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CHAPTER FIVE
CHARITYHADASSISTEDwith a difficult birth for a pig today, and had been rewarded by the intense adorableness that was a litter of piglets.
She loved piglets.
She loved animals. That was the thing. All of them, all kinds. The only reason she didn’t have any of her own was that every animal in the vicinity was hers.
But sometimes she wished that she did have a puppy or a ferret. Or fox kits, even though she was morally opposed to the idea of taking a wild animal and domesticating it... But there were circumstances surely...
Her phone rang, and she startled. It was Byron. They had an appointment to talk; of course they did. It was weird that she had forgotten. That she had been thinking about animals instead of him. Or maybe not. It was pretty much the way her brain worked. She didn’t think about him all that much when they didn’t talk. She figured that was healthy.
Boundaries and all that.
She answered, holding the phone arm’s length away from her face. “Hi,” she said.
The vision of his pleasant face did soothe her. Made her feel calm and happy. He did that. He was like that afghan in her living room.
Comforting. Homespun. She didn’t know how a person could be homespun, but he sort of seemed like he was.
“I thought that I would call you and discuss the exact dates for my arrival.”
“Oh yes,” she said. “You know, I have a spare bedroom, so you don’t need to worry about booking the room above Smokey’s if you don’t want to...”
“I appreciate that,” he said. “But particularly with your father gone, I worry about appearances.”
“Oh.”
“I don’t mean what people would think, it’s just... It isn’t that I don’t trust you or myself. But staying away from the appearance of evil is important.”
Byron was quite devout. She found it to be a charming part of his personality. His beliefs were very sincerely held, and while he mostly treated it as a personal part of his life, there were certain things that he was adamant about. He did not drink at all. And when it came to physical intimacy, he believed firmly that it must be between a husband and wife only. She didn’t mind that. In fact, she found it to be sweet.
“Well, whatever suits you. I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.”
She wondered what he would think about Lachlan being at her house late at night.
The thought made goose bumps break out on her arms. It wasn’t the same. He was Lachlan.
He wasn’t her boyfriend.
He was her friend.
He had made her tea and cookies and...
She redirected her thoughts. To the conversation at hand. As was reasonable.
“Well, what is looking possible in terms of availability?”
“I’m thinking next week,” he said. “It will also be a good flight time for me.”
“Okay. That works well for me. I will still have work...”
“Of course. I’m happy to help you with anything you might need assistance with.”
“Thank you,” she said. “That’s very kind.”
He was very kind. Endlessly. She liked that about him. He was very... Well... He was a wonderful man. There was absolutely nothing about him that wasn’t.
“I’m very much looking forward to it. Once I’m there we can discuss you moving here.”
