“Yes,” we answer in unison, both stepping toward the exit.
As we head into the dark yard, I grab the lantern from the door, holding it ahead so everyone can see where we’re going. Briar’s flashlight is bobbing far ahead, already in the middle of Mr. Grady’s property, so Jensen must have found her and helped move Daisy along despite her limp.
Walker closes the shed behind us and takes my hand in his. We make for the back of my lot where there’s a large gap in the fence. Charlie and Heath stay ahead of us, bickering in hushedtones the whole way about who gets to pet Peaches and where she likes it best.
Walker leans in and whispers, “Those two argue like it’s foreplay.”
I chuckle softly. “Don’t tell Briar that. She might have come to terms with us dating, but I can’t imagine she’d react well if those two got together.” I nod toward Charlie and Heath, who are now locked in a tense stare off ahead of us. “I know our relationship isn’t exactly permanent, so maybe she’d be fine with them seeing each other.”
Walker’s hand stiffens in mine, and when I look over, his jaw is clenched.
“Are you okay?” I ask.
“I’m fine,” he says a bit too quickly.
I check that Heath and Charlie are far enough ahead of us before I reply. “You sure? I just figured eventually you’ll get tired of teaching me. Plus, I’ll be ready to date without accidentally elbowing a guy in the nose—hopefully.” The last part comes out in a whisper.
Honestly, the idea of going out with anyone else has my stomach in knots.
Walker doesn’t laugh like I thought he might. In fact, he doesn’t even blink. He just stares at me, his expression unreadable.
I can’t help wishing he’d shown even a flicker of jealousy when I mentioned dating other men, but instead, I’m left guessing what he’s thinking. There’s no denying that I’m falling for him, and I can only hope he feels the same—but sneaking across a pasture in the middle of the night with a donkey isn’t exactly the right time to ask.
We’re halfway across Mr. Grady’s property when Mrs. Bixby’s backyard floodlights turn on.
“Fuck,” Walker mutters under his breath.
I drop his hand, fumbling to turn off the lantern to avoid being seen from her second-story windows, which overlook Mr. Grady’s property.
“We’d better make a run for it,” Heath hisses, and we all bolt forward. Peaches is now fully on board, trotting behind him as he steers her with the lead rope.
It’s not like Mrs. Bixby could catch us even if she tried, but she could certainly call the sheriff’s office again, and with Mason on duty, he’d drop everything to investigate reports of movement on Mr. Grady’s supposedly vacant property. So it’s critical that we get out of here as quickly as possible.
We don’t stop until we reach the abandoned barn at the front of the property. Its paint is chipped and faded, and the doors hang crooked on their hinges. Still, it has a certain charm, and with some work, it could make an amazing space for my animals. I push down the longing that rises as I imagine transforming the place, accepting that I’ll likely never be able to afford it and that eventually I’ll have to watch someone else turn it into their own vision.
Heath’s truck and trailer are parked by the barn, and Briar is pressed against the trailer, her hair tousled, Jensen stands in front of her with his hands caging her in, and it’s obvious they’d been making out while waiting for us to catch up.
When they notice us, Jensen turns around. “What took you guys so long?”
“Someonekept trying to take over guiding Peaches, and it slowed us down,” Heath says, glaring at Charlie.
“Excuse me?” she pants, trying to catch her breath. “You’re the one with a hero complex and wouldn’t let me help even when your hand was cramping from petting her at an awkward angle.”
Jensen smirks, his gaze darting between them. “Why don’t we get her inside the trailer with Daisy so we can get the hell out of here?”
“Great idea,” Briar adds, coming up to give Peaches a good scratch behind the ear so she’ll follow her.
“It’s a good thing this place is vacant, or we’d have been spotted by now,” Walker says in a hushed tone. “I’ve always found it strange that old man Grady never sold it after moving across town.”
“It’s not for a lack of offers,” Charlie chimes. “Even Birdie has made several, but he’ll only accept cash. Too bad—it would have been the perfect animal sanctuary.” She hops into the front of the truck, scooting to the middle seat, no doubt planning to antagonize Heath on the drive to the ranch.
I start to follow, but Walker gently grips my wrist, stopping me.
“Is that true?” he asks.
“Yeah. Having the extra space would have been amazing. I could’ve torn down the rest of the fence and turned it into one big property, finally making my sanctuary official and running a full-fledged operation without having to turn animals away,” I explain wistfully.
It’s exhausting having to find homes for every creature I encounter that I can’t take in myself, knowing that if I fail, their lives could be at stake.
