LITMIR.BIZ

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she had the yellow crayon.

      They began dating their sophomore year of high school and fell in love soon after. In their senior year, Reed gave her a promise ring and they started making plans for their future. They both wanted to go to college. He’d received a scholarship from Stanford to study business, and she had one from Colorado State to study veterinary medicine, but he promised to come home as often as he could. Then a month after leaving for California, he sent her a short email. He loved living on the West Coast. He didn’t want to come back to Colorado. Ever. He didn’t want to get married. He didn’t want children. He thought it was best they end things.

      Being young, foolish and unable to let the relationship go that easily, Avery had called him. When he didn’t answer, she’d left tearful messages on his voice mail, begging him to talk to her, which he never did. Then she wrote long letters that came back unopened.

      Staring him down now, she reminded herself she wasn’t the naive teenager willing to beg a man not to break up with her anymore, and she was damned if she’d let him see how much his coming back shook her.

      “I’m here checking on Charger’s injured foreleg. I’m a vet now, and the director of the Estes Park animal shelter.” Take that. I went on with my life and made something of myself.

      “I’m glad you’re doing well, though I’m not surprised. You always could do anything you put your mind to.”

      Except hang on to you.

      Their small talk sounded inane considering how intimate they’d once been. “What are you doing here, Reed?”

      “I’m staying with Jess while Colt’s in Afghanistan.”

      So that’s what had brought him back. She turned to Colt. About the same height as his younger brother and almost as handsome, Colt had inherited their mother’s blond hair while Reed resembled their dark-haired father. “I’ll keep you and Jess in my prayers while you’re gone.”

      Colt nodded. “I appreciate that.”

      “You’re staying here for what, a year? Eighteen months?” she asked Reed. “You must have a very understanding boss.”

      “A year. Luckily I own my own small company, and thanks to Skype it shouldn’t be too difficult to run things long-distance.”

      He was still as confident as ever, Avery mused, and yet she wondered if Reed’s plan was one that looked great on paper, but wouldn’t work well in practice.

      “Wow. You own a company.”

      “It’s not as glamorous as people think. I put in more hours than any of my employees, and I get a salary like everyone else. Most of what the company makes goes right back into developing new products.”

      A cell phone rang. “I’m sorry. I’ve got to take this call,” Reed said.

      As he moved away, his phone glued to his ear, Avery turned to Colt. “Are you sure about this? I think running a business long-distance will be harder than he thinks.”

      “I don’t have a choice.” Colt explained about his mother-in-law’s health issues, the age restrictions in his in-laws’ community and Jess’s reluctance to live with her grandparents. “Reed will settle in. He’ll do right by Jess.”

      Colt’s daughter had gone through so much over the past year. Some women shouldn’t have a pet, much less a child, and Lynn Montgomery had been one of those women. Now Jess’s dad was being deployed. How much could a teenage girl take?

      Avery wondered where she would’ve been without her mother to talk to during her adolescence. Her dad had been great, but he’d never quite understood things from her perspective. He saw things, well, like a guy. Did Jess have any women in her life to talk to now that her father was being deployed and she would be living with her bachelor uncle?

      Who had never wanted children.

      “Reed hasn’t been around Jess very much. Are you sure he can handle this?”

      She shook herself mentally. She always did this—got attached to any stray that wandered across her path. Colt was Jess’s father. If he thought Reed was the best person to care for his child, who was she to criticize? But neither of them knew what it was like to be a teenage girl, one of the most insecure creatures on the planet.

      Reed joined them, irritation marring his classic good looks. “Jess and I have a good relationship. We’ll be fine. She’s not an infant that needs watching 24/7. Things will be hectic for a while until I’ve reassured my customers that my physical absence won’t affect my business, but then everything will settle into a predictable routine.”

      Avery laughed. “Predictable routine? With a teenager? Good luck with that.”

      “She has a point, Reed,” Colt added. “Teenagers give mules stubborn lessons. You’ll have to be a little flexible.”

      “Lucky for me I’ve got great negotiation skills.”

      “Good thing, because you’ll need them.” Pride cometh before the fall popped into Avery’s mind. With Reed’s attitude, one was sure coming. Not that it was her concern. Needing to steer the conversation to a safer topic, Avery said, “Charger’s leg is better. I changed the dressing. The redness and swelling have subsided, but keep him away from the other horses a while longer. I don’t want the wound getting reopened.”

      “How much do I owe you?”

      Avery waved her hand through the air, dismissing the question. “Nothing. You didn’t ask me to come by. I did that on my own. It’s the least I can do. By the way, I wanted to remind you Thor is due for his annual shots.”

      “Thor?” Reed asked, knowing the shots would fall to him to get done.

      “That’s Jess’s dog.” Avery reached into her back pocket, pulled out a business card and handed it to Reed. “Call the office and set up an appointment.”

      “When did Jess get a dog?” Reed asked his brother.

      “Must’ve been a couple of months after the last time you were here.”

      “The fact that you didn’t know Jess has a dog says a lot about your relationship. I bet you’re one of those uncles who sends birthday and Christmas gifts, but can’t bother with anything else. If that’s the case, you’re in for a bumpy ride.” With that, Avery turned and hurried out of the barn. Reed Montgomery was back, and worse yet, he could still make her heart skip a beat.

      * * *

      WHEN AVERY WALKED INTO the shelter twenty minutes later to a chorus of barking and meows, she still hadn’t regained her emotional balance from seeing Reed. When she’d first spotted him, her palms had grown sweaty. Her heart had raced. All reactions she hadn’t experienced with a man in far too long.

      She needed to go on a date with someone. Anyone. What had it been? Six months? Longer? That was her problem. She’d been neglecting her social life.

      Like that was something new?

      When she found time to date, it seemed no one could hold her interest. Invariably she discovered some irritating habit she couldn’t overlook, or her boyfriend’s future plans conflicted with hers. Whatever the reason, the fun and attraction fizzled out after a few months.

      Stop it. Focus on work and quit thinking about Reed and your pathetic love life.

      So far the week had been a good one for the shelter. Five dogs, six cats and three horses had been adopted. They’d gotten enough donations to buy animal food to last until the end of the next month. Hopefully the recent events indicated an upward trend.

      “Betty Hartman called this morning and said she couldn’t come in,” Emma Jean Donovan, Avery’s volunteer coordinator and right-hand gal, said the minute Avery walked into the front reception area.

      “Oh, the joys of working with volunteers.” People thought nothing of canceling at the last minute,

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