Summer Love by Piper Rayne
Chapter One
“To Becs … all of her hard work and dedication has paid off, and although we will miss having her at the bar every day, we are all so very proud of her,” Annabeth Lewis, the owner of the bar and my boss for the last six years, said as she raised her beer in a toast.
“To Becs,” the crowd cheered, and I was so touched and emotional it was almost embarrassing.
I’d grown up in Cherry Springs on the wrong side of the tracks. I’d had a few odd jobs when I was younger, but it wasn’t until I started working at Lewis’s Bar & Grill that I found a place where I was accepted and encouraged to follow my dreams.
The Lewises were like the first family of Cherry Springs. They owned not only the bar and grill, but Lewis Sporting Goods. The family also included our local lawyer, flower shop owner, art gallery owner, and much more. They pretty much owned the town, and the bulk of that was because retired NFL player, Gabriel Lewis, was a huge presence and benefactor in Cherry Springs.
They were our version of royalty.
Never in a million years would I have imagined that me, Rebecca “Becs” Smith, who grew up in the trailer park and had a junkie for a mother and a drunk for a father, would end up close enough to the Lewises to call them friends, but here we were.
My cheeks hurt from smiling, and although my vision was blurry with tears, I would fight anyone who suggested I was about to cry.
“Here’s to my best mate. I knew you could do it.”
I sniffed back the tears and turned to my buddy, Shane, with a grin.
“Thanks, Shane,” I said, accepting his brief hug.
Years ago we’d met when he worked at the bar as the bartender, and I was one of the waitresses. Now he was a songwriter whose songs could be heard all over the world. He was married to Jasmine Lewis, who he’d been in love with for ages, and was happier than I’d ever seen him.
“I’m so happy for you, Becs. I knew you could do it. It sure will be weird not seeing you behind the bar when we come in here, though. Don’t be a stranger now that you’re a tall poppy.”
“A what?” I asked. Shane was Australian, and although I was used to his Aussie slang, he still sometimes pulled something out I’d never heard before.
“A successful type.”
I chuckled even as melancholy hit. I really would miss seeing these people every day.
I shook my head, and the feeling, and said, “It’s not like I’m leaving Cherry Springs. I’ll still be around. And now, when we see each other here, rather than me serving you, you’ll be buying me a drink.”
“Quite right,” Shane said, dropping a kiss on my head.
“And, if anything happens with Daisy or Loki, you’ll be our first call,” Jazzy said as she joined us.
“Bite your tongue,” Shane chastised, pulling his wife close to his side.
Daisy was their goat and Loki their beagle.
“Anytime,” I assured her, the realization that tomorrow I would officially be a vet tech causing excitement to hit again.
It had taken many years to make this dream come true and it was hard to believe it was actually happening. It felt like my life was finally ready to begin.
“Hey, Becs, great party!”
I turned from my friends to see Dr. Selena Garcia, my new boss, coming toward me. She looked relaxed and happy in a pretty floral dress with her dark hair down and flowing past her shoulders.
“Dr. Garcia, hi, I’m so glad you could make it,” I said, holding up a finger to Shane and Jazzy to give me a minute. When they both nodded, I moved to my boss.
“Thanks for inviting me,” she said easily. “I’m afraid I tend to be a workaholic, so it was nice to have an excuse to get away from the clinic.
I didn’t know much about Dr. Garcia, other than she’d been a few years ahead of me in school and she was recently divorced.
“I can’t wait to get started,” I said, practically vibrating with enthusiasm.
“I’m thrilled to hear it. Actually, your first day will be a big one. We have to go out to Cherry Springs Farm first thing tomorrow morning. Mason, the owner, called just before I left home and said he’s got a number of heifers about ready to start calving and he’d like us to come check them out. He had some issues last season that he’s hoping to avoid.”
“Sounds good to me,” I said, excited at the prospect of jumping right into the thick of things.
I was twenty-eight and I’d never held anything other than a minimum-wage job. Now I had a career where I would learn and grow and help animals. Working for the only vet in a small town meant we’d be dealing with more than household pets. Large-animal care actually took up the most of Dr. Garcia’s time.
When she’d interviewed me, she’d told me I’d often stay back to help the regular household pets, except for surgeries of course, while she dealt with the larger animals. So, I was excited at the prospect of getting to learn both.
Becoming a vet tech was just my first goal. Once I save up a little money, I wanted to finish my schooling to become a veterinarian, which meant training under Dr. Garcia was priceless.
“Great. Be at the office at zero six hundred,” she said before looking around the bar and saying, “Now, I’m going to try and convince one of these fine young men to dance.”
“Oh, I’m sure they’ll fight over the chance,” I assured her. And as I watched her walk away, I thought, This is it, Becs. You’re no longer the girl from the trailer park who was never going to amount to anything. You showed them…
