Fourteen

“Unfortunately, I’ve had a change of plans.” Brady glanced at her, then focused again on his driving. They sped in his truck along a two-lane highway north of town, a new route for Gina. “I hope you don’t mind.”

“Since I didn’t know what the original plans were, I guess I don’t mind.” She watched him drive, his right wrist slung over the steering wheel, his left elbow propped on the open window. He wore a yellow cap today, with some other sort of “Seed” proclaimed on it. White T-shirt, blue jeans, and work boots completed the ensemble.

“We might get to the original plans yet today. My brother just called on the cell phone while I was driving over. He needs some help. It shouldn’t take long. Maybe you’d like to see the family farm? You did ask if we could watch the corn grow.”

“My dad’s idea of a joke. Sure. Whatever it takes to keep me out of the mall.”

“More shopping?” His tone was incredulous.

“It’s what you do three weeks before a wedding. Today is Aunt Marsha’s turn. She had bought a blue dress, but my mother said that just won’t work. Rule number one for the mother-in-law is to wear neutral tones and keep her mouth shut.”

He laughed. “Good advice for a lot of people.”

“You know, you wouldn’t last three minutes on a Los Angeles freeway driving like that.” “

Like what?”

Gina scrunched down in the seat and mimicked the positioning of his arms.

He winked. “Wouldn’t catch me driving on a Los Angeles freeway in a million years.”

“You sound rather closed-minded on that subject.”

“Just not interested in the place.”

“Have you ever been to California?”

“I was in Los Angeles once.”

“Once isn’t even a blip on the screen. L.A. alone is so multifaceted, you couldn’t begin to form an intelligent opinion based on one visit.”

“Would you want to live in Valley Oaks?”

“Not in a mil—” She stopped. “It’s just not my kind of place.”

“Hmm. And how often have you visited?”

“I don’t know. When I was growing up, every other year or so.”

“For three days at a time.”

“Well…”

“Hardly counts. Guess we’re evenly closed-minded.” He lifted his forefinger off of the steering wheel as a car sped by in the opposite direction.

“Guess so. What did you just do with your finger? Looks like some sort of secret code.”

He grinned and turned onto a blacktop drive. “Just a wave.”

“A wave.” Gina eyed the long drive bordered on the left by a cornfield. To the right was a big field of thick green grass enclosed on four sides by a white split-rail fence. In the distance stood a large, white house. The whole scene belonged on a postcard. “This is beautiful. Did you grow up here?”

“Yes. My great-grandparents built the original house around 1910. Rooms have been added through the years.”

The two-story white house with black shutters resembled a square colonial. Attached to both sides of the square were wings, one of which appeared to be a screened porch. Evergreens, smaller trees, and bushes dotted the long front yard. White barns and other smaller buildings to the right of it were separated by a large blacktop area. It was nothing like the few farmhouses she knew. It was almost elegant. Maybe all that talk of the Olafssons being wealthy hadn’t been an exaggeration. Recalling the humble home her mother grew up in with four siblings, she thought it no wonder the family looked down their noses at the Lindstroms.

“Do you have neighbors?”

“Sure. Down the road a piece.” He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. “In the next area code.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. No neighboring homes were in sight, but she had heard this one. It was a Brady joke. “I don’t believe it.”

“Suit yourself.” Just beyond the house he parked outside a barn. “I can show you the house later, if you’d like.” They climbed out of the truck. “Do you mind helping if we need it? Ryan is the only one around at the moment, and he gets pretty queasy with this sort of thing.”

“What sort of thing?”

The sharp neighs of a horse drowned his answer. She followed him into the barn and immediately saw what sort of thing this was. A wild-eyed chestnut reared in its stall. A chain was draped over her nose, cutting into the skin.

“Ryan! Let up!” Brady shouted above the animal’s cries as he went toward her, pulling on gloves. “You’re making it worse.”

Gina barely took note of the smaller version of Brady standing nearby, lead rope in hand. While the brothers argued, she stared at the horse, fighting down the nausea that quickly spread from the pit of her stomach. What ripped through her was the unbearable pain and terror so evident in the animal’s eyes and unnaturally pitched cries. Like a blow to the head, they wrenched aside all sense of equilibrium.

It was Delilah all over again.

“Gina!” Brady yelled. “Grab a coat from the hook over there and cover up your clothes. The Banamine’s up in that cupboard. I’ll hold her steady while you—”

She ran blindly out of the barn, away from the pain and terror.

It was Delilah all over again.

A corner of her mind knew she was hysterical, knew she raced without direction, but that corner was a powerless observer. Sobbing, she stumbled past buildings and fences, across blacktop, gravel, dirt, then onto grassy, uneven ground.

Her throat ached and her lungs burned. She sank onto long, soft grass, her chest heaving as she gulped for each breath.

She had no sense of time, but only of a consuming grief. She crossed her arms over her head and buried her face against her bent knees.

The crying wouldn’t stop. The grief intensified.

“Oh, God! I can’t bear this.”

She hadn’t cried like this…ever. Not when her pets died. Not when her best friend moved. Not when Steve told her he couldn’t respect, let alone love, a nonteam player. Not when Steve publicly questioned her veterinary expertise. Not when the body cast sapped her strength like a desert noonday sun. Not when she lost her job. Not when friends stopped returning her calls. Not yesterday when she learned Delilah had died.

Was she making up for all those times? Why now? Why here with a bunch of strangers?

The answer came. It was because a horse begged for help, and in that instant she knew she’d never again help another animal.

“Oh, dear God, help me!”

“Gina.” Brady’s voice seemed to come from a great distance.

A moment later his strong arms enveloped her.

She jerked away, elbowing him in the ribs. “I’m fine.” Her tears had slowed, but she still sat in the grass, knees curled up, head buried in arms, lost in anguished thoughts.

“I beg to disagree, Dr. Philips.”

“I am fine.” She enunciated each word, her voice low, and peered up at him through swollen eyes. He was sitting beside her. “I will be fine.”

He pulled a handkerchief from his back pocket and dabbed at her cheek. “Gina,” he whispered, “just let it go.”

The will to not let it go was gone. She began to cry softly. This time when his arms came around her, she didn’t struggle.

He stroked her hair, nudging her to lean against his chest.

In the stillness she became aware of his heart’s rhythmic beating against her ear. Its measured cadence seeped a calm into her chaotic mind. There was the clean scent of laundry detergent on his T-shirt soft beneath her cheek. The hand near her face that smoothed her hair smelled of justscrubbed, soapy freshness. Nestled in his arms, she relaxed against him and wiped tears from her face. He handed her the hankie.

Her shaky breaths subsided. She felt like a silly child—

“Gina?”

No, not a child. She felt like a grown woman being comforted by a very physical male with a gentle, whispery voice that sent a tickle along her spine whenever she heard it. He was a mere stranger whose heart had the audacity to care that she was hurting.

“Know how you can tell if you’re in the Midwest?”

A Brady joke. She shook her head.

“When you find a weeping woman in a waterway.”

She smiled. “Nice alliteration.” Her voice was thick and scratchy from crying. “What’s a waterway?”

“What we’re sitting in. It’s a path through the cornfield, a channel for water to flow into. The seat of your khakis are probably grass stained. Though I imagine that’s the least of your worries at the moment. You know, it might help to talk.”

There was an almost imperceptible tightening of his arms, just enough to crack open the door to her reluctance to talk about it. “How’s your horse? Is it colic?”

“Good diagnosis, Doctor. Ruby will be fine.” He chuckled. “And so will Ryan. I made him plunge the Banamine down her throat. It was good practice for him. He always avoids these situations.”

“I’m so sorry.” She sniffled.

“It’s okay.” He rested his chin on her head. “Tell me what happened.”

Glad that she couldn’t see his face, Gina began. “She terrified me. Some vet, huh? I’ll never ever be able to—” She choked.

“Shh. Never ever say ‘never ever.’ Nothing is a forever ‘never’ in this life. Why don’t you start at the beginning? You are a vet, right?”

“Was.”

“Hey, you don’t stop being one because something scared you. Was it Delilah?”

“Mm-hmm.” She listened to his heartbeat for a few moments, letting it flow through her like a healing balm on bruised emotions, sensing that it would somehow give her the ability to tell the story without falling apart again.

She took a deep breath. “She was one of the animals I cared for. I was an assistant and helped with the elephants and some of the other large animals. Rhinos and giraffes. Anyway,” she swallowed, “Delilah was being abused. In my opinion anyway. Her keeper was young and inexperienced. He used the ankus all the time.”

“What’s that?”

“A long stick with a hook on the end. And he chained her. I treated her for the wounds he inflicted on her, and they said it was just a necessary part of the training! Like I didn’t know the difference!”

“I take it you reported it?”

“Yes. To my boss. When that went nowhere, I talked to administrators and board members.”

“What was their response?”

“Two asked me to keep them informed. One day an animal rights group picketed outside the Park. I was blamed, but I hadn’t told anyone on the outside. I didn’t want bad publicity. Other employees began avoiding me like the plague. Steve, my…uh, boss, said I wasn’t acting like a team player and I’d better get my act together.

“Oh, Brady, I couldn’t stand by and not say anything! Delilah got worse. She was so sad. Her keeper didn’t even take care of her feet properly. Do you know about elephants’ feet?”

A chuckle rumbled through his chest against her ear. “No.”

“Well, they need regular pedicures because they’re confined in a zoo setting. Out in the wild they walk miles every day. Their pads and toenails just naturally wear away. Without that or the pedicures, they get infections. Lifethreatening infections. And this idiot, Jared—” She took a breath. “At least he was alert enough to suspect she had one. I went in to take care of her…” Gina’s mind went blank.

“And?” he prompted softly.

The nightmare rushed back. The two-and-a-half-ton elephant swayed…not in her usual manner…it was a nervous movement. She seemed to avoid eye contact with her, tilted her head oddly. Of course the infection would bother her.

Gina patted her thick hide, talked to her. Jared slipped through the tall, open doors. “Hey!” she had called. He was supposed to stay. He was the animal’s handler, the one who trained her how to lift her foot so they could inspect it.

The tall doors mechanically swished shut.

Delilah bowed her head and Gina knew…not soon enough to move. “She attacked me.”

Brady tightened his hold. “Dear God!” he whispered.

“Full body slam against a concrete wall.” Gina’s tone was flat. “She had been secured and couldn’t reach me, but I could hear her. I’d swear she was crying.”

“Where was the keeper?”

“Gone. It was almost as if…” She bit her lip. “As if it were planned.”

He caught his breath.

“Brady, I’ve never said that out loud. It was just a splitsecond feeling.”

“How long before someone found you?”

She lifted a shoulder. “I passed out.”

“How badly were you hurt?”

“Um, three months in a body cast. Most of the damage was to my hip and knee. That’s why I walk funny.” She felt wrapped in a cocoon, a small world where she could speak freely and feel safe. She closed her eyes. “The press got wind of it, and I talked. I knew it would cost me my job, but that seemed beside the point compared to lying around in a piece of itchy plaster not knowing if I’d ever walk again.” She sighed. “And wondering if Delilah was suffering.”

“Do you have a job?”

“No. I went back and lasted a week. They gave me assignments I couldn’t possibly keep up with even in good health. It was their way of creating a reason to fire me. My father hired an attorney. They want to file a lawsuit because it would help the animals get the attention they need, but then again it’d probably jeopardize my potential future with any zoo. Was this more than you asked for?”

He leaned back then so he could look her in the face. “Maybe a little.” He smiled. “But at least now I know why you didn’t want to help with my horse.”

She returned his smile. Her eyes felt almost swollen shut. Her throat ached from her earlier sobbing.

“Thank you for telling me.” He brushed a finger gently across her cheek. “Tear tracks. When did it happen?”

“About eight months ago. It has been the worst eight months of my life. I’m even living back home with my parents. I feel like such a loser.”

“Of course you do.” He grinned. “It’ll get better. Now for the important question. What do you want to do with the rest of your life’s journey?”

Fresh tears sprang to her eyes. “I thought I wanted to be a vet…until I saw your horse.”

His laughter sang out over the cornfields.

Gina didn’t mind because while he laughed, he drew her back into the circle of his arms.