Chapter 17 #2
He laughs. “Almost. I just need a little bit more time for her to see what a catch I am.” He turns, and a swirl of happiness, bewilderment, and an unexpected sense of peace churns through me until something pricks me on the butt and says that maybe I’ve misunderstood because it can’t really be that easy.
I can’t really be having a second chance at love that arrives so gently and sweetly.
I’m staring at him, my head tilted to the side, when he turns back to me.
“Did I confuse you, Tiny?” He grins and hands me a mug.
“Found this. Lacy must have snuck it in. It’s some kind of decaf peachy green tea.
And Ava gave me the cookies. She keeps me well supplied with homemade goodies.
She says I need to sweeten up.” His phone buzzes, and he tugs it out of his back pocket.
“It’s Ned.” He sets it down on the table and pushes speaker. “Wren and I are here.”
“I’m sending you the photos of the person we caught going down the path past your cottage,” Ned says, and John’s phone immediately dings. He opens the text and taps on a photo.
“That’s Sandy,” John says.
“Yep. He walks in from the forest every once in a while. Hops the fence and swims in Heaven’s Spring for his knee.
I can’t say he didn’t break in and look for something to eat.
It wouldn’t be the first time he’s gotten into trouble.
But I also can’t say he did break in.” He sends a video, and John opens it.
“That’s a little while later.” Monster’s racing down the path, his ears and tail back.
He stops, sits on his haunches, growling ferociously, deep in his throat, his hackles raised and ears back.
“He was either trying to chase something or someone away or he did chase something or someone away. Maybe Sandy. It wasn’t caught on any of the feeds.
” He sends another photo, the left corner circled in yellow highlighter.
“This is a few minutes later, captured on Tank’s cottage feed.
“Gigi rambling past. Could have been her that set Monster off. If so, glad there wasn’t a tussle.
If it had been Gigi versus Monster, Gigi would have felt some of it, but Monster would have been in bad shape. ”
I cover my face and groan.
“Wren, since we don’t know exactly what happened,” Ned says, “do you want me to file a report for a possible break-in? Not sure if it’ll come to anything, since Monster charged right out of that screen, and there isn’t evidence of breaking and entering.
And just that one light on. If I do, they’ll want to talk to you. ”
“No. Please don’t, Ned. I probably just left the porch door open.” I pause. Did I? “I’m sorry, Ned. I owe you for some new screening.”
“No worries. It needed changing anyway, and I have some replacement screening in Cottage 13.”
I finish my tea while John chats with Ned. When he hangs up, he walks to the door and opens it just as Danni is walking up the porch steps, a man behind her.
“Hi, Wren, this is my husband, Bear. Bear, this is Wren. She’s staying at Heaven for a while.”
“Heard you had a fall,” Bear says.
“I sprained my wrist in a car accident not too long ago, and I may have reinjured it.”
“Did Fox tell you I was a medic in the military?”
I nod.
“Mind if I look?” He sets a leather, zippered bag on the table.
Danni sits next to me and watches as Bear checks my wrist.
“Fox did an okay job wrapping this.”
“Thank you for that high praise,” John says drily, setting a mug of coffee down in front of Danni.
Bear crouches down in front of me and gently examines my ankle.
“I thought it might be sprained, but it doesn’t hurt much now, and it’s not swollen anymore.”
“Looks good. Go gentle on it, though.” He levels me with a solemn gaze.
“Fox mentioned that you weren’t keen on going to the clinic.
Looks like you need a splint to stabilize your wrist. But I would suggest an X-ray as well, just in case.
” His eyes slide to John then back to me.
“Did you hurt anything else when you went down?”
“Did some damage to my bike and my pride… but nothing else.”
He stands and leans against the cabinet. “So, what are you two not telling me?”
I glance at John.
“You can trust him, Wren,” John says. “But you don’t have to say anything if you don’t want to.”
I meet Bear’s eyes. “I didn’t want to go to the clinic unless I had to.”
“Okay.” Bear nods and waits for me to continue.
“John saw a pregnancy test in my bathroom. He was concerned and wanted to make sure I was okay… because it was positive.”
Bear’s eyes soften. “Congratulations.”
Danni wraps a gentle arm around me. “That’s wonderful!” She studies my face, and I nod because as she says it, I let myself feel for the first time that yes, just maybe it could be a wonderful thing if I allow it to be.
Bear pulls a blood pressure cuff out of his bag and takes my blood pressure and pulse, then nods. “Looks great. But you need prenatal care, and we’ll help you figure that out. For now, though, Danni and I will run into town and see if we can find a small wrist splint at the pharmacy.”
“I hate to make you do that for me,” I tell them.
Bear crosses his arms and peers down at me. “We’re a close-knit community here, and we look after our own. And right now, you’re our own.”
Tears pop into my eyes.
Danni hugs me again. “Don’t worry. Going into town gives Bear a chance to get some ice cream at the Cosmic Creamery.
” She glances at John. “Before you start grumbling, yes, we’ll bring some back for the three of you.
” She glances down at Monster. “Oops. Sorry, big guy. And a very melted pup cup for you.”
I pull Danni to the side before she slips out the door with John and Bear. “I need to know if a photo of me was posted on social media today. Someone snapped it earlier when I collided into the ‘Don’t That Take the Cake’ sign. Can you look?”
“Of course.” She hesitates, chewing on her lip. “Does Fox know who you are?”
I shake my head. “I told him about Trey, but I haven’t specifically told him my name or Trey’s name. Or who my husband was.” I sigh in frustration. “I will. I just…” I shake my head. “It was a lot to lay on him.”
“You’ll have plenty of time to talk. Meanwhile, just try to relax here. John’s a great guy.” Her eyes are achingly kind when she rests a gentle hand on my arm. “Let yourself be taken care of for a while.”
I hug her. “Thank you, Danni.”
When she leaves, I join John and Monster on the veranda.
“There are a lot of chairs out here,” I point out. “You must get plenty of visitors.”
“After a long day, the ranch hands usually congregate out here or at Bear’s.
None of them live on the ranch, so I make sure I feed them and treat them well before I send them home on the days they’re here.
Unless they’ve got someone to go home to.
” He nods toward another much smaller cabin nearby.
“We have a couple young guys moving in the next couple days. Bear and I are mentoring them under Tank’s guidance.
Have you met Tank—the guy who runs the Scuba and Snack Shack? ”
I shake my head.
“I’ll introduce you to everyone… once you’re ready.”
I study his profile while he leans back and briefly closes his eyes. “Nice breeze today,” he says. “Sometimes it’s so scorching hot here that I feel like I’m back in the Sandbox. Today, though, is a good day to be out here, enjoying the weather.”
“The only thing that could make this even better is a beer.” He sits up and eyes me. “You want one?” He shakes his head, sheepish. “Forget I asked. Lemonade okay?”
“That would be wonderful.” I start to push myself up. “Sit, Tiny. I got it.” When he returns, he pulls a table over, in front of us.
“I feel like I’m hogging the show because we’ve been talking about me so much,” I tell him. “I want to know about you, but I need to tell you something first.”
“Okay.” He takes a sip of beer.
“I haven’t had anything alcoholic for more than two years. I don’t drink… anymore.”
He sets his beer down on the table.