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CHAPTER TEN
“How’ve you been doing, Tom?” Dana set aside the Fluffy Henderson chart and gave him the best smile she could muster. “Your kids have been over to see mine, but I haven’t seen you in a while.”
He shifted his muscular bulk in the chair on the other side of her desk, then leaned forward to fold his hands on the edge.
“I’ve cared about you all these years, Dana,” he said slowly. “Way before you even married Ken. But I want you to know there are no hard feelings.” His mouth quirked into a lopsided smile. “I still think we could make a go of it, if you ever change your mind. But I’m not going to be chasing after you or anything. I want us to stay friends like we’ve always been.”
He really was such a good, kind man. Dana resisted the urge to reach over to lay her hand on his. “I’m glad, Tom. Somewhere out there is a woman who’s going to knock you off your feet.”
“Probably not. I don’t think I believe in all that anymore. But thanks.”
Francie appeared at the door. “Grace is waiting in the second exam room with her black lab. He seems to...uh...have quite a problem with diarrhea, so you might want to come right away. Are you free?” Her brow furrowed as her gaze settled on Tom. “Hey, do you have a minute to listen to a weird sound when I start my truck? I don’t know if it’s the starter or the transmission...”
By the time Dana finished with the black lab, Tom had left and Francie was back on the computer at her desk. As soon as Grace and her dog went out the door, Dana gave Francie’s shoulders a quick hug. “Diarrhea? That dog didn’t have any such thing.”
Francie swiveled around in her chair. “I wasn’t sure how things were going with Tom—if he was giving you trouble over what you told him. Honestly, I feel so sorry for that man.”
“He came to tell me there were no hard feelings.” Dana gave her friend a sad smile. “I just wish I could have been the right woman for him, but I couldn’t, and I guess I just made things harder for him.”
Francie’s gaze slid away. “I...um...hope you don’t mind, but while he was looking at my carburetor, I...sorta asked him over to my place for dinner next weekend.”
“Meaning...”
“Well...he turned me down, but he was real nice about it. Maybe he’ll think about asking me out someday.” Francie bit her lower lip. “I never would have made a move if I thought you wanted him, honest.”
“What about all the other guys you see?”
“Gil is a charmer, but he’s never going to settle down. The others—” Francie waved her hand dismissively. “Well, they’re either in love with rodeo, the horse show circuit, or with themselves a tad too much. I’ve come to realize that all the flash and excitement doesn’t hold much water when it comes to real commitment.”
Dana hesitated, searching for the right words. “Tom took his divorce really hard. I don’t want to see him hurt again.”
“And I had to be absolutely sure you weren’t going to change your mind about him, but maybe now it looks like the field is clear.” Francie’s smile lit up her entire face. “That man reminds me of a big ol’ teddy bear—capable of a lot of love, and just needing the right gal to come along. I’m hoping that gal is me.”
“For your sake and his, I hope it is.” Dana gave her another hug. Feeling oddly melancholy, she went back to the lab to collect supplies for the day’s farm calls.
Out at Ed Bailey’s place, twelve of his newborn calves were scouring...all of them out of replacement heifers he hadn’t vaccinated for rota-corona-E. coli, as Dana had recommended last spring. At Mildred Kastner’s place, there were fifty calves to dehorn, castrate and immunize. Afterward, she had a lameness recheck over in Grenville and an equine prepurchase exam in Rock Springs.
