4. EION
Chapter four
EION
Waking up to the sounds of the sanctuary was always a joy.
These animals needed me, and that fact made me feel useful in the world after what had happened.
Since they weren’t people, I let my heart bond with each of them, and I think they loved me back.
Every day, they needed care and compassion, which I was more than happy to give.
Barnaby nudged my hand. I rubbed his belly and made sure to get the full massage treatment. “You’re my good boy.”
Barnaby had been trained to help me with my trauma.
He made it easier for me to get through my days and also gave me another reason to keep getting up.
After a lot of therapy and the support of Barnaby, I tried to reintegrate with people, but I couldn’t.
As soon as I got close to someone, I would start to worry about losing them, and I didn’t think I was strong enough to have them walk away.
Maybe it was just an excuse to not get attached to someone, but it worked, and I was happier than I ever expected to be.
I had the land I bought with the settlement money, and my furry family.
I slept most nights soundly because I was tired from hard work, and living here kept my mind busy.
I had everything under control until Angus started showing up, and feelings I’d shut down years ago were inconveniently surfacing.
After he had dropped off the raccoons and left the check for their care, I’d assumed he would never come back.
Two days later, he showed up. He talked to Bethany and looked around like a lost puppy.
My heart did a weird little thing when he started to talk out loud.
He just assumed I would hear him. What he didn’t know was that as soon as I saw him pull up, I watched on the cameras.
It was impossible not to notice how good he looked.
There was a quiet power about him that appealed to me, and the only way for me to keep my head straight was if I kept my distance.
The feelings he stirred up needed to be locked away, but it didn’t stop me from looking.
While I fed the baby bears, I kept an eye on the cameras.
I knew the alarm would chime, but I couldn’t help myself.
I wasn’t looking for Angus exactly, but if he had questions again, I didn’t want to be a complete asshole and ignore him.
At least that was what I told myself. When he pulled up, I grabbed my phone and watched him step out.
Like always, he had a smile on his face.
It was like he was a walking ball of joy, and even though I wasn’t near him, it made me feel good seeing his smile.
My body heated when I watched him walk into the facility.
There was nothing I could do about how I physically reacted to him.
The facts were that he was sexy as hell, and the little I knew about him compounded my attraction.
He stopped and talked to Bethany first. I should feel bad eavesdropping, but I did it anyway because I was fascinated by the man.
“Hello, gorgeous girl. Have you had a good few days? I should ask Dr. Eion if I can bring you treats.” He had a small backpack and pulled out something that looked like a license plate. “I hope he doesn’t yell at me for this.”
He stepped over to the chain-link fence, set the plate against it, and pulled out a couple of zip ties.
I waited a moment and watched. Barnaby jogged out of the barn, and then I saw him on the feed.
The dog rubbed against Angus’s legs, and the man indulged him with pets.
Finally, he was finished with his task and stepped back.
Attached to the fence was a nameplate that read "Bethany". It looked pretty fancy, and I couldn’t even be mad.
He stood up, and Barnaby pushed against his legs. Damn, the dog really was a traitor. That smile was sexy and adorable as he petted my companion some more. His obvious comfort around the animals amplified those unwanted feelings, though if I was being honest, they weren’t unwelcome.
“Dr. Eion? I was wondering if I could take North and South out for snuggles? And I know you don’t like me asking questions multiple times, so I am going to ask two right now. Can I bring them treats?”
“As soon as they are out of quarantine, which is a few more days. And yes, they eat nuts and berries. You can bring a few but not too many.” I answered. I stood there staring while I fought the instinct to go look at the sign and tell Bethany how fancy it made her.
“Thanks. I’ll let you get back to doing whatever it is you do for the animals.”
The fact that he called me Dr. Eion made me smile. Nobody called me doctor around here; of course, most of my patients didn’t talk.
“Bethany, I’ll stop by on my way out. I also want to say hello to the alpaca.”
“His name is Walter.” What was I doing? Eavesdropping on this man, then interacting with him.
“The alpaca’s?” He asked, as if talking to nobody in particular was now a normal part of his life.
I guess it was, since I hadn’t bothered to greet the man since the first day, and that was after I made him wait for two hours. My mother would have been ashamed of me.“Yeah. The alpaca’s name is Walter.”
He smiled so big it tugged at my heart. “Thank you, Dr. Eion. That’s nice to know.”
“It’s just Eion. The doctor isn’t necessary.”
“Okay, Eion. That’s also nice to know.”
I didn’t dare say anything else, or I would find myself engaged in a full conversation with the man.
I had already watched for him when he came to visit.
The last thing I needed was to get to know him.
When he entered the medical room where his raccoons were, Barnaby came back to me.
“Making a new friend? You’re a traitor. I saw you with him.
” I said to him as he pawed at my leg, expecting a treat.
I pulled some jerky out of my pocket. Barnaby was a good judge of people, and he obviously liked Angus.
Despite myself, I had to agree with his assessment of the man.
About an hour later, I saw Angus talking to Bethany, and then he wandered up to the pen and kept his distance.
He seemed to recognize that if you didn’t know the animals and didn’t have permission, you shouldn’t touch them.
Everything he did made me smile. Angus seemed like a good man—he was a good man.
That kind of thinking needed to be shut down.
When I took a break for lunch, I checked on the quarantined animals.
North and South would have another few days before they went into the nursery, and the sweet fox was healing well.
She had a broken hip, tons of deep wounds, and some internal damage, but was improving daily.
I looked at the cages and froze. Little nameplates labeled “North” and “South” were attached to the front of their enclosure.
Each one had a picture of a raccoon and some foliage.
They were pretty, and in spite of myself, my heart did a little flutter.
I needed to stop liking these little things he did, because that kind of thinking was dangerous.
I hoped that reminding myself constantly would somehow make these feelings disappear.
The raccoons seemed to be doing well, and I went to check on the fox. I shouldn’t have been surprised when I found a name tag there, too. It read, Atlas. “He named you, apparently. It’s a good name.”
Atlas might have a limp for the rest of her life, but would be able to run and play.
She could even be a mama if she integrated with Sanctuaries skulk.
Even though she had simply been dropped at my door anonymously, whoever did it saved her life.
“Okay, Atlas. I’m going to find myself some lunch.
” When I turned to head out, there was a plastic container with an envelope on top. What had he done?
Dr. Eion -
It’s amazing what you do for the animals here, so I hope you like cookies.
These are chocolate chip, no nuts, because I didn’t know about allergies.
You might have seen the name tags. If you don’t like them, you can take them off, but I think everyone should know their names.
Thank you for helping North, South, Atlas, and Bethany.
Angus
I opened the container to find homemade chocolate chip cookies, which smelled incredible, and I couldn’t help but grab one. I hadn’t had someone make me cookies in a very long time. These were so good that I would have to take a minute to thank Angus personally.
At lunch, I enjoyed a bologna sandwich and way too many cookies.
There were plenty of them left, and I planned to enjoy several more with dinner.
I felt spoiled for sure. Of course, this just solidified those growing feelings I had for him.
As I walked past Bethany, I stopped and looked at her nameplate.
It was similar to those for the other animals, with etched bears and plants, but much larger.
Appropriate for the size of the animal and where she was living.
As I did my evening chores, my thoughts drifted back to Angus.
He was hot, thoughtful, and kind. Kryptonite. Kryptonite. Kryptonite.
Opening up to someone like him would be my downfall. I knew that as soon as you got close to someone, they would go away. Angus MacGregor could make an amazing cookie, and I wouldn’t turn more of those down—maybe that made letting him get a little closer worth it.
With coffee in hand, I sat down at my desk to review the finances for the month.
The money Angus had left helped a lot. I hoped he wouldn’t mind if a little bit went to feeding some of my other residents.
Opening the banking app, I spat out my coffee.
What the fuck was going on? The balance was definitely inaccurate.
I closed the app and restarted my phone.
It was a weird problem, but these things happen.