fingers. Yeah, definitely. If his instincts were correct, they’d be starting this project in a week’s time. He was looking forward to it. He was grateful the engineer who had started the job had already filed the environmental impact report and that it had been approved. Although that was one part of his job he enjoyed, it would save him some time and some trips back and forth between his home and the valley.

Considering that he operated out of the Bay Area, it had come as somewhat of a shock when they’d asked him to take on this job. Apparently the geotechnical engineer who had first been hired for the job had broken his leg. He was from the nearby town, a couple miles up the highway. Winslow. According to the contractor who was building the rescue part of the facility, they had a structural engineer who would be on site when they started erecting the marine tanks, but he would need to be there until any retaining walls were in place and the concrete bases for the tanks were set. Apparently they had brought him in because there were no other engineers in the area that they felt were proficient enough in the geotechnical field. More likely, no others who would work for a pittance.

But Trent wasn’t complaining. The timing was perfect. He’d just finished his part on the parking structure in South San Francisco, almost simultaneously with ending a relationship that was going south as well, and he could use some time away from the city. The fact that it overlapped with his best friend’s wedding was no coincidence to his way of thinking. Just another plus to the project. Meant to be, he figured.

He was a big believer in meant-to-be’s. They’d been happening to him all his life. Not all good one’s, but if he sketched out a map of his lifetime so far, it was easy to see that there had been no mistakes, and even the tragedies had silver linings.

He had started out a poor kid from Oakland. When his best friend’s mother died and, after living with his alcoholic father for a while, he eventually went to live with his grandparents several miles away. Trent had thought his life was over. Jackson Nicholas Callen was not only his best friend. He was his only real friend. But a few months later, his own father had taken off and left him and his mother behind. Not long after, his mother did the same to him. To this day he didn’t know if they were together, or even if they were still alive. All he knew was that he’d ended up