The emphasis on that last one made me wince. I glanced back at Sharon, who hadn't moved. Hadn't needed to. Her expression said everything—the quiet disappointment, the I-told-you-so she was too polite to voice, the you're-an-idiot-and-you-know-it that radiated from every line of her posture.
“She probably thinks I'm?—”
“An exhausted, socially incompetent workaholic who pushes away anyone who tries to get close?” Sharon's voice was mild. “Can't imagine where she'd get that idea.”
Heat crept up my neck. “That's not?—”
“Callum.” She stepped into the room, her expression softening just enough to hurt worse. “That girl drove all the way into town because she was worried about a sick puppy and you couldn't let her help.”
My jaw clenched. “I know.”
“Do you?”
I didn't answer. Couldn't.
Sharon studied me for a long moment, then shook her head. “Go.”
“What?”
“Go. Apologize. Now. Before you overthink it and convince yourself you were right.”
“I need to monitor?—”
“I'll watch him.” She moved toward Pudding, her tone leaving no room for argument. “Go.”
I was already moving, my legs carrying me toward the door before my brain caught up. Through the recovery room. Past the exam rooms. Into the waiting area where adoption posters lined the bulletin board.
The front door chimed as I shoved it open.
The parking lot stretched empty under the late afternoon sun. No yellow sundress. No waves of sandy brown hair.
Just empty asphalt and the distant sound of a truck engine fading down Main Street.
I’m too late.
ChapterFive
Rosalie
The truck'ssteering wheel bit into my palms as I white-knuckled it down Main Street. My chest felt tight, like someone had wrapped a band around my ribs and pulled.
Don't cry. Don't you dare cry.
I blinked hard, focusing on the road. The familiar storefronts. The stoplight that never worked quite right.
My throat burned.
He doesn't know anything. He doesn't know you.
Except he'd looked at me like he did. Like he'd seen right through the cheerful smile and theI've got thisact to the terrified woman underneath who had no idea what she was doing.
The broken irrigation system. The chickens with missing feathers. The goats who treated every latch like a personal challenge.
You think I'm some city girl playing farmer who can't manage it all.
The words echoed in my head, and my vision blurred. I sucked in a breath, then another, but the tightness in my chest only squeezed harder.
The street blurred. Buildings smeared together.
