Page 7 of Saving Her Heart
"Assault by a farm animal?" Declan's already on his feet. "This I have to see."
We head for the patrol cars, and I'm trying to picture what could possibly constitute a livestock disturbance at the most upscale condo complex in town. Hibiscus Point is all marble and meditation gardens, not exactly barnyard territory.
"Twenty bucks says it's the Johnsons' peacock again," Declan says as we pull out.
"That was Seaside Villas. And it was a swan."
"Right. The peacock was at the country club."
The radio crackles with more information. Property damage, multiple violations, and now someone from code enforcement is being dispatched too. Whatever's happening, it's escalating fast.
We pull up at Hibiscus Point just as animal control arrives. Through the entrance gate, I can hear shouting and what sounds like... bleating?
"Is that a goat?" Declan asks.
We walk through the gate, and I stop dead. The pool area looks like a tornado hit it—if tornadoes specifically targeted breakfast buffets and rose bushes. Residents in various states of morning dress are clustered around, phones out, filming something by the demolished buffet table. An elderly woman near the gate looks lost and confused. And there, standing by the pool in bare feet, her usually perfect composure completely shattered, is Kendall Greene.
My chest tightens. After months of successfully avoiding her at every town event, here she is, looking like she's been through a war with whatever animal caused this chaos.
She hasn't seen me yet. She's staring at something on one of the pool loungers—a small brown and white goat that's watching the crowd with mild interest. Kendall’s dark hair has escaped from its usual neat style, and there's something that looks like rose petals stuck to her blazer. Even disheveled and clearly panicked, she's beautiful.
I force myself to focus on the scene, not on the way my pulse kicks up the moment I see her. I need to act as if this is just another call.
A woman I recognize as Valerie Thornfield, the HOA president, starts limping toward me dramatically. "Officer! Thank God you're here. I've been assaulted! That creature knocked me down. I could have broken my hip!"
"Ma'am, are you injured? Do you need medical attention?"
"I need that woman arrested!" She points at Kendall. "This is gross negligence. She's allowed livestock in a pet-free building!"
I pull out my notepad, more to give myself something to do with my hands than anything else. "Let's start from the beginning. What exactly happened?"
But Valerie's already launching into a tirade about property values and multiple violations. Behind her, Kendall has finally noticed me. I watch her shoulders stiffen, her chin lift in that defiant way I remember from when we were eighteen, and she told me if I left for Dallas, we were done.
I walk toward her, keeping my pace measured, professional. The last time we were this close was at Hudson's wedding, and even then we'd managed to avoid actually speaking. Now there's nowhere for either of us to hide.
The goat looks up from the lounger and bleats. Several residents laugh. This is already a circus, and I haven't even started taking statements yet.
As I walk away from the chaos, I’m already pulling out my phone to call this in. Captain Ramirez is going to have a field day with this one. A therapy goat. He'll probably make me write up a full incident report just for the entertainment value.
Behind me, I hear the code enforcement officer asking about structural damage to the garden features. Valerie's still going on about her near-death experience to Declan. And somewhere, animal control is trying to load a goat into their van while a confused elderly woman watches.
I should be thinking about the paperwork, the violations, the follow-up that'll be required. Instead, I'm thinking about how Kendall's hair looked in the morning sun, the way she stood herground even when everything was falling apart around her, and how she sat with Mrs. Parsons, probably trying to help despite her own crisis.
"That was interesting," Declan says, appearing at my elbow as I reach the patrol car.
"It was something."
"You okay?"
I look back at the pool area. Kendall's nowhere in sight now, probably dealing with damage control. "Yeah. Just... complicated."
"The goat situation or the Kendall situation?"
"Both."
He claps me on the shoulder. "Come on. Let's get back and file these reports. Though I've got to say, assault by goat is a new one for me."
"Everything about this morning is new ."
