Rescued By The Farmer. Mia Ross

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      “That room’s filthy, and no one’s used it in years.”

      “So it’s perfect. Bekah won’t be in anyone’s way, and she can have some privacy. Beyond that,” he added, going in for the kill, “she’ll be on-site all the time. Once she’s trained, she can take over the morning chores, and you won’t have to come in at the crack of dawn. Ever.”

      Glowering at his logic, Sierra opened her mouth to protest, then slowly closed it. She chewed on his proposal for a minute and finally relented with a sigh. “Okay, we’ll give her a try. After your friend checks her out,” she added, stabbing Drew’s chest with a finger for emphasis. “I’m responsible for this center and every one of the animals living here. I won’t risk all that because you’ve got a feeling about a girl.”

      “Like I told you,” he retorted, “it’s not that kind of feeling.”

      She gave him a long, dubious look that clearly said she didn’t believe him. As she went back into the rear shed to finish doling out breakfast, he put her irritating reaction out of his mind. Right now he had more important things to worry about.

      Pulling out his phone, he thumbed down to the number he needed and pressed Dial. A crisp, professional voice answered, and he grinned. “Harley? Is that you? You sound like some rich guy’s uptight butler.” That got him a less than charitable reply, and he chuckled. “Hey, I need a favor, unofficially. I don’t know—cover your monitor or something. Here’s what I need.”

      Once he explained, Harley put him on hold to do a quick search of some mystical police database that would at least reveal whether or not Bekah was on the most-wanted list. Subjected to an instrumental version of a creaky old ballad, Drew strolled around the lobby until Harley came back on the line. “Your girl’s clear as far as I can see. Not even a parking ticket.”

      “Awesome. Thanks, man. I owe you one.”

      “I’ll add it to the list,” his childhood friend assured him with a chuckle. “Take ’er easy.”

      “You, too.”

      Clicking his phone off as he walked through an unmarked door, he found Sierra measuring out antibiotics for some patient or another. She held up her index finger for him to wait, and when she was finished, she looked up at him. “I can tell by the delighted look on your face that you got the answer you wanted to hear.”

      “From what Harley could tell, Bekah’s record is clean as a whistle. I’m way overdue at the farm, but I’m gonna head out back and see how that old plumbing looks. I wouldn’t want to overstay my welcome and step on your pretty little toes.”

      “Oh, you’re a real prince. You owe me one, Kinley boy.”

      Echoing what he’d told Harley, he shot back, “Just add it to the list.”

      “Don’t worry. I will.”

      * * *

      Bekah didn’t have a watch, but the sun was directly overhead when she and Sierra finally finished taking care of all the animals and their pens. Everything was clean, everyone had been fed and dosed, and at one o’clock they had a family coming in to take home the adorable black lab puppy they’d chosen to adopt. Not long after that, Sierra had told her, it would be time to do it all over again and get everyone tucked in for the night.

      Never a dull moment at the rescue center, Bekah thought with a grin. She loved it.

      “Okay, rookie,” Sierra announced briskly. “Lunchtime.”

      “I’m fine.”

      “There are laws in this state, and one of them says I can’t work you to death. Unless I feed you first,” she added with a wink. “Fortunately for you, it won’t be my cooking you have to stomach. Maggie Kinley’s the best cook in the county, and she’s always got room for one more. If you don’t mind walking over to the house, we can chat on the way.”

      That sounded promising, so Bekah agreed and quickly washed her hands at a nearby utility sink. Outside, a mild autumn breeze rustled through the trees behind the center, shaking more leaves loose to float lazily down to the ground.

      Leaving the cluster of barns where she’d spent her morning, she followed Sierra onto a dirt lane that wound through acres of white-fenced bluegrass with horses of every size and color peacefully grazing in the sunlight. At the other end she saw a rambling white farmhouse surrounded by well-tended gardens. With wide porches and baskets of flowers hanging along the roofline, it had a welcoming look that invited people to stop in and visit for a while.

      “You’ve done great today,” Sierra began in her brisk, efficient way. “I threw every job I could at you, and you handled them better than anyone I’ve ever seen. You’ve got a real way with animals.”

      Unaccustomed to being praised for simply doing as she’d been told, Bekah felt prouder than she had in a long time. She didn’t want to come across as being needy, though, so she kept her response simple. “Thank you.”

      Sierra gave her a sidelong glance and shook her head with a smile. “You’re welcome. I know you’ve only been with us part of a day, but were you serious about wanting something more permanent?”

      Excited beyond words, Bekah clamped her mouth shut before she could make a complete fool of herself and destroy Sierra’s positive view of her. Taking a deep breath to steady her voice, she said, “What did you have in mind?”

      “It’d be great to find someone who could be at the clinic when I’m not. Sometimes things come up after I’ve left for the day, and I don’t know anything’s happened until morning.”

      Bekah heard what she wasn’t saying and frowned. “You mean an animal might take a turn for the worst, and by the time you find out, it’s too late to help them?”

      “Yeah,” Sierra acknowledged sadly. “I live in Rockville and take night classes, so it’s not possible for me to be at the center 24/7.”

      The regret in her voice made Bekah want to do something to ease her mind. Beyond that, working at the clinic would let her keep an eye on Rosie while she healed. Despite Drew and Sierra’s assurances, she felt a deep sense of responsibility for the wounded hawk.

      Still, she hated to make a commitment she couldn’t keep, so she chose her words very carefully. “I’m not sure how long I’ll be in town, but I can cover the open hours at the clinic until you find someone else for the job.”

      “Fabulous.” Sierra named an hourly rate a few cents above minimum wage, punctuating that with an apologetic shrug. “I know it’s not much, but that’s honestly the best I can do. The good news is rooms in town aren’t expensive, so you should be able to find a place to stay.”

      Once her car was fixed, anyway, Bekah thought grimly. Shaking off the pessimism that had become an ugly habit for her, she decided to start focusing on the good instead of the bad. “I’ll take it. And thank you for giving me a chance. I’m sure I’m not your first choice.”

      “Honey, you’re my only choice,” her new boss confided, wrapping an arm around her shoulders in a quick hug. “If we both put our minds to it, we’ll figure out a way to make it work.”

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