“Lucy told me,” June said, her heart going out to her friend. “You need to find help soon, Lace, or you’re going to burn yourself out.” A thought struck her. “I could help you. I used to help out at the vet when I was a teen.”
“That’s right,” Lacey remembered. “It’s not a bad idea, but I’ll have to check with Carmen, Willa, and Lucy first.”
June rolled her eyes. “I’m fine, really, and you need the help.” She raised an eyebrow. “And I think Becky would love to volunteer as well.”
“I’ll think about it,” Lacey promised. “Although it wouldn’t be a bad idea. Zoe is also interested in becoming a vet just like Becky.”
“Well then, you have another two helpers,” June pointed out with a soft laugh.
They finished their coffee and gathered their picking supplies, heading out toward the expansive strawberry fields that stretched from the main farm buildings toward the forest boundary. The morning sun was warming the air, and June felt her spirits lifting as they chose a promising row of plants heavy with ripe berries.
“So tell me honestly,” Lacey said as they began filling their baskets with the sweet, sun-warmed fruit. “How do you really feel about seeing Holt again?”
June was quiet for a long moment, considering how to answer. “Confused,” she said finally. “All these feelings I thought I’d buried completely just came flooding back the moment I saw him on the beach. It’s like no time has passed at all, which is ridiculous because we’re completely different people now.”
“Are you, though?” Lacey asked thoughtfully. “Different people, I mean. Or are you just older versions of the same people who fell in love all those years ago?”
“I don’t know,” June admitted. “And I’m not sure I want to find out. We divorced for good reasons, Lacey. His career was always going to come first, and I needed someone who could put family above everything else.”
“People can change,” Lacey pointed out gently. “Thirty-eight years is a long time to grow and learn from mistakes.”
June was about to respond when she caught a scent that made her pause mid-sentence. “Do you smell that?”
Lacey stopped picking and lifted her head, sniffing the air. “Yes. That’s smoke.”
They both turned toward the forest boundary, their eyes widening in alarm. A column of dark smoke was rising above the tree line, and the acrid smell was growing stronger by the minute.
“Fire!” June called out, dropping her basket as adrenaline surged through her system.
“Oh no,” Lacey said urgently, pointing toward a cluster of bushes near the forest edge. “June, look.”
June squinted in the direction Lacey indicated and saw a mother rabbit crouched protectively near her burrow, clearly agitated by the approaching smoke and flames.
“Mother rabbits usually have four to six babies,” Lacey said, already moving toward her supplies. She pulled off her wide-brimmed hat and dumped the strawberries from her basket. “June, I need you to bring your basket. We have to help save her litter.”
June immediately followed Lacey’s example, emptying her basket and tossing her hat aside. “I’ll follow your lead.”
“Good. Stay calm and move slowly,” Lacey instructed as they approached the rabbit family. “Mother rabbits will abandon their babies if they’re too stressed.”
Lacey approached the burrow cautiously, speaking in the gentle, soothing tones June remembered from their teenage years when Lacey had rescued every injured bird and stray cat she’dencountered. The mother rabbit watched suspiciously as Lacey carefully lifted one tiny, helpless baby and placed it gently in the basket.
“Where are the others?” June asked.
“This isn’t her burrow,” Lacey said. The rabbit darted off into the forest.
“Oh no, she’s taken off,” June said, pointing.
“Stay here with this one,” Lacey told June. “I need to follow her as she might be going to her burrow, and I need to get the rest before the smoke gets worse.”
“Absolutely not,” June protested immediately. “I’m not letting you go near that fire alone.”
“June, it’s better if just one of us goes,” Lacey said firmly. “The baby you have needs someone to watch it, and I have more experience with wild animals. Please.”
June wanted to argue, but she could see the wisdom in Lacey’s plan. Someone needed to stay with the rescued baby, and Lacey was indeed the expert in animal behavior.
“Be careful,” June said, accepting the responsibility. “And don’t take any unnecessary risks.”
Lacey nodded and disappeared into the smoke, pulling her scarf up over her mouth and leaving June alone with the tiny rabbit kit that was barely larger than her palm. She pulled her scarf up over her mouth and nose as protection against the increasingly thick smoke, her eyes watering as she watched anxiously for Lacey’s return.
