“And he’s got animal pet oxygen kits on his mind,” Misty added.
Trey chuckled, squeezing Misty’s shoulder. Christmas was shaping up to be quite the doozy. But if they could find a way to save kittens and other animals, nothing could be finer.
Chapter 14
Misty stepped out of the clinic with Trey right behind her. She looked in the direction of the house fire, but no longer saw smoke spiraling into the sky. That’d been close. If not for the quick work of volunteer firefighters like Hedy, Morning Glory, and others, the blaze would have spread and left behind a swath of charred land like the Christmas tree farm. She shuddered. She never wanted to see that kind of devastation again.
Now she could only hope the kitten would heal and live a good, long life. She already felt a strong connection to the kitty, even if the little one belonged to somebody else. She glanced at Trey, who was dirty, sweaty, and smelling of smoke. He was her hero. He’d saved the kitten with his quick thinking and AR knowledge. He didn’t avoid difficult situations. He charged right into the middle of them. And came out a winner.
In contrast, she’d been avoiding painful memories and situations for much of her life. She did fine in her professional life, but she hung back in her personal life. That’d all changed the moment she’d met Trey. Suddenly she was fighting fires, rescuing kittens, driving a pickup, and smooching with a cowboy. She didn’t know if she was empowered, inspired, or simply exhilarated, but all of it brought a smile to her lips. She’d had no idea life could be so breathtakingly remarkable. She chuckled at the idea of bringing Cindi Lou up to speed.
She took a deep breath to check her lungs. She felt fine. Maybe she was okay because she was away from the fire, but she’d been fairly good there, too. She’d had a little trouble breathing, but not much. Could confronting her fears actually help overcome them? She didn’t know, but she had a feeling she was going to find out in Wildcat Bluff.
Trey clasped her hand and threaded their fingers together as they walked to his truck. She felt the rightness of being with him as so natural that she found it hard to believe she’d known him such a short time. And yet, she also felt as if she’d known him forever.
Trey opened the door to his truck and looked down at her, concern in his hazel eyes. “Please don’t get your hopes up.”
“I know.” She realized he didn’t want her to be hurt. “But I won’t get them down either.”
“It’s just that I’ve seen this kind of injury before, folks and animals. Smoke inhalation is dangerous.”
“If right’s right, that kitten will live.” She rubbed a smudge of soot off Trey’s lean cheek, feeling as if it were the most natural thing in the world to touch him, but quickly stayed her hand. What was she thinking? She hardly knew him. She stepped up on the running board, picked up the towel lying there, and sat down in the passenger seat.
He put a hand on the door frame and leaned down toward her. “I wish right was always right, but you never know for sure.”
“Please, let’s just hope for the best.” She felt tears sting her eyes, realizing the kitten’s plight was causing too many old feelings to resurface.
He put a finger under her chin and lifted her face toward him. “Sorry. I just don’t want you to be disappointed.”
“Thanks.” She blinked back tears. She didn’t want him to see her weak again, not when he was so strong. And normally, she was strong, too. But here—in this time and place—she felt as if she were coming undone, and the situation simply wasn’t acceptable. She had a job to do, one that was vitally important to the welfare of others. She took a deep breath and shoved down her thoughts and emotions.
He closed the door, walked around the front of the truck, opened the back door, and tossed his parka on the floorboard. He sat down beside her and grabbed the towel from her hands. “Sorry I’m so dirty. I was mending fence and came straight to the fire.” He hurriedly used the towel to wipe over his face and hair, then down his neck and arms. He grinned as he glanced at her. “Best I can do till I get a shower.”
“Nobody’s going to hold it against you if you get dirty working and saving kittens.”
“Good to hear.”
“One thing is for sure. Towels come in handy around Wildcat Bluff.”
He threw back his head and laughed a belly-deep chortle. “I guess that’s an understatement, isn’t it?”
“You might say that.”
He laughed harder, then stopped and looked at her. “I needed a laugh, but I guess you knew. Pretty rough, wasn’t it?”
“You saved the kitten. That’s all that matters.”
He nodded, just sitting there looking at her as if he could drink her down like the finest wine, or beer, all day long every single day of the year.
Heady stuff. If she started down that path with him, she didn’t know if she could ever return. “Guess you need to get back to the fire. I could use a lift to Old Town so I can get my SUV.”