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Annalise rumbled down the road toward the Grazinski farm. She had just finished the morning at Living River Ranch and would spend the afternoon helping Katherine, who had just taken in her first couple of horses for boarding. While some around these parts still required horses to work the land, most just used them for recreational purposes. Those animals would get the best care and boarding from Katherine’s center, and Annalise was privileged to have been hired there. They would do therapy, immunizations, and complicated surgeries on animals. It was an exciting opportunity, on the heels of her graduating veterinary school.
She had initially sought to find a home and a practice somewhere closer to Lansing or even one in her hometown of Milwaukee. All those thoughts had died the moment she stepped on Living River Ranch earlier this year and discovered her long-lost sister, Stormi. A mail-order DNA kit had confirmed what they had suspected, and spending time developing a bond while working together and socializing were critical for both of them. It was undoubtedly God’s intervention when both Living River Ranch and the Grazinski Therapy Center had part-time jobs to offer at the same time. She could do what she loved, and finally, have some family roots to hold on to into the future. This was the best of both worlds in her view.
Annalise pulled into the drive, and her eyes alighted on Katherine and Troy standing in the yard, unloading a horse from a trailer. The two of them were inseparable these days, and even Katherine’s dad Casimir had come a long way in accepting them as a couple. She waved and got down out of the cab of the old truck she drove.
“Morning,” she said, coming up to the group noticing Maxwell Higgins’ hanging back just to give Katherine a little room.
Casimir was by Maxwell’s legs in a wheelchair that was outfitted to make it across the rough terrain.
“Mr. Grazinski, I’m digging the new wheels,” she teased, with a huge smile.
“I’m just grateful to be out of the hospital, and appreciate everyone’s helping out around here,” he smiled, with a welcoming grin.
“Hey,” she said, greeting the tall, quiet man next to Casimir. There was something about Maxwell’s reserved, steady nature that spoke to her in a way she couldn’t remember being drawn to a man before. He was about fourteen years her senior, though, and didn’t seem interested in her in any manner other than passing by her on the farm. That was too bad, but not her main focus today.
“Hi, Annalise,” Maxwell said, glancing away quickly and turning his attention on the horse that was giving Katherine a run for her money. It was jittery after the trip, and kept rearing up on hind legs.
Annalise stood at attention to see where she might lend support. She backed up to stand next to Casimir and caught Maxwell out of the corner of her eye. Something was off today; he had big puffy bags under his eyes, which told her he wasn’t sleeping. The corners of his mouth were pulled tight, indicating an elevated level of stress. She leaned over to him, “Are you alright?” She whispered.
Maxwell glanced at her with a surprise showing in his eyes, “Yeah, just having a tough day,” he said with a shrug.
“Want to talk about it?” She asked, moving around Casimir to stand next to him. “I’m a great listener.”
He just stared down at her for a long moment, “Maybe we could get a cup of coffee at the café later. I really could use a female opinion on a problem I’m having.”
“I have nothing going on this evening, so how about 8 p.m. That should be after milking and chores, right?”
“Yeah, that works. Hey, I appreciate it.”
Annalise nodded and hoped the happiness she was feeling inside didn’t show. She did not need to make a complete fool out of herself over a man that had no interest. Though the coffee invite told her that maybe there was a smidge of promise there, that was enough.
“Hey, Annalise,” Katherine shouted, “come take a look at this front foot. I think this is infected, but I can’t tell the source.”
Annalise surged forward as Troy rubbed the animal, and Katherine held the bit. She traveled her hand down the leg, gently trying to familiarize herself to the horse and not spook it. As she made it down further, the swelling was significant, and she realized that all the orneriness from the poor suffering animal was because of what looked to be an exasperated injury.
“Can we get him into the stall? He has something wrong here, the swelling is severe, so I need to get him into position to work with this more closely.”
“We got this,” Troy said, determinedly.
Maxwell surged forward to lend a hand, and Annalise felt her heart constrict. The poor horse was in distress, but she could help. This was what she had trained so hard for, and all these people had the same goal in mind. She focused entirely on the task at hand, to ensure the best outcome for the sweet animal and all the humans trying to help. She kicked into a place that was all about this shared mission and kept everything else at bay for the moment.
