The City Girl's Homecoming Page 5

  Doc J smiled as he gave the dog an injection. “Absolutely.”

  The dog’s whimper turned into a low growl and he bared his teeth at the doctor.

  “Didn’t like that, huh, boy?” Doc J chuckled, unfazed. Tall and distinguished with a touch of gray at the temples, he was kindhearted and wouldn’t be bothered by the dog’s aggression. No doubt in his years of practice he’d seen it all.

  “I know that hurt, but it’s over now and you’re all better,” Megan said softly. She rubbed Linus’s head and he licked her in return. Laughing, Megan handed the dog off to a volunteer, who attached a leash to the dog’s collar and then led him outside.

  “Four down, four to go,” Doc J said as he washed his hands in the stainless steel sink, something he’d done after each examination. He grabbed a fresh pair of latex gloves from a silver container and slipped them on.

  “We finished the cats, so that’s technically twelve down.”

  Doc J laughed. “Trust a lawyer to get all technical on me. I was talking about the dogs.”

  “I know.”

  “So how are things going with the Whitaker sisters’ case?”

  Megan smiled ruefully. “I know you’re their good friend, Doc, but I can’t discuss the case with you. Client confidentiality.”

  “No, I don’t suppose you can.” He lifted Joy-Boy onto the table. The black toy poodle couldn’t have weighed more than nine pounds, but by the way he terrorized the other dogs, one would think he was a Great Dane. “But I have to tell you I’m worried about them. They’re sweet women and I need you to do your best to protect them.”

  Rumor around town had it that Doc J was involved with one of the sisters, although there wasn’t consensus on which sister held his interest. Megan had seen him with Birdie and Bunny and she hadn’t noticed a difference in his behavior with either of them. He treated each woman with the utmost kindness and affection, so if he was in love with one of them, it was a mystery to Megan which one it was.

  “Rest assured that I’m doing everything in my power to protect them.”

  “That’s good enough for me.”

  As they worked, Doc J told her more about Spring Forest. He described his favorite places to eat and the best garage to have maintenance work done on her car. When he’d finished examining and vaccinating the last dog, he snapped off the final pair of latex gloves and tossed them into the trash can, then looked at her. “You’re doing a good thing, Megan. Not many people would take on someone else’s problem and make themselves responsible for solving it.”

  “I don’t look at finding homes for Mrs. Crockett’s pets as a problem. I consider it an opportunity to do a favor for a friend. Kind of like doing free exams on homeless animals.” Megan lowered Sunny, a two-year-old yellow Lab, to the floor. She let the dog run around for a minute before fastening the leash to the dog’s collar and handing it to the waiting teenage volunteer.

  Doc. J smiled. “Touché. Take care.”

  “You too.” Megan left the exam room so Doc J could examine his next patient. She needed to let Cade know she was ready, so she went in search of a quiet corner. The shelter was filled with people looking for pets to join their families, so she ended up standing outside in the parking lot. She pulled out her phone and held her hand over the screen. Her stomach tumbled at the thought of seeing Cade again. She didn’t understand her continued attraction to the man. Sure, he was good-looking, but as a practice she wasn’t interested in people who had a hard time being nice to her. And Cade Battle definitely fit into that category. But since she needed his help transporting the animals to his farm, she called him.

  He answered on the first ring, and she wondered briefly if he’d been waiting for her call.

  “It’s Megan. Doc J finished examining the animals, so we’re ready for you to come get us at your convenience.”

  “I’m actually in the area so I should be there in about fifteen minutes.”

  “Great.”

  After Megan ended the call, she gathered the animals and, with the help of four smiling preteen volunteers, took them to where she’d left their crates. They began putting the cats into the pet carriers. The dogs were more interested in sniffing the ground, so Megan let the girls walk them around the lot. It would probably be easier to load them after their crates were on Cade’s truck anyway.

  It occurred to Megan that she had a problem. She’d ridden over with one of the volunteers.

  She didn’t have her car with her, which meant she was going to have to ride to the farm with Cade, and she would have to ask him to bring her home later. Either that, or he was going to have to drive her into town now so she could get her car and follow him to the farm. One way or another he was going to be inconvenienced. One more strike against her.

  Cade pulled up and she called to the young volunteers to bring the dogs over so they could put them into their cages. He nodded to a couple of people as he made his way over to her. His eyes flickered over her and he raised his eyebrows in apparent surprise. She had to have read that wrong. There was no way he was surprised to see her.

  As they loaded the animals into his truck, she explained about her car.

  He slammed the tailgate and looked at her. “Ride out to the farm with me now and I’ll drop you off at home later.”

  “Okay.” She walked around the truck to climb into the passenger seat. Before she could open her door, he was there, holding it for her. “Wow. Thanks.”

  He nodded but didn’t speak. Apparently his courtesy didn’t extend to conversation. Still, it felt good to have someone hold the door for her. As Mrs. Crockett would say, chivalry was a lost art. I’ll tell her about it when I get home. That thought was followed by a swift, painful dose of reality. Mrs. Crockett was gone. Megan had spent the past week helping her friend sort through a lifetime of memories as she selected which belongings she could pack up and take with her. Mrs. Crockett had shed more than one tear over items that she had to leave behind. She’d pressed her etched glass dessert bowls into Megan’s hands, insisting that she take them. She’d said that Megan was the closest thing she had to a daughter, and if she took them, the bowls would still be in the family.

  Last night they’d shared one final dinner of Mrs. Crockett’s favorites. After dessert they’d sat in Mrs. Crockett’s backyard and watched the animals play. They’d talked well into the night as Mrs. Crockett reminisced about her time in the house that had been her home for many years.

  Mrs. Crockett had left this morning. Megan had fought back tears as she’d hugged her friend one last time before Mrs. Crockett’s grandniece helped the older woman into her car. Grace had thanked Megan for caring for her great-aunt and promised to keep in touch. Megan had allowed the tears to fall as she watched them drive away, standing on the curb minutes after the car was out of sight. Although Megan knew Mrs. Crockett was going to a place where she would be well cared for, and that Grace was happy to have her great-aunt near, it had still hurt to watch Mrs. Crockett leave. At least Megan had gotten to say goodbye this time.

  Megan had expected Cade to try to make at least a bit of small talk as they rode to the farm, but he didn’t. Quiet usually didn’t bother her—she lived alone and had for years—but there was something about being in Cade’s presence and not talking that was unnerving.

  She sneaked a peek at him from the corner of her eye. Dressed in a shirt that fit his muscular body so well it might have been tailored for him, and faded jeans that caressed his well-developed thighs, he made her mouth water. If he wore cologne, it was subtle, because she couldn’t smell it. Instead, with each breath she inhaled a whiff of clean male. It was quite nice.

  She turned to stare out the window. With each passing mile the scenery became more rural. Eventually she began to see fewer houses, and cows and horses began to dot the landscape. When she’d decided to leave New York, she’d harbored a few worries about moving to such a
small town and suffering from culture shock. She’d comforted herself with the knowledge that although Spring Forest was a small town, it was close to Raleigh. If she started to get itchy and in need of a museum or concert, she’d make the short drive to the city. Surprisingly enough, she felt comfortable in Spring Forest and hadn’t felt the need to escape yet. It turned out that there was plenty of entertainment in town.

  Even more surprising was how at home she’d felt on Cade’s farm the other day. Not at home in the sense she hadn’t felt since her family’s deaths, but at rest. Being on the Battle Lands Farm hadn’t felt as strange as it should have. Given the amount of time she was about to spend there, she didn’t analyze the feeling, but rather accepted it as an unexpected bonus.

  If she was going to spend time on Cade’s farm, they were going to bump into each other. She couldn’t imagine not at least speaking on those occasions. She might as well break the ice now. “So how’s Wilbur?”

  He turned and glanced at her for the first time. His brown eyes were filled with confusion. “Who? If you’re asking about my dad, his name is Reginald. And he’s fine.”

  “I remember your dad’s name and I’m glad to hear that he’s well. I was talking about the pig. You were wrestling a pig the first time we met, and I wondered how he was doing. I thought the name Wilbur would suit him, like the pig from the children’s book Charlotte’s Web.”

  Cade shook his head, but she noticed the corners of his lips turned up in a smile. That was progress. “The pig’s name is Little Piggy. And he was quite delicious.”

  “You ate Bunny’s pig?” Megan screeched, outraged. The Whitaker sisters ran an animal sanctuary. Surely they hadn’t intended for their pig to become someone’s ham sandwich. They’d wanted the pig to live out its life in joy, rolling around in mud and eating slop or whatever it was pigs did for fun.

  Cade laughed. “Of course not. Little Piggy is alive and well on our farm. We’re an organic farm and I wouldn’t dream of eating food that wasn’t.”

  That was a relief. She’d hate to think he would mislead the sisters. “Do you mind telling me about your farm?”

  Cade flashed her a rare grin, and unexpected warmth filled her chest. His smile was lethal, so maybe it was good that he didn’t smile at her often. “Of course. Battle Lands Farm has been in our family for four generations. My great-grandfather started out with one hundred or so acres. He left it to my grandfather who added to it when he could. By the time he passed it on to my father, it was nearly two hundred acres. Now we have almost a thousand acres.”

  “Wow. That’s big.”

  “For North Carolina, maybe. But not as big as farms in other states. And definitely not as big as my brother Chase and I want it to be.”

  Megan nodded. So he had a brother. This was the first she’d heard of him. That was the bad part about moving someplace new—especially a close-knit community. She didn’t know all of the players and how they fit together. Growing up in foster care and being the new kid on more occasions than she’d liked, she’d learned to get the lay of the land before making any moves or asking many questions. The curiosity that her parents and older brother had encouraged and seen as a virtue had become a curse that was often accompanied by painful consequences.

  “A few years ago we decided to become a strictly organic farm. Now we produce organic beef and organic free-range chickens and eggs. We also grow organic fruits and vegetables.”

  “Impressive,” Megan said.

  Cade glanced at her before returning his gaze to the road. She had the feeling he’d been trying to gauge her sincerity. She couldn’t imagine why he’d doubt her. Finally he nodded. “Thanks.”

  They were nearing Battle Lands Farm and he signaled, then turned into the driveway. As if sensing they were nearing their new temporary home, a couple of the dogs barked. As expected, the others joined in until they were all barking.

  “Sorry,” Megan said over the noise.

  “For what? You didn’t set them off.”

  “True.”

  “Then don’t apologize for something that’s not your fault. Okay?”

  She nodded.

  The house and barns were about a mile from the road. Megan looked out the window, once more impressed by how absolutely beautiful the land was. She’d noticed it the other day, but she’d been too nervous to appreciate the view. Unlike the back of the property, which she imagined was used either for farming or raising animals, the front was simply an enormous lawn. The dark green grass was neatly mown, and enormous leafy trees provided shade. A few rabbits nibbled the grass as squirrels raced around. A glider was situated beneath a large tree and it swung gently in the breeze. Megan imagined many pleasant afternoons and evenings had been spent sitting in that secluded space.

  Cade continued driving until they reached the back of the house. He stopped the truck and turned to look at her. “I’ve cleaned a barn for them. You know better than I which animals get along, so I’ll let you choose where each of them will sleep. I imagine you’ll put the dogs in one side and the cats in the other.”

  Megan shook her head. “That’s what I would have thought before I met Mrs. Crockett’s animals. Not all of the dogs or all of the cats get along with each other so we need to watch for that. And the cats and dogs don’t mingle more than they have to. Except for Samson and Delilah. He’s a cat and she’s a dog. They love each other and sleep together. I don’t think they’d appreciate being separated.”

  Cade shrugged. “This is your show, so do whatever you think is best.”

  “Okay. Thanks.”

  Cade let down the tailgate, and they opened the crates to let the animals out. The cats hopped from the truck, then walked around for a bit. When they found a sunny spot on the grass that they liked, they lay down. Once the dogs were on the ground, they stretched their legs and began to sniff around, getting the lay of the land. After a while, they began to chase each other around the yard.

  “Oh no,” Megan said as they got farther away and showed no sign of coming back.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “The dogs are getting too far away.”

  “No problem.” Cade let out a long whistle. The dogs froze and looked around. Then they came racing back. A couple of the dogs jumped on Cade and he rubbed them. Amazing. He wasn’t only a pig wrestler. He was also a dog whisperer. “My dad and I put some cattle panels around the corral fence, so now it’s basically a big dog run. They’ll be safe there and have plenty of place to run around.”

  Megan smiled. “You thought of everything.”

  “I tried. To be honest, I’m not as sure about what to do with the cats.”

  “I’ve spent a lot of time with them. They don’t do much moving around. As long as there is a sunny spot, they’ll be fine. And of course food and a litter box.”

  “I’ve already bought that stuff. It’s in the barn.”

  They let the dogs run around for fifteen more minutes before herding them into barn. The dogs knocked into Megan’s and Cade’s legs in their haste to check out their new surroundings. Cade had purchased stainless steel watering bowls in varying sizes. He showed Megan where the faucet was and then waited while she filled them. Since he’d been adamant that she’d be the one caring for the animals, Megan was surprised when Cade took the filled bowls and placed them against the front wall where all of the animals could easily access them.

  A few minutes later the cats meandered into the barn. They strutted around before going to their water bowls and taking a few sips.

  Next came the food. When she’d told Cade the brand Mrs. Crockett purchased for her pets, he’d shaken his head. It was an okay brand, he’d told her, but not the best, so she was surprised to see he’d bought the same kind. Maybe after he’d seen how much the food cost, he’d decided it was good enough after all. She tore open the bag and began to scoop it into a bowl.

 
“Wait.”

  She paused and turned around. Cade was holding another bag of dog food. She’d seen it at the store and knew that it was very expensive. “Why?”

  “I’m switching their food to a different brand. It’s not a good idea to just swap it out immediately though. We have to mix the new and the old together. Over the next week we’ll gradually decrease the old food until we’re feeding them the new brand exclusively.”

  He showed her how much of each to put in and then stepped back while she filled the bowls. Once that was done, they gave each animal their bowls and stood back while they ate. The dogs gobbled theirs down while the cats nibbled more delicately. Finally dinner was over.

  Megan walked down the center aisle beside Cade as he showed her the various empty stalls. They were a lot bigger than she’d expected them to be. “We have way more stalls than you need, so you can put them in whichever way you choose. They’re all clean.”

  “They’ve lived together for so long I don’t think they’ll be happy sleeping alone. They might get lonely. It would be best to use five stalls. We can separate the dogs and put them into two stalls and do the same with the cats.”

  “That’s only four.”

  “Samson and Delilah will get the fifth.”

  “Okay. Again, you’re in charge. I’m just the innkeeper.”

  They went to the truck and got out the animal beds. When Megan had said goodbye to Mrs. Crockett this morning, Megan had taken all of the blankets the animals slept on with the intention of laundering them. One look had her tossing them into the trash. They’d been so tattered she’d known they wouldn’t survive the washing machine’s spin cycle. So Megan had gone to the pet supply store and purchased new beds. They’d cost a lot more than she’d expected, but knowing the dogs and cats would be sleeping in comfort made it worth it.

  Now she placed the beds in the stalls and was pleased as the dogs and cats walked on their beds before lying down.