Rescued by the Millionaire Vet - Chapter 12
Bending down, Charlie sniffed at the small desert flowers. They didn’t have much scent, but she loved seeing things bloom in such harsh conditions. It was a reminder that there was beauty in difficult times.
Charlie’s life had turned on itself in a fairly short space of time. From running Anderson Rescue on her own after Jared’s betrayal, to crying herself to sleep as overwhelming feelings chased at her feet, to waking next to Dev. She wasn’t foolish enough to think Dev might stay at the rescue forever.
Or rather, she was and spending far too much of her time reminding herself that he’d promised her six months.
Six months of bliss and partnership. What came after, that was a problem for future Charlie.
“Charlie!” Dev’s call brought her back to reality. She shifted and moved to catch up with him on the trail.
“Charlie.” The call echoed again. He was farther away than she liked. Clearly, she’d dawdled more than she realized.
Dev ran down the path, then pulled her to him. “I turned around, and I am sorry. I was following the app and didn’t realize you weren’t there. I’m sorry.”
“I am the one who should apologize. I got sidetracked by the flowers.” She pointed to the small golden flowers.
Dev’s hands tightened on her hips.
“Dev, I’m fine.” She kissed him, trying to pull the panic from his features.
“I know. I know.”
“But you still have a death grip on me.” She squeezed his wrists.
“Yeah.” His lips brushed her cheek. “You don’t specialize in wildlife medicine without hearing some horror stories.” He kissed her other cheek. “I got focused on my tech, and—”
“Speaking of tech…” Charlie slipped from his grip. “Any chance you’d mind building a keypad for the tech room? Tracking who comes and goes.” There was a look in his eyes, a shift. It sent a shiver down her back despite the day’s heat. “It’s fine if you don’t want to. I just…figure the paper log isn’t the best.”
Not admissible. That was what they’d said when she’d tried to prove Jared was using her system to sell information to the poachers. He’d walked away with no punishment. If she’d had a detailed log, then maybe…
“I can do it. And you need better security.” Dev’s grin almost pushed away her worries.
“You’re sure?” Charlie had figured this would be like the cage release, a quick and easy task.
“Sure.” He kissed her cheek, then they started back down the path.
The sun was warm, and Charlie squeezed his hand, then stopped.
“Charlie?”
She held up her hand. She could swear she heard… There it was again. And she knew by Dev’s movements that he heard it, too. The cry was soft, but there.
A few hundred yards from the path, a bobcat cub whined.
“Its eyes aren’t even open.” Dev looked into the desert.
Bobcat cubs didn’t open their eyes for the first ten days, and this one should still be right by its mother. “Either mom abandoned it…” Or something had happened to the cub’s mother.
Either way, leaving it out here was a death sentence, but could she release one basically raised by humans? Probably not.
She saw the indecision pass Dev’s features, too, before she moved toward it. Charlie lifted the tiny cub and put it in her backpack. She had to at least try.