Page 102 of 15 Summers Later

Harsh.

Luke had to hide a smile. Did Leona have any idea she was dangling poor Simon on the hook?

“They look delicious,” Simon said, undeterred. “In fact, I’ll buy a half dozen and freeze them. I don’t get home-baked goods very often since my Mary passed.”

“That’s very good of you,” she said, her tone more gentle now. She donned a plastic food glove and added a half-dozen muffins into an eco-friendly box, then sealed the lid.

“Would you like me to keep them for you here until you’re done shopping? I can set them aside.”

“Excellent idea,” Simon said, his tone more cheerful, probably because he now had a ready excuse to stop back here and chat with Leona again.

Luke studied the remaining muffins. “What flavors do you have?”

“Banana nut and blueberry.”

“I’ll take a half dozen of each. And yes. I know they’re two dollars apiece.” He handed over a twenty and a five. “I’m sure Madi has plenty of volunteers who would appreciate a delicious home-baked muffin made by the legendary Leona Evans.”

She beamed at him as she transferred nearly all of the remaining muffins into two more of the cardboard containers.

With offerings in hand, he waved goodbye to Madi’s grandmother and sister as well as Simon and Betsy, then headed across the crowded park toward the awning he saw fronted by a canvas sign that said Emerald Creek Rescue.

It was only a distance of maybe fifty yards between the two tents, but it took Luke forever to work his way through the crowd of people and dogs, especially those who wanted to stop and talk with him.

Since graduating from vet school and returning home to Emerald Creek to practice, he had discovered it was very difficult to go anywhere quickly in this community, where people liked to visit anyway and especially liked to ask questions about their pets. Through his work, he was acquainted with most of the dogs in town and plenty of them apparently enjoyed visiting the farmers market with their humans.

He felt compelled to stop and greet all of them.

He and his siblings used to complain about their father taking forever whenever they ran errands around town, mostly because he always stopped to talk to everyone he met.

He could still hear Dan Gentry’s calm words.Good vets are an integral part of their communities. They should never be too busy to talk to people about their concerns for their pets.

In the years since coming back to Emerald Creek, he had come to see how very right Dan had been, about everything.

Luke loved his job. He loved being that integral part of life here in this little Idaho community.

Yes, getting here had been tough, and there were times during vet school that he wanted to give up, especially when Sierra had been small and their lives had been so chaotic.

After Johanna died, he wanted to quit again. How could he be expected to care about a sneezing kitten when his daughter had just lost her mother?

Somehow he had managed to stick it out, to lose himself in helping others with their beloved animals. He would never regret it.

When he reached the ECAR booth, he found Madi chatting with a woman he didn’t know while his daughter talked to a couple of girls around her age who were each holding a black kitten, among the hardest animals to rehome. He stood out of sight, enjoying the sight of both Madi and Sierra, each completely in her element.

“They’re so cute,” one of the girls exclaimed, holding her freckled face to the kitten’s. “I wish my mom wasn’t allergic. I want one so bad!”

“So do I,” the other one said. “Nobody’s allergic at my house, but my dad says no more cats. We already have three. But they’re not nearly as cute as this one. Maybe I should adopt him and then tell my dad later.”

“I’m sorry,” Sierra said firmly. “But since you’re not eighteen yet, your parents have to agree to the adoption and sign papers in person or you can’t take them home.”

The dark-haired girl sighed. “Shoot. I guess I can’t adopt him, then.”

“You’re still welcome to visit the animal sanctuary whenever you want, to hold the kittens and play with them. Everyone is welcome,” Madi said, her voice warm.

“That’s cool,” the girl with freckles exclaimed.

“Maybe we can go on Monday,” her friend said.

“Totally fine,” Madi answered. “We’re open to the public from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Check in at the office first.”

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