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T iffany slowly made her way back to her clinic, deciding it was time to get a bit of paperwork done.

Honestly, she didn’t really want to go home after that fairly unsettling visit with Timber.

She really liked the man, but whatever that shooting was about, it was enough to scare anybody away.

Yet she saw no reason for it. He was doing everything he could right now to get set up, and obviously he had a long way to go.

She pulled into the clinic and parked. Then unlocked the security system and headed to her office, when her phone rang. It was Kat. She sat down, smiled into the phone as she answered it. “Wow, it’s almost as if you have strong instincts where I’m concerned.”

“I do. Where were you?”

“I was just over checking up on our mutual friend.”

After a moment of silence, Kat noted, “I’m not sure who we have in your neck of the woods.”

“How about Timber?”

“Oh my gosh,” Kat exclaimed in sudden delight. “How is he?”

“He’s bitten off an awful lot, and he could really use a hand.

Just for the record, he is too stubborn by far.

” At that, Kat started to laugh, even as Tiffany continued her tirade.

“Plus, there’s definitely some unsettling business going on, and, while I was there, shots were fired near his house.

It doesn’t appear any damage was done, but something is definitely brewing in that neck of the woods that shouldn’t be. ”

“Shots fired?” Kat repeated in sudden seriousness.

“Yes,” Tiffany murmured, “and he looked pretty pissed about the whole thing.”

“I’m sure he did. I presume they took off?”

“Yes, they took off, and he muttered how it’s just typical of a coward.”

“Maybe,” she murmured, “it’s also typical of people who don’t want to face Timber.”

“Absolutely. I wouldn’t want to face him either right now. He’s pretty scary when he’s pissed. I left soon afterward but more to give him a bit of space because it’s obvious he was already figuring out what his next step was.”

“And nobody saw anything?”

“No, I certainly didn’t. They took off. They didn’t even come fully into the yard,” Tiffany explained. “It’s as if they were hiding around the corner and then took potshots at the house, the barn, you know,… but deliberately avoided shooting somebody.”

“That’s a good thing,” Kat spat, fury in her voice. “That’s not something any of us need.”

“No, Timber didn’t look very happy about any of it. I did ask him if he had any idea who it was, and he nodded, but I got the impression he thinks that nobody will care and that the law won’t do anything.”

“I don’t know about that,” Kat declared. “I know Andy pretty well, and I can’t imagine that he’s tolerating any of that.”

“I know Andy too, but haven’t seen him in quite a while. I realize that he’s aging, and I’m sure that’s having an effect on whatever hold he had on things.”

“That’s always a sad stage, isn’t it?” Kat murmured. “Look, good talk, but I’ll speak to Badger about this.”

“If you end up telling Timber that I sent you, he might get pissed off at me.”

“That’s not part of the plan,” Kat assured her, “but I definitely need to keep an eye out and to confirm he’s okay.”

“He can’t be under your wing all the time,” Tiffany pointed out to Kat.

“Yeah, I know that,” she conceded, “and it’s always hard to let them go.

He’s been here, part of the family off and on, at least as much as he would let me drag him into,” she admitted, with a half laugh.

“There’s something very special about him, and I know he’s been planning this rescue of his for a very long time. ”

“And I’m all for it. As you know, anybody who helps animals is right up my alley,” Tiffany shared. “But honestly, I don’t feel comfortable putting any animals over there, not until the shooting stops.”

“No, that’s not something we want. Did you see the doe?”

“Yes, and she looks to be doing pretty well,” Tiffany replied. “I went over to take a look for that reason, but she appears to be responding to the antibiotics, and she’s staying very close to Timber.”

At that, Kat laughed. “You may not know it, but Timber has one of those uncanny abilities to relate to animals. Even those that would never come close to people and vice versa.”

“I’ve always sensed a very calm stillness to him,” she admitted. “And he is a fascinating character.”

“Ah, fascinating ,” Kat repeated, with laughter.

“Oh no. Don’t even go there,” Tiffany murmured.

“I didn’t go anywhere,” Kat declared, with a chuckle. “That was all you.”

“Nope, and while I might consider spending some time with him, it’s because I’m quite interested in making sure the rescue becomes a reality because I always need places to put animals.”

“I’m right with you there,” Kat agreed.

“He needs a lot of help though, and I think he’s a little too stubborn to ask for it.” Tiffany wasn’t sure she should be telling Kat that, but the work needed to be done to make it a working rescue. Left on his own, it would take a very long time.

“A little too stubborn?” Kat murmured. “That’s definitely an understatement. He’s definitely got a thing about not asking for help.”

“Presumably there was a time when he needed it and it wasn’t there for him?” Tiffany suggested.

“Oh absolutely,” Kat agreed. “But he still has to get to the point where he’s okay to ask for help and to accept it now.”

“Oh, I don’t think he’s coming to that point anytime soon,” Tiffany noted, with a snort. “That’s not something I really see him doing. On the other hand, if you guys were to go out there and make an assessment of what he needed, maybe you could get a gang together.”

“Oh, I hear you.” Kat laughed. “Let me talk to the boss, since it sounds as if we may have bigger things to be worried about out there first.” With that, she disconnected.

Kat left Tiffany laughing because, if there was one boss on that place, particularly when it came to the hearts and souls of the people who came through their orbit, it would be more Kat than Badger.

Badger was all about getting the guys back on the good side of life, fixing them up, helping them to give back to the world that they left.

But that didn’t necessarily mean that he was up for animal shelters or any other number of projects that his wife got herself involved in.

And Tiffany certainly didn’t blame him because, if Kat had hundreds of dollars or millions, she would be putting it out there, helping anybody and everybody she could.

That’s just the way the world was for her. Something the world needed more of.

The two of them were special, and Tiffany was absolutely thrilled to call Kat a friend. She and Badger understood that other people had needs too, not just those who were there in front of them.

When her phone rang not very long afterward, she looked down, surprised to see a number she thought she recognized but wasn’t sure. She answered it cautiously. “Hello?”

“Are you okay?” Timber asked, his tone harsh and deep.

Enough concern was there that she realized how worried he was. She smiled. “I’m fine. There just didn’t seem to be any point in sticking around when you were obviously on the hunt.”

“If I was on the hunt, I wouldn’t have left you behind,” he stated. “I definitely wouldn’t have left you alone with that going on.”

“I’m sorry that happened,” she began, “though I’m not sure I understand because you seem to be angrier than… I don’t know quite how to say it.”

“I’m pissed because it’s a kid, a few young men who think they can run around ragged, disrespecting everything and everybody. I had already talked to Andy about it days before, and he said he would try to put a lid on him, but, as you saw earlier, that attempt didn’t exactly work.”

“No, not at all,” she murmured, “and that’s not good news for anybody. We can’t have that kind of behavior.”

“No, we sure can’t,” Timber agreed. “So obviously I have some work to do.”

“Will you talk to Andy again?”

“I don’t know,” he replied bitterly. “It didn’t do much good the last time.”

“I can appreciate that,” she said slowly, “but I think he would probably want to be kept in the loop, if for no other reason than keeping track of whoever is causing all this chaos.”

“I don’t know that keeping track of it will do any good,” Timber grumbled, “and there’s also a limit to what I can do within the law.”

“Of course. Have you talked to the sheriff’s office?”

“ Right . They came out here the other day and paid me a visit because the kid thought that I should be charged for the way I treated him when he was here trespassing on my land, shooting a pregnant deer.”

She gasped. “Seriously?” she cried out. “How is that a thing?”

“That’s another issue entirely,” he noted, with half a laugh. “Anyway I’ve already spoken to a couple deputies, and, as it turns out, one of them is an old military friend of mine, and that was really nice to see.”

“So, you trust him?”

“I trust him, within the capabilities and confines of what he can do, but his partner was definitely not a member of my fan club.”

She smirked at that. “And I can’t imagine why,” she quipped, with a touch of mockery.

After a moment of silence, he asked, “Am I really that unapproachable?”

She thought about it and then said, “Yes.”

He gave a snort of laughter. “At least you’re honest.”

“I am honest, and it’s not so much that you’re… I’m not even sure what it is, but I get the impression that you don’t suffer fools easily and that you’ve already put the bulk of the world in that category. Close enough?”

“I’m not so sure I’m quite that harsh,” he conceded, “but I see people out there doing stuff that’s not very smart, and, as long as everybody stays away from me, I’m fine. But these kids were hunting on my land,” he stated, “so I’m sure you can see how that didn’t go over well.”

“Agreed. I’m right there with you on that,” she declared.

“But, according to them, they had permission, and I was far too rough on them.”