Page 38 of The Geography of Happiness

“Sounds serious,” Zach observed.

I huffed. “Just you wait untilyourbaby arrives. I’m gonna call and ask how much spare time and fun you’re having then.”

Zach grinned and raised both hands. “You’ve made your case.”

I looked across to where the dust was still settling on the driveway. “Spencer meant well, and he has a point. He’s a friendly guy.”

Zach chuckled. “Oh yeah. Our Spencer is averyfriendly guy. Friendly, friendly, friendly.”

The way he said it had me narrowing my eyes. “Now you’ve got me curious.”

Zach shook his head. “Nothing to worry about. And I’m just kidding. Spencerisa great guy. One of the best. But he’s also the most eligible bachelor around these parts. Good-looking. Owns his own business. Has all his teeth. There’s a trail of broken hearts all over the Mackenzie.”

“Oh.” My blush deepened as everything suddenly made sense. I wasn’t special at all. Spencer’s flirtatiousness was simply a natural part of who he was.

“So how is our namesake doing?” Zach’s question jolted me back to the conversation. “Miller?” He replied to my questioning frown.

“Oh, right. Spencer said he’s fine. And I’m sorry about the name. I warned Spencer that I was crap with that stuff, but he thought Miller was a good option. He said he once had a German shepherd called Miller.”

Zach blinked. “Really? That’s odd. I thought I knew all Spencer’s dogs.”

“It was when he was a kid,” I quickly explained, sensing I’d somehow made a mistake. “On his family’s farm back in Martinborough.”

Zach stared at me. “Spencer comes from Martinborough?” He looked confused. “I always thought he was a born and bred Southerner. Then again, he never talks about his background much, or at all, if I’m honest. We even joke that he sprang fromthe womb with a stethoscope in one hand and a pair of long rubber gloves in the other.”

“Oh.” I wasn’t sure what to say to that. “We just got to talking, I suppose.”

“I guessyou did.” Zach studied me with obvious interest and my palms started to sweat.

Thecrunch-crunchof Hannah’s elbow crutches on the gravel allowed me to duck Zach’s shrewd gaze and put an end to the conversation.

“There you are.” I opened the passenger door for Hannah to climb in.

“Sorry,” she puffed. “I forgot Gabby’s service jacket.” She declined my offer of help and set about clambering into the ute on her own.

“No problem. And I asked your dad to get your chair. We’re going to try a few different mobility challenges today.”

Hannah beamed. “Cool.” She settled herself in the front seat and I opened the rear door for Gabby.

The retriever leaped gracefully into the ute trailing her lead behind, not that she really needed it. When she was working, Gabby stuck to Hannah’s side like glue, the lead secured somewhere on Hannah’s person or her chair on a quick-release clip.

“I’ll have her back by five,” Zach said, sliding into the driver’s seat and buckling his seat belt. He shot me a wink. “It’s date night with Luke and he gets grumpy when I’m late.”

I grinned. “Well, we can’t have that.”

Zach rolled his eyes and started the ute. “It’s his turn to plan, so God knows what we’ll be doing. Last time it was a picnic in the whelping room with a new litter of pups clambering all over us. Take it from me, eau de puppy pee doesnotmake for a romantic setting.” But his soft shiny eyes told another story. “See you at five.”

A cloud of dust followed their journey along the station road toward Tekapo. I watched until they were out of view.

Have some fun.Spencer’s words rang in my head, and I briefly speculated what his take on the whole Hannah-Amber fiasco might’ve been. Then I wondered why I even cared what he thought? Spencer had even less right to an opinion on Hannah’s future than Amber. And yet for some reason, I did care, and I found myself wanting to tell him and wanting to hear his response.

Have some fun.

I groaned aloud as I glanced between the cottage, the driveway that led to the woolshed, and the lake. The forecast was for a clear sunny morning but with rain rolling in by midday. I had a lot of hours to fill until Hannah returned, and I wasn’t much for sitting around. Between the store and Hannah, my life was a constant whirlwind.

I spun toward the lake and took a few calming breaths. The air was heavy with the scent of damp grass, a crisp mineral tang from the lake, and a warm musky odour rolling down from the woolshed. The occasional bleating of sheep cut through the still of the morning, but the sound only added to the peace, like white noise.

My jaw worked as I debated my options. Spencer had been clear in his invitation to visit in the woolshed and maybe even have lunch together. But what would the others think? And why did I even care? No one knew me in the Mackenzie. And there was no guarantee Spencer would even have time to talk, regardless of what he’d said. Plus, Zach had been clear that the man was known for hisliaisons.What if I was just another challenge in his eyes?

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