There was a shyness about her—an uncertainty—that seemed inconsistent with how beautiful and, by all indications, intelligent she was. She made him think of a delicate bird, injured in some way. He’d never been able to ignore a wounded creature, but it wasn’t just that with Emma.
“Thanks again for taking such good care of him,” she said, interrupting his musings.
When she glanced down at the dog and his tail wagged again, Josh could just about see her unease dissipate.
“Is it okay if I come back to see him?” Her smile lit up her entire face.
Stunning, he thought. The dog could make her smile with a simple flick of his tail and he made her nervous. “Anytime you like.”
She studied the dog thoughtfully. “He needs a name. Even if you find his owner, we need to call him something for the time being.”
“What do you suggest?”
She narrowed her eyes. “How about Theodore? Theo for short.”
Looking down at his patient, Josh considered. “Meaning God’s gift? From the Greek, right?”
“I have no idea. It just came to me.”
“Okay. Theo it is... Emma, you know if we can find his owner, the best place for him is his home. I don’t want you getting too attached.”
She nodded, but he could see the mixed emotions play across her face. It was probably already too late for that caution.
Josh saw her out, and noted the efficiency and confidence of her stride as she walked away. That confidence seemed to be at odds with how ill-at-ease she was with him. Those contradictions made her that much more interesting.
Intrigued, he would look forward to seeing Emma again and hopefully would have the opportunity to do so on a more personal basis... Crystal be damned.
THE GARDENS AND forest were ablaze with color as summer neared its end. Emma had finished the brand proposal and accepted two more assignments from Pinnacle Communications. With each assignment she completed, she got more of her self-confidence back. She was working on a media strategy for an initial public offering for a toy company. This was the first time since she’d been let go that she could say she was enjoying her work. If at times she still lamented how her life had unraveled, turning her mind to her assignments encouraged her. Each day she spent several hours working in her office, with Max sprawled on the rug next to her desk, more often than not sound asleep.
Afternoons, weather permitting, she spent outside. The cooler temperatures meant that she and Max could comfortably take long walks along the forest trails. They both loved the exercise and being outdoors. They’d hike across fern-edged, moss-covered paths in the shade of the high canopy of decades-old growth. They’d follow the gurgling, crystal-clear stream to the river, and the river to where it spilled over the rocks into the lake.
The juncture of stream and lake was a perfect spot to rest. Cattails and tall, wild grasses danced gracefully with the light breeze.
Emma would sit on a log or a boulder, while Max waded in the water. Eventually, they’d wander along the shoreline back to the cottage. Every few days, she’d take out a small kayak and paddle around the lake, occasionally pulling up on the opposite bank.
If the weather was inhospitable, Emma would curl up in one of the comfortable chairs near the fireplace in the great room and read.
For the most part, the only people she felt comfortable interacting with were the veterinarian and his assistant, Sherri. Once in a while, Emma’s former assistant or one of her old colleagues would call, although as time passed, their contact became less frequent. She had to admit that it was mostly her doing, as they reminded her of the job she’d loved and lost.
Emma visited Theo regularly, but she avoided the clinic’s closing time. Josh might have had a small-town practice, but she learned that it was a busy, thriving one. If she visited during the day, Josh was more than likely seeing patients, and odds were she’d manage to avoid him. He stirred up strange feelings in her that she wasn’t comfortable with, and thinking about him caused insecurities of a different nature to emerge. Her relationship with Richard had apparently harmed more than her confidence in her professional capabilities. She didn’t feel self-assured about her personal appeal, either.
Thus, Sherri became Emma’s primary contact for Theo. But thinking of Theo invariably brought Josh to mind.
Emma stood in the kitchen and gazed out the window, trying not to think of him.
A sudden rustle of the brush at the edge of the forest helped her cause. A beautiful doe cautiously stepped into the clearing. Emma felt everything go soft inside her, as she watched the doe stop, its graceful legs slightly spread, and scent the air. Apparently satisfied that there was no immediate danger, she lowered her head, ears twitching, and began to graze.
Emma was enthralled. She placed her mug on the counter. Whether due to the muted sound or the motion that might have been visible through the glass, the doe’s head whipped up, and she was immediately on alert. Emma remained motionless, not wanting to scare her away. A few moments passed and the doe continued to feed, until she finally decided she’d had enough and leaped back into the forest, her bright white tail held high.
The short vignette left Emma with a sense of contentment—even joy—she couldn’t remember feeling for a while. Her spirits lifted, she felt eager to work on her current assignment and planned to keep at it until it was finished. Then she’d treat herself to a trip into town to visit Theo.
The work went better than she’d anticipated. Arriving at the veterinary clinic midafternoon, Emma walked into the empty waiting room. Sherri glanced up from behind the reception counter and grinned. “Hey! How’s it going?”
Josh’s assistant was compact in build, with short, spiky black hair, warm hazel eyes, a small, pert nose and a mouth that seemed to be turned upward in a perpetual smile. Sherri had a forthright, affable personality that Emma had felt drawn to right away.
Emma returned Sherri’s smile and greeting.
“Theo’s going to be happy to see you,” Sherri noted. “He’s definitely having a good day.”
“Sill no luck finding his owner?”
Sherri shook her head, and Emma felt her usual twinge of guilt for what she considered selfish relief each time Sherri told her no one had come forward to claim him.
“Just give me a minute to clear this stuff up,” Sherri said, lifting a stack of papers, “and I’ll take you back.”
“No problem. Quiet day today,” Emma observed.
“We had a couple of cancellations.”
“Is Josh having work done to his house?” Emma inquired as she leaned casually on the reception counter and watched Sherri sort the documents.
“Work? Oh, you mean the ladder and the pressure washer beside his garage?”
Emma nodded.
“No. Not exactly work.” The sparkle of humor that usually lit Sherri’s eyes was distinctly absent when she rose and moved to the file cabinet. “More of a cleanup.”
“A cleanup?”
“It’s to get rid of a little farewell present that was left for him.”
Emma arched an eyebrow. “Sorry, I don’t understand.”
Sherri shot a furtive glance at the closed examination room door. “Crazy ex-girlfriend. She wasn’t happy about the relationship being over between her and Josh, and she likes to show her displeasure. Did some damage here a while back. Broke some exterior light fixtures, trampled some plants. The pièce de résistance was spray-painting exactly