On the first truly busy day, a couple of weeks after I’d started, I could see the relief on Dr. Cobb’s face as we locked up.
“I think this might just work,” he said after we’d said goodbye to Ani.
“Certainly looks like it.” I smiled as I pulled on my hoodie. “See you the day after tomorrow?”
“Absolutely. Have a good day off tomorrow.”
I headed to the door. “Just call me if you need me!” It was something I said every time I left, because if someone came through the side door, well, I’d need to be there.
We had a system planned. It would take me about thirty minutes to get here, given the fact that I could be asleep when he called. Meanwhile, depending on who came in, he’d either have them wait in the garage by the door if that was where they felt safest, or in the hidden room or even examination room if the situation called for it. But he wouldn’t begin to treat anyone—barring anything life-threatening, of course—without me there. Safety went every which way, after all.
We’d also talked about what I’d tell my family at the rescue if someone noticed me sneaking out in the middle of the night or otherwise off-shift. For now, we’d decided on half-truths; they were emergencies, times when Dr. Cobb needed extra hands. It was convenient that Krystal had kids, I could always tell the guys that we didn’t want to bother her on her off-time because it was more precious for her.
As I parked the car in my usual spot by the office, I saw Theo walk across the yard with a horse I didn’t recognize on a lead. That wasn’t unusual. It was easier for me to recognize the ones I’d met before, the ones Lake raved about.
The big draft siblings Hope and Truce, the spunky bitey mare Ursula, the young too big for his britches gelding Izzy, and so on. The others, well, they were mostly just horses me.
The donkeys and goats I knew by sight but couldn’t remember their names. The dogs, however, I recognized, as well as the barn cats.
“Hey, Bucky,” I told Theo’s dog when he came to greet me. “Who’s a good boy?”
He looked happy as a clam while I scratched him behind the ears. I gave him a final pat and sent him off, then grabbed my bag and walked to the house.
As I opened the door, I bumped into—”Ben!”
He took hold of my forearms and steadied us both. “Hey, sorry, I wasn’t looking—”
“No, no, it’s fine. I’m…” I looked up at him and got stuck when our gazes locked.
Ben licked his lips, and we stood there for a few seconds, just staring at each other.
Then he suddenly let go of me, as if my hoodie had caught on fire, and stepped back. “Sorry, sorry. I was going for a walk. Dinner’s ready in about an hour, I’ll just…” He gestured past me and slipped out as soon as I stepped further inside.
I watched him leave and wondered how I could still feel the warmth of his hands where he’d touched me through the hoodie.
“Well, that felt loaded,” Lake murmured from the kitchen doorway.
“I really need to try to talk to him again,” I admitted out loud.
Lake laughed through his nose, turned around, and returned to the kitchen.
Yeah, I agreed with him.
I went to take a shower first, getting the day off my skin. For some reason, when I’d tried to talk to Ben once a handful of days ago, he’d retreated into his room. I wasn’t sure why he was running now, but it was getting tiring.
Knowing I still couldn’t tell himeverythingsucked, but I was getting used to being around him again and I wanted to get even closer. However, I was old enough to know that things weren’t that simple. I was sure I’d caught Ben looking at me wistfully a couple of times, but he’d turned his head immediately when he’d seen me.
The thing was, I was nowhere closer figuring out if he even liked men, and that was the kicker.
After my shower, I had some time before dinner, so I went to see how the kittens were doing. When I heard Ben’s voice from the stairs, I had a completely Pavlovian response to the sound.
Rey held out his hand and I gave him the still slightly hissy kitten I’d been holding.
“Go.”
“See you downstairs in a bit,” I told him as I scrambled to my feet.
I saw Ben’s door close on the other end of the hallway and walked there briskly so I didn’t have time to talk myself out of it.
