Chapter 7
7
L ila tossed her purse on her kitchen counter, then bent and pulled off her shoes. It had been a long day.
She’d diagnosed a pregnant cat, treated a tiny dog with indigestion, vaccinated a litter of puppies, and treated Eddy Pisanelli’s pet rat for pododermatitis, a bacterial infection on the skin of the feet, also known as bumblefoot. All before lunch.
The afternoon brought another series of pet ailments, thankfully nothing critical and all easily resolved.
Despite feeling exhausted, she was filled with satisfaction.
It had been her first day alone, holding down the fort in Doc Tillman's absence, and it felt wonderful. She didn’t miss his constant critique, the way he would second-guess every decision she made.
A sense of accomplishment settled over her, grounding her in the certainty that this was the perfect profession for her. She didn’t know what the future held, but the idea of being more than just a vet assistant to a crabby veterinarian gave her hope. The day had been hers, and she cherished the freedom it brought.
“Camille?” she called out. “I’m home.”
That’s when she noticed the note on the counter.
Mom, you were late, so I caught a ride to the ballgame. I’m going to stay over at Sheila’s. Home in the morning. Love you.
Lila quickly glanced at the wall calendar. How had she forgotten it was Friday? She groaned out loud. How could she have blown off her daughter?
Thankfully, Camille was resourceful.
She quickly tapped out a message to her daughter apologizing and telling her she’d pick her up in the morning. “I promise,” she added before adding a heart emoji.
She placed her phone on the counter and headed for the refrigerator hoping to find something to eat that didn’t have to be cooked.
Her phone buzzed, diverting the plan.
Lila scooped up the phone and answered, “Hey, Charlie Grace. What’s up?”
“I just talked to Capri. We’re thinking of heading to the Jackson Hole Rodeo this weekend. Wanna go?”
She carried the phone to the refrigerator, opened the door, and scanned the nearly empty shelves. “What time?”
Goodness, she needed to go grocery shopping. What kind of mother left nothing for her kid to eat?
“Capri and I could pick you up midmorning. What do you say? It’ll be fun.”
Lila quickly calculated how much time it would take to pick up her daughter and stop by Western Drug and Grocery. “Okay, yeah. Midmorning should be fine.”
“Great! See you then.”
Lila clicked off her phone and pocketed it before heading for the pantry where she plucked out a nearly empty bag of chips, convincing herself that fried potatoes had nutritional value.
The following morning, Lila dragged herself from bed when it was barely seven a.m. She immediately chastised herself for watching that last episode on Netflix, wishing she’d captured the extra time in sleep.
After showering and dressing, she tossed a load of laundry in the washing machine and mopped the kitchen floor before grabbing her keys and heading out to the car to pick up Camille. Before she drove a half mile, her phone buzzed with an incoming text from her daughter.
Mom, can I just stay with Sheila and go to the track meet this afternoon? Then, after that, we’re all going out for pizza. I’ll catch a ride home. Okay?
Lila smiled. She was happy her daughter had a busy social life, even if that meant seeing less of her. That was how it was supposed to be at her age.
“Sure, that’s fine,” she tapped out. She told her daughter of her plans to go to the rodeo in Jackson, and then she headed for the grocery store.
Camille would be graduating from high school next spring. The thought brought a wave of melancholy. Her graduation ceremony would be one of many life events Aaron would miss.
Inside Western Drug and Grocery, she grabbed a grocery cart, then tossed her purse in the place where she used to seat Camille when she was a toddler. She reached for the printed advertisements stacked in a rack to the right of the automatic door and scanned the front page as she pushed the cart toward the produce section where she grabbed a rare fresh pineapple.
She hoped Reva and Kellen were enjoying their honeymoon in Maui. A tiny pang of jealousy hit as she remembered a time she’d shown Aaron some travel magazine pictures of the Road to Hana. “Oh, let’s go someday!”
A voice in her head rang out as clearly as if Aaron were right next to her.
“What’s up with your fascination with Maui?”
She closed her eyes and remembered gazing up from the pages of the magazine. “Are you crazy? It’s only the most romantic place on earth,” she’d so flippantly told her young husband.
Aaron playfully tugged at the sheet tucked around her bare waist. “Is that so?”
She quickly snatched the covering from his hands and secured it more tightly. “Yes, that’s so. In fact, more people honeymoon in Hawaii than any other state in America.” She held up the article as proof. “I can see why. Palm trees…beaches that stretch forever…sunsets to die for.”
Aaron ran broad fingers through his sleep-tousled hair. “Yeah, you see—that’s what I don’t get. Why would we ever want to go to Hawaii when we live in the Tetons? This is heaven if you ask me.”
She slammed the magazine against her new husband’s chest. “I agree. That doesn’t mean we can’t go to Maui someday.”
He laughed. “Okay, okay—look, I get it.” His eyes sparkled when he’d said that. “Tell you what. When I get back from Afghanistan, we’ll take a trip. I’ll rub sunscreen all over that pretty back of yours, and we’ll lay out on the beach for hours and soak up the scenery. How does that sound?”
Before she could respond, he pulled the magazine from her and tossed it to the floor, while at the same time lifting the sheet with his other hand.
She’d giggled as he buried his head against her skin. “Promise me,” she said in a muffled voice. “Now. Promise. Or I’ll?—”
“Or you’ll what?” His fingers dug into her sides, and he tickled, sending her entire torso into a fit of squirming. “Okay, I promise,” he said.
“Careful, Aaron Bellamy. Because I intend to hold you to that,” she shouted, laughing uncontrollably.
He immediately stopped tickling. Her new husband looked at her then, his eyes boring into her soul. “And I promise I’ll always love you.”
“Hey, watch out!”
Lila looked up in horror, realizing in her reminiscing that she had neglected to watch where she was going and had nearly rammed her cart right into the balding store clerk.
“I’m so very sorry! Goodness, I almost ran into you.”
Mr. Fouraker frowned in concern. “Lila, is everything all right? You seem a bit...”
“I’m fine,” she hastily replied, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment. “Just daydreaming.”
She picked up a head of crisp lettuce and dropped it into her basket, then added a bag of baby carrots with a gentle toss. The sound of the carrots rustling against the plastic broke the quiet tension. She glanced up at Mr. Fouraker, who still looked concerned, and gave him a quick wave and a tight-lipped smile. “Thanks, I’m good,” she assured him, steering her cart toward the cereal aisle to avoid further questions.
The grocery store was abuzz with shoppers, the sound of rolling carts and distant conversations filling the air. Lila kept her head down, determined to focus on her list. She passed by the colorful cereal boxes, scanning the shelves for oat flakes. When she finally spotted her favorite brand, she reached for a box. As she placed the cereal in her basket, she heard a familiar voice.
She turned the corner into the next aisle, surprised to see Nicola Cavendish huddled and in deep conversation with a cluster of women. “Yes, that’s what I said.” Nicola’s voice carried across the store, brimming with excitement. “A bestselling romance author. Staying right here in Thunder Mountain.”