minutes late.
Sometimes she hated that darn clock.
* * *
Robbie watched Holly and her girls disappear into the garage. He’d gotten attached to the quiet, serious Brianna and her sassy little sister Kayleigh. They seemed miraculously unscarred by the ugliness their father had put the family through with his abuse and desertion. Holly was one heck of a good mother.
Holly’s mini-van rolled backward down the short driveway and onto the street, the two girls waving madly. He lifted a hand in response. Through the windshield, he saw Holly smile and bob her head to him as she steered past Grady’s rig. That sunshine smile of hers always gave him a little kick in the chest.
Then she had this other smile he’d catch sometimes when she looked at him, a kind of secret, sideways slant of eyes and lips that made him want to sink one hand into her dark, silky-looking hair and use the other one to pull her curvy body up against him while he tasted her soft mouth. That was the smile he waited for, and knew he shouldn’t.
“Come on, Noël, let’s get you home.” He gave the rope a tug as he started toward the ramp.
One step and he was jerked to a stop by the taut line in his hands. Glancing back, he saw Noël had her front feet planted wide apart, her neck stretched out full-length. He knew the proper way to load livestock into a trailer from summers of working on his uncle’s farm, but his focus had been on fantasies he shouldn’t be contemplating. “Sorry, girl. Let’s try it again.”
He positioned himself beside the little beast’s head, grasped the cheek strap of her halter, and turned her away from the trailer ramp in a tight circle, getting her walking before he pointed them both back at the trailer.
One foot from the ramp, Noël planted her hooves and stopped again, fighting the forward pressure he put on her halter.
“What’s bothering you about the trailer?” he asked, leading the donkey to one side of the ramp and tying her to a ring so she could see into the vehicle.
Maybe Noël didn’t like the sense of walking into an enclosed space. He looked up at the mountains crowding the horizon. He knew about feeling trapped. After graduating from West Virginia University, he’d landed a job with the Chicago police department where he was on the fast track to becoming a detective. A year later, his father had died, and his ailing mother asked him to come home. He didn’t regret helping his mother out during the last years of her life but now that she was gone, he’d soon be busting out of the confines of Sanctuary.
That’s why he had to keep his hands off Holly. She wasn’t the kind of woman you loved and left.
And there was no chance she was leaving Sanctuary. She’d often told him how important it was to her and her children to have the support of her sister, her friends, and the whole community.
He brought his gaze back to the donkey. “Okay, watch me.” He walked up the ramp and stepped into the trailer, fluffing the fresh straw bedding Grady had pitchforked into the trailer at the farm. “Think of it as a nice, comfortable temporary stall.”
He wished he had some of those carrots the girls had been feeding her, but she’d come along so agreeably until now that he didn’t think he’d need treats to entice her. And Grady had said she was an easy loader.
He walked back down the ramp and untied Noël, steering her into the same circular maneuver. “Come on, girl!” He put all his weight and momentum forward.
This time he got Noël’s front hooves onto the ramp before he was yanked backwards, nearly falling as he lost his balance on the sloped surface. He flailed a moment before his arm found the donkey’s sturdy back, and he used her to right himself.
Putting his hands on his hips, he surveyed Noël. She couldn’t weigh more than three hundred pounds but she had a heck of a lot of leverage with those four legs. He pulled out his cellphone with a huff of frustration. “Hey,
Sometimes she hated that darn clock.
* * *
Robbie watched Holly and her girls disappear into the garage. He’d gotten attached to the quiet, serious Brianna and her sassy little sister Kayleigh. They seemed miraculously unscarred by the ugliness their father had put the family through with his abuse and desertion. Holly was one heck of a good mother.
Holly’s mini-van rolled backward down the short driveway and onto the street, the two girls waving madly. He lifted a hand in response. Through the windshield, he saw Holly smile and bob her head to him as she steered past Grady’s rig. That sunshine smile of hers always gave him a little kick in the chest.
Then she had this other smile he’d catch sometimes when she looked at him, a kind of secret, sideways slant of eyes and lips that made him want to sink one hand into her dark, silky-looking hair and use the other one to pull her curvy body up against him while he tasted her soft mouth. That was the smile he waited for, and knew he shouldn’t.
“Come on, Noël, let’s get you home.” He gave the rope a tug as he started toward the ramp.
One step and he was jerked to a stop by the taut line in his hands. Glancing back, he saw Noël had her front feet planted wide apart, her neck stretched out full-length. He knew the proper way to load livestock into a trailer from summers of working on his uncle’s farm, but his focus had been on fantasies he shouldn’t be contemplating. “Sorry, girl. Let’s try it again.”
He positioned himself beside the little beast’s head, grasped the cheek strap of her halter, and turned her away from the trailer ramp in a tight circle, getting her walking before he pointed them both back at the trailer.
One foot from the ramp, Noël planted her hooves and stopped again, fighting the forward pressure he put on her halter.
“What’s bothering you about the trailer?” he asked, leading the donkey to one side of the ramp and tying her to a ring so she could see into the vehicle.
Maybe Noël didn’t like the sense of walking into an enclosed space. He looked up at the mountains crowding the horizon. He knew about feeling trapped. After graduating from West Virginia University, he’d landed a job with the Chicago police department where he was on the fast track to becoming a detective. A year later, his father had died, and his ailing mother asked him to come home. He didn’t regret helping his mother out during the last years of her life but now that she was gone, he’d soon be busting out of the confines of Sanctuary.
That’s why he had to keep his hands off Holly. She wasn’t the kind of woman you loved and left.
And there was no chance she was leaving Sanctuary. She’d often told him how important it was to her and her children to have the support of her sister, her friends, and the whole community.
He brought his gaze back to the donkey. “Okay, watch me.” He walked up the ramp and stepped into the trailer, fluffing the fresh straw bedding Grady had pitchforked into the trailer at the farm. “Think of it as a nice, comfortable temporary stall.”
He wished he had some of those carrots the girls had been feeding her, but she’d come along so agreeably until now that he didn’t think he’d need treats to entice her. And Grady had said she was an easy loader.
He walked back down the ramp and untied Noël, steering her into the same circular maneuver. “Come on, girl!” He put all his weight and momentum forward.
This time he got Noël’s front hooves onto the ramp before he was yanked backwards, nearly falling as he lost his balance on the sloped surface. He flailed a moment before his arm found the donkey’s sturdy back, and he used her to right himself.
Putting his hands on his hips, he surveyed Noël. She couldn’t weigh more than three hundred pounds but she had a heck of a lot of leverage with those four legs. He pulled out his cellphone with a huff of frustration. “Hey,
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