Page 9

T he next day, midmorning, he heard another vehicle pulling in, although the dogs had alerted him, they were quieter about it.

He just finished nailing the tar paper on the roof and was ready to start putting down the asphalt shingles.

He stood up and took a look to see who was coming, wondering at the constant visitors he was having versus a few weeks ago, when nobody ever came by, something that he kind of preferred.

He watched a small pickup move carefully in, but, instead of bouncing from rock to rock, they drove as carefully as possible, trying to minimize either the damage to the truck or the pain to the actual driver itself. His eyebrows shot up when he recognized Tiffany, the vet he’d spoken to yesterday.

He made his way off the roof, as she parked a little bit away from the house, keeping clear of all his tools and equipment, which he had to admit were scattered around still.

As he walked over to her, she hopped out with a hesitant smile. “Hey.”

“Hey,” he replied in delight. “I’m surprised to see you here.”

She gave him a self-conscious smile. “I have to admit I was worried about the deer.”

He looked at her in surprise and then smiled. “I’m glad that you care enough to worry about a patient you haven’t even seen.”

She winced. “I know, and I have no right to be here. I get that.”

“It’s not that you can’t be here,” he clarified. “I just wasn’t expecting to see you.”

She nodded. “And I get that, but I had the day off, and I was thinking about her last night and just wanted to confirm she and the baby were doing okay.”

He wasn’t sure what to make of that, but he motioned in the direction where the doe was grazing. “If you want to come this way, we’ll take a look, but I don’t know how she’ll handle another person.”

“Right, and not being in an office setting means it’s a whole lot different trying to get close to her,” she noted, with a half laugh. “Not exactly something I gave much thought to.”

“Not a whole lot of thought required,” he stated smoothly, “and I’m happy you’re here regardless. It’s just nice to know that somebody else cares.”

“Did you ever find out more about the guy who shot her?”

He shook his head. “No, not yet,” he replied, his tone deepening. Even though he was doing his best to deal with the outrage, it still came up and hit him every once in a while. “I have to admit to struggling with the whole anger thing over it.”

“Who wouldn’t,” she said, looking at him. “I’m pretty pissed about it myself, and I don’t even know the details.”

He smiled at her. “That makes sense, considering you are a vet.”

“And looking after animals is what I do,” she declared, interjecting smoothly.

“And more than that, you’re doing something that I always wanted to do, which was to have a big rescue outfit,” she shared, with a half laugh.

“So, if you’re willing to take in all kinds of animals, I would be willing to help out, if you need it. ”

He raised his eyebrows, pushing some of his hair back. “That’s a really kind offer.”

“I know of a lot of rescues,” she began, with half a smile as she looked around at his dilapidated cabin and the tools everywhere, “but not a one that doesn’t need the assistance of a veterinarian.”

“We all need vet assistance,” he agreed. “For anybody working with animals, that’s a given. And, while I’m sure you guys thoroughly deserve the pay, it’s a huge drain on anybody’s resources.”

She nodded. “I know. That’s why I’m here.

” Her gaze scanned the area around them, and he knew she would see his old truck on one side and an older horse trailer parked on the other.

… He had a flat-bed trailer backed up to the deck, where he had been working.

That was just the big items. “Sorry, I know it doesn’t look like much yet,” he noted.

Her gaze immediately switched to his, and she shook her head. “I wasn’t thinking that at all. I was thinking that the potential is huge. How many acres do you have?”

“Sixty at the moment, but I hope to get more at some point.”

Her eyes widened at that, and she whistled. “Now that really gives you some scope, doesn’t it?”

“That’s what I’m hoping,” Timber said, “but, as you can see, most of it is just untapped land at this point.”

“Sure, but it’s still land, and some is still pasture.

It’s still space,” she noted, “and, when it comes to rescues, space is what you need.” She walked a few steps toward him and then stopped when she caught sight of the doe.

Her hands went to her hips as she studied the doe, now staring at her intently. “Has she settled in here?”

“It seems maybe she has. I really expected her to move on, but, so far, she’s sticking right here,” he admitted.

“It means she feels safe.”

“She might feel safe, but you know there are just enough problems here that I’m not sure I feel safe for her.”

She looked back at him and frowned. “And you’re thinking about whoever shot her in the first place?”

“Wouldn’t you be?” he asked.

“I can’t imagine anybody coming up here into your own personal space and trying to shoot her again,” she admitted. “You’re not exactly somebody people think they can just steamroll over.” When he frowned at her, she winced. “Sorry, I guess I could have probably put that a little more politely.”

“I’m not sure quite how you meant it in the first place,” he pointed out.

“Just that you’re a little… intimidating,” she replied, “and I think that most people would do their best to avoid you.”

He laughed. “I could hope that was true. I’ve spent weeks out here working on this place and never seen anybody. However, since this happened, it’s like I can’t get rid of people.” She flushed and he winced. “And I don’t mean you, not at all.”

She snorted. “I did come unannounced and without an invitation.”

“Yeah,… well, the world shouldn’t require an invite every time you turn around either,” he said. “Come on. Let’s go take a look at her, and then I’ll put on some coffee.”

“Oh, I don’t want to take you from your work,” she protested, as she followed him toward the doe. The animal didn’t move, just stared at them calmly, as if trying to assess whether Tiffany was somebody to run from or not. “She really is beautiful, isn’t she?” she whispered, with a happy sigh.

“I guess you don’t get many wild animals in your clinic, do you?”

“No, not many,” she admitted, with a smile. “And we have various refuges that take animals like this, so I was kind of wondering just what your plan was.”

She spoke almost absentmindedly, as if that wasn’t really on her mind at all. Yet he couldn’t stop feeling as if maybe a hint of a question was in there that he wasn’t sure how to answer.

She looked over at him and added, “And, if you don’t have any plans, that’s fine too.”

When he burst out laughing at that, she frowned at him. “That laugh sounds a little rusty.”

The laugh cut off midsound, as he nodded.

“It was rusty. Hasn’t been a whole lot to laugh about in my world for a while,” he admitted, “but this has been good. There’s something very…

” He stopped, trying to think about how to phrase it, and still he wanted to find the right words for her.

“There’s something very freeing about working the land, building up a place of your own, and helping others,” he shared.

She smiled. “I’ll never argue with that,” she murmured. “And helping others, especially when it comes to the four-legged variety, will always be at the top of my list.” She gave him a big smile. She walked a few steps closer and then bent down, as if studying something ahead of her.

Timber took a step closer to where she was and saw the fawn curled up, sleeping. “She appears to be doing fine,” he noted.

“That’s good,” Tiffany said. “I wouldn’t want to deal with both the fawn and its mom.”

“The mom is a little stiff when she moves, so she’s a bit sore still, but, as you can see, she’s on her feet, bright-eyed, and keeping a bead on us quite clearly.”

Tiffany chuckled and then stepped back so that the doe would feel a little more comfortable about her presence.

“Now that I know the fawn is okay, I want to see her mom walking around, but I don’t want to chase her or to send her into a full-blown gallop.

That wouldn’t be a good thing right now.

I just was hoping to see her walk a few steps, so I could take a look at that shoulder. Were you able to give her the shot?”

“I did, and that was an interesting scenario too,” he shared, with a laugh, “but she let me get up to her and check the shoulder and the stitches. She wasn’t too thrilled about my touching any of it, so I just got the needle in quickly, though that has also made her a little spookier today.”

“Of course,” Tiffany murmured. Just then the doe moved several feet off to the side, bent down, and chomped on a bit of grass.

“Oh! her head’s moving fine,” she noted, studying her movements.

“You’re right about the stiffness, but it looks to me as if she’s doing okay.

” She took several more steps backward, and the doe just watched her.

“It would be nice to know that this wouldn’t happen again, but there’s no guarantee on something like that. ”

“No, there sure isn’t,” Timber stated, “but I’m hopeful that we’ve seen the last of it.”

She just nodded.

“How long have you lived around here?” he asked her.

“ Hmm , a few years now,” she said. “I think I’ve had the practice for about… three years.”

“It’s been a while then.”

“I bought it from somebody who was ready to retire, but I had been working for him for… I don’t know, maybe two years before that. So five years total,” she replied absentmindedly, as if it really wasn’t important.

And maybe it wasn’t, but he wasn’t sure whether that meant she knew the locals or not. “So, some of the locals you might know, and some you don’t.”

“I’ll know the ones who look after their animals,” she replied with a smile, as she turned to him, “because those are the ones who come into the clinic. The other ones?… Either those don’t have animals or those won’t give the animals the care that they need.

So those are the people I won’t see very often.

And then there’s a certain group where everything is fine until it comes to the end of time, and then they need help saying goodbye,” she stated calmly.

“That’s the part of your job I don’t think I could do.”

“Sometimes it’s one of the hardest parts of the job,” she agreed, with a nod. “We definitely have issues with that, but who doesn’t? My real problem is the people who bring in an animal they just don’t want anymore, so they want it put to sleep. That’s when I get angry.”

“That’s when you call me,” he stated, “and I’ll take it.”

She looked over at him. “That’s an interesting concept,” she replied. “Have you thought about what and how?” She frowned, as she looked around.

He sighed. “So, we’re back to the fact that I’m not quite set up yet.”

She turned to him and flushed. “Believe me that I’m not judging you in any way. I’m just trying to picture how you think that’ll work. Will you put in some kennels and runs? You’ll need fencing if you’ll take in something larger.”

“When you say larger, like what?” he asked curiously.

“Horses?”

“I could do horses,” Timber said. “I was raised with horses.”

“And they certainly need space,” she pointed out.

He nodded as he looked around the land. “I do have a map of what I’ve got here,” he muttered, “and I’ve kind of got a rough drawing of what I was thinking of.”

“I would love to see it,” she said.

He looked at her and then shrugged. “Well,… come on in. Let’s get some coffee on, and I’ll show you some of what I’ve got planned,” he suggested, with a wry smile.

“ Some , meaning that you need money to get it done?”

“No, meaning that the plans may change as I move on from one project to the other,” he clarified, with a wry smile.

“Because, even though I think I know what I want, when it comes down to it, plans change. So, I’m open to all animals, but some will require more space, more care, more special needs than others,” he pointed out, with a smile.

“Obviously dogs and cats are a given. Horses are fine, but I’m not set up for the water yet. ”

“Do you have water here?”

“I do. There’s a watering hole, and I have a really good well at the cabin.

There’s a barn, but it’s in sad shape,” he admitted, with a sigh.

“So, I was trying to get the house reroofed, so we would be good going into fall, and then I could get some of the work done on the barn,” he explained, looking over at her.

“You’ll need to bring in a crew if you can,” she suggested, giving him a smile. “If you don’t, it’ll just take longer.”

He smiled at her. “I have people I could ask. I’m just not the best at asking.”

“But you’re not asking for yourself,” she pointed out. “You’re asking for the animals.”

He hesitated and then nodded. “When you look at it that way, it seems foolish not to ask.”

“Exactly,” she agreed in a light scolding tone. “It’s foolish not to ask. And, if you’re talking about Badger and his group, if you’ve done any work with them, you know perfectly well that they would be very happy to come out and help you too.”

He frowned at her. “Do you know them?”

“I do,” she stated, with a smile. “Kat helped my cousin get a prosthetic, and there has been the odd occasion,” she added, with a laugh, “when I’ve gone to her myself to ask for help with an animal. We’ve devised a prosthetic or two for a couple of my patients.”

He stared at her and nodded. “I can absolutely see Kat doing that.”

“She’s just that kind of person, and honestly, she kept the cost low enough that we could do it, in order to keep the animal in good shape and enjoying life,” she shared, as she looked around. “Although right now you may not have what looks to be a very polished place, still—”

He broke up laughing at that. “That’s putting it kindly,” he said, still chuckling.

She smiled. “I was trying to avoid insulting you.”

He just waved a hand. “Insult away. I’m really not sensitive about it, and I’ve only been here a few weeks.”

“Okay, that makes me feel better.”

He burst out laughing again and waved her in toward the front door. “Come on in. We can at least get some coffee.”

“Coffee would be good,” she murmured, as she stepped inside.