“Thanks for letting me bring Houdini.” I tugged on his leash, pulling him away from the base of the huge potted plant. A few of the leaves sported bite-sized holes.
Henry blinked a few times before he looked down at the goat. “Of course. Lou Ellen said he’s going to be a therapy animal. I always knew you’d end up working in a field where you could help people.”
“It’s mainly animals. Lou Ellen’s been one of our best volunteers.” My heart was still galloping through my chest. It sounded like a thousand horse hooves as my pulse whooshed through my ears.
“She’s something, isn’t she? I’m so lucky she found me. She’s been a huge help with Graham, and…” His forehead creased like he’d just said something he didn’t mean to.
“Who’s Graham?” I voiced the question, but my mind had already started to put together the pieces. Lou Ellen talked about her nephew on a regular basis. When she did, she mentioned his son. A knot tightened in my stomach. Henry had a kid.
“Graham’s my son.” The excitement disappeared from his voice. “He’s five.”
“Oh. Um, congratulations.” Math had never been my favorite subject, but it was easy enough to figure that if Graham was five, he must have been born when Henry was only around twenty-two. I didn’t want to pry, but an uneasiness seeped into my chest. Where was Graham’s mom? Was she still in the picture? If she was, why did he need a date for the award ceremony? If she wasn’t, how long had she been gone? The questions stacked up faster than I could make sense of them.
Henry opened his mouth like he wanted to say something, but a man wearing a dark tux and a gold name tag identifying him as the hotel manager stepped up before he could.
“Excuse me. We don’t allow animals on the property unless they’re a registered service animal.” His lip curled as he glanced down at Houdini.
“He’s a therapy animal in training. I forgot to put his vest on when we got out of the car. Can you hold this for a second?” I passed the leash to Henry and pulled Houdini’s vest out of my bag. “Sorry, I got distracted when we arrived and haven’t had a chance to put this on him yet.”
“Is there a problem?” Henry asked. He pulled himself up to his full height—an imposing six-foot-four.
“No problem. Please make sure the animal stays on a leash and under your control at all times.” He clasped his hands and nodded to both of us. “Enjoy your evening.”
“Should we head into the event?” The smile I’d dreamed about for the past eleven years spread across his lips.
I shook away the twinge of betrayal that threatened to ruin the whole evening. If Duke knew I was attending an event with Henry, he’d be livid. But that was years ago. Surely it was water under the bridge. So, I slid my arm into the crook of his elbow and let him lead me to the escalator.
4
HENRY
Icouldn’t believe she was here. Devyn Daniels in the flesh. I kept glancing back at her, worried she was a figment of my imagination and not really there. Looking at her, all the years slipped away. We were two kids again, drawn together because of the one thing that kept us apart: my friendship with her brother.
I wondered if she still let her brother dictate how she spent her time. Not that I blamed her. Duke was the only positive force in her life when they were kids. Their dad passed before I moved to Broken Bend, and their mother spent most of her days in a wine-induce haze. If it hadn’t been for Duke, no telling how Devyn might have ended up.
She entertained the whole table over dinner with stories about the trouble the animals caused her at the rescue. Not that it would matter to her, but I was so proud of her for following her dreams and doing something she loved. She’d always had a soft heart. I could remember so many times we’d be playing down by the creek and Devyn would come across a baby bird that had fallen out of its nest or one time a fox that got caught up in some barbed wire fencing. Duke always rolled his eyes and made fun of her bleeding heart. Then the three of us would figure out a way to nurse the broken creature back to health.
Even my boss seemed charmed by Devyn. It wasn’t anything she did or said; it was her whole demeanor. I couldn’t define why, but she had a way about her that set people at ease. Being around her felt like I was orbiting the sun and basking in its rays. I’d missed that feeling. Now that I’d found her again, I never wanted to let her go.
With dinner done and a few minutes before the award ceremony started, I set an elbow on the table and leaned toward her. “Tell me how you got started at the rescue.”
She swallowed the sip of water she’d just taken, drawing my attention to her throat. My fingers itched to wrap around it and feel the flutter of her pulse under my thumb. I needed to keep tight control over myself when it came to Devyn. At least until I figured out if she and Duke were still close.
“I took over a couple of years ago when the former director retired.” Her eyes lit up when she met my gaze. “It’s been amazing to know I’m helping so many animals that wouldn’t otherwise have a chance. Like Shirley.”
My lips curved up in response. “Tell me about Shirley.”
“She’s one of our emus. I actually wanted to ask you about her tonight. Lou Ellen said the company you work for builds prosthetics for animals.”
I nodded, encouraging her to keep going. I’d sit and listen to the music of her voice as long as she wanted to keep talking.
“Shirley’s leg got caught in gate and our vet’s been trying to cast it. He’s ready to give up and is recommending we let her go.” Devyn’s lower lids welled with unshed tears. I reached for her hand and twined our fingers together in silent support. “Do you think there’s any way a prosthetic might work?”
Fuck. I’d never been anyone’s superhero, but I wanted to come through for Devyn. Anything to make her look at me with such hope in her eyes.
“I don’t know, but I’d be happy to take a look at her.” I’d spent the past year working on our pet store line and designing leg braces for dogs. But I’d also been on a few projects that used a 3D printer. That’s why I was up for a humanitarian award. We’d reconstructed a brace for an elephant at a zoo up in Tulsa that allowed it to walk again.
Devyn squeezed my hand. “That would mean so much to me. When would be a good time?”