and he’s behaving like a stalker.”
“What’s with the people in this place? First Amber, now Ted.”
“I think you must be like a shiny new toy that they’re going to try to outdo each other to get your attention.”
“Well, so far, it’s flopped,” she said.
He rubbed his hands on his jeans, looking out to the water. Unsure if the night was salvageable, she’d try to serve the pie. Pie sometimes was the panacea to all ills.
“I have that pie,” she said, grinning.
“I don’t care for any,” he said.
“Is the evening ruined because I opened my mouth?”
“Can you give me a minute?” he asked. “I’m pissed! He’s the other vet in town. If he’s canoodling with Kelly, why does he need to bother my girlfriend? Unless he’s just trying to piss me off.”
“I never thought of that. Of course, by pissing you off, it will ruin our evening. What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know yet. Sit and stew. I can leave if you want. You made this nice meal for me, and now I’m in a state.”
“Justin, you know you’re free to go anytime. Or you can stay, and I’ll call Kelly with my one thousand and one questions. You can go online if you want to try to find me a used trailer to use as a rescue.”
Grinning at him, she knew how much Justin loved to search for things to buy online. It was almost an obsession.
“Honey, I’ll help you clean up, and then I think I’ll go. I need to go work out. Maybe if I lift a few thousand pounds, I won’t want to wring his neck as badly as I do right now.”
She reached over for his plate.
“You’re okay if I leave, aren’t you? I mean, you did suggest it.”
“I’m okay. I’m sorry we won’t be in bed together tonight, but I totally get it.”
“Oh crap, you had to mention the bed,” he said, snickering.
“We can both take cold showers,” she said, turning to take the plates to the kitchen.
Justin left after they walked Brulee, and then she locked everything up and sat on the porch, with the rest of the wine and the horses as company, and called Kelly.
***
Earlier that afternoon, Amber had arrived at the vet clinic shortly after one. Kelly and Maggie had left, and Ted and his assistant, Gerald, were cleaning up after the rough delivery of twin lambs. “I only know two things about sheep,” the farmer had said. “They’re either well or they’re dead. This lady has been in labor for a full day, so I’m not taking any chances.”
After delivery, the sheep was fine with her twin lambs, and the farmer was going to take them home the next day. The baaing of sheep added a new twist to the barn, along with horses and donkeys, alpacas and llamas. And with the cages of cats in the trailer, their mewing as well.
“Gosh, this is just like a vet clinic,” Amber said, deadpan, and Ted laughed out loud. “It’s a vet clinic all right. By the way, if you know of anyone looking for a cat…”
“Oh yeah, I’ve got a ton of friends just crazy for another friggin’ cat.”
Appointments came and filled the reception area, and Ted and Amber went from room to room while Gerald saw patients on the other side of the clinic. Amber wasn’t exactly Ted’s usual type. She was tall and buxom and intimidating. The inseam of her jeans had to be forty inches long, and when she was standing in cowboy boots with her hip thrown to the side, he could imagine her naked with those long legs wrapped around his waist. He counted backwards from ten if she stood too close, and wondered how he’d survive the day at the rate they were going. As soon as he could, he handed the rest of the patients over to Gerald, got in the truck, and drove like a maniac to Bayou Cottage.
He wasn’t aware that Maggie didn’t have a car, so when he arrived and the gate was shut and no car was in sight, a flood of depression washed over him. Then he saw the dock. He got out of his truck and hopped the fence. The cottage was an old place, bordering on ramshackle, with a state-of-the-art satellite dish on the roof and a brand-new screened-in porch, the red tones of the wood contrasting with the gray weathered cottage. He looked out to the water and saw the dock and a rope