Page 7 of No Bones About It

She turned, grabbed her mug, and climbed through the fence, leaving him to follow. Or not. He could leave. He should leave. Instead, he followed her into the barn.

The inside was divided into several sections. Like most animal barns, including his, the doors opened to a large middle aisle. To one side, the area was tricked out like a regular vet’s office. He followed her into the large space filled with a couple of desks, a table, animal toys, and equipment on multiple shelving units. A large parrot perched on a potted tree.

The bird studied him and then squawked. “Michael J. Fox. Michael J. Fox.”

Garrett laughed. “Is that your name?”

“Celine Dion. Celine Dion.”

He grinned and moved closer to the bird, who had to be almost two feet tall. Kimi grinned over her shoulder. “That’s Canuck. He arrived a couple of months back. I found him sitting on a fence post one day. Only speaks in Canadian celebrities.”

“Wayne Gretzky. Wayne Gretzky.”

Garrett laughed again. “And no one has claimed him?”

She shook her head. “Another abandoned animal. I’ve put ads out on social media and contacted vets in Vermont, surrounding states, and across the border in Quebec and Ontario. No response.”

Anger at the people who abandoned animals was clear on her face, but when she turned to the parrot, she softened and tapped his beak. “But you’re safe and happy here, Canuck, aren’t you?”

“John A. MacDonald. John A. MacDonald.” And his head bobbed up and down happily as she stroked his head.

She laughed and patted the bird. “I’ll just grab the stuff from the back. I’ll be right back.”

“Shania Twain. Shania Twain.”

Garrett was grinning when he turned to see the rest of the space, but what he saw nearly knocked him flat.

Gotcha Wall Of Fame.

The words were painted on a wall above framed photos of people with the animals they’d adopted. Mostly dogs. Along with a lot of people he knew. Epic and his Piper posed with a French bulldog. Falcon and Branna with something resembling a Yeti. Oz and Isla with a chocolate lab. Slick, Addison, and Nina, with a shepherd.

Memories of Shaggy slammed into Garrett, and he had to close hiseyes against the onslaught. His buddies had not only found love in human form but with animals as well.

Dogs. They all had dogs. Why did they have to have dogs?

How was he going to face them? He avoided dogs at all costs these days. The memories were too hard.

Instead of staying to help the vet or to acclimate to the thought of all those dogs, Garrett turned and walked out of her barn. He ignored the peacock and the goats who pranced after him and moved through the trees and over the fence until he was in his own space again.

Only then could he suck in a breath.

Kitty stood pretty much where he’d left her. Nothing had changed. Except that his heart had ripped open once again.

At least he’d found out about the animals before he’d shown up at their homes. He could build up his shields. Act normal.

Hah.

Normal was no longer in reach.

Garrett climbed into the paddock and approached Kitty, pleased when she knocked off his hat with the equine equivalent of a giggle.

A different tabby cat sat on a post watching him and he wondered if this one belonged to the vet as well or if they were all barn cats, free to roam where they pleased.

A dog barked somewhere, and he wondered if it was that shepherd of Slick’s. The one who lived on the next farmland.

Maybe coming to Phail had been a piss-poor idea after all.

Kimi stared at the empty office when she came out of the back room. Her mysterious visitor had disappeared as quietly as he’d appeared. She expected to find him outside, but he wasn’t there either.

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