Page 50 of Raven's Instinct
And he was on her side.
He was there in her corner to fight for her and for Amy. He was smart and strong and handsome and kind, and he had powerful connections. He was protective, without being jealous or possessive. Kendra could not imagine someone who could be a more perfect fit for her. He was a checklist of all the green flags.
She slept again thinking about all the ways he was wonderful, and woke to Amy’s wail.
Alan’s highly-trained reflexes got him to the door while Kendra was still trying to figure out how blankets worked, and he was already lifting Amy out of the play pen when Kendra got to the guest bedroom. “Good morning to you, both!” he said merrily.
They had breakfast together, and Kendra enjoyed coffee from his Keurig brewer. “I’ve thought about getting one of these for the rig,” she said. “But they take up so much space, and that’s the one thing at a premium.”
“Have you thought about where you’d like to live? You said you’ve been saving towards a house, are you close?”
Kendra noticed that he didn’t presume she would want to move directly in with him or let him support her. “I’m closing in on being able to put a down payment down on something modest,” she said. “Of course, I say that, then fall in love with a place like this.” She showed him the printout that Clarice had given her; she still carried it with her in her purse.
“Two bathtubs,” Alan pointed out. “A very good sign.”
“It’s out of my price range unless I save up for another year or two.”
“Unless you had someone saving alongside you.”
Kendra didn’t want to ruin their easy rapport. “I don’t know that you and I are at that point yet,” she said sensibly. “I haven’t even agreed to marry you yet.”
“You’ll come around,” Alan said drolly. When Kendra didn’t laugh, he put down his coffee cup. “You’ll come around when you’reready,” he said easily. “And I don’t think youneedme, but if I canhelpyou, don’t let pride keep you from asking.”
“You’ve already been a huge help,” Kendra pointed out. “If it weren’t for you, I’d be in Canada right now, hiding from the Mounties.”
“Do they still have Mounties in Canada?”
“I presume so.”
“Do they still ride moose?”
Kendra nearly snorted her coffee. “I don’t think they ever rode moose.”
“That’s a shame. Wouldn’t you love to ride a moose, Amy?”
“OOSE!” she agreed. “Okay.”
Kendra’s early appointments were routine. She was able to give an elderly pet pig some pain relief, and did checkups and vaccinations to a litter of wiggling puppies while their mother licked her anxiously.
She left the family thinking about Bernard, because she didn’t want to think about Charlie. How would they get him back to human? Could Alan’s agency magic up a solution? Was he really amurderer?
She ate a swift lunch out of the fridge and her afternoon clients were grateful to see her. She was able to relieve a blockage in a cow’s teat, stitch up a tear on an active filly’s leg, and vaccinate a small, affectionate herd of dairy cattle.
There were two parking spots together in front of Tiny Paws, so Kendra took the opportunity to park close. She was a little early, so she leaned against the wall and watched fondly over the gate. Alan was playing a very complicated game that involved wearing a frilly pink apron and a crown, and he appeared to be organizing a restaurant of some kind. “No, no, that needs more salt,” he told Tara. “That cookie needs to be in the oven longer, Jennifer. Add noodles to the menu!”
The girls scampered to make corrections. “Will you be a monster Mister Alan?” Gil begged.
“I’m being a king chef right now,” Alan said apologetically. “Can you take turns being the monster?”
“But you’re the best monster,” Gil whined.
“I’m flattered,” Alan said firmly. “But I’m taking turns playing with the cooks right now.”
Amy was firmly in the monster camp. “MONSER! MONSER!” She had not noticed Kendra’s entrance.
Addison was rocking a toddler who was sleeping in her arms. “Psst! Kendra, can you give me a quick hand?”
Kendra stepped over, forgetting about her boots, and carefully took the sleeping toddler and settled him into one ofthe cribs separated from the main room with heavy sound- and light-blocking curtains. She returned to find Addison struggling to rise and came to her aid. “I will be so happy to have my body back,” Addison said, rubbing her side. “Soon, little one. Soon!”
