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She logged on with the information he’d given her, and in a minute had completely adequate internet.
“I set up the cell phone booster, too. See if you have service.”
Getting her phone—there it was, beeping annoyingly for a full minute, receiving dozens of text messages and more missed calls, and she frowned, staring at the face.
“Maybe it was nice not having this,” she said, laughing.
“You’ll learn to shut it off out here once you get used to the peace.”
He packed up his tool bag. “You know, Maggie, I think I’m going to tell my dad that you really don’t need that tower. The signal is plenty strong with the dish on the house. Are you good with that? It will save you a couple of hundred dollars, too.”
“Why, thank you so much,” she said. “Now you don’t need to dig the footings and mix the cement.”
“Right. I’ll load the truck back up and get out of your hair. Enjoy your new puppy.”
“Thank you so much. I will.”
She stood at the screen door, watching him work. Because Justin was returning, she’d leave the gate open. The little dog fell asleep in her arms, and she kissed her head, thinking,What a day!A boat ride, shopping, meeting people, two handsome guys at her house, and one coming back later. This was not what she had expected at Cypress Cove.
Chapter 3
The next morning, the puppy made sure Maggie didn’t sleep too late. Licking Maggie’s face and whimpering, she needed to go outside.
“Okay, little one. I’m getting up.”
She took the puppy down the stairs, still in her T-shirt and panties, out the front door and onto the grass. The morning was just beginning, the sun still behind the trees at the back of the property. It was almost cool. Looking around the yard, she decided she’d have a little portion of it fenced in so the puppy could run around. Later she’d call the hardware store to see if they could recommend someone to do the job. Out over the water, she saw a fishing boat way off.
“I hope he doesn’t have binoculars,” she said, smirking. “Are you ready for breakfast?”
She scampered up the stairs with a little assistance from Maggie. They’d have breakfast on the porch. The night before, Justin had helped her devise a gate from an old pallet to use on the porch so the puppy could sit out there and not have to be on a leash. She’d spent the evening sitting on a blanket, chewing a doggie chew while Justin and Maggie talked.
This morning, she’d have her kibble while Maggie had morning coffee. She wasn’t going to go back to her old ways of looking at emails and news online first thing. She ignored all the messages she’d gotten on her phone when the service came through last night, probably friends from her old life, digging for dirt.
She’d enjoy the sun coming up over the house, the glow on the headland to the water. Fishing boats coming in and setting anchor and, a while later, pulling anchor and moving elsewhere.
To her left, the sound of that owl that lived in the woods, and the whinny of wild horses coming in to keep her lawn trimmed. The puppy’s little hackles rose the first time he saw a black stallion in the yard, a treat for Maggie’s eyes, too. While she drank coffee that morning, she daydreamed a little about the night before with Justin.
After the sun went down, the bugs came out, so they wore long sleeves in spite of the heat, and lots of bug repellent. He’d brought wine, an expensive bottle of white that he’d picked up in New Orleans that week.
“How often do you go there?”
“A couple of times a month. Usually to get supplies for the clinic. I had to go this morning and scored a case of this.” He held up the glass. “My father likes it.”
Maggie giggled. “We must keep our parents happy.”
“By all means. It’ll be gone before you know it.”
“My aunt Elizabeth tells me that your dad is the vet. So your clinic must be the veterinary clinic.”
“Right. But Dad retired and only works occasionally, so I’m it. UC Davis, Class of 2017.” He chuckled a little bit. “I went right from new grad to full-time vet.”
“I’m so impressed,” Maggie said, truly in awe. “Do you have a specialty?”
“We do everything at our clinic, but my interest lies with the wild horse population here.”
“They do look so frisky and healthy.”
“The control of the population is the biggest issue right now. We have plans in place; it just takes time and money.”
