Bruce
took her small hand in his. “Abbey, I’m blessed for having met you. I love you,
Abbey and I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”
“Oh,
Bruce.” Abbey threw her arms around his neck. “I couldn’t
bare
the thought of leaving and losing you either. It was killing me.”
Bruce
pulled away from her and gazed into her eyes as he stroked her hair gently.
“You don’t have to worry about losing me. I’m never going to leave and I’m
going to keep you close by my side.”
Abbey’s
eyes closed slowly as his lips descended on hers in a kiss that melted her
insides. A beeping horn drew her back to reality. Angel waved as she drove by.
Abbey smiled and looked at the gift in her lap. “I have one small question.”
Bruce
tucked a few stray hairs behind her ear, sending shivers through her body. He
kissed her again. “What was it you wanted to ask?”
It
took a moment for Abbey to remember her question. “I was curious. Are you
trying to tell me you feel safer by my side when we’re driving?”
Bruce
broke out in heartwarming laughter and hugged her. “Something like that.”
Golden Glory thrashed in the straw on the dirt
floor, a shaft of sunlight illuminating the horse's perked ears and frightened
eyes. Katie pulled her
T-shirt
over
her nose to ward off the stench from the day's droppings, which wafted through
the too-warm-air of the dilapidated barn.
“What
do you want me to do?” Katie Morgan asked her veterinarian boss, Wade
McAlester. She stood behind him in the confined space of the horse’s stall as
he checked the position of the foal in its mother’s uterus.
“Kneel
down and speak softly to her. It doesn’t look like it’s going to be too much
longer.”
Straw
crunched beneath her feet as she went around to the horse’s head and knelt.
Carefully she pulled off her gloves and laid them aside, not wanting to startle
the horse that was already preoccupied with her own discomfort. Katie pulled at
the T-shirt that clung to her perspiration-drenched chest.
Somewhere
in the barn a pig squealed while Katie stroked Golden Glory’s soft blonde mane.
“Easy girl. It won’t be long now. Your baby will be here soon.
Shh
.”
“She
gonna
be okay, doc?” Fred
Eaker
leaned on the wood stall and frowned. This was his horse, Golden Glory’s, first
colt.
Wade's
friend didn’t want to lose his prize mare’s foal. “I’ll do everything I can.”
He’d
helped to deliver other animals around Fred’s ranch. It was no wonder the older
man had such confidence in him. Fred didn’t care what university Wade went
to, just that he could do the job.
Bringing
Katie along was a good thing. It was the only way she was going to get a chance
at becoming a veterinarian in this county. Several of the locals had an
aversion to students from the college coming around ‘helping’ them out with
their livestock. After a couple students tried mock bull fighting with Old Man
Jenkin’s
bull, quite a few of the locals turned their noses
up at the students in general because of their wild behavior.
Some
of the old timers were still funny about having women in this profession, too.
Not that he really understood why. Whatever the reason, Wade was determined to
help Katie succeed. The more he brought her on his rounds, the more the locals
became accustomed to her. It was only a matter of time until she gained their
trust. He was sure of it. She’d already worked her way into his heart.
Golden
Glory grunted and her eyes widened in distress. “It’s okay girl. I’ll help you.
Easy.”
Katie
stroked the horse’s mane softly offering words of reassurance as Wade reached
in to guide the foal. She didn’t have time to look at Fred who stood erect, anxious
in his helplessness or she would have seen his fist clenched while he waited in
frustrated anticipation. With all that was going on, Wade noticed. Whenever
Katie was near all of his senses went on alert, but he made sure to conceal his
feelings safely from her view as well as others.
“I
can’t…can’t get the other hoof.” Wade’s brow filled with perspiration and his
normally soft, brown locks clung to it. His tanned muscles flexed as he
strained to guide the colt out of its mother’s womb. “There. I’ve got you now.”
As
the foal slid out, Katie beamed, her eyes shining with admiration. When he had
finished caring for the horse and the foal, he stood and stretched. Katie flung
herself into Wade’s arms, nearly knocking him off balance.
“I
knew you could do it.” She planted a kiss on his cheek.
Wade
longed to embrace her in his arms. Instead he forced himself to keep his arms
at his sides while she clung to him. The flowery scent of perfume teased his
senses and offered a more refreshing smell than the straw and dust in the old
barn. He allowed her to hug him a couple moments longer than he should have.
“I’m a little too messy to be hugging. Not to mention we have company.”
“Oh.
I’m sorry.” Katie released him immediately. “You better go wash up.”
Wade
lowered his gaze, his attention drawn to her snug fitting T-shirt. She smiled
innocently and started to look down to see what was he was staring at on her
shirt when the sound of metal clanking and the muffled curse brought their
attention back to Fred.
Katie
smiled at Fred who only raised his eyebrow in reply.
“Sorry.
Things still seem to be a bit out of place since Martha died. How’s my horse?
Think she’ll be okay, doc?”
“I
don’t think you have anything to worry about,” Wade said over his shoulder as
he washed off with the hose. “She’s a little tired, but she’ll be fine.” He
then told Fred what to watch for and instructed him to call if anything out of
the ordinary happened.
Katie
observed Fred as he removed his Stetson and wiped his brow with his forearm
before replacing his hat. He reminded her of an old-timer out of one of the
ageless westerns she’d seen on TV, except he was in color. Her mood became
solemn when she thought of him having to go it alone without his wife by his
side.
“Take
it easy, Fred. Give us a call if you need anything.” Katie patted the foal that
was nuzzled close to its mother.
Fred
tipped his hat in farewell. Wade held the door of his truck open for Katie to
get in. A moment later, he climbed in beside her and they waved goodbye to Fred
as they drove away and headed back to Katie’s house.
Her
green eyes absorbed Wade’s features. Razor stubble lined his firm jaw. Not that
he smelled delightful at the moment, none-the-less, he was an attractive man.
Katie looked around the interior of his truck. If the saying,
cleanliness is
next to Godliness
was true then Wade walked with God. She'd never known
anyone to be so neat.
“What’s
on your mind? Thinking about your test?” Wade glanced at her.
“No.
Well, yes. That’s been on my mind too, but I was curious about something else.”
Wade
stole another peek at Katie while he drove. His heart clenched at the frown on
her face. What could trouble his beautiful twenty-two year old helper? When her
normal sparkling green eyes lit up, his heart would practically stop. Now, they
were a deep, intent green. “What’s bothering you, Katie?”
“Nothing’s
bothering me. I’m just curious. How come you haven’t gotten married yet?”
Wade
gulped. “What?”
“Marriage.
How come you’ve never tied the knot with anyone?” Katie stared at him in
curious fascination. "A man who’s thirty should be married by now."
Wade
thought about how to answer her. Why wasn’t he married? This still wasn’t the
right time to address that with her, but he would… one day. “When the time is
right, God will reveal the right woman to me.”
“So,
you’re waiting on God? Haven’t you tried helping Him a bit?”
Wade
chuckled. “Like how?”
“Like
maybe going out on a date.”
His
eyebrows raised as his heart skipped a beat and he gripped the steering wheel
tighter. “Well, of course I’ve thought about dating.”
“Really?”
she asked. “Then would you mind if I fixed you up with a friend?”
Wade
frowned. He didn't want to date her friends, he wanted to date her. But given
that she was interning at his vet clinic, it didn't seem appropriate to ask her
until she was no longer working for him.
“She’s
really nice and very pretty. Her name is Margaret Stephens. She goes to college
with me and she also plans on becoming a model.”
He
focused on the road. “I didn’t know they had modeling at your University. Isn’t
Missouri a bit far from the normal modeling strips?”
“Well,
a little,” she conceded. “She’s getting a degree. She mentioned something about
having a career to fall back on. That’s a good sign. It means she’s
responsible.”
“Are
you trying to sell her to me?”
Katie
sighed. He didn’t deserve to spend his life alone. If he wasn’t going to take
matters into his own hands, then she was going to help him. “It’s not that. I
thought most guys your age were married by now. I’d hate to see you grow old
and spend the rest of your life alone.”
“Thanks
for your vote of confidence. I think I can find my own dates.” He gritted his
teeth.
Katie
laid her hand gently on his arm. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. I’m
just concerned. You’re a wonderful man and a great friend. You deserve to be
happy.”
If
they hadn’t arrived at her place just then, he would have pursued the subject
further. Why couldn’t she see that he was happy? Only one thing could make him
happier and it wasn’t dating Trina, or whatever her name was. “I’m going to go
home and shower. I’ll be back to help you study in an hour.”
Katie
sighed. “All right.”
*
*
*
Less
than an hour later, Wade stood on Katie’s front porch, showered and refreshed.
He steadied the pizza box in one hand as he rang her doorbell with the other.
Katie
answered the door in a pair of gray sweats and a University of Missouri
T-shirt. Damp blonde strands of hair lightly soaked the shoulders of her shirt.
“I see you took a shower, too.”
“Yeah,
thought I’d get comfortable. What’s this? Mm. It smells delicious. You didn’t
have to bring dinner, but thanks.” Katie grinned, retrieved the box from his
outstretched hand and headed for the kitchen. “Ooh, sausage. My favorite. You
really shouldn’t have. You keep bringing me food every time you come over to
help me and I’m going to gain five pounds.”
“You
can afford it,” Wade replied, as he eyed her slim figure. It took an effort to
raise his eyes to her face as she turned and gave him an indignant look.
“I
can’t afford to gain weight and you can’t afford to keep spoiling me.”
He
chuckled. “You could always cook for me instead.”
Katie
blushed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think about your being hungry. But see, this goes
to show you, you could use a wife.”
He
didn’t dispute that, but he didn’t like where he thought this conversation
might be headed again. If only she had eyes for him. However, fear of pushing
her away kept him quiet. He had to be patient.
Lord,
help her to have eyes for me and if not…help me to learn how to deal with it.
“You
make a great lasagna. I think I could stomach your cooking again,” he teased.
Apparently it helped to distract her because she grabbed a dishtowel and flung
it at him.
“Humph.
Stomach my cooking? See if I cook for you again." Katie grabbed them both
a plate from the cabinet. "We’d better get busy. I can’t afford to fail
Anatomy.”
They
both filled their plates. Wade followed Katie into the living room, each taking
a seat on opposite ends of her faded blue and white plaid couch. Hand-made
crafts adorned beige walls. Behind them, hung a wooden plaque with two cows
cramped together on a swing. ‘Moo-
ve
Over’. He smiled
to himself. It never failed, every time he came close to the couch he couldn’t
help reading it. He thought of sitting closer to her. After all, he'd be taking
the cow's advice. But as usual, he resisted the temptation.
Across
the room hung a wooden shelf occupied with a ceramic cow he’d given her for
Christmas. Its leg and tail hung lazily over the side of the shelf. After Katie
inherited her grandmother’s home, she had decorated it with touches of country
charm. He didn’t mind all the craft sales she’d dragged him to, it had always
given him ideas of what she liked and what he could buy her to make her smile
and hug his neck. Warmth filled him as he thought of her in his arms.
He
felt comfortable here. It was more than the furnishings that made him feel at
home. It was her. She filled the empty space in his heart and the lonely hours
he would have spent doing nothing of great importance to kill time between work
and bed. She made his life almost complete. The only thing that could make it
better would be coming home to her, night after night.
It
wasn’t the fear of her laughing at him if he confessed his undying love. He
feared he’d lose her friendship. It had been at least a year ago that she told
him she couldn’t afford to entertain the thought of dating anyone. School was too
important to her and she had no intentions of becoming entangled with any man
and putting aside her goals for a family. A degree first, then there would be
time for a husband and a family. With that proclamation, he’d decided to wait.
Patiently if possible.
An
hour rapidly turned into two as they delved into Katie’s textbook and notes.
Yawning, she stretched in order to relieve her aching muscles before she
continued. “Let’s see, the
infraorbital
canal
is mounted on a septum that partly divides the cavity into something
or other.”
Wade’s
brows rose in amusement. “Divides the cavity into something or other? You mean,
like into a
rostral
maxillary sinus
laterally, and a
ventral
conchal
sinus
medially?”
Katie
laughed. “Yeah, that something. Why can’t it be something simple like the head
bones connected to the neck bone?”