“And you didn’t notice that at the initial intake exam?”
“I missed it, G, and I apologize.”
“Don’t.There’s nothing to apologize for.She was sick.Missing patches of fur.So skinny we could see her spine.You got her healthy, and that’s the only thing that matters.Now, let’s make sure we keep her that way, along with all these new babies.”
Waffles came up to the stall beside me, putting his head inside to inspect what was going on.Doom mewled unhappily.
Bending, I scratched my boy behind his ears.“Let’s let the new mommy rest.”She’d picked where she was most comfortable to give birth, so there was no way I was going to disturb that or her.Plenty of fresh straw was down, and Leo or one of the other staff would ensure she had food and water.“And Leo, when it’s safe for her to be spayed, make that happen.”
“You got it, G.”
As I walked away, Waffles followed at my heel, playfully bumping my thigh with his head if I stopped for longer than ten seconds.I made my way through each part of the barn, double-checking the rescued Vechur cows that had been saved when a collector had been raided on charges of abuse of exotic animals.
They were all older cows, used and abused for their milk supply to the point that their udders had been severely mastitic when they first arrived.Leo and the vet staff had worked tirelessly to get them healthy again.Now they were finally being integrated with the other animals.
I was on my knees in a stall, work gloves on, holding a 2x4 in place so Phil, my foreman, could replace the one a rowdy pony had kicked in during her morning tantrum, when I felt it.That shiver that whooshed down my spine and immediately started a buzzing right beneath my skin.
I had no need to look up or search the barn for the source.I knew who it was without Waffles huffing beside me, like he was truly exasperated but also very, very happy.
Same, baby boy.
Phil—who was older than my dad, burly and gruff, but also the sweetest guy with the biggest heart for all my animal babies—lifted his gaze from his task and snorted.
“The sheriff is a Helping Hand now?”
My heart lifted, but I kept my face as neutral as possible.“Is he feeding the babies?”
Phil glanced back over the top rail.“Looks like he’s planning to.Got a baseball cap on, jeans and a T-shirt instead of his uniform.No gun or taser in sight.A bag of apples in one hand, a bouquet of roses in the other.”
I was literally melting at everything Phil was saying until he got to the bouquet part.Oh, fluff no.Hilary was the only florist in Creswell Springs, which meant she was the only one in Trinity County.I would not be accepting flowers from anyone who purchased them from that evil cyprian.But especially not from Finn Fluffing Davis.
The audacity of that jerk.
News spread lightning-fast in our community.Everyone knew Hilary had been arrested the day before, as well as why.They also knew that she’d been released before dinner and that the charges were dropped by the DA.I was surprised it had taken that long.
As I’d driven away from the scene—to stop myself from running Hilary over for chasing Waffles with a rake and scaring the little guy; definitelynotbecause she had kissed my man!—I’d figured Finn would stop the arrest.From my vantage point of that kiss Hilary had given him, I couldn’t tell if he’d wanted it.Then he’d remembered me, and I wasn’t sure if he’d pushed her away and arrested her because she had actually attacked him with her lips…or if he’d finally remembered me and was trying to keep the chaos to a minimum.
I’d gotten a little thrill when one of the staff had mentioned he’d put her in a jail cell.One of my secret group chats had confirmed it.Even if it had only been for a few hours before the district attorney had stepped in and dropped all the charges, keeping her from having to stand in front of a judge.Which wasn’t all that surprising since the DA was Hilary’s cousin.
At least Finn had followed through, put her in time-out and made her think about her actions.
But now, that jerk showed up at my farm, walked into my barn with apples androses, expecting to help out, and that would fix everything?
He hadn’t called me or stopped by my house.
He gave me no explanation.
No kiss good night.
Not even a text to sleep tight.
And he thought roses from that kiss-stealing strumpet’s shop were going to make up for any of that?
Finn
I drovetwo hours to the farmers market to buy the wildflower honey Grier loved.While I was there, I figured my presence would be better received if I brought Waffles a treat as well.While I was getting the best apples from a local farmer, I saw the roses at the flower stall beside them.
Pink.
