Page 46 of From Rivals to I Do

“You know, I got something that you might want to see down in the pig barn,” Eli says with a smile. “You interested?”

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It’s hard to pay attention to where I’m going as Darla and Lilah get a little lead on me, Darla all aglow as we continue our ride. She’s ethereal, like an angel sent down from God, and everything about her is perfect. So, how could she be as bad as Mitch says she is?

We ride on out to the pig barn, our bodies so close as I put my hands on her hips to help her hop down, and she puts her hands on my shoulders. The desire to kiss her is sickeningly strong. But I decide against it.

Not yet. Not ‘til I’m sure we are both ready.

“So, um, pigs,” I manage to get out, and she snorts with laughter.

“You okay there, big shot?” she asks as she peers up at me.

“Yeah! Yes! I’m totally fine,” I say, and it makes her laugh even harder.

“Okay, so what did you want to show me? Pigs, you said.” Darla gently nudges me, and I realize I’ve just been standing there, admiring her beauty.

“Right,” I reply. “Come inside with me.”

I open the door and when she takes my hand in hers all on her own, I can’t help but grin from ear to ear as I lead her to the pig pen with the piglets.

“Aw!” she squeals with delight. “Babies!”

“I thought you might take a liking to them,” I say, glad that she’s cheered up from earlier. Being homesick is no fun, and I didn’t want our day to be ruined because of it. Nor did I ever want to see Darla sad.

“Can I play with them?” she asks.

“Well sure, though I don’t know if they’ll play or not,” I say with a chuckle as she climbs right in and sits down in the hay. The piglets all scatter at first, squeaking and oinking. But, much to my surprise, she’s able to coax a few her way and pet them. One in particular seems to fancy her, staying in her arms until it dozes off.

And this is supposed to be the toxic woman I should stay away from? I think to myself. She couldn’t hurt a fly.

As I watch her with the babies, another thought flies through my mind, and I feel my jaw tense a bit. I’m concerned about that battery incident, and something inside me says she’s being too relaxed about the whole thing. I mean, Joe was right there at the bar that night, and he’d already threatened her. What if he was the one that did that to her battery?

“Eli?” I hear Darla call out, one of the piglets still in her arms.

“Yes, dear?” I reply absentmindedly.

“You alright?” she asks as she cocks her head at me.

“Me? Oh yeah, no, I’m fine,” I say. “Just admiring you.”

“Is that so?” she asks as she scratches the belly of one of the piglets.

“You’re like some sort of animal whisperer,” I say.

“Well, I don’t know about that.” Darla laughs. “Though, I always wanted to be a veterinarian.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, but I couldn’t handle having to put animals down if I had to, you know?” Darla replies. “It’s too sad for me.”

“Don’t you lose people at the hospital?” I ask.

“Well, yeah,” Darla replies. “But that’s only been a recent thing for me and trust me, I don’t like it. Back home I was on labor and delivery, so death was rare. But when I transferred, there were no spots open in that department, ICU or ER was all they had. So, I picked ICU.”

“That’s rough,” I reply, shaking my head. “I couldn’t do what you do, Darla. You’re a hometown hero.”

“I wouldn’t say that,” Darla says. “I’m just doing my job. Helping people is something I have always been passionate about, you know? Everyone deserves to receive the best care and kindness they can while they’re in the hospital and healing up. I’m only doing what’s right.”

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