“Sorry, I’m not really thinking straight,” Daniel sighed as he sat down.
“I can see that. You want to tell me what’s happened?” Grant asked.
“Where to begin,” Daniel snorted, and then could see that Grant was serious. So the doctor related the day in full. River, Duncan, everything. When he was done, Grant shook his head.
“Now thatisa bad day. Though I’m glad you sorted out young Duncan. He’s got potential, but I never dreamed he’d be a mongoose. Seems we’re not as rare around here as we used to be.”
Daniel cracked a smile. He knew better than to ask Grant about his other side, even though he has his suspicions.
“She’s quite the vet. I doubt she’s ever seen a mongoose before, but she did a beautiful job on his leg. If it weren’t for all the acting he’s going to have to do, he’d be back running on it tomorrow,” Daniel replied.
“Town needs a good vet. Something we’ve been lacking for too long,” Grant nodded his head in agreement with what Daniel was doing his damnedest to avoid saying. “What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know,” Daniel said with a shrug. “I thought coming out for a walk would help, but nothing is helping. It feels like I’ve already lost.”
“Self-pity is never a good look,” Grant said dryly. “She’s still in town. Her bike is still at Betty’s. You haven’t lost yet. Besides, it’s New Year, anything can happen!”
The accompanying eye roll told Daniel that Grant had an even lower opinion of New Year’s Eve than he did.
“Do you have time for a drink?” Daniel asked.
“Not tonight, sorry, I’m on my way to meet Alice for dinner. She planned something special, out in the woods. Not sure what, but I’m late,” Grant said, getting to his feet.
“Try not to get caught,” Daniel said as he stood and gave the bear of a man a wry smile.
“Never have been yet,” Grant grinned and turned away. Daniel smiled to himself.
We haven’t lost yet.
Chapter Seven
River
The thin curtains did almost nothing to keep the light out of room thirteen. It streamed through them, no matter how weak the sun was, and the appearance of the light told River she had been asleep for a long time.
She glanced at her watch and saw it was a little after nine.
She rolled over in the bed and thought about going back to sleep. There was nothing to get out of bed for, and hiding in her room definitely felt like the better option than going out into the town and potentially running into Daniel again.
Her stomach rumbled.
Fine, breakfast downstairs, then back to bed, she decided.
She sat up and slowly got herself out of bed. She threw on the only pair of jeans she had, a loose hoodie and her snow boots. It was a relaxed look but aside from her biker leathers, a pair of leggings and a couple of t-shirts, her wardrobe was a little limited right now.
She grabbed her phone and shoved it into the front pocket of the hoodie. There was a message waiting on it to be read, but she could do that over breakfast. She slumped her way down the stairs and was relieved to see no one else in the dining room. She could hear Betty moving around in the kitchen, probably rustling up something hot for her late breakfast.
River grabbed one of the cups from the buffet tables that were laid out and filled it with coffee from the urn. She expected that an hour ago the dining room had been full and the tablespiled high with food for them. It was one of the big advantages about staying in a hotel or inn, getting a great breakfast as part of the package, but she didn’t feel like a big meal, in fact, she really only came down in search of cereal.
Betty appeared as River sat down, carrying a plate of sausage links, bacon, waffles, pancakes, hash browns, grits, grilled tomatoes, mushrooms, and scrambled eggs. She put the teetering mass down in front of her niece and disappeared before River could object.
River stared down at the food. Objections be damned. Now she could smell it and it was in front of her, she was starving. After taking a long drink from the still hot coffee, she dug in. Everything tasted amazing, and she knew if she stayed too long at Betty’s she’d end up with more curves than she bargained for.
The food seemed to revive her somewhat—so much so that she almost forgot about her phone.
Ketchup was brought over for the hash browns, and then fresh toast with local butter from the Jones’ farm. Whether it was the air in the small town that made it taste so good, or it was something else, River didn’t care. She ate until the plate was clean and only crumbs remained from the toast.
“Let me get you some more coffee,” Betty said and took the cup to refill it.
