Chapter 6
Two weeks later, Henley sat in her CRV with Jasna in the back seat as they headed to The Refuge. This was Jasna’s first day at the retreat—and Henley was full of warnings.
“Don’t be a pest,” she told her daughter. “If someone is busy or looks like they don’t have time to answer your questions, leave them for another day.”
“I will, Mom.”
“And do your best to stay out of the way of the guests. We’ve talked about this, and while you’re not a crazy kid, some of them have been through things that make seeing children hard.”
“I know.”
“And make sure you do what you’re told,” Henley said.
“Enough, Mom. I’m not going to be a hoodlum running around with a can of spray paint and yelling at the top of my lungs. It’s going to be fine.”
Henley chuckled. She had no idea where Jasna got these things.
Another school year was done and her daughter was officially a middle schooler. Well, would be once school started again in the fall. She’d be going to Los Alamos Middle School as a seventh grader and Henley wasn’t prepared. Not at all.
She remembered middle school being hell when she was her daughter’s age. But then again, she’d still been dealing with the trauma of what happened to her mom, still unable to speak to anyone, and attempting to navigate the tricky hormonal waters of her pre-teens.
Henley was waiting for her daughter to enter the emotional seventh-grade-girl phase, but until then, she was still her sweet little girl. More interested in books and reading than in boys or her looks. Henley didn’t know if it would last, but she hoped so, at least for a little longer.
“Finn’s gonna be there, right?” Jasna asked.
Her daughter hadn’t seen him since the morning he’d come to their apartment to return Henley’s keys, but she’d asked about him every day.
Wanting to know about Melba and the other animals and what was going on at The Refuge.
When Henley informed her that she’d be spending a lot of her summer at the retreat, the girl had been overjoyed.
Now, Henley couldn’t keep the smile off her face. “Yes,” she told her daughter.
Every time she thought about Finn, she smiled.
She’d gone from almost never seeing the man, to having him around all the time.
When she arrived, he made a point to come up to the lodge to say good morning.
He sat in on most of her group sessions.
He still didn’t participate, but he was there.
Having his gaze locked on her was a little unnerving, but she couldn’t deny she liked his attention.
He’d invited her to hang out in the barn with him on the days she didn’t need to get back to Los Alamos right away to meet Jasna when she got out of school, and once they’d even gone on a short hike together.
Henley had wanted to see Table Rock since she’d first started working at The Refuge, but between her work schedule and wanting to be there when Jasna got home from school, hadn’t really found the time.
So when Finn had somewhat shyly asked if she wanted to go for a walk, she was all for it.
And to her surprise, they hadn’t had any problems coming up with things to talk about.
If someone had told her a month ago that she’d not only be hiking through the woods with Finn Matlick, but that he’d be chattering away as if he didn’t have a care in the world, she would’ve said they were crazy.
And she couldn’t help but love that Finn was almost as excited about today as Jasna. Yesterday, he’d asked three times about her visit, making absolutely sure she wanted to hang out in the barn with him, rather than stay inside the lodge with Alaska.
His nervousness was endearing, and because he wanted to make such a good impression on her daughter, Henley was even more touched.
The truth of the matter was, even without them having done more than hold hands as they hiked through the woods, Finn was a better boyfriend than anyone Henley had ever gone out with.
He was constantly checking on her, asking if she was hungry, or too hot or cold.
He called briefly each night to ensure she’d arrived home safely after work.
He asked about Jasna. He was protective, making sure nothing untoward happened in the group counseling sessions he attended.
He brought her bottles of water before her sessions, and on the few occasions they’d eaten together, Finn ensured she had everything she needed before he relaxed enough to eat his own meal.
In short…so far, Henley hadn’t seen anything that would make her not want to see where their attraction could lead.
Finn might be struggling with his demons, but even with his tendency to shy away from people, and his penchant for getting lost in his head more than most, he was still one of the best men she’d ever met.
“I’m so excited to meet the new calf!” Jasna said, practically bouncing in her seat. “And you’re sure Finn said I could actually name her?”
Henley smiled. “I’m sure.”
“That’s so cool! I’ve never named a cow before. I’m gonna have to watch her a while to make sure I pick a name that fits. And I can’t wait to see the kittens either!”
Henley grinned as they neared The Refuge. Jasna had been looking forward to this day ever since Henley explained she’d be going to work with her anytime she wasn’t at camp.
With Mike’s permission, they’d spend their mornings at the psychology clinic while Henley saw patients, then head off to The Refuge.
Jasna wasn’t exactly a morning person, so the schedule should work out well.
She could read and do other low-key activities in the morning while she hung out in the break room, occasionally visiting with Mike and the other psychologists, and in the afternoons, she would be well awake enough to enjoy more physical activities.
“Mom?” Jasna asked.
“Yeah, sweetie?”
“I love Mrs. Singleton, and I’m sorry that she got sick and moved…but this is gonna be the best summer ever!”
Henley chuckled. “I hope you think that after a few weeks and you don’t get bored.”
“Bored?” Jasna asked, her brows arching up comically.
“No way! How could I be bored with all the animals, and learning the ropes of how everything works at The Refuge? When I told my friends what I was doing this summer, they were all totally jealous! Most of the popular girls are all googly-eyed over the hot owners—their words, not mine—but I think I’m more excited to get to spend so much time with Melba. ”
Henley burst out laughing at that. Leave it to her kid to be more excited to hang out with a cow than people. Come to think of it, she and Finn had more in common than they probably realized.
“Well, just remember that Finn and the other guys like their privacy, as do the guests. So don’t be taking pictures of them without permission.”
Jasna rolled her eyes. “I won’t. Jeez. But I can take pictures of Melba and the other animals, right? And my cow I get to name?”
The smile on Henley’s face hadn’t faded. “Yes, I think that’s probably fine. But you should ask Finn first.”
“I will,” Jasna said happily.
As she pulled onto the road leading to the lodge, Henley realized she hadn’t been this relaxed in a very long time.
Raising a kid on her own wasn’t easy. She constantly worried about Jasna, and grateful to Finn and his friends for allowing her to bring her daughter with her to work this summer.
She just hoped their enthusiasm for having Jasna around wouldn’t wane as the weeks went by.
While she was generally an easygoing kid, she had a tendency to ask a million questions.
Not to mention she was a pre-teen. This wasn’t the easiest time in a child’s life.
As she parked the car, Henley opened her mouth to give Jasna one more warning about being polite and not getting in the way, but before she could say anything, her daughter had opened her door and was running toward the barn faster than Henley had seen her move in a long time.
After getting out of the car, Henley looked toward the barn and realized Finn was standing at the open doors. When he saw her looking in his direction, he gave a little wave, then turned and followed an excited Jasna into the barn.
She wanted to go down and join her daughter and Finn, but she had an individual session to get ready for. And later she was having another group session. Jasna was getting more and more independent and would be perfectly fine with Finn. So she took a deep breath and headed for the lodge.
Her cell made a pinging noise, notifying her of an incoming text message.
She wasn’t sure who would be texting, since her most frequent texts came from her daughter, and she’d literally just dropped her off.
Henley stopped and rummaged through her purse for the phone.
A warm and fuzzy feeling filled her when she saw the message was from Finn.
Hey. Don’t worry about Jas, we’ll be fine. If I can pry her away from the calf, I’ll bring her up for some lunch after your first session
Sorry, hit enter too soon. By the way…you look nice today. The highlight of my day is seeing you arrive safe and sound.
Gah. This guy. Feeling as if she was on cloud nine, Henley headed into the lodge.
Tonka stood outside the stall where the new calf was resting and watched with a smile as Jasna babbled nonstop to the little animal.
She’d been full of energy when she’d arrived, and it had been a long time since he’d seen anyone as excited as she’d been to work.
She did everything he told her to, including muck out the goats’ stalls, without complaint.
Tonka had no doubt the chores would get old and the pre-teen would prefer to just do the fun stuff, like feed the kittens and hang out with the animals as she was doing now, but he wouldn’t care either way.
And instead of feeling as if his domain had been invaded, it was nice to have someone there who seemed to love the animals as much as he did.