Chapter 1
Jaxon Hillsborough stepped into the paddock quietly and steadily, watching the animals as they shied away from him.
The new arrivals were expected to be … jittery.
They’d been processed, but he wasn’t sure that decisions had been made on any of their care yet.
As he stood here studying their conditions, he winced, seeing how much time and attention was required to get them back to full health.
As he considered each of them, Keisha walked around the side.
The moment she saw him, she literally came to a stop.
And then, with a seriously controlled movement, she stepped forward and said hello in a low tone.
He nodded at her but didn’t say anything. It shouldn’t have shocked him so to see her here. After all, she was a veterinarian, and more than one would be in great need at the Haven.
“I guess I should have warned you.”
He shrugged. “Doesn’t matter, does it?” He shook his head.
“You’re here for the animals, not me, so what difference does it make?
” She let out her breath in a long slow exhale.
He remembered her doing that a lot when she needed patience, and, with a nod toward her, he muttered, “I’ve got to get back to work. ” And he turned and walked away.
“We don’t have to be enemies,” she called out.
He stopped and looked back at her. “I’m nobody’s enemy,” he stated, “but we sure aren’t friends.” And, with that, he stepped out of the paddock and left. Maybe it wasn’t the best thing for him to say, but the hurt was real and the pain still too raw.
As far as he was concerned, she was his wife.
So far as she was concerned, he’d been temporary, a fling of sorts.
And that was something he wasn’t sure he would ever get over.
He walked into the kitchen and poured himself a quick cup of coffee.
As he looked out the kitchen window, he saw Dwight on the back deck, hand-feeding a squirrel. Jaxon grinned.
When Timber joined him just minutes later, Jaxon asked him, “Is that the infamous Dodger?”
“Sure is. He’s been picking favorites, depending on the time of day.” Timber faced him and asked, “You doing okay, Jaxon?”
He shrugged. “I will be.”
“Good,” Timber noted. “We need her help right now.”
“Of course you do,” he agreed, with half a smile, “and she’ll be a big help.”
“She’s not staying, you know?”
He shrugged. “It’s your place, man, not mine.” And he tried really hard to keep his tone as neutral as he wanted to, but he knew from the look on Timber’s face that he’d failed.
Timber Woodland was nothing if not exceptional at reading people.
He was a SEAL turned military medic, and he was a force on wheels, until his accident.
Still, he’d managed to get his shit together and to create a sanctuary for all of them—abused people and animals alike.
Jaxon realized his outburst had been totally misplaced.
He closed his eyes briefly and added, “It was just a shock.”
“Of course it was. I’m sorry that happened. I didn’t know she was coming either.”
“She did just say she should have let me know.”
“But, of course, the animals were on her mind, not you.” Seeing Jaxon’s expression, Timber winced. “I’m sorry. That … would have hurt some more.”
Jaxon looked over at his friend, smirked, then sighed. “Just because I need to let go doesn’t mean it’s easy to.”
“It’s never easy to let go, particularly if you’re not ready,” Timber shared, studying his friend as he poured a cup of coffee for himself. He looked back at him and added, “I wouldn’t want to lose you over this.”
“If she’s not staying, you won’t lose me,” he declared, with a shrug. “Besides, one day I’ll have to make a decision about what to do with my life.”
“You don’t have to do it today,” Timber declared. “You’ve had enough shocks for the day.”
“And the animals?”
“They’ve been processed, and Tiffany is working up a schedule. She’ll have to do a bit of research,” he noted.
“Research? For what?”
“She hasn’t really worked with llamas before,” he conceded, with half a smile. “That’s not exactly what we thought we would be dealing with.”
“It’s easy to see how a homeowner with good intentions could get into trouble though,” Jaxon pointed out, as he looked over at Timber. “I don’t feel as if these guys were deliberately abused. More likely neglected through ignorance.”
“I agree. I think they tried to do something good for the animals and failed. Like so many things in life, it’s just not that easy to do what you want to do all the time, and all of it takes money and resources.”
Jaxon nodded, then frowned at his friend. “And how are your resources?” he asked, with a note of humor in his tone. “You grew very quickly here.”
Timber frowned, then snorted. “Yeah, I sure did, and that wasn’t exactly planned either.
Just seeing how much work has been done here, it’s embarrassing for me to admit that my original plan was to do it all myself.
Thankfully everybody showed up, and it took on a life of its own.
I never expected all you guys to volunteer so much of your time. ”
“Sure, but, as it turns out, you are providing something we need far more than paychecks right now,” he shared. “A place to land and a place to work in a community where we share more than a love of animals, all while we figure out what we’ll do with the rest of our lives.”
“And was Keisha part of the reason that you needed time and space to figure that out?” Timber asked.
“That’s some of it,” he agreed, nodding his head.
“I wanted something and thought I had it. So, I came home full of joy—even though I was broken and worried about what kind of shape I would be in for the rest of my life—but I still hoped for the best,” he stated.
“Then reality hit me, and apparently I’m not good enough anymore,” he said, with a groan, as he stared out the window.
Then he just shrugged it off. “I can’t blame her. I didn’t come home healthy and whole.”
“None of us did,” Timber noted. “None of us did.”
“That doesn’t mean she understood it though.”
“Or did she need you to go off and to get your shit together first?” Timber suggested.
“Probably,” he agreed in a half-cheerful, half-bitter tone. He put down his empty coffee cup and added, “I’ll head over to the bunkhouse and see if I can find something to do.”
“I’m sure there’s plenty,” Timber replied, his tone calm. “Just please”—he turned to him—“please don’t run.”
“Wasn’t planning on it,” Jaxon declared, “but I’m not sure I’m showing up for dinner.” And, with that, he turned and walked out.
*
After Jaxon left, Toby stepped forward and muttered, “I guess Keisha appearing here threw him for a loop, didn’t it?”
“It sure did,” Timber confirmed. “And it’ll take him a little time to recover.”
“Any idea how long they were married?”
“Only a few months before he was deployed. I’m not sure exactly what happened, but apparently it didn’t last through him getting back home.”
“That’s tough,” Toby said, “but not unheard of. I swear to God, most of the guys here have dealt with some version of the same thing.”
“That isn’t anything we want to tell Jaxon, and that’s definitely not what he needs to hear right now.”
“No, it sure isn’t.” Toby swore. “Damn, I feel bad as I kind of like her as a person.”
“I know, and, according to Tiffany, she’s good people.”
“So, what the hell went wrong?”
“I’m not sure anything has to go wrong, as much as people go wrong. He told me how he came back damaged, not whole, and, as far as Jaxon’s concerned, this was the end result.”
“And yet she’s here helping animals that aren’t whole,” Toby pointed out. “So it doesn’t seem to me as if that’s necessarily true.”
“Maybe not, but you also have to understand that what we hear versus what they say? Well, … sometimes that’s two different things.”
Toby nodded. “If people would just honestly communicate …”
“Communicating would be lovely,” Timber agreed, with a smile in Toby’s direction. “But again, communicating well is a whole different story. I’ll head over to the bunkhouse, just to keep an eye on him.”
“You do that,” Toby replied. “Jaxon’s been good to have around.”
“I know. He pitches in and does anything we need done. He’s really skilled too …” Timber looked back to where Jaxon had gone. “Yet I can tell he’s hurting.”
“Yeah, you’re not kidding,” Toby agreed. “Yet it looks as if the reason for that is right out there in the barn.”
Timber turned to him and nodded. “We need to help him, along with these animals.”
“If we can just keep him moving along, with Keisha around here too, sometimes without any blowups, maybe they can find a way to just be social,” Toby suggested.
“They don’t have to be friends, but it would be nice if they could at least be …
polite, at least rub shoulders in the same setting and not have everybody else uncomfortable because of their tension. ”
“I would love it if that could work out,” Timber replied, “but it’s not up to us.”
*
Jaxon stood on the deck, out of sight and just past the equipment, and had heard it all.
He realized what an imposition all of this would be and swore again that he was in this situation.
It’s not what he thought he was coming home to, and it certainly wasn’t what he had thought would be here at the Haven, but this was Timber’s place, and Timber sure needed the help.
So, if one of them had to go, it would be Jaxon again.
Timber needed another veterinarian, so Jaxon was the surplus worker here.
And, with that thought, he headed straight toward the bunkhouse, wondering what he could do and what he should do, considering the circumstances. It was a hard-enough thing to be sorting through, but, in truth, he didn’t have a whole lot of choices right now.