Chapter 3
Blood stains the earth beneath us as the reality of our escape becomes painfully tangible. The pursuit of freedom comes at a terrible cost.
—Ghost Lake by Ava Howell Brooks
If he wasn’t careful, he was in danger of being kicked in the groin by a goat.
Luke Gentry shifted positions as he tried to hold tight to the annoyed animal. “I’m not going to hurt you,” he murmured. “I’m trying to help so you can walk better and without pain. I promise, you’ll be happier when I’m done.”
He continued talking nonsense to the goat as he trimmed her hooves carefully.
For a long time, he hadn’t been sure this was the career choice for him. While he had always loved animals and never minded helping out at his father’s veterinary clinic, he had resented everyone’s automatic assumption that he would naturally want to follow in Dan Gentry’s footsteps.
Luke once had other dreams. He had wanted to become an adventurer, to rock climb all the highest peaks in the world and ski the steepest slopes.
He hadn’t really cared where, he had only known he hadn’t wanted to be tied down here in Emerald Creek, Idaho.
Em-C, as the locals called it, was a pretty little town with plenty of recreational activities, but it had always felt too small to hold all his dreams. The world was so much bigger than this community of genuine ranchers and farmers as well as outdoor lovers and weekend cowboys near Sun Valley.
Over the years, his perspective had changed. He loved being the town’s only veterinarian, building his home and his career here with his daughter, and couldn’t imagine his life any other way—as long as this goat didn’t manage to emasculate him, anyway.
He finally finished the last hoof and released Martha. “There you go. All done. See? That wasn’t so bad.”
The goat bleated at him and retreated to the other side of the pen. He opened the pen door to the outside and she escaped with a high-spirited leap into the Idaho sunshine.
He was heading to the office inside the Emerald Creek Animal Rescue barn when the double doors burst open and Madison Howell burst through, almost staggering under a large bag of dog food that probably weighed half as much as she did.
Luke had to fight down his instinctive urge to take it from her. He knew Madi well enough to know that probably wasn’t a good idea.
She dropped the bag inside the barn and straightened, arching her back. Her features brightened when she spotted him. “Luke! Hey! I didn’t expect you to drop by this evening, after you’ve already had a long day.”
“So have you,” he pointed out. He knew that all too well, since she was a veterinary technician in his clinic when she wasn’t hauling dog food around here at the animal rescue. “I had a free few hours, so I swung in to check on Barnabas’s injury and take care of Martha’s hooves. He’s doing fine and Martha should be good now and ready to rock and roll.”
She gave her half smile, the one that always managed to brighten his entire day.
“Thanks. I could tell they were bothering her.”
“She was a trouper, for the most part.” He nodded toward the bag she set down against the wall. “Do you have a lot to unload?”
“Four more bags. That was all they had at the feed store.”
“I can help you bring it in. Might as well at least save you a few trips.”
Predictably, Madi looked as if she wanted to argue. Stubborn thing. She could be as obstinate as that goat, though he would never dare verbalize such a thing to her.
Finally, she bit her lip, the side that didn’t lift. “Thanks,” she said instead.
Her vintage pickup looked cheerful in the fading sunlight, all teal and yellow. Looking at the truck made him smile almost as much as looking at Madison did.
Luke hefted a bag over each shoulder and carried them back into the barn and set them against the wall, where she added the one she had carried.
“I’ll grab the last bags.”
He thought she would argue, but she only nodded. “Leave one in the truck, if you would. It’s for Leona’s dog. I’ll run it over later tonight or in the morning.”
When he returned to the barn, he discovered she was cradling a small calico kitten. He was familiar with all the sanctuary animals as he usually gave them a health exam when they first arrived. He didn’t recognize the kitten.
“Where did you find this one?”
“On my way back from the feed store, I got a call from Charla Pope. She found a stray kitten mewling in her flower bed, with no sign of the mama cat anywhere. It’s been there since last night. I stopped on my way home and the poor thing looks half-starved.”
Madi had an uncanny knack for locating stray creatures. He suspected they were drawn to her, sensing a friend and savior.
She hadn’t changed. She still tried to bring home every stray animal she could find, only now she did it officially, through the auspices of the Emerald Creek Animal Rescue.
“Want me to take a look at it?”
She gave him her unique smile, her eyes bright with gratitude. “Do you mind?”
“Not at all. I’ve got time. Let’s take her into the exam room.”
Still cradling the tiny kitten, Madi picked up her laptop from the office before following him into the small treatment room at the center.
She opened her laptop and created a treatment file for the kitten. “Want to name her?” she asked him.
He was lousy at picking animal names. “You rescued her. Go ahead.”
She studied the kitten. “How about we call her Callie for now?”
“Sounds good.”
She typed a few things onto the screen, with so much efficiency it was easy to miss how her left hand had a slight contracture and didn’t work the same as her right did. It was nerve damage from injuries sustained fifteen years ago, but Madi didn’t let it bother her.
He handled the animal with gentleness as he weighed it first and measured its size, reporting all those numbers for Madison to record.
“I don’t see any sign of obvious disease or injury,” he said after his initial exam. “She appears healthy, if a little malnourished.”
“How old do you think she is?”
“Pure guesswork, but I would estimate her to be about five or six weeks old.”
“That’s what I was thinking. So no vaccinations for a few weeks and she’s also old enough to be weaned.”
“Yes, but I would still feed her kitten milk replacement along with some soft kitty chow.”
“I’ve got some at the house. That sounds like a good plan.”
“I’m going to guess she’s part of a feral litter somewhere. Doesn’t Charla’s neighbor down the road have barn cats? Maybe this one wandered away. Or maybe something happened to the mother.”
“You’re probably right. I’ll put the word out to Charla and others in her neighborhood to keep an eye out for any more strays. Thank you for taking a look.”
“I’m happy to, but you didn’t really need me.”
She shrugged. “You’re the professional.”
“So are you.”
For him, veterinary medicine was his vocation. For Madi, caring for animals was her calling. She adored them, with a depth of compassion that never failed to astonish him.
“On paper, I’m the vet, maybe,” he went on. “But you know exactly what to do. You can handle anything, whether I’m here or not.”
She made a face. “Tell that to everyone in town who doesn’t think I am capable of even carrying a bag of dog food. Cal Warner insisted on loading my cart today. I’m not sure he even felt like I was capable of holding his cane, what with my fragile condition. And Ava has not helped matters at all with her stupid book.”
Frustration shimmered off her in waves. “She has made everything so much worse. Why did she have to go and open up all those old wounds? We were doing fine.”
He wasn’t entirely certain that was true. Madi presented a calm, happy front to the world, but Luke knew she had deep scars she hid from nearly everyone.
He felt fortunate to be one of the few people able to know the real Madison.
“Who did you catch reading it this time?”
“Calvin told me he and his wife were reading it together. And Jewel Littlebear at the feed store hid a copy below the counter when I checked out. I don’t know why she bothered. I could still see it. Isn’t everyone in town reading it?”
“Not quite everyone.”
His phone rang and he glanced at the display. “That’s Sierra. She’s not reading it.”
“No. But I think her friends are,” Madi said darkly. “Or at least her friends’ family members.”
His phone rang again and she gestured to it. “You should get that. I saw her on my way here with her friends. They looked like they were having fun.”
While she returned to the office and set down the kitten to explore her surroundings, he answered his daughter’s call.
“Hey, Sierra. What’s up?”
“Can I stay over at Zoe’s house tonight?”
He frowned. “I thought we talked about heading into town and grabbing takeout sandwiches and then hiking up to Hidden Falls for a picnic.”
“I know and I still really want to do that. But Zoe has to leave tomorrow to stay with her dad in Utah for six whole weeks. She’ll be gone forever. This is, like, our last chance to hang out all summer. We wanted to do a slumber party with Mari and Yuki. Her mom says it’s okay and she’ll be home with us the whole night and so will Zoe’s grandma.”
Zoe’s parents’ divorce had not been amicable, he knew. Her mom currently lived with Zoe’s grandmother across town.
“Sure. That’s fine. I can give you a ride.”
“No need. I have my bike. I’m going to grab a few things at the house and put them in my backpack and head over now. Thanks, Dad. Love you. Bye.”
“Love you back,” he answered.
The click of the phone told him she had already hung up. He felt fortunate she had remembered to say goodbye as she was usually heading off in a dozen different directions.
He felt again that little tug at his heart. His baby girl was growing up. For the past four years, since her mother’s death, they had been a pretty self-contained unit. He couldn’t say it was them against the world, as he would have been lost without all the help from his mother and sister, as well as dear friends like Madi.
He and Sierra had a tight bond, though, and he always looked forward to the rare times they were able to hang out, only the two of them.
Apparently that wasn’t going to happen that evening as he had hoped.
His sigh did not go unnoticed by Madi. “Sounds like you got stood up. Does Sierra have hot plans?”
“She wants to spend the night over at Zoe’s place with Mariko and Yuki. Why not? That’s much more fun than hanging out with her boring old man.”
“I don’t think she would agree. You know she adores you. Sounds like she got a better offer, though.”
“Right. I can’t really compete with a night of watching YouTube videos and practicing TikTok dances.”
“Sorry about that.” She gave her half smile. “You can always come to the Burning Tree with me and Nic tonight. The Rusty Spurs are playing. Should be a wild time. If you want to play the boring-old-man card, you can be our designated driver.”
He snorted. “I don’t think you and my sister really want a chaperone, do you?”
“No. Absolutely not,” she said, so quickly he had to smile. “But you can still come with us, have a drink, listen to the music. You deserve some fun in your life, Luke. Consider it self-care.”
“I’ll think about it, Dr. Howell,” he said, though he expected thinking about it was all he would do. He would probably spend the night popping some popcorn and enjoying a beer and a baseball game.
Not a bad Friday night, in his opinion. Did that make him sound pathetic?
“Thanks again for your help,” Madi said as they both headed out of the barn. The kitten was once more tucked into her bag.
“You’re welcome.”
Outside, the shadows of the late afternoon were long, with golden light that gleamed in the treetops and danced in her hair.
“Seriously,” she said when they reached his truck. “You should come out tonight. The band starts playing at eight. If you don’t want to drive us, you can meet us there. That way if you want to leave early, you won’t feel trapped.”
He shook his head, hand on the door frame of his blue pickup truck. “When did this become a done deal?”
“Admit it, Luke. You could use a night out. You work too hard. When you’re not working, you’re taking care of Sierra or helping out here at the animal rescue. Tell me the truth. When was the last time you did something simply because you wanted to?”
He snorted. “Who said I want to go hang out at a noisy bar with a bunch of half-drunk cowboys?”
“Plus your sister and me,” she pointed out. “We’ll be there, too. Don’t you want to hang out with us, outside of work?”
“You’re not going to let this go, are you?”
She grinned. “You’ll have fun, I promise. It’s better than sitting home on your own, watching some kind of lame sports ball.”
“I happen to enjoy watching lame sports ball.”
“I know, but how often do you get to watch live music surrounded by two hundred neighbors and strangers?”
“You’re not exactly selling this.”
“Your first drink is on me.”
His mouth quirked. “Oh, why don’t you say so? If free booze is involved, how can I say no?”
She laughed. “We’ll save a spot for you at our table. See you there. Wear your dancing boots.”
He didn’t happen to own dancing boots. Or any other kind, except hiking boots, which probably wouldn’t be too helpful on a dance floor.
“I’ll see,” he said, but she was already walking up the graveled pathway that led to the farmhouse where she lived with his sister.