Page 187 of Lavender Lake
The doctor left us for a moment.
“You’re so brave,” Cas said, cradling my cheek.
“Me?” I turned my head and kissed his palm. “You were the one who came charging in on a horse.”
“I’ve never been more terrified in my life, Salem. Not even when I was on the back of a bull named Diavolo.”
“I’m sorry,” I murmured. “I was scared too.”
He stared at me. “You admitted you were afraid.”
“Of course I was afraid,” I said in exasperation. “Only an idiot would lie about it.”
“I just meant, you’re not known for admitting fear.”
“Yeah, well. Try not to hold it against me, okay?”
He skimmed my cheek with his thumb and then dropped his hand. “Never.”
“Any word from Muddy about the fire?”
He shook his head. “Last I heard, Cole and the other smokejumpers were having trouble containing it. No idea about the damage or what caused it.”
“Do we have to evacuate?”
“Not at the moment. No.”
My phone pinged with an incoming text. I opened my cell and smiled at the message from Jane. I turned my cell to Cas who grinned at the photo of the male fox kit with a cast on his back right leg.
“Damn cute thing,” Cas said. “You’ll have matching casts. You took a huge risk, you know. He could’ve had rabies.”
“I grew up on a ranch. I’m familiar with rabies. I knew he was fine. Cas, I want to keep him,” I said.
“You can’t keep him.”
“If not pet, then why pet shaped?”
“He’s a wild fox.”
“Without a mom,” I pointed out. “And by the time he’s done recovering, he’ll be domesticated. He’ll never find his mother, and even if he did, she might not take him back.”
He sighed. “I’m not going to have a say in this, am I?”
“Did Declan have a say in the baby goat Hadley got?”
“Good point. We’re here to serve the Powell sisters. Whatever you want, you get.”
“You never really did tell me how you found out where I was,” I said.
“Next time you get up while I’m still sleeping, maybe you could leave a note or text about where you are,” he said. “Hadley texted me and said you weren’t answering her calls. And about ten minutes after that, Muddy sent out a family text about the fire in the area near your mom’s tree. I just knew. Iknewyou were out there. Had to talk to your mom about my proposal, huh?”
“Damn, I’ve already become predictable,” I muttered.
“No, I just know you really well.” He smiled. “While they were all planning for a potential evacuation, I got on Merlin and rode out to find you.”
“Cas . . .”
“I’ll always come for you, Salem. Always.”
