‘Just that I had another bull caught in a similar crash once. I lost him. I wasn’t about to lose Freddie.’ Anna shrugged it off, but had the feeling Paul read more into her words than she had intended.
The bull had ambled over to the fence where they stood and Paul’s son Rick joined them. After greeting Anna, Rick climbed the rails and dropped down beside Freddie. He pulled a halter from the bucket and slid it over the bull’s head, then fed him a couple of handfuls of feed pellets from the bucket.
They were waiting for her. Anna knew that. This was supposed to be her final visit to Freddie. So far, they had all gone without incident. She reached for the gate to open it, realising as she did that her hand wasn’t shaking. She wasn’t afraid. Not any more. The bull finished the food and swung his head to look at her with huge, dark eyes. There were no wild white rings of pain around them today. He looked at her with those big brown eyes, and all she felt was sympathy for him, and a little pride that she had saved him.
She stepped to Freddie’s side and stroked his neck.
‘So how are you feeling, big boy?’
The animal didn’t move.
Anna stepped close to his head and crouched to study the healing wounds on his chest. The full examination took a few minutes and it was clear the bull was fine. There was nothing for her to do. The treatment he’d received since coming home had been excellent. But even the best care in the world wasn’t going to hide those scars.
‘He’s not going to be winning any more championship ribbons for you,’ she said to Rick as she finished.
‘That’s all right. He’s won more than his fair share. There’s a lot more to him than being handsome. Besides, his offspring can start winning them now.’ Rick removed Freddie’s halter and gave him the remaining pellets.
Anna walked back through the gate to where Paul was standing. ‘He’s fine now. There’s no need for me to come back, unless something changes and you feel I need to.’
‘Thanks, Anna. While you’re here, do you have time to take a look at one of the cows? She’s breeding, and this morning she was struggling to get to her feet. I thought, as you were coming anyway, there wasn’t much point in calling our usual vet. And besides, I think I’d like you to be our vet now.’
‘Thanks, but—’ Anna caught herself. She had been going to say she didn’t do cattle. Horses and small animals were her thing. And alpacas, of course. But was that true any more? She looked back towards the small paddock where Freddie was once again helping himself to the green grass. She was proud of saving the bull from his injuries. Not just because of the skill it had taken, but also because of the courage she’d mustered to overcome her greatest fear. If you beat back a fear once, and beat it hard enough, surely it was gone for good?
‘Thanks. I appreciate the confidence you have in me. I’ll be happy to take a look at your cow.’
***
Happy also described how Anna felt as she drove away from the stud half an hour later. The cow had been seen to and Anna was certain she’d be right as rain by the next day. She hummed to herself as she drove into the Ridge and parked outside the grocery store. As she got out of the car, she caught movement inside Rose’s Alpaca Emporium and her thoughts turned to the knitting club. She’d really enjoyed her last visit. Maybe she should become a regular. Time to end her self-imposed distance from this community.
She turned away from Kelly’s store. The groceries could wait a few minutes.
When she stepped into Rose’s shop, the first thing she saw was Justin’s face. And Ben’s. Smiling at her from the calendar hanging on the wall. Although she’d seen it before, the photo stopped her in her tracks. That tricky little thing started up again in her heart, even more exciting than before, because Justin was taking her to the town dance. It seemed so unlikely that someone like him could want to be with someone like her. She swallowed, feeling the skin pull taut across her face in its familiar fashion. The good feeling tried to fall away, but she caught it and hung on to it.
Paul had said there was more to Freddie than just being handsome. Surely the same applied to her? There was a lot more to her than her face. Justin had seen that. He’d invited her to the dance.
A voice tinged with laughter disturbed her. ‘They are rather nice to look at.’ Rose approached from the storeroom at the back of the shop.
‘No. I mean yes … I mean …’
‘I know exactly what you mean.’ Rose chuckled. ‘If I wasn’t old enough to be their grandmother …’
Anna joined in her laughter.
‘Has that Justin finally managed to ask you out?’
‘Um, well …’
‘Aha! I knew it. He’s asked you to the town dance, hasn’t he?’
‘Yes.’
‘About time, too. I assume you said yes. It would be pretty hard to say no to someone who looks like that.’
Anna felt a flash of irritation. ‘Everything’s not about looks, you know.’
‘No, it’s not. And I’m glad you feel that way. So what can I do for you? I can’t sell you a calendar because that’s the only one I have left. Kelly might still have some. Between us, we ordered enough for everyone in town, but I didn’t allow for visiting knitters and alpaca walkers. They’ve been buying them too.’
‘It’s all right. Bree gave me one.’ Anna looked around the shop, her eyes pausing on the framed photo of Bree’s twin alpacas on the back wall. Delivering those rare babies had been one of the highlights of her life here in the Ridge. She wondered if perhaps it had also been a turning point for her to get beyond her past and the scars it had left. ‘I just dropped in to find out when the next knitting club meeting is. If I can get away, I’d like to join in.’
