Chapter 5 Aspen
ASPEN
My fingers curved around the coffee mug as I took in the blanket of white out my front windows. Something about it was so peaceful. As if the entire world had gone silent.
It felt safe. A cocoon of blissful snowflakes.
Chauncey leaned into my side, and I dropped my hand to scratch behind his ears. “I know. I promise to let you have a good romp later.”
I’d taken him out on a leash first thing this morning, but he was itching for a run.
A sound had me instantly on alert, my hand going to the Taser I kept balanced on the window, just out of Cady’s reach. My grip loosened as I took in the plow making its way up the two-lane road. The air left my lungs in a whoosh.
How long would it take for me to breathe easy again? For John and all the people taken in by his pretty facade to no longer take up space in my brain?
I had moments when I thought I’d found that.
I had Cady, a cozy home, and a job I loved, managing The Brew.
The position had brought me friends for the first time in years.
When Maddie worked there, she’d brought Wren and Lawson’s sister, Grae, into my life.
It didn’t matter to them that I had walls up or places I wouldn’t go in a conversation. They welcomed me anyway.
Guilt gnawed at me for how much I’d hidden. Especially when they had been so open and honest about all the trials they’d endured. But I couldn’t get myself to release my story. Because burying it deep had kept me and Cady safe.
“Mama?” Cady’s sleepy voice drifted down the hall.
I turned, letting the gauzy curtains fall back into place. “Morning, Katydid. How’d you sleep?”
She smacked her lips as if still struggling to get her mouth to work. “Good. Are we late?”
It was past eight-thirty, so the sun streamed in through the windows. I grinned. “Snow day for you and me.”
Cady’s whole face lit up, her green eyes dancing the way my sister Autumn’s had when we were growing up. The ache that took root in my chest was a war of pleasure and pain. I loved that I could see glimpses of Autumn in Cady, but God…I missed my sister like a limb.
“Snow day!” Cady started dancing around the living room, shaking her little booty in an exaggerated motion I did not want to know where she’d learned.
Chauncey barked and took up a three-legged dance around her.
I couldn’t help but laugh.
Cady giggled as the dog jumped up and licked her cheek. “We’re gonna have the best day, Chauncey! I can make snowballs for you to fetch, and we can make snow angels and a snow fort.”
“Sounds like you’ve got a busy day planned,” I said, smiling so hard my cheeks hurt. “Think you’ve got time for hot cocoa with me first?”
“Duh!” Cady hurled herself in my direction.
I had just enough time to set down my coffee before she collided with me. Cady’s arms and legs wrapped around me as I lifted her. She buried her face in my hair. “You’re the bestest.”
Everything in me twisted. “I learned it from you.”
“Nuh-uh. You’re way older than me.”
I chuckled. “Are you calling me a grandma?”
Cady pulled back, shaking her head. “You’re not a grandma. Charlie and I gots to grow up first and get married. Then you can be a grandma.”
That beautiful pain was back again. All of Cady’s amazing dreams. Dancing ballet on the world’s stages. Marrying her best friend. Becoming a mother herself.
My sister wouldn’t get to see any of it. Because a monster had ripped her away from us. And we were still hiding from his reach.
The sound of an engine had me looking up from the endless pile of snow. I’d been working all day as Cady played, with only a few breaks to warm her fingers and toes. I was finally almost done clearing the driveway, but not before cursing myself for not finding a way to buy a snowblower.
The SUV crept slowly up the drive, and each rotation of the wheels had my stomach twisting tighter. “It’s just Dr. Miller. You’re safe. Cady’s safe.” I murmured the words over and over under my breath.
“Is that the vet?” Cady called from her snow mountain.
“I think so,” I answered.
“He’s gonna help Dory?”
“He is.”
“Is Mr. Grizz with him?” Cady asked hopefully.
I bit back a chuckle. I had a feeling my grumpy savior from the night before didn’t want anything to do with us and our chaos. “I don’t think so, Katydid.”
Her shoulders slumped as she crossed to me. “I want him to come back. I think he needs some friends.”
My ribs squeezed, and I wrapped an arm around her. “You’ve got the best heart, you know that?”
Cady smiled up at me. “Kind hearts are the best hearts, right?”
I booped her nose. “Can’t think of anything more important.”
A door slammed, and I turned to see a figure walking toward us. His dark brown hair had just the slightest hint of salt and pepper at the temples. His sunglasses kept me from seeing his eyes, but he smiled warmly. “Aspen?”
“Hi, Dr. Miller.”
“Please, call me Damien.” He extended a hand for me to shake, his grip firm but not too tight.
I nodded as I swallowed. There was nothing but kindness in his expression, but his mere presence put me on edge. I couldn’t help the way my mind worked: plotting exit strategies and looking for physical spots of weakness.
I forced my mouth to curve, but I knew it probably looked strained. “Thank you for coming all this way.”
“It’s the least I can do. It’s incredibly kind of you to take in an injured deer.”
“Kind hearts are the best hearts,” Cady chimed in.
Damien tipped up his sunglasses, resting them on his head, then smiled at her. “I’ve found that to be very true.”
Now that I could take in the vet’s entire face, I saw he was remarkably handsome. A little too polished for my taste, but I’d bet he had all sorts of frequent flyers at his office, just hoping for a date.
“Are you going to help Dory?” Cady asked.
Damien glanced at me. “The doe?”
I nodded. “We have a habit of naming every creature we come across here.”
He grinned. “I bet you’re constantly needing new inspiration.”
“We find them in books and movies lotsa times,” Cady volunteered.
“I like it,” Damien told her. “Do you think you can show me where Dory is?”
Cady beamed, puffing out her chest. “Totally. I helped Mr. Grizz take care of her last night. I can help you, too.”
Damien’s brow furrowed in confusion. “Mr. Grizz?”
“The Fish and Wildlife officer who helped us,” I explained as we walked to the barn.
Damien chuckled. “Does he know she calls him that?”
My cheeks pinked. “Thankfully, no.”
“It is fitting,” Damien mumbled as he stepped inside. He took in our full house. The animals were restless, wanting to stretch their legs after being cooped up for so long. “You’ve got quite the menagerie.”
“They all just kind of found their way to us,” I explained.
“They have a way of doing that.” He glanced at me. “Do you have any help caring for them at all?”
“We manage.”
Damien’s lips thinned. “I’d be happy to make house calls at no charge, and we can get you medicine at cost, possibly even donated.”
My brows flew up. “You don’t have to do that.”
“It’s the least I can do. I like to contribute my time whenever possible.”
I wanted to argue, and hated the feeling of a handout, but it wasn’t for me. It was for the animals. “Thank you.”
“Here’s Dory,” Cady called.
Damien moved down the aisle to check on the deer.
“I gave her deer feed and water this morning, but she’s only had that one dose of antibiotics,” I told him.
The doe was shaky on her feet, her eyes jerking about.
Damien set his bag on the tack box and pulled out a few things. “I’m hoping I can avoid sedating her again. If her wounds aren’t too bad, we’ll continue treating her with oral antibiotics. If everything heals, we should be able to release her in a week or two.”
Cady leaned against the stall. “Will she find her friends again? She was all alone.”
My throat tightened. I hated the idea of the beautiful doe out there all by herself.
Damien pulled out some sort of treat and shoved a pill into it. “Deer tend to stay on the same migratory patterns. I bet they’ll find her pretty quickly.”
A little of the pressure in my neck eased. “How often do I give her the meds?”
“Twice a day. Try to minimize contact as much as possible unless you want a permanent member of the family.”
“We could keep her, Mama. We’ve got room,” Cady said, eyes lighting with hope.
I shook my head. “We need to try to get her back to her family. They’ll be missing her.”
Cady sighed. “Okay.”
Damien slipped into the stall, and the deer backed into the corner. He didn’t rush her, but he watched her panic closely. He crouched low, extending his hand with the treat and humming softly.
The doe sniffed the air but didn’t approach.
Damien simply stayed still. My heart hammered as we waited. She took her time. One step, then another until she could stretch her neck and nab the treat. She gobbled it down as Damien studied her sides.
Slowly, he rose and backed out of the stall. “I think the wounds will heal on their own. But she needs a full course of antibiotics to make sure we knock out the infection. I’ll come back in a few days to check on her.”
I wiped my damp palms on my snow pants. “Thank you so much.”
“Of course. Call me immediately if she stops eating or drinking, or if the wounds look worse.”
I nodded. I knew the drill.
As we headed out of the barn, I saw the sun had dipped lower in the sky.
Damien shot me a smile as he climbed into his SUV. “You’ve got my number. Call if you run into issues with any of your critters.”
Something about that smile told me he might be interested in me calling him for any reason. He’d be disappointed there. I didn’t have time to date. Wasn’t about to welcome someone I didn’t know well into Cady’s and my lives.
I tried to convey polite gratitude with my return grin. “Appreciate it.”
He waved and backed out of the drive. I waited until he was completely out of sight—a habit I couldn’t seem to break. I was so used to identifying every vehicle that lingered and not breathing fully until my property was free of unknowns.