"Did you talk to her?"
"Just long enough to find out you stayed here."
"You asked about me?"
"Yes," he said simply.
"I went to the stream," she said. "It's so nice out. I wish PJ were here. He'd love it out here."
"Did you say your mom's helping you with him?"
"Yeah, I thought about taking him to Monterey, but no, he's staying with my friend, Caleb. He'll be at his apartment with him, and he'll have way more time to spend with him than my mom would."
"You've mentioned this name before."
"Yeah, Caleb. We're friends from school. He changed his major before I did, so we don't have classes together, but westayed friends. He's another animal lover. He's good with PJ, so I just paid him instead of worrying about my mom."
"Is he the one you've talked about working with when you try to open a business?"
"Yes, that's the one. Caleb. He would be good to work with, for sure."
Henry shook his head. He tried to manage a smile, but he couldn't. "At least PJ's being taken care of," he said.
"Oh, yeah, definitely. He'll take good care of him."
This woman did not owe him anything. They had never even gone out on a date together. "Is that guy trying to be your boyfriend?" he asked, unable to stop thinking about it.
"Who, Caleb? No. He's not."
"So, no one is?"
"No one's trying to be my boyfriend, no." She smiled shily. "Why are you asking me that?"
"Because I felt jealous when you said that PJ was with some guy. I didn't know what kind of guy would babysit a girl's dog."
"Caleb's great," she said. "You'd like him. I'm really thankful to have him watching PJ with how long I have to be gone."
"I get that," he said with a nod, even though he didn't quite get it and he was innately against this guy.
"Speaking of sweet, precious babies, how's Candice? How's the rest of the gang? Can I go see them right now? I haven't been in the barn yet." She was adorable, talking fast and wiggling in a tiny jumping, jiggling motion like she just couldn’t stand still.
He could not hold back a grin. "Yes, you can," he said.
"I was worried you would sell her."
"I know. I bought Candice thinking I'd break her and sell her."
"But you couldn't," she said. "I would have been so sad if I came here and she wasn't here. Is she in the movie?"
"No. That would stress her out. She's doing great, though. I ride her all the time. You should come see her." He motioned for her to follow him down the long hallway of the barn, and she happily went with him.
Henry went directly into Candice's stall. He held the door open and urged Amelia to come in with him. Candice was excited to see Amelia. She came into the stall with the perfect amount of confidence. Henry watched as the two of them connected. Candice remembered her. She was happy, rubbing her face against Amelia's body and causing her to laugh.
Amelia spoke to Candice in a sweet, loving tone that was like music to Henry's ears. It actually did something to him—seeing her there and hearing her voice. He could understand the idea of a siren now. He was entranced by her. There was an underlying raspy sound in her tone, and he listened harder than ever as she spoke to Candice.
"I love her, Henry."
"She loves you too," he said, petting Candice's neck. He pulled back and focused on them, taking them in. "She really does love you," he added. "She's happy."
