Page 19 of Sanctuary

“I don’t suppose I would.”

“So it’d be okay if I wanted to get to know you better—with no pressure,” Gabe said quickly. “As a friend.”

“I could use a friend. I lost all but one in the divorce.” Lori chuckled, and Gabe joined her. “Along with half of everything else.”

Gabe gestured back toward the building with the old Brewster waiting in it, unloved and in need of attention. The parallel to Lori wasn’t lost on her. “Except the amazing car and workshop.”

Lori’s expression darkened. “That’s part of a much longer story.”

“Is it one you’d tell a friend?” Gabe asked gently.

“A friend I know well, yes.”

Gabe opened the gate they’d come through earlier and waited for Lori to go through before closing it behind them. “Then maybe you could walk with us every week and get to know me. I’d like to hear that story, and maybe I could change your mind about me and the guys restoring it for you to raise funds.”

Lori opened her mouth, probably to protest.

“It’s okay,” Gabe said. “No pressure with that either. Just promise me you’ll think about it. And I promise you I don’t need anything in return.”

Lori looked at Gabe and raised her eyebrows. “I think you’re pushing our fledgling friendship by assuming we can make promises this early.”

Gabe shrugged, recognizing Lori’s playfulness. It was another thing to like about her. “Okay, you don’t have to promise me anything. But I’m happy to promise my new friend that I’m being serious about the offer. It’d be a pleasure to restore a vehicle like that, and I can also promise you that the guys would feel the same way. We could make use of those tools too if you wanted to donate them to our cause.” Gabe grinned, but she was only half-joking. Extra tools always came in handy.

Lori didn’t look convinced, but she nodded anyway. Gabe didn’t push, and they walked on in silence for a while. Lori clearly wasn’t comfortable talking about her personal life and had probably shared more than she’d really wanted to considering that it was only the second time they’d met. Even so, Gabe knew that she wanted more. She couldn’t honestly say that she’d ever spent time with someone she was attracted to without acting on it, so this friendship was going to be an interesting one that would test her self-control.

She glanced across at Lori, watched the way her long, wavy ponytail bounced down her back, the way the green hoody she was wearing made her eyes pop, saw how that same top molded around her breasts perfectly, and how the curves of her body flowed like the roll of a gentle wave, making Gabe desperate to run her hands along them, to hold her tight against her as they explored a friendship with very nice benefits.

She drew in a long breath and shook the thoughts away.

This friendship wasn’t going to be interesting. It was going to be torture.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Ellery pressed on Cash’s abdominal area, and the horse groaned.

“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to how similar that sounds to a human,” Lori said and continued to stroke his neck.

“If only they could talk like one. That would make my job a lot easier.” Ellery moved around to Cash’s other side and repeated the pressure, which elicited more moaning from the horse.

Lori smiled. “You’re amazing with them. It’s like you’re speaking their language.”

Ellery looked up at Lori. “That’s kind of you to say, but Cash is being tight-lipped about what’s bothering him. He’s exhibiting signs of colic, but I’m not sure that’s all there is to it. The antibiotics we gave him last week don’t seem to have made much difference.”

She went to her bag and came back with a stethoscope, then she pressed the acoustic cup just behind Cash’s left elbow and listened intently. When Ellery shook her head, Lori’s heart raced. She’d worked with animals all her life but losing one never got easier.

“What’s going on, Ellery?” She was pretty sure she hadn’t managed to keep the fear from her voice. Beth would be destroyed if there was anything seriously wrong with Cash.

Beth rounded the corner of the stable block before Ellery responded to Lori’s question, and the concern in her expression was clear.

“You must’ve been early.” Beth pressed her forehead to his muzzle, and Cash made a snorting snore. She stroked his forelock and whispered, “It’s okay, boy. Everything’s going to be okay.”

Ellery returned the stethoscope to her bag and pulled on a pair of latex gloves. Lori concentrated on trying to stay calm and relaxed so she didn’t spook Cash—or Beth—while Ellery performed a rectal exam. And it wasn’t something she liked to watch anyway.

“His small intestine is distended.” Ellery came back around and paused at Beth’s side. “May I?” After Beth stepped aside, she stood in front of Cash, bending slightly to stare at his muzzle. “How has his temperament been lately?”

“I think he’s been about the same, but Beth has been with him the most this week.”

Beth’s head snapped up, and she looked at Lori. “What?”

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