“You’re...Haley’s friend?” Georgiana asked.
Gavin knew she talked to keep her mind off the spine-chilling sounds at the other end of the barn. Since talking might also enable him to stop replaying the most tormenting moments of his life, he concentrated on engaging in conversation instead of listening to Brownie’s excruciating groans.
“I actually just met Dr. Calhoun yesterday,” he said, then added, “and you and I have met before, at church.” It was true that he didn’t have a great memory for people’s names, as he’d showed yesterday with Aaliyah, but he did recall meeting the blind woman and her husband.
A bellowing groan echoed through the barn and Georgiana winced before answering, “Right. I remember Savvy introducing you a few weeks back. You’re the new counselor.” She said the words, but her attention was obviously still on Brownie.
“Yes, I am.”
A lengthy, agonizing, rumbling snort, combined with Haley’s brisk instructions and Landon’s responses, filled the barn. It was useless to try to talk about anything else, so he said the first thing that came to mind.
“Everything will be okay.”
His throat clenched as soon as the words were out.
He’d promised himself he’d never repeat that phrase, because he knew firsthand it might not be true. And he suddenly realized that, when all those people had told him the same thing two years ago...that may have been all they could think to say.
Gavin instantly regretted the animosity he’d felt toward those people. They’d undoubtedly hoped that everything would be okay with his wife and baby.
But nothing had ever been “okay” again.
He rubbed his hand down his face, grateful Georgiana couldn’t see his anguish.
“I’m praying you’re right,” she said. “Because last year, when she lost her colt, we were heartbroken. And Abi has been so hopeful for this baby. She prays for it every morning and every night.” Georgiana’s head fell back to rest against the barn wall, her top teeth grazing her lower lip as she shook her head. “I hate this feeling I have, that...”
Gavin waited a beat, heard another spine-chilling moan from the other end of the barn, then asked, “That...what?”
“That it’d be better if Doc Sheridan were here. I mean, we like Haley—Dr. Calhoun—and we trust her and all, but Doc Sheridan has always been our vet, and she’s much younger. I don’t know how she is in an emergency on her own. And this baby is so important to Abi...”
Gavin had told her the truth; he’d met Haley only yesterday. However, in that brief time, he’d seen how much she cared about Eli and that pitiful puppy and witnessed her reaction to seeing Eli’s injury.
Moreover, he’d observed firsthand how desperately she wanted to save this baby in her frantic drive over and in the way she resolved herself to do her job when they’d arrived at the barn.
“She may be younger, but she cares about her patients and she’s been in practice with Doc Sheridan. She’s taking the best possible care of Brownie and that baby. I’m sure of it.”
“I know you’re right,” Georgiana whispered. “It’s just so hard to keep my faith when last year everything ended so suddenly. That baby didn’t make it a day.”
Gavin’s own baby hadn’t made it a day, either. He swallowed past that bitter pill. “I’ve been praying.”
“Thank you,” she said. “I have, too.”
A movement at the back of the barn caught Gavin’s attention and he looked up to see Landon, smiling, stepping from the stall. He turned toward a large barrel trash can and removed arm-length gloves. Haley, however, already stood halfway between the rear of the barn and the front, not too far from where he and Georgiana sat. She dropped a ball of plastic that Gavin presumed to be her own gloves in another barrel, then moved to a large mud sink to wash her hands.
“Georgiana,” Landon said, squeezing Haley’s shoulder as he passed her on his walk toward his wife.
“Landon? What is it? What happened?” She stood from the bench while her husband moved closer and wrapped his arms around her.
“Everything is okay,” he said softly. “Little filly was a bit stubborn, but thanks to Dr. Calhoun, she’s doing just fine.”
“A filly.” Georgiana sucked in a breath and rubbed her face against his chest before releasing a fresh batch of tears. “Abi—is going to be so happy.” She sniffed, brushed her fingers across her cheeks. “And, Haley, thank you. I was so worried, but I’m so very grateful.”
Haley smiled at Georgiana as she moved closer, but her eyes were locked with Gavin’s. “I’m just doing what I was trained for, but this is one of the best parts of being a vet, helping a life begin.”
“Come on, sweetheart,” Landon said, leading Georgiana toward the birthing stall. “I’ll take you back there. Brownie is standing, and the baby will be soon. I can give you a play-by-play as it happens.”
“That’d be wonderful.” She leaned against him as they walked toward the rear of the barn.
“You’re sticking around a little while, right, Doc Calhoun?” Landon asked. “Just to make sure everything’s fine?”
“Of course,” she answered. “I’ll give you two a little time with them, and then I’ll be right there. Just yell if you need me sooner.”
“You got it.”
Gavin watched her, more of her hair escaping the ponytail and framing her face, her green eyes electric with excitement. And her smile didn’t quit.
He’d thought she was stunning before, but right now she was breathtaking.
“Hey,” she said as she drew closer, “I want to thank you for that.”
“Thank me? For what?”
“I heard what you said to Georgiana when she was doubting my abilities.” She lifted a shoulder. “I can’t say that I blame her. Between you and me, that was the first horse birth I’ve handled on my own.”
“I just told her what I believed to be true.”
“Yesterday, with Buddy, you sounded a lot like her,” she pointed out. “What changed?”
He hadn’t even thought of that, but she was right. “I got to see the good doctor in action. I saw how determined you were to take care of that baby.”
“Well, it meant a lot to me.”
“So Brownie and the filly...” he said gruffly “...they’re both okay?”
“Better than okay. And that little filly is absolutely beautiful, already holding her head up and sniffing her mom. She should stand and then hopefully nurse soon. That’s what her last baby wouldn’t do, no matter how hard we tried to help. But this baby... She was a little stubborn, needed some assistance, but then everything went so amazingly well. It was—” her eyes blinked rapidly “—unbelievable.”
He could hear Georgiana’s exclamations of awe and wonder from the other end of the barn. “So you’ll go check on the baby again before we go?”
She nodded. “I will. I’d like to wait until we see that she’ll nurse before we head out. Is that okay with you? Do you have time to stay?”
He nodded. “I’m good until the kids get back from school.”
“Great. Well, we shouldn’t be here too much longer, then we can hopefully discuss the program and schedule our first outings with the animals.”
“Sounds good,” he said. Thinking about the new baby at the back of the barn, he asked, “Do you think they’d mind if I joined you, when you check on her?”
“I’m sure they wouldn’t mind at all.”
As if on cue, Landon leaned out of the stall. “Y’all want to come see them? The baby’s standing.”
Haley’s smile crept into her cheeks. “Awesome. Yes, we do,” she said.
To Gavin’s surprise, she took his hand, the warmth of her delicate palm pressing against his and reminding him...of every shattered dream. “Come on,” she said softly, “you’ve got to see this beautiful baby.”
/> Her words sliced at his heart, but Gavin walked alongside her and couldn’t push away the memory of the first time he’d seen his beautiful baby boy. A headful of dark hair. Tiny little face. Fists balled as he fought for life.
“She’s got the most incredible blaze markings,” Haley said, explaining, “a wide white stripe down the middle of her face.”
Gavin forced his thoughts from the baby of the past to the one of the present. He admired the pride Haley had in the foal she’d helped bring into the world. As they rounded the corner that put them at the gated opening to the birthing stall, he saw why.
Landon and Georgiana stood off to one side so that Haley and Gavin got a front-row seat to the action: the filly taking her first steps.
Like Haley had mentioned, she had a wide white stripe down her face. The remainder of her body was the same deep chestnut as her mother, except for her mane, which was the same stark white as the blaze down her face.
“Wow,” Gavin whispered as long, spindly legs bowed a little while the newborn attempted to figure out what to do with them.
Protectively circling her baby, Brownie gave a soft, low whinny that Gavin hadn’t heard before.
“That’s her maternal nicker.” Haley’s eyes misted as she watched the motherly gesture. “It’s her way of telling the baby to move closer.”
And the filly certainly seemed to understand, shakily moving those long limbs to get nearer to her mother. She fell, the soft hay swooshing with her defeat, but Brownie dipped her head low and nudged the babe while continuing to make the sound that told the filly to get close.
Gavin held his breath as the baby tried, only to fall again. He wanted to intervene, and he could tell every other adult in the stall did, too, but they all knew to simply watch and wait.
With another coaxing from her mother, the filly gave a valiant effort and, though her legs looked as though they would buckle, she put one hoof in front of the other and found her way to her mother’s milk.
“She’s found her,” Landon whispered to Georgiana.
“Is she nursing?” Georgiana returned.
The nearly inaudible sucking sounds gave her the answer she wanted. The baby had found what she needed for survival. Her mother.
Gavin stood in amazement, releasing his heavy breath. “She’s—going to be okay then?” he asked Haley.
She nodded. “I do believe she is.”
Landon hugged Georgiana again and then crossed the stall to hug Haley, too. “Thank you, Doc Calhoun. You...can’t know how much this means to us.”
“It means as much to me,” she answered.
Landon cupped a hand to Gavin’s arm. “Glad you were here for this. Pretty incredible, huh?”
Gavin nodded, raw emotions hitting him full force. This was what he should’ve experience two years ago. Excitement. A stirring in his heart. In his soul. The incomparable awe of new life.
His jaw tensed, throat convulsed, eyes burned. If he stayed another minute, he’d lose it.
He turned and made his way to the truck.
Chapter Six
Haley cast a concerned eye toward Gavin as they drove to the clinic. Not that he could see her. He was too focused on the papers in his hands...and avoiding eye contact with the woman driving the truck.
He hadn’t mentioned what had happened when they’d seen the filly. Hadn’t acknowledged the fact that he’d walked away midconversation, when they’d all been talking about their remarkable morning and how happy they were that the baby was okay.
In fact, he hadn’t talked about anything except the new program.
Which was good, she supposed, because she wanted to finalize their plans and get the Adopt-an-Animal program started as soon as possible. But she also wanted to know the reason behind his odd behavior at the barn.
“My thoughts were that we could divide the kids up based on cabins. We have eight cabins with six children in each. When you bring animals to Willow’s Haven, we can combine cabins, so that you’ll have four groups of twelve.”
“That sounds good. Can we start tomorrow?”
He didn’t look away from the page. “The kids are open tomorrow. No soccer practice or any other extracurricular activities. You’re ready to bring the animals and get started?”
“Sure.”
He made this seem like an interview rather than two people working together. After their conversation on the ride to the farm, and then the way he’d defended her abilities to Georgiana, she’d thought they’d finally turned a corner in their working relationship.
But then, after whatever had happened in the barn, he’d gone back to gruff and grumpy Gavin.
Which left Haley feeling more confused than ever.
“I’ll let Brodie and Savvy know, so they can put it on tomorrow’s schedule.” He tapped his phone to send a text. “Would four thirty work? That should give the kids time to have their afternoon snack and at least get started on their homework before you get there.”
“That’s fine.” Did he really think she wouldn’t ask what had caused the sudden change in his demeanor?
He sent the text and pocketed his phone as they turned onto the road leading to the clinic. “Do you want to get in touch with Landon and Georgiana about scheduling some visits for the kids there, or would you like me to?” His tone was quick, clipped and precise, as though trying to get this over with and get away from her as soon as possible.
“I will ask if we can start those visits on the weekends. Maybe even this Saturday,” she said. “I could’ve scheduled our first visit while we were there, but with all the excitement, I didn’t think about it.” She thought referencing the baby’s birth would remind him of the wonderful morning they’d shared...until his abrupt exit.
“Okay.” He folded the papers and pushed them into his jeans’ pocket. “I think we’ve covered everything. I’ll head back when we get to the clinic. After Eli finishes his homework this afternoon, I’ll bring him to see the puppy.”
She’d pegged it right; he couldn’t wait to leave.
In a moment they’d arrive at the clinic, she’d park, he’d get out...and she’d never learn what had gone wrong at the barn.
Huffing out a frustrated breath, she spotted one of the things she liked most about the lengthy driveway leading to the clinic. A small alcove canopied by mature oak trees. Often, when she took the boarded dogs on their nature walks, she would bring them here, sit at the pretty blue picnic table Doc Sheridan had left and think about life.
Today she saw the cozy haven as the perfect place to get some answers.
She pulled her truck into the recess, rolled down the windows and parked beneath the dappled blanket of red, gold and green leaves that hovered above the private space. Removing the key, she dropped it into the cup holder and shifted in the seat to face her passenger.
Turbulent blue eyes filled with confusion finally glanced her way. “Dr. Calhoun?” His tone, still gruff and clipped, only increased her determination.
“Haley,” she corrected. “You should call me Haley. And we need to talk.”
He turned to look ahead again, probably because he didn’t want her to see his expression. Maybe he knew what she’d already determined—the man couldn’t hide much in those telling eyes.
In the brief time she’d known him, she’d already recognized doubt when he’d first met her and didn’t believe in her abilities, compassion when he was around Eli, concern when he thought something might be wrong with the baby, excitement when he learned the filly was okay and then bewilderment when she’d pulled into this alcove.
What she hadn’t seen, however, were his eyes when he stormed out of that barn.
His back went rigid as he stared straight ahead. Even without him looking at her, she could still see his furrowed brow and clenched jaw. “Haley, we’ve covered everything we need to talk about today and I
need to get back.”
She knew better. He didn’t need to get back; he needed to get away.
But she wasn’t giving up that easily.
“Listen, if we’re working on this program together, we’ll be dealing with each other on a near-daily basis. I’ll be honest—I wasn’t thrilled about that after our first meeting, but then I could tell that you really cared about Eli and the other kids at Willow’s Haven.”
“I do,” he said, using no more words than necessary.
She didn’t stop. “Today, you were an entirely different person when we drove to the farm, like someone I’d actually like to have as a friend. But then you were downright rude and, for the life of me, I can’t figure out why.”
If possible, his jaw clenched tighter. Then he closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the seat.
Haley had no idea if he was praying...or counting to ten.
Either way, he’d ticked her off.
“Gavin, I’m volunteering my time for this program, and it’s going to be a lot of time, from what I can tell. If I’m going to work with someone to pull this off, I’d much rather it be someone that is easy to get along with. And who I don’t have to walk on eggshells around because I have no idea what sets them off.
“Something bothered you at the barn. And whatever it was—whatever I did—can’t be fixed if I don’t know the problem.”
He remained stone still. Eyes still closed. Jaw still clenched.
She took a deep breath...and counted to ten herself. “Maybe I should ask Brodie and Savvy if they can get someone else from Willow’s Haven to work with me. If you don’t want to...”
“No, I want to do this. And what happened at the barn had nothing to do with you,” he growled, his tone filled with heated emotion.
How could she work with this bear of a man?
“I don’t see how this can work.” Surely there was another counselor who wouldn’t be so difficult.
When he remained silent, she decided to put an end to what would surely be an uncomfortable alliance.
Finally a Bride Page 6
