Angel's Rest(3)

Nic loved Eternity just as it was, but she recognized that her hometown wouldn’t thrive and perhaps not even survive if the local leaders didn’t succeed in bringing in some sort of new industry. New jobs meant new residents, which would be good for everyone. A new prison would definitely bring that doctor they needed so desperately to town. If Mayor Hank Townsend relayed a thumbs-up on the prison tonight, she could at least look forward to having that particular burden shifted off her shoulders.

“I don’t want to live anywhere else, Lori,” she told her young assistant. “If building a prison in the valley means we get to stay here, then I’ll help clear the land for it myself.”

Lori sighed dramatically, reminding Nic of the teenager’s mother at the same age. Those two were so much alike it was scary.

“You’re right. I see that.” Lori’s expression clouded with worry as she met Nic’s gaze. “But I love Eternity Springs as it is. What if we do get the prison and it changes us?”

Nic’s stomach gave a little twist at the thought, but experience had taught her how to answer Lori’s question. “Change happens whether we like it or not. The trick is to accept it, to make it work for us as best we can. Who knows? Maybe it’ll bring that man your mom’s been waiting for to town.”

Lori rolled her eyes. “Great. I’ve always wanted a criminal for a stepdad.”

“I was thinking more of a tall, dark, and handsome contractor.” She waggled her brows and added, “Who wears a tool belt. Sarah has always had a thing for tool belts.”

“Dr. Nic, puh-lease! That’s my mom you’re talking about. Besides, we already have a handful of contractors in town. I can’t say I’m impressed.”

Nic laughed and carried the trash bag outside, where sometime in the ten minutes since young Beth had left with her Mamey a light snowfall had begun. Years of experience told Nic the flurries wouldn’t stick, but this did represent the first snowfall of the season. Winter was bearing down upon Eternity, and Nic recognized the fact with dismay.

Once upon a time, winter had been her favorite season. Cold weather invigorated her. She loved the holidays, winter sports, and cozy nights snuggling in front of a fire with the man she loved. But a series of really awful winters had all but ruined the season for her. First she’d found her husband in bed with another woman two weeks before Christmas. Then a stroke took her beloved uncle David the following November. The next winter, the financial fallout from an ugly, prolonged divorce took its toll, and Nic was forced her to sell her share of her Colorado Springs vet practice. Then, on New Year’s Eve of her first winter back in Eternity Springs, her mom and her aunt had dropped the bombshell that they’d bought a condo in Florida and moving day was two weeks away. Now Nic couldn’t feel the sting of a snowflake on her cheek without mourning all that she’d lost.

And wondering what losses the coming winter would bring.

Attempting to ward off the melancholy that threatened, she exhaled a cleansing breath and hauled the trash bag outside to the waste cans, which she then rolled out to the street for tomorrow morning’s pickup. When she was halfway back to the clinic, an unfamiliar red Jeep Wrangler skidded to a stop at the curb. Nic’s steps slowed as a bedraggled stranger climbed out of the vehicle. He was tall, broad, and trim with dark hair overdue for a cut and a square jaw that needed a shave even worse. He reached into the backseat to reappear with an armful of struggling dog—a skinny brindle boxer whose left hind leg appeared to be bleeding badly.

Nic picked up her step. “Lori? Emergency patient coming.” To the man, she called, “Bring him here.”

The stranger followed Nic into the clinic. Lori took one look and then set about preparing the supply tray Nic would need. The stranger placed the boxer on the exam table Nic indicated and held him in place.

“What happened?” she asked.

Concern shadowed his whiskey-brown eyes. “A damned leghold trap.”

“He’s your dog?”

He shook his head. “No. He’s probably a stray. Our paths crossed a few days ago while I was hiking the backcountry, but he didn’t hang around or follow me home. When I was hiking on Murphy Mountain today I heard something howling in pain, so I tracked the sound and found him caught in the trap.”

“You poor baby,” she murmured to the dog.

“We tussled a bit when I tried to free him. I’m afraid I made his injuries worse.”

Nic sedated the suffering animal and made a cursory examination. Lacerations, trauma where he’d chewed himself. Broken teeth. She studied the bone. “Not fractured, believe it or not. Significant muscle damage, but I think we can save the leg.”