Page 93 of Boston
Her eyes landed on the clock on the dashboard next, and because she’d left early and picked up the doughnuts first, she had time to go by one more address. She’d only been in town for a full day, and as today was a holiday, everyone would be out and about, just not at seven a.m. Coral Canyon did do a hot air balloon launch at six-thirty and that, combined with the people who liked to sleep in, had left the roads relatively bare.
Bailey turned right onto Main Street instead of left and headed east. When she reached the south highway that would take her down toward bigger roads and bigger towns, she made another right, and then almost an immediate right again.
She brought her SUV to a stop and looked at the facilities in front of her. She’d built a veterinary clinic in Butte, and she could easily see where she could add pastures for horses andcattle and what that long metal shed could be used for: supplies, feed, stalls and more.
The little red brick building next to it would be the lobby where people would bring their sick animals, and Bailey could put dog kennels out the back of it. Tall trees stood here, and while the parking area was dirt and would need to be completely redone and marked, she could see her veterinary clinic here.
Of course, she’d been able to see it at the last place she’d driven by and the one before that too. Yesterday she’d driven by two sites, though one of them was definitely more rural and farm-like than she would like. She wanted something a little bit more commercial, with easier access, and good bones. It would already be an astronomical amount of work for her to move here and restart a clinic with basically zero clientele.
On Monday, she had a meeting with Dr. Monroe, a current veterinarian in Coral Canyon. She had a list of questions she wanted to ask him, as she had gotten used to the cattle sickness and other ailments of animals in Butte. Every area would have its specific needs, including Coral Canyon. From her research, she would be the fifth veterinary clinic in town, should she choose to move here.
A scoff fell out of her mouth.
Choose.
As if she was being given a choice.
Bailey’s jaw locked, and she stared at the double-glass entrance doors to the red brick building.
This had been a bottling facility in the past, and with a couple of phone calls, Bailey would be able to get out and walk the property, open every cupboard and drawer, and peer into every nook and cranny, to really get an idea of the amount of work she would have to do.
Bailey wasn’t afraid to work hard, though. Not if she’d sunk her teeth into something she believed in. She was still trying tobelieve that she should be in Coral Canyon, despite the many and frequent pulls she had to the area.
Bailey didn’t like being told what to do, even from God, and she naturally dug her heels in and resisted.
Her phone rang, startling her and making her jump. She lifted her foot off the brake, and the car started to inch forward. She jammed it into park and fumbled to pick up her device.
Her mother’s name sat there, and Bailey cursed under her breath as she swiped down from the top corner of her phone. She tapped to turn on the Bluetooth, because then she could talk and drive at the same time. It didn’t connect in time, and the call went to voicemail.
She put the car in gear and swung it around again, and she’d just pulled onto the highway when her mother called for a second time. This time, it rang through her stereo speakers, and Bailey reached out to tap the infotainment screen on her dashboard to answer the call.
“Hey,” she said as brightly as she could, which meant it was the equivalent of an overcast day. “Sorry. I didn’t have my phone connected to the Bluetooth, and I couldn’t get it done fast enough before you went to voicemail.”
“It’s all right,” her mom said. “Why are you out on the eastern highway? Are you lost?”
“No,” Bailey said. “I’m on the way back right now. I thought you didn’t need the doughnuts until eight.”
“We don’t,” her mother said. “Stockton was just asking about a package of fireworks, and I told him you were in town, and he wondered if maybe you could stop. So we checked your pin, and that’s when I saw you out east.”
The light turned green, and Bailey hastened to turn onto Main Street that would take her back toward the western canyon where she had grown up in a luxury lodge after her mother had married billionaire Graham Whittaker.
“Aren’t we going to the fireworks in the park?” she asked. “Why does he need fireworks?”
“You’ve met Stockton, right?” her mom asked. “He says we can do fireworks for three days before and three days after, and he wants to set some off down at the cabin.”
“You better check with the fire marshal,” Bailey said.
“I’m going to pretend like I didn’t hear that,” Momma said. “Because if I tell him that, he’ll probably skewer me alive.” Momma gave a light laugh, and Bailey forced herself to join in.
“Well, I’m thirty minutes away,” she said. “But I can stop and get the fireworks.”
“He says there’s a booth right on the corner before you come up the canyon.”
“Sure,” Bailey said, picturing it in her mind. “I just drove by it.”
She heard Stockton saying something on the other end of the line, and then Momma said, “He wants the grand package. He said he can pay for it.”
“Oh, he’s paying for it,” Bailey said. “I’m not paying for fireworks when we’re going to fireworks tonight.”
