She set the bag down and peered into the box. “Looking better already. Now let me show you how these feedings will work.”
Lila showed them how to prepare the formula, mixing the powder with warm water from a thermos she’d brought along. “Test it on your wrist,” she demonstrated, letting a drop fall onto her skin. “Should feel warm, not hot.”
Maggie watched closely, trying to memorize each step. Anson stood beside her, his presence solid and warm despite the emotional distance between them. She was acutely aware of how his shoulder nearly brushed hers when he leaned forward to see better.
“Who wants to try first?” Lila asked, holding up a tiny syringe filled with formula.
Before Maggie could volunteer, Anson reached out. “I’ll do it.”
His hands, those scarred, powerful hands that shaped metal, took the syringe with surprising gentleness. Lila showed him how to hold the gray kitten—Smoke—cradled in his palm, head slightly elevated.
“That’s it,” Lila encouraged as Anson carefully placed the tip of the syringe against the kitten’s mouth. “Just a drop at first, let him taste it.”
Maggie held her breath as the kitten’s tiny pink tongue darted out to investigate. After a moment of confusion, Smoke began to suckle eagerly.
“You’ve got a natural touch with them,” Lila said, smiling at Anson. “Not that I’m surprised. You’ve always had a way with the vulnerable creatures that find their way here.”
Anson’s cheeks flushed slightly at Lila’s praise, though he kept his focus on the tiny creature in his palm. Maggie watched his scarred fingers cradling the kitten with such tenderness that something in her chest tightened.
“I’m so glad to meet you finally,” Lila said, her attention shifting to Maggie as she prepared another syringe for Spark. “Anson’s talked about you. Quite a bit, actually. For him.”
Anson’s ears reddened visibly above his beard. He suddenly seemed very focused on making sure Smoke got every last drop of formula, pointedly not looking at either woman.
“Oh?” Maggie tried to keep her voice neutral, though her heart gave a curious little jump. “Good things, I hope.”
Lila laughed. “Very good things. Though he left out that you’re famous.”
“Not famous. Just... on TV sometimes.”
“Often enough that my mom watches your show religiously,” Lila said. “She redid her entire kitchen based on your reclaimed wood episode.”
Anson remained focused on Smoke, but his shoulders had tensed again at the mention of her show. Lila must have noticed too, because she smoothly changed the subject.
“Your turn,” she said, nodding toward Spark. “This little firecracker is ready.”
She walked Maggie through the feeding, then, once Spark was suckling happily away, she picked up Ember. “She’ll be the one to watch. You’ll need to carefully record all of their intake. She’ll need extra attention, especially the next forty-eight hours.” She placed Ember back into the makeshift nest after feeding her. “If you’re both committed to this, I think they have a fighting chance.”
Maggie nodded and snuggled Spark close for a moment before setting him down beside his sister. “We’ll make it work.”
Lila glanced between them, a small smile playing at her lips. “Welcome to Valor Ridge, Maggie. It’s not how any of us expected you’d spend your first full day here, but sometimes the universe has its own plans.” She closed her kit and stood. “I’ll be back this evening to check on them, but call if anything changes.”
After Lila left, a charged silence filled the small space. Maggie watched Anson adjust the blankets around the kittens, his movements gentle despite his large, scarred hands.
“I should get back to the cabin,” she said finally. “Get cleaned up.”
Anson nodded without looking up. “I’ll stay with them.”
She hesitated, wanting to say more, to bridge whatever distance had opened between them when he’d discovered who she was. But the words wouldn’t come.
She turned to leave, but his voice stopped her.
“Maggie.”
She looked back.
He stood there, not quite meeting her eyes, hands fidgeting slightly at his sides. “Thank you for calling me over. For trusting me to help.”
“I knew you would,” she said simply. “Never doubted it. Not for a second.”
