Page 26 of Sometimes You Stay

She never did.

Not in Barcelona for the waiter. Not in Vienna for the guy who had brought her endless cups of coffee. Not in San Luis for Carlos, her high school boyfriend.

Staying meant having a home. And a home was only good for one thing.

She didn’t need that in her life.

Finn cleared his throat, which sounded suspiciously like he was covering another laugh, but it was enough to drag her thoughts back from their wayward track.

“I’m sorry about that,” he said. “Everyone around here knows I’ll take in just about any animal without a home. But I see how it would be confusing.” He sighed. “My mom would much rather I have human kids than the goat variety.” His eyes flew open. “I’m sorry again. That was probably way more than you wanted to know.” Scrubbing a hand down his face, tugging on his beard at the end of the motion, he quickly moved on. “So this is Jenna and her kids Sonny and Cher.”

Cretia raised her eyebrows and shot him a questioning look.

“My mom liked them a lot when she was young. Figured I’d throw her a bone.”

She bit her lips together to keep from laughing and gave him a simple nod instead. Sonny and Cher looked up at her through their weird slitted eyes, and she grabbed for the phone in her pocket to capture their sweet faces. It was empty. Which she should have known.

Resigning herself to not recording this moment, she asked, “So are they rescue goats, like the dogs?”

His laugh wrapped around her, full and warm, filling a space in her heart she hadn’t realized was empty. “Not so much. Though I don’t think anyone has ever tried training them for that job. Maybe we should.” Reaching over the gate, he scratched Jenna’s head just like he did Joe’s. The mama flapped her ears and closed her eyes, and Cretia could swear she smiled. “They’re more like rescue goats in that they had nowhere else to go.”

“Strays.”

“Basically. Jenna belonged to a family near Cavendish, but then they realized their daughter was allergic, and they had to find her a new home. Immediately. Or they were going to have to put her down.”

“And Sonny and Cher?”

“Jenna was already pregnant. It was a package deal.”

Cretia gasped as a fist around her heart squeezed. “They were going to kill a pregnant goat?” She didn’t wait for his response. She didn’t need it. “You saved them.”

He shrugged. “I had the room.”

“That was ... That was a nice thing to do.”

“I guess people around here have me figured out. They know I’m an easy yes when it comes to animals in need.” Hestabbed his fingers through his hair as he ducked his chin, and if the lighting had been just a little bit better, she had the feeling she’d have seen his cheeks turn pink. “That’s how I ended up with Roberta too.”

She glanced in the direction he nodded and was greeted by a black face hanging over the door of the last stall. A white patch covered the spot where the cow should have had an eye. Light from the opening behind her gave her a near halo, and she didn’t seem concerned with anything but chewing her cud.

“Roberta, huh?”

“She’s a good girl.” Finn strolled over and scratched the middle of her face. “Her owners let her get sick, and she got an infection and stopped producing milk, so...”

“Was she from the dairy farm across the street?”

“Definitely not. Justin Kane takes great care of his herd.” With a gentle rub of Roberta’s ear, Finn leaned in toward the cow’s only eye. “She came from a family that didn’t know how to care for animals. And didn’t care to learn.”

“And you did—I mean, do—know how to care for livestock? It seems different than raising dogs.”

He chuckled. “I didn’t have a clue what she needed when I got her—Jenna either. But that’s the great thing about being friends with a dairy farmer and having a vet on speed dial. I’m willing to learn, and I know who to ask for help.”

Cretia wrapped her arms across her middle. Something about the way he spoke and the warmth in his voice felt like a jacket on a cool day—like his dry shirt had around her soaking shoulders the day before.

He spoke simply. Directly. Humbly yet confidently.

He didn’t need to brag about his knowledge, yet he undoubtedlyknew what he was doing. These animals were safe with him.

And for the immediate future, maybe she was too.

---