“You know how Landen is. He’ll contact your father to do a welfare check if I don’t return home.”
Her pout was adorable. “You’re right. Then I’ll never hear the end of why I took you out drinking. Go. I’ll be fine all by myself. Alone. With these ruthless men.”
Laughing, I pulled out a twenty.
“No, you don’t. I convinced you to come out and keep me from killing the bastard who likely won’t spend a day in jail. I’ll pay for the drinks.”
“Be good. I don’t want to get a call in the middle of the night to come bail your ass out.” As I continued laughing, I grabbed my purse.
“You’re such a mean girl. So mean.”
“But you love me.”
“Maybe I’ll question that,” she called after me while I headed to the door, praying I didn’t meet Mr. Pink Shirt along the way. When I made it to my truck and after jumping inside, I said a silent prayer the engine would turn over. Like just about everything else in my life, my truck had seen better days.
The whir when I turned the key caused my stomach to jump. While I was no mechanic, I’d managed to kind of keep herrunning for a few months. Namely because I’d spent every last dollar on the sanctuary.
I rolled over the steering wheel, pouting while saying a silent prayer. I loved my work. I adored the animals, preferring them to people, but something had to give. After taking a deep breath, I stroked the dashboard. “Come on, baby. A little fawn needs our help.”
When the engine fired right up, I pumped my fist.
“Good girl. Very good girl.” As I headed out, the sun was just going down, the swirl of vibrant colors highlighting the gorgeous mountain range. I’d never thought I’d return home, but now, I was glad I had. Missoula was exactly as I’d remembered. A little larger. A few more bars and liquor stores, but other than that, idyllically the same.
Which was also why returning brought heartbreak.
As I headed home, I did what I could to shove aside the sadness. Every memory was bittersweet, but also very special. They were all I had of my little family.
I made good time, the traffic lighter than usual, but by the time I pulled down the long driveway, the sun had finally set. At least I’d remembered to leave the outside light on.
With my keys in my hand, my beautiful dog barking her hearty welcome, I headed to the front door. With the first step onto the creaking wooden porch, the light flickered once then snapped off, leaving me in total darkness.
“You have got to be kidding me.” While I wasn’t typically prone to allowing little things to get me down, a perpetual glass isalways half full kind of girl, I was weary from the constant issues with the house.
My parents had done a lackluster job at fixing the typical problems associated with an aging house. They’d had their reasons, but I couldn’t keep a contractor on call twenty-four/seven. Money didn’t grow on trees. Besides, they’d put all their money into building the veterinary clinic on the property, which now I was grateful for. The state-of-the-art equipment meant I could hit the ground running with my own practice.
Now I just needed more clients.
As soon as I opened the door, my little wiggle buddy and pillow thief Ellie May launched her full weight into my arms, knocking me against the open door and almost onto my butt. Her tail was going ninety miles an hour, her backside wiggling as if I’d been gone for days, not a couple of hours.
“Girl, you just saw me, but Mommy missed you too.” I managed to close the door behind me while she continued to give me sloppy kisses, fighting for my attention as I tripped over her on my way to the kitchen. With her as my sidekick, every day was made better. “Alright. I’ll get you a treat and if you’re a very good girl, you’ll get to see Uncle Landen.”
She was now beside herself, squealing more than when I’d opened the door. She was a people dog. I was an animal person. A match made in heaven.
I turned on a few lights, including the outside flood and within two minutes, he was pulling next to my truck.
“Alright. Hold down the fort until I get the fawn settled.” In being able to talk to my dog, I didn’t feel nearly as lonely as I’d bein living by myself on a ranch far away from people. But I liked it that way, learning to handle most issues without needing help.
I rolled my eyes as I opened the door. Every time I lied to myself, I was hopeful I’d finally believe I was Superwoman.
I sucked at it.
“Sorry about the light. What happened?”
“Someone hit her with a vehicle and left her there.” As gruff of a man as I knew Landen to be, he was gentle with all creatures. He was a man with a past himself, and stories to tell involving my father that I honestly had no heart to listen to. My dad had been a young man during the horrific time of 9-11 in New York, a firefighter who’d been stationed alongside Landen at the sight of the rubble and massacre.
Even now, I shuddered from the memories.
My father had been more affected than Landen, quitting not long after the rubble had been cleared. He’d turned his love of people into a love of animals, which I’d learned from him.
