Finally a Bride

by Renee Andrews

  The only one she didn’t speak to, Gavin, turned and petted Buddy before also climbing out. Then he stood and grinned, enjoying seeing this part of her “family.” Each animal gravitated toward her, even the finicky fat cat that hurled himself from the loft to land near her feet.

  “I guess you can see why I named him Fang.” She rubbed the cat’s back while it made a noise that more resembled an old man’s snore than a purr.

  Gavin easily spotted the one long tooth hanging out the right side of his mouth in a menacing point. “Fang.” He nodded. “Suits him.”

  Haley continued petting the cat. “I thought so.” She indicated an open doorway nearby. “That’s the tack room. Fang’s pet carrier is to the right inside the door. It’s the olive green one. Can you grab it and we’ll see if he wants to go visit the kids today?”

  “You’ll let him decide?” Gavin moved to the tack room to grab the carrier.

  “Might as well. If we take him and he doesn’t want to be there, the kids won’t want him around anyway.”

  “Good point.” He lifted the olive carrier. “How do we know if Fang will do us the honor of joining us?”

  “Put it at your feet.”

  She straightened from the cat and took the lid off a nearby tin garbage can. Reaching her hand inside, she grabbed a fistful of something that looked like corn and tossed it to the side of the barn, where a flurry of hens and chicks he hadn’t originally seen suddenly appeared and made a mad dash for the goods.

  Haley looked his way to see him standing there, watching her. “Just sit it at your feet,” she repeated.

  He’d been so absorbed in seeing her in her element that he had forgotten to follow her instruction. Placing the carrier on the soft ground at his feet, he watched to see what the hefty cat would do.

  Fang looked at the carrier then at Gavin and then back at the carrier. If Gavin were guessing what the big thing was thinking, he’d say he was annoyed.

  “Fang, you wanna go for a ride?” Haley asked.

  The sizable cat stalked toward the carrier, hissed at it and then continued his slow stroll toward the back of the barn.

  “You can put the carrier back. Fang has decided he won’t be joining us today. But while you’re in there, can you grab the big gray one? It’s in the left corner. We’ll take a couple of rabbits. They won’t give us any grief,” she said with a laugh. “Next time, maybe we’ll convince Fang to come, or we can take some of the chickens.”

  “You have rabbits?” He easily found the gray carrier. She had the place organized to a T, and he wasn’t surprised. Her clinic had been equally in order, everything labeled and marked and spotless. Obviously she liked structure in her life.

  Or at least in the part of it she could control.

  “I have eight rabbits,” she said, bringing him back to the here and now.

  He hadn’t seen any sign of rabbits yet, but he wasn’t all that surprised she had some. She had a minizoo in her backyard. “Where are they?”

  “Their hutch is on the other side of the barn. I’ll show you, but let me get something for you first.” She walked into the tack room, opened a dorm-size fridge that sat a short distance inside the door and withdrew two brown blobs that looked like wet clumps of dirt. She motioned to the front of the barn. “You can put the carrier over there for a minute while you take these.”

  He put the carrier where she indicated and then tried to get a better look at the messy things in her hands. “What are they?”

  “Your peace offerings to Sterling, to prove you aren’t a bad person to have around.” She walked toward him, and it didn’t matter that they stood inside a barn filled with the combined scents of animals and hay and leather, Gavin still caught the distinct smell of apples and cinnamon that surrounded Haley Calhoun.

  And made him inhale a little deeper.

  “Here.” She extended the two blobs toward him.

  He took them and she giggled when he grimaced at the gooey texture in his palm. “What am I holding, exactly?”

  “Molasses treats. Or ‘horse cookies.’ You can call them either one. Sorry, they’re sticky. If I bought the premade ones, they’d be much drier, but Sterling doesn’t like those nearly as much as these. I doubt he’d even eat those now, truth be told.” She shrugged. “He might be a little spoiled.”

  “I’m getting a sense most of your barn occupants are.”

  She laughed. “Yeah, probably a good assessment.”

  “Where do you get these?” He followed her around the side of the barn to find the big gray horse sticking his head out to see what was keeping them.

  “I make them,” she said as though cooking up horse treats was something everyone did.

  Gavin wondered if there would ever be a day spent with Haley Calhoun when she didn’t surprise him a little. Or a lot. And he had to admit he was beginning to enjoy this new friendship with the interesting lady.

  “You make horse treats?”

  Her laugh echoed against the tin barn. “Don’t sound so surprised. It isn’t that difficult. Carrots, apples, molasses or honey, oats and vegetable oil. You mix it all up in the food processor, spoon it on a cookie sheet and bake it. Not a big deal, and Sterling loves them.” She walked to the horse, which was much larger than he’d seemed when they were in the truck, then stroked her hand down the length of his nose. “Hey, there, big guy. You having a good day?”

  The silver stallion nuzzled the side of her head, almost as if he were trying to give her a hug.

  “Wow.”

  Haley turned and grinned. “I know, he’s beautiful, isn’t he?”

  Gavin nodded instead of informing her that the stallion wasn’t the only thing beautiful around here. That would not be best in keeping to the friendship status they both wanted.

  He took a step toward the horse.

  The tall animal raised his head from Haley, his long, white lashes lowering as he glared at Gavin and blew an angry puff of air out his nose.

  Haley laughed but Gavin stopped moving. He’d never spent any time around horses, ever, and he wasn’t certain whether that sound was a welcome.

  Or a warning.

  “Sterling, come on,” she said. “He isn’t a threat to you. You’re still number one in my book.”

  Odd, Gavin wasn’t sure whether he should feel glad she was smoothing his way over with the stallion or insulted that he was playing second fiddle to a horse.

  “Go ahead and give him the cookies. One at a time.”

  Gavin took another step forward.

  The horse ducked his head, let out another small puff of air through his nostrils, but seemed to concede, looking at Gavin and showing some interest in the items in his hands.

  “Balance a cookie on your palm and hold it in front of him. He’ll do the rest,” she instructed, her voice soft and easy.

  Gavin wasn’t sure whether the tone was to calm the horse or him, but he decided now wasn’t the best time to ask. Sterling wanted the cookies.

  Following her instruction, he placed the first cookie flat on his palm and raised his hand toward the horse’s mouth.

  Before he had a chance to worry—too much—that Sterling would decide to bite off a few fingers, the stallion’s warm velvety lips brushed against his palm and the first cookie was gone.

  “He’ll want the other one now. One was probably enough, but he saw that you had two, so you’d better give it to him. And pretty quick.” A giggle trilled through her words.

  Gavin slapped the other treat into his palm and watched as the horse wasted no time gobbling it down. Then he lowered his head near Gavin’s arm, nudging him.

  “Now you’re friends,” Haley announced while Gavin took the opportunity to rub his hand down the stallion’s muscled neck and marvel at this incredible creation of God.

  “He’s amazing,” he said.

 
; “Yes, he is.” She checked her watch. “I think we should start gathering the animals so we won’t be late.”

  “Yeah, the kids get off the bus in thirty minutes.”

  “That’s the good thing about taking rabbits today,” she said. “They’re easy to catch. Grab the gray carrier and follow me. We should get two of them, so each group will have an animal.”

  She had eight rabbits of varying combinations of gray, white, brown and black in a wood-and-wire hutch spanning nearly the entire length of the barn. Within minutes, they’d easily caught two and had them ready to go in the gray travel kennel settled in the back of her pickup.

  “Why rabbits?” He watched the furry balls roll all over each other in the carrier. “I mean, the rest of these come to mind when I think about farm animals. But rabbits?” He shrugged. “Not so much.”

  “I like rabbits. They’re easy to care for. They’re cute and, more than that, I couldn’t say no to the guy that needed someone to take care of them when he moved away from Claremont.” She smiled. “That’s the way I got all these animals, except Sterling. You’d be surprised how many show up at your door when you’re a vet.”

  “They’re all strays? You rescued all of them?”

  “Depends on how you look at it.” She closed the tailgate and walked to the driver’s side. “I’d say they rescued me. They’re my family here, you know.”

  Once again, Gavin found himself impressed.

  And finding it somewhat sad that this was her family now. Then again, he’d lost his own family and now had his own version of an adopted family, with the counselors and kids at Willow’s Haven. He and Haley had what they needed now with regard to family, even if it wasn’t in the traditional sense.

  “One more animal to go. But he stays at the house, so we’ll swing by and pick him up.”

  “Do I need to get another carrier?”

  “Nah, he’ll ride up front with us.” She drove the short distance to the house and then hopped out of the truck. In a flash, she’d jumped the front porch steps and headed inside. He admired her energy, especially now that he knew that, after working all day at the clinic, she returned home to quite a substantial brood to care for. And enjoyed every minute of it.

  While Buddy snoozed in Gavin’s lap, he kept an eye on the door to see what animal would join them in the cab. He didn’t have to wait long to find out. Haley quickly returned with a beagle puppy in her arms.

  The dog looked up at her adoringly as she carried him and received an equally affectionate gaze from his owner.

  “Need me to hold him?” Gavin asked as she climbed in.

  “Oh, no. Bagel has to have his head in my lap or he gets car sick.”

  “Bagel? You named your beagle...Bagel?”

  She shrugged. “I thought it was funny.”

  “Oh, it is,” he said, watching the brown-and-white puppy cross the seat and sniff at Buddy, sleeping in Gavin’s lap.

  Buddy raised his head, took a much less invasive sniff of Bagel and then went back to sleep. Bagel then turned toward his owner, laid across the center of the seat and plopped his head in her lap.

  “That’s the way he rides in the truck?”

  She bobbed her head. “It only took two trips before I figured that out.”

  “Only,” Gavin quipped, deadpan, as he tried not to laugh but failed.

  * * *

  They drove toward Willow’s Haven in silence, the autumn breeze drifting through the cab while the dogs in their laps nestled in and slept. For the majority of the short drive, Haley kept her attention on the road ahead and didn’t chance a look at her passenger.

  But as she turned onto the driveway leading to Willow’s Haven, she glanced his way. Sitting there with that strong, masculine profile, breeze blowing against those brown waves, muscles visible despite the loose denim shirt.

  And on top of that, a puppy in his lap.

  She sure hoped no one at the Cut and Curl got a glimpse of them riding in the truck. They’d naturally assume there was more to this than friendship.

  And there wasn’t.

  There couldn’t be. She’d been disappointed enough when every guy she’d dated merely wanted friendship. And then royally disappointed in her father. The type of man she’d thought she was looking for in a husband, but who’d turned out to be the type of man who would trade thirty-eight years of marriage for a female merely two years older than his daughter.

  Bagel lifted his head and barked. A bark from the pooch during a drive usually meant his stomach wasn’t sitting easy.

  “Hang in there.” She rubbed his back as the cabins came into view, the Willow’s Haven bus easing to a standstill on the opposite side.

  “We aren’t late,” Gavin said, “but we better get ready for those kids quick. They’ll get off the bus and make a beeline for us, I’m sure.”

  “Okay. Let me walk Bagel and make sure he’s feeling all right. Then he and I will head to one of the cabins. I’m assuming you’ll want to take Buddy to yours for Eli?”

  “Definitely.”

  “Miss Haley! You brought Buddy!” Eli jumped from the last bus step and ran full blast across the area centering the cabins, his pack slapping against his back with every step. By the time he reached her, he was breathing hard and studying the beagle on the end of the blue leash currently sniffing a pile of leaves. “That’s not Buddy. Is Buddy okay? I thought you were bringing him today. You said you would.” His hazel eyes were filled with worry for the puppy he loved.

  “Buddy is fine,” she assured him. “This is Bagel. My dog. He’s going to visit one of the other cabins while Buddy visits yours. Mr. Gavin has Buddy for you.” She pointed to the other side of the truck, where Gavin had climbed out and put Buddy down to sniff around before they headed to his cabin.

  “Hey, Bagel.” Eli petted him quickly before abandoning them in lieu of the puppy he really wanted to see. “Buddy! Hey! Remember me?”

  “Of course, he remembers you,” Gavin said. “How could he forget the boy that saved him?”

  Eli picked up the puppy and Buddy promptly licked his nose. “You’re right, Mr. Gavin. He does remember me! Can I take him to see Ryan? Can I?”

  “Sure,” Gavin said, “but we’ll want all the boys to get a chance to hold him, okay? And you still need to be careful with him.”

  “But he is better, isn’t he?” Worry crept into his tone. “He’s better, right, Miss Haley?”

  “Yes, he’s better. But he’s not completely up to full speed yet, so take extra care when you and your friends hold him. Sound good?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Eli said, walking away with Buddy nuzzled in his arms.

  “Since you’ll have Eli at your cabin, I’ll take Bagel to one of the others, and then we can get a couple of counselors to take a rabbit to each of the final two groups.”

  “We divided them so that there are two groups of boys and two groups of girls. I thought we could let each of the boy groups have a puppy and each of the girls a rabbit, then next time, we’ll swap that up.”

  He had moved close enough that Bagel leaned toward him to get a better sniff of the man. Haley didn’t blame the puppy; she also liked that spicy, outdoorsy scent.

  Not that she noticed, that much.

  “I think it would be good, for Eli, if we both were together in his group. You know, in case anything happened with Buddy. He has been sick and all, so it would be good to have you nearby, too. And we have plenty of other counselors to take Bagel and the rabbits to the remaining groups.”

  Mark Laverty, another counselor and a guy Haley knew from when he’d brought his dog to the clinic, had started walking toward them and heard Gavin’s comments. “That’s a great idea. Jennifer and I will take the other boys’ cabin, and I’ll get Titus, Isabella, Brodie and Savvy to take the girls’ cabins.” He looked at the rabbit carrier, grinned. “T
hey’re going to love those bunnies.”

  “I think so, too,” Gavin agreed.

  “Which means I get this little fellow?” Mark reached for Bagel.

  Bagel moved from Haley’s arms to Mark’s, yipping happily at the guy whose hands must have seemed pretty inviting. He’d already started licking Mark’s knuckles. “His name is Bagel,” she said.

  Mark laughed. “Of course it is.” Then he winked at Gavin. “You two have your group covered, right?”

  “We do,” Gavin said then looked to Haley. “Ready?”

  She suddenly realized that this was it. She was starting her first venture on her own as a vet and supporting children who’d been through a rough time. An almost giddy feeling swept over her and she smiled at the man joining her for the effort. “Very ready.”

  Chapter Nine

  “Why is his nose wet?” Ryan, Eli’s best friend in the cabin, asked Haley.

  She’d been answering questions from the boys for almost thirty minutes, each boy asking one when it was his turn to hold Buddy.

  “Yeah, why is his nose wet?” Eli asked. Even though it was his friend’s turn to hold the puppy, he leaned against Ryan and ran his left hand down Buddy’s back.

  Haley’s attention was drawn to that hand and how well he used it despite his joined fingers and gnarled flesh. She was also drawn to the way that neither Ryan nor any of the other boys seemed to notice.

  Her heart tugged in her chest. “His nose is wet because dogs need that dampness on their noses to help them smell better. They can use it to absorb a particular scent.”

  Ryan held Buddy to his neck and the puppy rubbed the wet nose against him. “That’s cool,” he said. Then, with Gavin’s assistance, he gently passed Buddy to the next little boy so he could hold the puppy and ask his question.

  “And what’s your name?” Haley asked the boy.

  “I’m Ben.” He had spiked light brown hair, dark-rimmed glasses surrounding blue eyes and a smattering of freckles dusting both cheeks. He bit his lower lip when Gavin started to ease away. “Can you help me hold him, Mr. Gavin? I’m—I don’t want to hurt him.”