I booped her nose. “Can’t think of anything more important.”
A door slammed, and I turned to see a figure walking toward us. His dark brown hair had just the slightest hint of salt and pepper at the temples. His sunglasses kept me from seeing his eyes, but he smiled warmly. “Aspen?”
“Hi, Dr. Miller.”
“Please, call me Damien.” He extended a hand for me to shake, his grip firm but not too tight.
I nodded as I swallowed. There was nothing but kindness in his expression, but his mere presence put me on edge. I couldn’t help the way my mind worked: plotting exit strategies and looking for physical spots of weakness.
I forced my mouth to curve, but I knew it probably looked strained. “Thank you for coming all this way.”
“It’s the least I can do. It’s incredibly kind of you to take in an injured deer.”
“Kind hearts are the best hearts,” Cady chimed in.
Damien tipped up his sunglasses, resting them on his head, then smiled at her. “I’ve found that to be very true.”
Now that I could take in the vet’s entire face, I saw he was remarkably handsome. A little too polished for my taste, but I’d bet he had all sorts of frequent flyers at his office, just hoping for a date.
“Are you going to help Dory?” Cady asked.
Damien glanced at me. “The doe?”
I nodded. “We have a habit of naming every creature we come across here.”
He grinned. “I bet you’re constantly needing new inspiration.”
“We find them in books and movies lotsa times,” Cady volunteered.
“I like it,” Damien told her. “Do you think you can show me where Dory is?”
Cady beamed, puffing out her chest. “Totally. I helped Mr. Grizz take care of her last night. I can help you, too.”
Damien’s brow furrowed in confusion. “Mr. Grizz?”
“The Fish and Wildlife officer who helped us,” I explained as we walked to the barn.
Damien chuckled. “Does he know she calls him that?”
My cheeks pinked. “Thankfully, no.”
“It is fitting,” Damien mumbled as he stepped inside. He took in our full house. The animals were restless, wanting to stretch their legs after being cooped up for so long. “You’ve got quite the menagerie.”
“They all just kind of found their way to us,” I explained.
“They have a way of doing that.” He glanced at me. “Do you have any help caring for them at all?”
“We manage.”
Damien’s lips thinned. “I’d be happy to make house calls at no charge, and we can get you medicine at cost, possibly even donated.”
My brows flew up. “You don’t have to do that.”
“It’s the least I can do. I like to contribute my time whenever possible.”
I wanted to argue, and hated the feeling of a handout, but it wasn’t for me. It was for the animals. “Thank you.”
“Here’s Dory,” Cady called.
Damien moved down the aisle to check on the deer.
“I gave her deer feed and water this morning, but she’s only had that one dose of antibiotics,” I told him.
The doe was shaky on her feet, her eyes jerking about.
Damien set his bag on the tack box and pulled out a few things. “I’m hoping I can avoid sedating her again. If her wounds aren’t too bad, we’ll continue treating her with oral antibiotics. If everything heals, we should be able to release her in a week or two.”
Cady leaned against the stall. “Will she find her friends again? She was all alone.”
My throat tightened. I hated the idea of the beautiful doe out there all by herself.
Damien pulled out some sort of treat and shoved a pill into it. “Deer tend to stay on the same migratory patterns. I bet they’ll find her pretty quickly.”
A little of the pressure in my neck eased. “How often do I give her the meds?”
“Twice a day. Try to minimize contact as much as possible unless you want a permanent member of the family.”
“We could keep her, Mama. We’ve got room,” Cady said, eyes lighting with hope.
I shook my head. “We need to try to get her back to her family. They’ll be missing her.”
Cady sighed. “Okay.”
Damien slipped into the stall, and the deer backed into the corner. He didn’t rush her, but he watched her panic closely. He crouched low, extending his hand with the treat and humming softly.
The doe sniffed the air but didn’t approach.
Damien simply stayed still. My heart hammered as we waited. She took her time. One step, then another until she could stretch her neck and nab the treat. She gobbled it down as Damien studied her sides.
Slowly, he rose and backed out of the stall. “I think the wounds will heal on their own. But she needs a full course of antibiotics to make sure we knock out the infection. I’ll come back in a few days to check on her.”
I wiped my damp palms on my snow pants. “Thank you so much.”
“Of course. Call me immediately if she stops eating or drinking, or if the wounds look worse.”
I nodded. I knew the drill.
As we headed out of the barn, I saw the sun had dipped lower in the sky.
Damien shot me a smile as he climbed into his SUV. “You’ve got my number. Call if you run into issues with any of your critters.”
Something about that smile told me he might be interested in me calling him for any reason. He’d be disappointed there. I didn’t have time to date. Wasn’t about to welcome someone I didn’t know well into Cady’s and my lives.
I tried to convey polite gratitude with my return grin. “Appreciate it.”
He waved and backed out of the drive. I waited until he was completely out of sight—a habit I couldn’t seem to break. I was so used to identifying every vehicle that lingered and not breathing fully until my property was free of unknowns.
Cady tugged on my hand, bringing me back to the moment. “Are we still gonna go have Hartley dinner?”
I surveyed the drive and the road. Now that the plows had been through and I’d cleared the drive, my station wagon would probably do fine. I bit the inside of my cheek. I hoped so, anyway.
“Please, Mama? I wanna go so bad.”
Charlie’s grandma, Kerry Hartley, had been inviting us to their family dinner for months now. Since Wren and Maddie were engaged to two Hartley brothers, Holt and Nash, they all seemed to think I should join the crew, as well. I’d resisted, fearing the questions that might come my way if we ventured into that territory.
I looked down at Cady, seeing so much hope in those green eyes. She deserved this. A real family dinner. What Autumn and I never had growing up.
“Okay,” I relented.
Cady leapt into the air. “Yes, yes, yeeeeesss!” She did a boogie dance toward the house. “We gots to get ready.”
I laughed but nodded, my stomach twisting at the thought of what I should wear to a family get-together. I decided on jeans and a sweater that made the green in my eyes pop just a bit more. Cady opted for her glitter boots and a sweater with a glitter pig on the front.
Her hands went to her hips. “Mama, you need sparkles.”
I laughed. “Well then, fix me up.”