I settled in the driver’s seat, doing my best not to look at her bare legs, smooth and tanned and just begging for me to reach over and touch. “I guess, but I really prefer to make a connection with someone in person.”
“But how often does that actually happen?” Phoebe asked. “Online dating opens you up to a whole new world of available women, trust me. I’ve met most of my girlfriends that way.”
“Maybe.” I started the car and backed onto Mountain Laurel Road, headed toward downtown Burlington. “I’m sure the dating pool is wider in Boston.”
“Well, of course,” she said. “But there are plenty of queer women here in Vermont. Just look at the two of us.”
“Right.” But I didn’t want to look at the two of us, because I already liked what I saw a little too much.
“Hey, I talked to my dad yesterday,” she said, darting a glance at me.
“Yeah?”
“I pleaded your case for buying the house.”
“You did?” I hadn’t really expected her to follow through on that. Actually, I’d gotten the feeling that Phoebe didn’t want to sell the cabin either. She seemed pretty fond of the place.
“I did,” she confirmed. “But I have to warn you, he wasn’t very receptive. He also wasn’t thrilled about me having puppies in the house. But he did say he’d think about it.”
“Well, that’s something,” I said, gripping the steering wheel a little bit tighter. “I really appreciate it, Phoebe.” I’d been trying to quell my dreams about moving into Margery’s cabin since it had seemed like a lost cause, but now…
“The least I could do,” she said quietly.
“You’ll miss it too, won’t you?” I asked.
“I will,” she said. “I love that house, but as you pointed out, I hardly ever make it up here to visit. You would make it a home, not a vacation house. Anyway, we’ll see what my dad decides. Ultimately, it’s his choice, not mine.”
“Right,” I said. “Fingers crossed.” A small round shape in the road ahead caught my attention, and I tapped the brakes, pulling to the side of the road.
“What’re you doing?” Phoebe asked, looking around.
“There’s a turtle in the road,” I told her. “I’m just going to give him a hand.”
I climbed out of the car, looking both ways before I approached the turtle. It was a small painted turtle, one of the more common species around here, with a dark shell and the distinctive red and yellow marks on its neck that gave it its name. I lifted it carefully, gripping it about halfway down the shell so it couldn’t try to bite me, but it immediately retracted inside its shell until I could just make out its little eyes staring warily at me.
“No worries, little dude,” I said as I carried it to the far side of the road and set it down in the grass. “Enjoy the rest of your day.”
I went back to the car, reaching into the backseat for one of the wipes I kept there to wash my hands. I worked with a lot of animals, and they tended to get messy, so I’d learned to be prepared.
“That was the most Taylor thing I’ve seen you do since I’ve been back, I think,” Phoebe said, grinning at me.
I shrugged as I shifted the car into Drive and pulled back onto the road. “What can I say? I’m a sucker for animals in need.”
“That you are. Why did you take it over there by the woods instead of moving it toward that pond?” She gestured to the pond outside her window.
“You should always move them in the direction they were headed. He probably just came from the pond, so if I’d put him back on that side of the road, he’d have just crossed again.”
“Ah,” Phoebe said. “Good to know.”
“I think this is their mating season, so he’s probably off looking for a girl,” I told her with a cheeky grin. “Or maybe it’s a female looking for a place to lay her eggs.”
“Well, at least the turtle’s getting some,” Phoebe said.
I snorted with laughter. “’Tis the season for wildlife to get frisky.”
We shared easy conversation during the forty-minute drive into downtown Burlington. I parked in one of the public lots, and we walked to the restaurant, enjoying the cool evening breeze. To me, it felt crowded here. The street was lined with restaurants and shops, people bustling toward the pedestrian mall on Church Street. I could only take Burlington in small doses. Friday nights were plenty for me.
But Phoebe had a happy gleam in her eyes as she walked beside me, reminding me that she lived in the city. She liked the hustle and bustle of people, the noise, the crowds.
