“Hey, Caleb. I was just keeping her company.”
Caleb looked at him rather strangely. “Sure, okay, great. Did we have a meeting tonight?”
Connor stood to walk out and said, “Yes but I’m hoping we can reschedule. I’ve been in meetings all day and I’d like to go to bed early.”
Caleb checked the time on his phone. “Yeah, I guess it’s getting kind of late. Let’s meet first thing in the morning.”
“Sounds good. I’ll see you then.”
Caleb followed his brother to the door and closed it behind him.
This woman was different, and it drove him crazy. When she swatted him off the porch, he laughed. Most people were afraid of him in falcon form because he was bigger than a normal bird.
He walked down the hall and ran into his brother Cameron.
“Hey brother, how was your trip?” Cameron asked nursing a soda. “Where you’ve been?”
“Just finished up with Opal.”
“Is it done?”
“No, I still can’t decide how to finish it.” Cameron pulled up the side of his shirt to show his tattoo of the Marine bulldog.
“It’s looking good. She’s doing a good job. I’ll have to use her next time.”
“Tell me about your trip.”
“It was good. I think we’ll see the benefits this winter when the ski lifts open.”
“If you can fill this place for the season, I’d be stoked.”
“Well, the university is thinking of bringing a few of their leadership classes here before the end of the semester. It’ll be like a final.”
Cameron snorted. “I wish my finals took place at a retreat like this. How hard can these classes be if they come here at the end to regroup?”
“I don’t care how hard the classes are or what they have to do at the end as long as they come here and spend their money.”
“I hear you on that.”
“I plan to talk to a few of the ski shops around here and offer discount packages for the week between Christmas and New Year’s to see if any of the students will extend their stay.”
“That’s a good idea.”
Connor stepped away and then turned back to Cameron. “Did you send me those pictures like I asked? I want to get them up on Insta before I go to bed tonight?”
“Insta?”
“Instagram. We’ve been able to increase our followers quite a bit over the last six weeks since we did the new campaign.”
“You mean the campaign with your face on it? I’m sure that helped us win a lot of followers and they were probably all girls.”
“Whatever. Did you send those pictures or not?”
“I’ll get them to you before I eat. I’ve been out working on the new gazebo.”
“When do you think you’ll get it done?”
“I’m hoping to get it done before the spring break crowd.”
Cameron punched him in the arm. “Well then, get to work little brother.”
Connor reached to punch him back, but Cameron was already down the hall. He shook his head and continued walking to his office where he sat behind a desk and keyed up his computer. He used his phone while he was out of town but knew there would still be a lot more to do and wanted to make a work plan for tomorrow.
He wasn’t ready for the thirty-five new emails, the sixty likes and comments from Instagram, and the ten private messages through Facebook. He sighed, opened the blinds, and turned his chair to see the canyon. No matter where he traveled, nothing beat the majesty of the view from the retreat.
He spent most of his childhood in Taos and his family vacationed here almost every summer. They liked to pretend they were a normal family, posing for pictures and taking all the tours. Connor hated it.
From the first time he shifted, he wanted to fly around the world and see everything. He flew to San Francisco and sat on the Golden Gate Bridge when he was fifteen and slept on the bottom of the Grand Canyon when he graduated high school. When he lived in New York City, he spent hours in Central Park. It wasn’t like home, but he made it work.
A year after high school, a student graphic artist convinced him to help her with a senior project. Her photo shoot went viral and a modeling agency signed him to a two-year contract. Then a bigger agency bought out that contract. He moved to New York City where he worked as a runway and print model.
He pushed two buttons on his phone and waited while it rang.
“Hello, thank you for calling Libre Volare. How may I help you this evening?”
“Maria, this is Connor.”
“Connor, welcome back. The place isn’t the same when you’re gone.”
“No?” He smiled.
“No, it’s better.” Maria giggled.
Connor held his hand over his heart. “Maria, Maria, Maria. How can you hurt me like that? I thought I meant something to you.”
“Whatever. Whatcha need?”
“I’m hoping you can give me a name.”
“A name? Whose name do you want?”
“A lady checked in the Canyon Cabin. Her last name is Jackson, I think. Can you tell me her first name?”
“Her first name is Tatum.”
Connor wrote her name on a scratch pad next to his phone. “What can you tell me about her?”
“Not much. Caleb handled the reservation and set up a program.”
“She’s here on an individual program?”
“Yep. The only thing I know is she’s a friend of Mrs. Wolfe.”
“Mrs. Wolfe? Do you mean Barbara?”
“I think so. Look I have to go. It’s almost time for me to get off and I’m meeting my boyfriend for a late dinner.”
“I’ll let you go. Thanks, Maria.” He hung up the phone.
Barbara Wolfe was a name he hadn’t heard since he was a kid. He and his brothers played with Aric and Jordan when his family lived close to Blue Creek. How were Barbara and this woman connected?
He opened the sliding glass and smelled the warm, clean air. The setting sun cast a large shadow over the peaks and valleys. The crescent moon hung on the opposite horizon.
He took off his clothes and left them on the floor. Connor drew in a deep breath, rolled his head, swung his arms in small circles, and centered his mind. He nodded to his falcon inside and slowed his breathing. The cramping and breaking bones dropped him to his knees. He resisted the urge to fight the change. His arms withdrew into his chest as wings burst from his back. His neck curved, and his face transformed into wide eyes and a short beak. Once shifted, he spotted his favorite mountaintop and took flight.
Vivid dreams wrecked Tatum’s night. Dreams don’t come easy without sleep. She survived double shifts by catnapping. However, catnapping made it difficult to get the deep, restorative rest she desperately needed.
She found a coffee pot and bold, black coffee. Tatum didn’t understand how the dining worked but wasn’t starving. So, she drank her coffee on the porch and watched the sunrise. The oranges and pinks surprised her as the night sky embraced morning. Spending most of her time inside a hospital, she rarely enjoyed a sunrise or even a sunset. For several days, at a time, her circadian rhythm depended on the level of brightness from the fluorescent lights of the emergency room. Now, sitting in this peaceful canyon watching nature wake up made her question her ambition and definition of success.
An old pickup stopped in front of the cabin and an older gentleman approached her porch. “I assume you’re Tatum Jackson.”
“I guess that depends on who’s asking.” She searched for something to defend herself but the closer he came, the more she realized it wouldn’t take much to knock him over. She walked down the steps before he got too close.
“My name is Hank Warner and I’m the local doctor. Caleb called me last night to tell me you were going on rounds with me this morning. It’s been a while since we’ve had a city doctor here. I hope today won’t be too boring.”
“Caleb asked me about working with you. I need to tell you, I haven’t fini
shed my program so I’m not one hundred percent legal.”
“Well, I promise not to let you do anything serious. Most of what we’re doing today is just follow-up. I hope I’m not too early for you, but I find it’s easier to catch people in the morning. We also have a full day.”
“I prefer to get things done early too. Let me change and I’ll be ready. Would you like to come in for a cup of coffee? I have a little left.”
He headed back to his truck.
“No, that’s okay. I’ll just wait here in the truck. Do you think you’ll be long?”
This guy was a little impatient and already bugging her. “How about ten minutes? Can you wait that long?”
“That sounds fine.” He got in the truck and Tatum headed inside.
The last thing she wanted to do was drive around with some hick doctor seeing sick kids and old people. However, when Caleb suggested the doctor needed help, Tatum thought being outside would be better than stuck in group therapy sessions where she’d have to talk about her feelings. The more buried those stayed, the better.
It surprised her the doctor’s truck was clean; no straw papers, no crumpled wrappers, not even a used tissue. A cardboard tree air freshener hung around the rearview mirror. A picture pinned to the headliner of the truck showed the doctor and a beautiful silver haired woman.
Tatum nodded to the picture. “Is that your wife?”
Dr. Warner smiled and nodded. “Yes, that’s Sybil. She’s not my wife, but we’ve been together for over thirty years.”
Tatum tried not to look shocked. A man this old with a common-law wife? “You’re not married?”
“No. We were both hippies living in a commune when we met. Neither of us saw the use in making a big deal out of it. The years sneaked by and we didn’t see the need for a legal or religious ceremony to prove our love for each other. Doesn’t change our relationship.” He chuckled. “Probably not something you were expecting from a small-town doctor.”
“Based on my luck in love, I don’t have room to judge anybody.”
The doctor turned out of the compound and onto a two-lane highway. The rolling mountains, barren plains, and the big fluffy clouds hanging overhead mesmerized Tatum. It wasn’t long before the lull of the road put her to sleep.
In her mind, she stood at the bottom of a valley next to a small stream lined with rocks. Small rapids cascaded over waterfalls creating a pulsing rhythm that matched her heartbeat. The fall leaves blanketed the ground with orange and yellow while the empty tree branches reached out as if to grab her. She shielded her eyes from the morning sun and searched for the bird calling in the sky. A falcon landed on a rock cluster in front of her. She called to it while reaching out her hand. The falcon cocked its head to the side and watched. Before long, she felt herself gliding on the wind flying over the stream to another canyon.
A bump in the road startled her awake. Adrenaline rushed through her as the dream faded away.
“Sorry ‘bout that. These roads never get repaired. Each year they get a little worse,” Hank said. “That must have been one hell of a dream.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Well, looks like you’re scared to death.”
“I guess.”
“Some dreams are so vivid they almost feel real. I find those dreams are the most revealing.”
Tatum didn’t respond. She wanted to get her work done and not have spiritual conversations with a man she just met.
He took her lack of response as an invitation to continue talking. “What type of medicine did you practice in the city?”
“I spent most of my time in the ER.”
“I bet that kept you busy. Have any strange cases you can tell me about?”
“All the cases seem to run together. There was never a lackadaisical night. We got our fair share of overdoses, shootings, and sick kids. It’s always worse when it’s a family with a sick child. It’s hard to judge the seriousness of the problem when the patient can’t talk.”
“I get that. Parents are such worry warts these days. I spend as much time assuring the parents they’re doing the right thing.”
Tatum rested her arm on the closed window and slouched down in her seat, stretching.
“I’m amazed at the stupid cases I see, though. People do crazy things to themselves and others. Just when I think it can’t get any more bizarre, someone proves me wrong.”
“Do you enjoy it?”
“It’s okay. I don’t like the paperwork, but I like helping people.”
“Yeah, I bet there is a lot of red tape in the city hospital. One of the reasons I practice out here. I hope you don’t find today too boring. We’ll be checking on Mrs. Jenkins first. She fell and cut herself last week and will need wound treatment. She’s a little forgetful these days and probably hasn’t done it.”
“If she’s forgetful, is it safe for her to be alone?”
“Probably not, but I’m not the one to tell her that. It took me three days to convince her it needed treatment.”
The doctor turned down a long driveway. A split-rail fence ran on both sides. A single horse grazed while a half a dozen cows stood staring at the truck. “Maybe you should let me go in first. I’ll explain why you’re here.”
“I don’t understand.”
He pulled next to a house and stopped the car. “People around here aren’t used to seeing strangers. Most of us have lived here long enough to remember when this town started. Now, don’t get me wrong. We like tourists, but they stay in our business lives and not in our private lives.”
Tatum rolled her eyes. “Whatever. You know your patients better than I do, I guess.”
A small old lady opened her door and stood on her porch with a shotgun. She made a grand gesture of racking the gun. “Who’s here this early in the morning?”
“Good morning, Greta, don’t worry. Put your gun away. It’s just me, Hank. Remember, I told you I wanted to come back today and check on your leg.”
The old lady squinted then smiled when she recognized the doctor. “Oh, yes, I forgot.” She nodded to the truck. “Who you got with you?”
“She’s a traveling doctor who wanted to see how we ran things out here. She’s harmless. I’d like to have her come in with me if that’s okay.”
Greta’s scrutiny reminded her of show-and-tell day at school. Only this time she had nothing to share.
“Well, I suppose it would be fine. As long as you’re the one who did the actual work. I don’t want a stranger too close to my business.”
Hank nodded to Tatum who held up her hands in surrender as she got out of the car. “Mrs. Jenkins, my name is Tatum Jackson. I appreciate you letting me help the doctor.”
Greta ushered them to the kitchen. “It’s better light.”
Tatum’s mouth watered when she saw the fresh pies on the counter. Her dad brought pie home on the holidays from the bakery around the block. Most dinners were quick and easy since Tatum was in charge of the kitchen after her mother died. But holidays were special times and her father splurged on bigger meals. He’d force her and her brother to sit with him until he finished. She suspected he ate slower on those days to spend more time with his children.
Mrs. Jenkins noticed her eyeing the pie. “Would you like to take some with you, Dr. Jackson?”
“Oh, I couldn’t, that won’t be necessary.”
“Nonsense.” The old woman moved to get up.
“Hey, I’m not done here.” Hank put his hand on her shoulder.
“Well, then hurry up,” she snapped. “I have work to do and this young thing looks like she needs about twenty pies to eat. Just look at her. Too skinny.”
Tatum blushed and tried to hold in her laughter.
Once Greta had a new, clean bandage she wrapped up the entire pie and handed it to Tatum.
“I can’t take the whole thing. It’s just me at the cabin.” She tried to return it.
Greta used her hand to push it back. “What cabins are you staying in?”<
br />
“I’m staying at the Libre Volare.”
“That’s the retreat place run by the Hanson brothers. I love those boys. They come from good people and all of them are easy on the eyes. Are you attached to anyone?”
Tatum stared wide-eyed. How did she answer that?
Hank interjected, “Greta, Dr. Jackson does not need you interfering in her love life. She is here for a short time and has a lot of work to do.”
Mrs. Jenkins patted his arm. “Hank, there is always time for love. So, shush.”
The old lady stood on the porch and watched them leave.
“Now, that went better than I thought it would,” Hank said as they drove onto the highway.
“I don’t understand. She seems like a nice lady. Well, at least once she put away her shotgun.”
Hank laughed. “She thinks she’s tough, but she doesn’t remember where she put her bullets, hasn’t for years.”
Tatum gawked. “You mean she stood there and threatened me with an empty gun?”
“Yep, pretty much. I’ve got an idea. Let’s go into town for some coffee and we can have a slice of that pie.”
Her stomach grumbled at the idea. “Sounds perfect.”
Tatum worked with the doctor for the rest of the day. They visited four more wound patients, did three blood pressure checks, and helped one gentleman learn how to use his new glucometer. The last stop of the day included a puppy check for a litter of hound dogs.
It was fascinating that a human doctor worked on animals too. He told her the people around here weren’t trusting of strangers. In a tourist-driven economy, most people couldn’t afford to visit a doctor of any kind. He’d learned a thing or two, and animals weren’t that much different from people.
She was exhausted by the end of the day but calm. Calm didn’t bode well in an ER. The fast pace of the ER demanded split second life or death decisions. At one time she thrived in that environment. But when it became more demanding, she found it harder to cope.
Sitting in front of the fire, she wanted nothing more than a glass or three of wine. The urge to drink made it hard to relax. Since they ate the pie before she came home, she had no food to provide a distraction, so she walked up to the main lobby to check out the dining room.
Forgiveness For My Mate: Sassy Ever After (Sanctuary for My Mate Book 1) Page 2