Saved (Minnesota Caribou #5) - Colleen Charles Page 0,23
She like cross-bred it and all that. Guess she’s putting that degree from the U of M to good work here. I can’t wait to get it processed and bottled up so we can test it. You might even want to try it yourself. Heard on the TV you’re recovering from a groin injury.”
I ignore the awkward little crotch thrust he does as he inhales the plants.
“Nice work, Gwen,” I say. “I think you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to Chief.”
With a little ache of nostalgia, I remember the day my brother earned his nickname. He’d gotten a fire chief outfit for his birthday and he tried to rescue the neighbor’s cat wearing it. One broken femur later, Morris was still in the tree, but my brother had a moniker for life.
She gives a flick of her wrist. “Actually, this is the most perfect job for me. Healing is my passion. And when I think of how many people with arthritis and autoimmune diseases and chronic pain I can help… it makes my heart so big I feel like it might burst. And don’t even get me started on the dogs and cats. Did you know that thunderstorms are one of the most traumatic experiences for animals? Horses sometimes run themselves to death during thunderstorms and fireworks.”
With a single breath, I realize that whenever Gwen’s present, I always leave this place knowing more than when I came in. She truly is a brilliant woman. I eye my idiot brother and wonder why he doesn’t even seem to want to tap that and leave Grumpsville in his rearview. But he doesn’t. They work well together, and it’s not going to ever be more than that.
Which then makes me wonder why I think that my friendship with Cora is ever going to be more. If I’m being honest with myself, I just feel something there, suspended in an emotional fog whenever Cora and I are breathing the same air. And until that goes away, my longing for her can’t disappear either.
And I’m stuck.
I keep watching a movie of my life behind my eyelids and I’m the star.
But I don’t have a director.
I lift my last bite of brownie but don’t bring it to my lips. “Wow, I didn’t know that stuff about the horses. I guess the dog thing I did because Max has a Thundershirt for Meatball. Poor girl doesn’t like the big thunderboomers. It’s a good thing you two are doing for people and critters.”
When I finally chew and swallow it all, the edible hits my bloodstream and I don’t even feel like getting into it with my brother for once. A damn good day this has been. Calm Blanche. Cute Cora. Enchanted Gwen. Silent Brian. It’s like all the stars have aligned.
But I came here for a reason, and I hope I’m not about to pop the balloon of bliss surrounding me. Chief always wanted to be a lawyer, and he’s the best there is when it comes to logical advice. Max is the best when you want your advice to come with a side of comic relief. But I always ask Chief when my nuts are in a vise.
Or in a phone in this case.
Hell, I’m practically the porn star of the entire Sprint network.
Can you hear me now?
When I reach the counter, Chief sets down the blend and blinks. “What’s up, buttercup. You only come here when something’s bothering you. Worried about how to invest all your millions?”
I ignore the slightly bitter tone of his voice. Even though Chief loves running the farm and creating CBD and probably even helping people, he always wanted to go to law school. And I think he’s a little miffed that I reached my goal to play in the NHL without a hiccup. And I can certainly understand it, so I let it ride.
“Nope. Nothing like that. You know Blanche, Cora’s nana?”
His mouth twists into a pretzel. “Best apple pie in the North. There isn’t a person in Duluth who could forget Blanche. Haven’t seen her since the funeral, though. Everything okay with her?”
My stomach bottoms out. “That’s just it. I saw her at the library earlier today…”
“What the hell were you doing at the library? I didn’t think you even went to the library when you were in college.”
I snort a chuckle. “Contrary to popular belief, I still had to work to graduate. I went to the damn library.”