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“I’ll try to remember how I know you. Nice to meet you, anyway,” Robin said, turning away. “We’ve got the vet out for Jade, our German shepherd. She’s whelping and it’s a huge litter.”
“Yeah, if you want a German shepherd pup, let us know. This will be her first and last litter. She had a visitor when our back was turned. Just gettin’ ready to get her fixed, too.”
“Surprise!” Robin said over her shoulder, on her way to greet the vet.
While the men chatted, a large white pickup truck pulled into their driveway, and Paul saw a woman in a tan canvas jumpsuit, carrying a medical bag, meet Robin halfway to the house.
“Dr. Faith,” Sam said, nodding toward her. “Best large animal vet around. She’ll see our dogs and cats because we have horses, too. She’ll be coming by your place next week. If you want to see her, let me know; if not, one of us will meet her over there. We been doin’ it for Barney since we moved in over here.”
“I’m workin’, I meanworkingTuesdays and Fridays this month. There’s a weekend thrown in there somewhere.” He had to remember to complete his words; Sam’s vernacular was catching and addictive.
“Let me write that down. I’ll keep an eye on the place at night when you’re gone. We have a coyote problem here. I’ll let your girls out during the day, but they should be put up at night. There’s no place for them to get away if a predator gets in the paddock with them. Alfred, on the other hand, would love to kick the hell out of some coyotes.”
Paul thanked him. Although they didn’t have horses at home, he’d grown up with dogs who were part of the family, sleeping in bed with the owners at night. “I’m interested in a puppy,” he said. “My mother might want one, too.”
“That’s great! I’m sure we’re in for at least eight. We have no idea who the father is, either. Down the road, one of the farmers has shepherds that he lets run, so who knows, we might have real shepherd babies.”
He was just going to try to get away when Robin came out again, this time followed by the vet, Dr. Faith. Up close, she was a surprise. Tall and willowy, her sandy hair pulled into a bun on top of her head.
“Dr. Faith, meet our new neighbor, Paul Saint,” she said. “He’s over at Station #20.”
They extended hands across the fence to shake.
“Hey, weren’t you onVicelast night? I swear it was you.”
“Yes! That’s where I seen you,” Robin said. “DernVice!”
When Sam piped in, Paul didn’t have to say a word, didn’t have to confirm it was indeed him they’d seen on a three-second walk-on.
“I’ll be by your place on Monday afternoon,” Faith said, looking at him with dark green eyes. He wondered if she wore those colored contact lenses. “Vaccination time.”
“I’ll be here,” he replied.
“Oh, Sam, congratulations. You have six healthy newborn shepherds, and it looks like there might be two or three more to come. She’s taking a break now. I’ll swing by after dinner to see how she’s doing.”
Paul walked back to the cabin, stopping along the way to check out the flower beds in full bloom. Taking his hat off and running his fingers through his black hair, he was sorry that he hadn’t paid more attention to his mother’s garden as a kid, because he was clueless, and it looked like it might take a lot of effort.
“I’ll take care of your flower beds.”
He looked around to see who was talking. On horseback, out on the road, a woman smiled at him, waving.
“Can I come inside?” she called, pointing to the open gate.
“Sure.”
She didn’t get off horseback, and the chestnut stallion looked like he’d come through before.
“Welcome. I’m Karin Smith. We live up the road about a mile.”
Reaching down to shake hands, she kept her eyes focused on his, making him a little nervous. The women in this community sure had a lot of self-confidence.
“Paul Saint.”
“I’ve been taking care of these gardens since Barney and Ruth moved away, since I was a kid. I was going to introduce myself eventually, but since you were here, looking worried, I thought I’d chance speaking up now.”
“I’m glad you did. I don’t want to kill anything.”
“I’m home on break from school right now, so anytime I can come by to work, let me know.”
