RaeAnne Thayne - A Cold Creek Noel

“I was able to pin the leg for now, but there’s no guarantee it will heal properly. We still might have to take it. He was lucky, if you want the truth. Insanely lucky. I don’t know how he made it through a run-in with a bull in one piece. His injuries could have been much worse.”

“What about where he was gored?”

“The bull missed all vital organs. The puncture wound is only a couple inches deep. I guess the bull wasn’t that serious.”

“You would think otherwise if you had been there. He definitely was seeing red. After I pulled the dog out, he rammed the fence so hard he knocked one of the poles out of its foundation.”

She pulled the dog out? Crazy woman, to mess with a bull on a rampage. What was she thinking?

“Looks like he’s coming around,” he said, not about to enter that particular fray.

The dog whimpered and Caidy Bowman leaned down, her dark hair almost a match to the dog’s coat. “Hey there. You’re in a fix now, aren’t you, Luke-my-boy. You’ll be all right. I know it hurts now and you’re confused and scared but Dr. Caldwell fixed you up and before you know it you’ll be running around the ranch with King and Sadie and all the others.”

Though he had paperwork to complete, he couldn’t seem to wrench himself away. He stood watching her interact with the dog and winced to himself at how quickly he had misjudged her. By the gentleness of her tone and the comforting way she smoothed a hand over his fur, it was obvious the woman cared about her animal and was not inexperienced with injuries.

Next time maybe he wouldn’t be quick to make surly comments when he was having a miserable day.

She smelled delicious, like vanilla splashed on wildflowers. The scent of her drifted to him, a bright counterpoint to the sometimes unpleasant smells of a busy veterinary clinic.

It was an unsettling discovery. He didn’t want to notice anything about her. Not the sweet way she smelled or the elegant curve of her neck or how, when she tucked her hair behind her ear, she unveiled a tiny beauty mark just below the lobe...

He caught the direction of his thoughts and shut them down, appalled at himself. He forced himself to move away and block the sound of her low voice crooning to the dog.

He had almost forgotten about his technician until she came out of the employee changing room, shoving her arms through the sleeves of her parka. “Do you mind if I go? I’m sorry. It’s just past six-thirty and I’m supposed to be at my Bible study Christmas party in half an hour and I still have to run home and pick up my cookies for the swap.”

“No. Get out of here. I’m sorry I kept you late.”

“Wasn’t your fault.”

“Blame my curious dog,” Caidy said with an apologetic smile that didn’t mask the concern in her eyes.

Joni shrugged. “Accidents happen, especially on a ranch.”

Ben felt another twist of guilt. She was right. Even the most careful pet owner couldn’t prevent everything.

“Thanks, Ben. You both have a good night,” Joni said.

“I’ll walk you out,” he said.

She rolled her eyes—this was an argument they had been having since he arrived. His clinic in San Jose hadn’t been in the best part of the city and he would always make sure the women who worked for him made it safely to their cars in the parking lot.

It was probably an old-fashioned habit, but when he had been in vet school, a fellow student and friend had been assaulted on the way to her car after a late-night class and had ended up dropping out of school.

The cold air outside the clinic blew a little bit of energy into him. The snow of earlier had slowed to just a few flurries. The few houses around his clinic blinked their cheerful holiday lights and he regretted again that he hadn’t strung a few strands in the window of the clinic.

Joni’s SUV was covered in snow and he helped her brush it off.

“Thank you, Dr. Caldwell,” Joni said with a smile. “You’re the only employer I’ve ever had who scrapes my windows.”

“I don’t know what I’d do without you right now,” he said truthfully. “I just don’t want you getting into an accident on the way home.”

“Thanks. Have a good night. Call me if you need me to spell you during the night.”

He nodded and waved her off, then returned to the office invigorated from the cold air. He pulled open the door and caught the incongruous notes of a soft melody.

Caidy was humming, he realized. He paused to listen and it took just a moment for him to recognize the tune as “Greensleeves.” He was afraid to move, not wanting to intrude on the moment. The notes seemed to seep through him, sweet and pure and somehow peaceful amid the harsh lights and complicated equipment of the clinic.

Judging by her humming, he would guess Caidy Bowman had a lovely voice.

He didn’t think he had made a sound, but she somehow sensed him anyway. She looked up and a delicate pink flush washed over her cheeks. “Sorry. You must think I’m ridiculous, humming to a dog. He started to get agitated and...it seemed to calm him.”

No surprise there. The melody had done the same to him. “Looks like he’s sleeping again. I can take things from here if you need to go.”

She looked uncertain. “I could stay. My brother and niece can handle chores tonight for the rest of my animals.”

“We’ve got this covered. Don’t worry. He’ll be well taken care of, Ms. Bowman.”

“Just Caidy. Please. No one calls me Ms. anything.”

“Caidy, then.”

“Is someone coming to relieve you?”

“I’m not fully staffed yet and Joni has her party tonight and then her husband and kids to get back to. No big deal. I have a cot in my office. I should be fine. When we have overnight emergency cases, I make do there.”

He had again succeeded in surprising her, he saw.

“What about your children?” she asked.

“They’ll be fine with Mrs. Michaels. It’s only for a night.”

“I... Thank you.”

“You’ll have a hefty bill for overnight care,” he warned.

“I expected it. I worked here a decade ago and know how much things used to cost—and I’ve seen those charges go up in the years since.” She paused. “I hate to leave him.”

“He’ll be fine. Don’t worry. Come on. I’ll walk you out.”

“Is that a service you provide for every female who comes through your office?”

Close enough. “I need to lock up anyway.”

She gathered her coat and shrugged into it, and then he led her back the way he had just come. The moon was filtering through the clouds, painting lovely patterns of pale light on the new snow.

Caidy Bowman drove a well-used late-model pickup truck with a king cab that was covered in mud. Bales of hay were stacked two high in the back.

“Be careful. The roads are likely to be slick after the snows of earlier.”

“I’ve been driving these roads since before I turned sixteen. I can handle a little snow.”

“I’m sure you can. I just don’t want you to be the next one in need of stitching.”

“Not much chance of that, but thank you for your concern. And for all you’ve done today. I’m sorry you won’t see much of your children.”

“The clinic is closed tomorrow. I can spend the whole day with them. I suppose we’ll have to go look for a temporary furnished house somewhere or I’m going to have a mutiny on my hands from Mrs. Michaels, which would be a nightmare.”

She opened her mouth, then closed it again, and he had the distinct impression she was waging some internal debate. Her gaze shifted to the door they had just exited through and back to him, then she drew in a breath.

“We have an empty foreman’s cottage on the River Bow where you could stay.”