Page 19 of Suddenly Entwined

“Caro!”

Louisa’s smile lights up her whole heart-shaped face as she runs in my direction and I’m totally taken aback by the force of the hug that hits me at hip height.

“Happy birthday! Holy smokes, you’re strong. That must be because you’re seven now, huh?”

Warmth spreads through my chest at her sweet welcome. Every thought I had about whether I should be here floats away like wispy clouds on a breezy day.

“Yep! You came!”

I scoff as she peels herself off my leg. “As if I’d miss the donkeys.”

“Come see them. They like ear scratches.”

I let her drag me along, the earthy barnyard scent tickling my nose as we approach a large pen. About a dozen kids close to Louisa’s age race around the field, riled up on sugar, no doubt.

“The big one is Murphy, the small one is…” She wrinkles her nose as she thinks. “Maisy. Murphy and Maisy.” She gives a decisive nod.

“Hey, buddy,” I say, tentatively reaching a hand toward Murphy as Maisy grazes further away from the fence line.

“You wanna feed him?”

Berg’s low voice sends a tiny tingle down my spine and I turn toward the sound.

“Hi,” I say, but it comes out all breathy.

The weekend looks good on Berg. Relaxed despite the chaos unfolding around him. Clean jeans hug his muscular thighs and a warm, sweet scent surrounds him. His hair is freshly cut, and I bet his neck feels smooth as hell.

“I hope it’s okay that I crashed the party.”

“Can’t crash a party if you had a handmade invite.”

“This is true. It’s been living on my fridge. I love the way she spelled my name. Like the word care with an o added on to the end.”

He nods, a smile lifting his cheeks. “I didn’t have the heart to correct her because it wasso cute.”

Berg slips a hand into his pocket and pulls out a tiny paper bag full of what looks like oats.

“Donkey trail mix?” he asks, “Uh, for the donkey.”

“Super glad you clarified that,” I tease.

Murphy nudges my shoulder with insistence, clearly wanting me to take the darn bag and pass it along to him, and I laugh.

“Alright, Lou, you wanna teach me how to feed these big guys?”

She nods. “You pour it in your hand, but keep your hand flat so they don’t munch your fingers. Like this.” She gives me a demonstration.

Dumping a bit of the oat mixture into my palm, I reach over the top rail of the fence and Murphy wastes no time shoving his wet snout into my hand and inhaling the snack. His warm breath is ticklish, fuzzy ears happily twitching. Louisa balances on the lowest rung of the split-rail fence so she can get a better look, sparkly rain boots squeaking on the cedar.

“Here.” Berg presses another bag into my hand and leans down closer to my ear. “Don’t tell the kids. They only got one bag each.”

The heat of his breath near my ear is in contrast to the cool air. He smells even better this close.

“Wow. Two bags of trail mix? Be still my heart.”

Berg chuckles, moving to stand next to me as I feed Murphy small amounts from my palm.

“My grandma on my mom’s side? She had a hobby farm. Or maybe it was more like a homestead. I spentso much time with the animals and in her garden. Chris would be out bushwhacking all day. You wouldn’t see him until it was dark.”

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