“Please tell me none of them moo,” I said.
“Not unless you count Mason’s wallet,” Levi muttered.
Doc lifted a parcel wrapped in butcher paper and twine. “From the clinic,” he said simply.
I loosened the string. Inside was a hand-tooled leather vet bag, deep-brown and supple, my initials burned into the flap:M.P.T.The smell of new hide and saddle soap hit me like nostalgia.
Doc cleared his throat. “You’ve carried that old tote long enough. It’s about time you had a real bag.”
I ran my fingers over the stitching. “Doc, you didn’t have to?—”
He smiled, eyes soft but a little misty. “You keep taking care of Everwood’s creatures, and I’ll keep pretending I’m not retired yet. Deal?”
“Deal,” I whispered.
Cassie handed me a square frame tied in blue ribbon. “From the clinic crew. We raided Tyler’s camera roll.”
Inside was a photo I hadn’t known existed—me mid-laugh, sunlight in my hair, Austin in the corner looking at me instead of the camera.
“I don’t even remember this being taken.”
“Exactly,” Cassie said. “That’s why it’s perfect.”
Then Austin stepped forward, hands in his pockets. The chatter faded without anyone asking.
“This one’s just from me,” he said.
My pulse stumbled. “You already gave me breakfast.”
“Breakfast was logistics.” He handed me a small velvet box.
Inside lay a delicate silver necklace, a tiny compass pendant gleaming under the lights. The back was engraved in neat script:
Follow your heart.
I traced the compass, the metal cool against my skin. “Austin…”
“It points north,” he said softly, “but that’s not the part that matters.”
“Then what’s it about?”
“Finding your way—even when you already are.”
He fastened the clasp behind my neck, fingers brushing the nape of my skin. “Now, if you get lost, just look down.”
“Probably toward trouble.”
“Then I’ll follow.”
The barn went quiet again, a hush that felt like truth and love.
Someone called, “Blow the candles out before she makes us all cry again!”
I closed my eyes, took a breath, and wished—not for change, not for more—but simply for this feeling to linger a little longer.
When I looked up, he was still watching me, smiling like he’d heard it all.
I didn’t know if my wish had come true, but this felt close.
