Before I could protest, he lifted me up like a baby. This was a problem for a couple of reasons. Number one: My face was too close to his neck and his heart was pumping so fast and strong. I was too thirsty for that. Number two: No girl wants a man to awkwardly carry her for a mile through the snow.
He took a few steps, rearranging my weight like I was a couch he was trying to get down a flight of stairs, before his Apple Watch beeped and alerted him to his elevated heart rate. I already knew.
“Tyrone, I can walk. Please, set me down.”
With a laugh he said, “Don’t want me stumbling around with you in the woods, huh?”
“Actually, yes. My legs are just fine.” I could carry him better than he could me, not that I was going to tell him that.
“I’m going to bring this coyote back, okay?” He searched my face, clearly worried that the animal would upset me.
“Of course,” I said. “It can’t have died for nothing.” I grew up in a time when we hunted for food. I had killed and plucked chickens for dinner without a second thought. But this coyote had died to protectmy lie and it sickened me.
“Tiffany, this was the right thing to do. This is the coyote that bit Wayne. It’s been scaring the horses since the night we took the sleigh ride. And you heard it growl, right? Never in my life has a wild animal approached me and growled. They just don’t do that. They avoid humans unless there’s something wrong.”
He lifted the creature from the snow and slung it over his shoulder, where it flopped lifelessly, its tongue lolling out of its mouth, its eyes glassing over with death.
Calmly, he said, “It’s gotta have rabies. There’s no other explanation. The city can test, everything will be cleared up, and you can go back to doing your thing.”
The poor coyote had just been walking through the woods minding its own business. Now it was taking the fall for Heaven’s violence. And, if you took it back a step, for mine. If I hadn’t fallen asleep dreaming of Vermont with Heaven’s neck in my mouth, this never would have happened.
“I really didn’t know you loved animals so much,” he said, misreading the anguish in my face.
A few moments later, we emerged in the clearing outside his house. He dropped the coyote to the ground before turning back to me. “I’m taking you to the hospital.”
“The hospital?” What was he even talking about? The only one who had been hurt was the coyote.
“You passed out.”
I shook my head emphatically and held up my hand. “No, I’m fine. I was probably just hungry.”
“Nope. I’m taking you in.” He looked me over with real concern. “Before you dropped, you were sort of drooling.”
I bet I was.
“And I don’t know, was I imagining it, or did you lick me?” He laughed. “At any rate, you need to get checked out.”
“Tyrone, I don’t have insurance. I can’t go to the hospital.”
“Are you serious, Tiffany?” He screwed up his face in thought, then said, “I’ll pay for it.”
“Absolutely not.”
“I’ve got it,” he said like he’d just figured it all out. “Jessica’s working. I bet she’ll check you out off the books.”
It was obvious that he wasn’t going to take no for an answer. Men could be so frustrating. All I had to do was fake it through one quick check with Jessica. I relented.
“Fine, let’s go.”
On the car ride over, my thirst did nothing but grow. I hadn’t had anything to drink but No Fear Bloodshot since swearing off coconut water and taking a sip from Vlad under the tree. Honestly, I’d been all over the map emotionally—hopeful, excited, overwhelmed, panicked. It wasn’t just dating. I was on a calorie-deprived emotional roller coaster.
I was at the ragged edge of my limits.
When Jessica padded over in her pink scrubs, I looked up from under my hood and apologized. “I’m sorry. Tyrone made me come in. I’m fine.”
If she checked my heart, it’d be a dead giveaway. No pun intended.
“No worries. Looks like you had some fun after those cinnamon rolls,” she said wryly.
