Finally a Bride Page 5

  She walked to the lobby and found the brooding grizzly looking as appealing as yesterday in a bright blue pullover, jeans and hiking boots. And while she’d thought she may have imagined how muscular he’d seemed before, now she easily verified she hadn’t missed the mark.

  He was as fit as she’d thought.

  And as handsome.

  And as dark and broody.

  Savvy had said he’d been through a lot in his past. Even though Haley had no idea what, she’d give him the benefit of the doubt and attempt to be cordial. She managed a smile. “Hello, Mr. Thomason. I was just checking on Buddy in the back.”

  His brow furrowed. “Is he not doing well?”

  And there was the doubt in her abilities once more.

  Haley swallowed past the urge to snarl. “He’s a little better than yesterday. Still not great, but he’s only getting started absorbing liquids.”

  He took a deep breath and let it out. “Okay, good.”

  Haley waited a beat and, feeling awkward at the tension caused by his mere presence, asked, “Was there something else you needed?”

  “Brodie and Savvy wanted me to meet with you about the new program.”

  “Oh, right. She told me you would be my contact for Willow’s Haven. I’d hoped we could get everything organized today and start the program this week.”

  His eyes widened slightly, brow furrowed again. “Right. Well, anyway, I made a list of kids in each cabin and divided them into groups that should be manageable when you bring the animals to the home and when they travel to the Cutter farm.” He pulled several folded pieces of paper from his back pocket.

  A loud meow echoed down the hallway and she turned toward the sound. “Oh, that’s my phone.”

  “Your phone?”

  “I have animal ringtones. It probably isn’t important, but you never know. Do you mind if I take the call?”

  Both eyebrows lifted, blue eyes studying her as though she was the most bizarre female on the planet simply because she had animal ringtones. But he nodded. “Go ahead.”

  She held up a finger. “I’ll be right back.” She darted toward Doc Sheridan’s old office, where she kept her personal belongings, the meowing growing louder with every ring.

  Most of her clients dialed the landline unless they had an emergency after hours, so she assumed this was probably either her mother checking in or her grandfather just wanting to chat. If so, she’d let them know she had someone in the office and that she’d call them back.

  But when she looked at the Caller ID on the display, she saw Landon Cutter’s name.

  “Hey, Landon, Roscoe will be ready to pick up anytime you like,” she said upon answering.

  “Haley, it’s Georgiana. Landon dialed your number and then handed me the phone while he’s with Brownie in the barn. I’m sorry to bother you but...we’re...having a difficult time.”

  Georgiana was Landon’s wife. Though she was quite capable of doing pretty much anything, she was blind, which explained his dialing the number and handing her the phone.

  “What’s going on with Brownie?” Abi’s favorite horse was due to foal in two weeks.

  Georgiana’s voice quivered as she spoke. “She’s dropping her foal now, Haley. It’s too early, so Landon’s worried. I am, too. Thankfully, Abi is at school, so she doesn’t know what’s happening. Can you get here? Soon?”

  A swift kick of adrenaline swept through Haley’s veins while she pivoted and grabbed the emergency farm call bag. “I’m on my way.”

  “Do you think the foal will be okay this time, Haley? I mean, it coming this early—that isn’t good, is it?”

  “Mares can successfully foal outside of the typical gestation range,” Haley said, reciting what she knew to be true even if not always likely. She’d been with Doc Sheridan last year when Brownie had lost her first foal, and she’d seen Abi’s tears.

  As well as Landon’s and Georgiana’s.

  She sure didn’t want to experience them going through that again.

  Georgiana sniffed through the line. “Okay, then, maybe everything will be okay. I’ll start praying.”

  The urge to say she’d pray, as well, pushed at Haley’s lips, but she swallowed past it. “I’ll be there soon.”

  Bag in hand, she started for the door...and nearly ran smack-dab into the intimidating male currently claiming dominion in her lobby.

  * * *

  Gavin hadn’t meant to eavesdrop, but the vet’s voice had echoed down the hall. It appeared there was a problem with someone’s pet.

  He hoped the animal was okay, but he also didn’t mind that the problem might cause them to postpone this meeting. Maybe the next time he came to meet with the doctor, her assistant would be around and he wouldn’t find himself alone—again—with Haley Calhoun.

  She reentered the lobby wide-eyed and looking frazzled, a large black satchel draped over one shoulder. At some point during her phone call, her ponytail had started falling, leaving her hair semicontained, blond wisps tumbling past her delicate cheekbones. “Oh!” she gasped, as though she’d forgotten leaving him here while she’d chased after a meowing cell phone.

  “Everything okay?” He suspected that whatever had her darting out would most definitely keep him from having to meet with her today.

  Worked for Gavin.

  “Oh, yes—” She shook her head. “No. No, everything isn’t okay, or it might not be. I need to go.” She started toward the door then paused to face him. “But I don’t want to wait any longer to get the program started at Willow’s Haven. Come with me. We can talk on the way.”

  “Come—with you?” He’d only met the lady yesterday, had been forced to work with her today, and now...she wanted him to head to who-knew-where with her.

  “Yes, please.” She didn’t wait for his answer, just opened the door for him to exit.

  He followed her outside.

  She slammed the door behind them and continued toward her truck, leaving a distinctive scent of apples and cinnamon in her wake.

  Gavin remained rock solid on the front porch as she hurried to her pickup. Casting a glance over her shoulder, she crossed the front of the truck then swished her hair from her face with her fingertips. “Never mind. I have to go. We can meet tomorrow,” she called across the windshield. Then she opened the driver’s-side door and started climbing in.

  Without taking the time to second-guess his actions, Gavin sprinted toward the passenger’s side of the truck and got in. “So, where are we going?”

  She grabbed the keys from the cup holder, fumbling with them before dropping them near his feet on the passenger floorboard.

  They reached down at the same time, feminine hands with long fingers connecting with his forearm instead of the keys, already captured between his thumb and forefinger. He glanced at her, found her way too close for comfort, and caught another tantalizing whiff of apples and cinnamon.

  “Sorry,” she said, near enough that he felt her breath against his lips.

  He moved the keys to her hand and released his hold on the key ring, waiting for her to move away. “No problem.”

  Ignoring the odd interaction, she straightened in her seat and pushed the key into the ignition. “We’re going to the Cutter farm.”

  He’d heard a lot about the place but hadn’t been there. “Where we’ll be taking the kids to hike and to ride horses?”

  “Yes.” The engine whirred to life. “And where one of those horses lost her very first colt last year and is now dropping her foal too early. We’re going to try and make sure it’s okay.”

  Gavin’s mind reeled, the awkward feeling of being close enough to kiss Haley Calhoun swiftly replaced by an even more unpleasant scenario. “Dropping her foal,” he said, pretty sure that meant...

  “Having her baby.”

  His stomach pitched as he hone
d in on the key word in her proclamation.

  “We’re going to make sure the baby is okay?”

  The truck lurched as she stomped on the gas. “I meant I’m going to make sure. I’m just used to having someone with me. Last year, I rode with Doc Sheridan when Brownie dropped her foal. This year, you’re going with me.”

  “The difference being you are a vet and I’m not,” he pointed out, grabbing the door handle as she accelerated.

  She glanced his way as the truck jerked onto the main road and Gavin saw the slight hint of a smile curl the corners of those pink-glossed lips. “Don’t worry. I don’t expect you to help deliver the foal. I just asked you to come along because I don’t want to wait any longer to start the program for Eli and the other kids at Willow’s Haven, and we can discuss it on the way to the farm.”

  “Where you’re planning to deliver a horse.”

  “Well, Brownie has already gotten started with the delivery. I’m going because she’s early and Landon and Georgiana obviously think something isn’t right.”

  Gavin examined her hands flexing against the steering wheel. Was that why she looked so jittery? Because she was afraid something wasn’t right? Surely, assisting an animal giving birth fell into her job description. But she didn’t act as though this was anything usual.

  Gavin thought he knew why. “You said she lost her baby last year?”

  The smile evaporated as quickly as it came. “Yeah, and that would’ve been her first. Landon and Georgiana’s eleven-year-old daughter, Abi, was devastated. I don’t want her—or her parents—to go through that again. And I sure don’t want to lose this baby my first week as Claremont’s only vet.”

  “How early is the baby?” He worked to put the pieces into place, preferably before they arrived at the farm, which should happen soon at this speed.

  She blew out a breath, sending more blond wisps tumbling against her face. He tried to ignore the way it made him notice her jawline and slender neck.

  “Two weeks.” She pressed harder on the gas.

  Gavin wondered how two weeks early affected a horse giving birth, but from the way Haley continued to sling him sideways on every curve and the manner in which she chewed nervously on her bottom lip...it wasn’t good.

  Memories of his own mad dash toward an impending birth slammed him with as much force as Haley’s frantic driving.

  But were much more painful.

  Selah’s tears slipping down her cheeks as he’d driven madly to get her to the hospital.

  Everything will be okay, she’d said. Lots of babies come early and are just fine. He could almost see her sucking in a deep breath as a massive contraction hit and then squinting through the pain. Right?

  Gavin closed his eyes, fought the pull of his tears, itching for release, and swallowed past the urge to vomit, the torment of that day wreaking havoc not only on his body but on his soul.

  Because he suddenly remembered how very much he’d despised God at that moment.

  “I hate to think how this will hit Abi if I can’t save that baby,” Haley said.

  Gavin recalled the doctors working to keep his wife alive. And then their son. He’d distinctly heard a young nurse’s voice, her panic barely controlled as she yelled, “We’re losing her!”

  Gavin had been there, listening. Praying. He’d always planned to be in the delivery room, to see his baby born and then...everything went wrong.

  Instead of accompanying her into the delivery room the way they’d planned, a flurry of doctors and nurses filled the area, arms pushing him toward the hall, telling him he would have to wait outside.

  The door closing.

  Gavin still listening. And praying.

  Then, when the doctor confirmed that Selah was gone...

  Screaming.

  At God.

  “I just don’t know what Abi will do if this baby dies, too,” Haley continued.

  It’d taken him a long time to determine that God hadn’t been the enemy that day and that He had never left Gavin. In fact, He had seen Gavin through the dark time that followed and helped him to find his way to Willow’s Haven. And now, when a little girl could lose a baby that she very much wanted, Gavin knew Who to turn to. “I’ll pray.”

  Haley shot him a quick glance, eyebrows dipping. Then she inhaled, exhaled and said resignedly, “Thanks.”

  By the time Gavin silently said, “Amen,” they were turning onto a dirt road beneath a wooden sign with Cutter Ranch and Fish Camp etched in its center. She slowed the truck to navigate the bumpy road, but her breathing increased to the point that he thought she might hyperventilate.

  “Gavin?” she asked as they passed colorful cabins beside a lake that he assumed formed the Fish Camp portion of the farm.

  He noticed she no longer looked at him but kept her vision straight ahead as she spoke. “Yeah?”

  “I totally forgot to have you read over your lists of Willow’s Haven kids to me while we were driving.”

  “With the way you were driving, I’m not sure I’d have been able to read them anyway,” he said, attempting to lighten the tension within the truck. He was certain she had no idea how much this trip, this situation, affected him, too, and he sure didn’t plan to tell her. “We can go over the lists later.”

  Her mouth lifted in a smile and she glanced at him, green eyes sparkling. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

  The truck jutted to the left when she hit a rock, and she turned her attention to the large red barn centering two log cabins in front of them.

  The smile disintegrated. “Gavin?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Did you? Pray?” Her mouth wobbled after the last word.

  “I did.”

  She nodded, as though she’d expected nothing less. “Thank you. I...think I might need it.”

  He opened his mouth, almost told her that everything was going to be okay, but then remembered those very words coming from so many people while he’d awaited news of Selah and their baby.

  None of them had been true.

  So he prayed again, that everything would be okay, and that they were about to experience something wonderful...rather than something horrific.

  If anyone knew a birth could go either way, it was Gavin.

  Chapter Five

  Haley’s palms clenched the steering wheel, her heart beating so fiercely she could feel her pulse in her ears. Her every fear of failing as a vet pierced her spirit with a vengeance. What if this baby didn’t make it?

  She saw Georgiana, elbows braced on jeans-clad knees, hands tunneling through her long, auburn hair as she sat on an old wooden bench at this end of the barn. Haley parked her pickup next to Landon’s and gathered her courage. “I can do this.” She hardly noticed she’d made the statement aloud until Gavin answered.

  “Yes, you can. It’s what you were trained to do, isn’t it?” His jaw tensed as he peered toward the barn, as if he knew all the potential scenarios—potential problems—she could encounter. “They’re counting on you to do your job.”

  She took a deep breath, turned off the ignition and grabbed her bag. “Right.” Then she climbed out and headed toward the barn without waiting for him to exit. She had no idea how involved he’d want to be in this house call, and she probably shouldn’t have suggested he ride along, but she’d been so eager to discuss the program.

  And then so absorbed in the task at hand that they hadn’t even mentioned it.

  Even so, she heard his truck door shut behind her as she hurried toward Georgiana. She wondered if he’d end up having to witness her falling apart if this didn’t go well. She should have suggested he follow her in his vehicle.

  She reached the barn and all worries about Gavin Thomason were forgotten. Scents of the barn, fresh hay, sweet feed and horses, filled the air.

  But something else filled the a
ir, as well, and Haley recognized it instantly...

  Fear.

  Had they already lost the foal?

  Georgiana stood, her face tense and eyes red-rimmed. “Haley?”

  “Yes, it’s me, and Gavin Thomason from Willow’s Haven,” she answered quickly. “How’s Brownie?”

  Georgiana tilted her head at the opposite side of the barn. “Landon is in the birthing stall with her. He just yelled that it’s getting near the twenty-minute mark and that the foal needs to be repositioned. Something’s not right. I think he was going to try to do it himself if you didn’t get here in time. I’m—so glad you’re here.”

  “Okay.” Haley did her best to keep her voice calm and assured. She turned to Gavin. “You stay here with Georgiana, and I’ll call for you if I need you.”

  His face lost a little of its color, but he moved toward Georgiana. “Okay.”

  Haley hurried to the birthing stall. I can do this, I can do this, she silently repeated. Taking one last glance at Gavin, now seated beside Georgiana on the bench, she added, I’m...really glad he came.

  She wasn’t sure whether she felt that way because she didn’t want to be there alone or because she knew he’d prayed for the outcome when she simply couldn’t talk that way to God anymore. In any case, she truly was glad that Gavin Thomason was there.

  And she hoped when she saw him again, she’d be sharing news of a precious new foal.

  * * *

  Gavin watched her disappear into the largest stall at the opposite end of the barn. He heard Landon speaking rapidly, bringing her up to speed on what had happened since Georgiana had called the clinic.

  His mind flashed to the rapid voices of the doctors and nurses trying to save his wife and child.

  Then he heard Haley, her tone calm and comforting as she apparently took over with whatever they were doing in the stall. She sounded confident, capable...ready.

  Gavin said another prayer.

  A loud snort, followed by a miserable moan from the troubled horse, suddenly took precedence over all other sounds.