Page 4 of New in Town

“Here you are,” the barista says, placing the coffee before Maddie. Picking up the cup, she hesitates, surprising herself by what she says next.

“Where is the vet clinic here?”

* * *

The pale blue bungalow, with a sign reading Potts Animal Hospital, is warm and inviting in the bright sun. She folds the West & Honey business card the barista had written the clinic’s address on and deposits it in her pocket alongside Henry’s key, and her fingers brush against the key’s cool metal. The apartment is what she came here for, to see his home, to better understand the man that fathered her. So why hadn’t she gone there yet?

The white painted door opens and a smaller man, no taller than her five and a half feet, steps out. She combs her fingers through her cocoa brown hair and adjusts the linen button down tucked into her jeans as she steps forward to meet him.

“Are you Dr. Potts?”

“I am. But call me Arlo. How can I help you?”

In her late twenties herself, she guesses Arlo is old enough to be her parent and she wonders if he knew Henry. His black hair is streaked with gray and his eyes wrinkle at the corners as he smiles at her. He’s patient as she struggles to verbalize what brought her to his clinic. Whathadbrought her here? The answer leaves her lips before her brain can understand what she’s doing.

“I was wondering if you were hiring.”

“Hiring for what position? Are you new to Sterling Ridge?” Arlo asks, guiding her inside to sit down.

“I recently came into some real estate here. My, um, Dad… Henry Wells left me his place,” she stammers. “I’m a veterinarian. Trained in domestic and livestock. I work as an emergency vet in Denver right now.”

Arlo raises an eyebrow at her but doesn’t comment on the name she drops. “Impressive training. And you don’t get many opportunities to have an emergency vet ‘round here. It’s just me since my brother retired a few years back.”

She holds her breath as Arlo processes the idea. What would she do if he agrees, move here? Maybe she shouldn’t have rushed to town the day after getting the news of Henry’s passing. She was obviously not thinking clearly.

“We can give this a go, a trial period, let’s say? If your credentials check out, of course.”

“Absolutely, that is more than fair,” she nods eagerly, wondering what on earth has gotten into her. Did she just agree to move to Sterling Ridge?

3

MADDIE

“Am I unhinged for doing this?” Maddie asks, throwing herself down on her bed. She drags her hands up her face and lets out a groan. Suitcases are open around the room before her, more of her belongings on the bed than in them, though.

“Maybe. But all the best plans have a little flair of mad in them,” Jules replies with a cheeky grin, sitting amongst the suitcases. “Wyoming is gorgeous, and the town is only three hours away,” she adds with a scoff.

“And what about my mom? I can’t just leave her, I’m all she has.”As she makes this argument, she knows there’s no weight behind it. Her mother had worked hard as a hospital nurse to provide for Maddie and the years had made her incredibly stubborn and independent. She didn’t rely on Maddie for anything. In fact, they hardly saw one another due to their differing schedules.

Jules smacks her painted pink lips disapprovingly. “Charlotte will be just fine, and if she needs anything, I’m here. And then there’s her fierce pack of night nurses over fifty club, or whatever they call themselves.”

They stare each other down, and Maddie knows she’s going to be the one to break first. “Okay,” she relents. “I’m nervous.”

“Of course you are. That’s normal in a situation like this. But you have to do this. For as long as I’ve known you, you’ve wondered about Henry. He was always this big question hanging over you. I wish this wasn’t the way it would have happened, but you get a chance for some answers.”

“I don’t know anyone there. I’m supposed to uproot everything to chase after a ghost that didn’t want me there before?”

“You’re not doing this for him, babe. This is for you. And imagine being able to treat animals knowing most of them will be leaving happy and healthy with their owners. Animals that come back, that you get to know and people you get to know. You’ve wanted a change for a while, workwise. This way you get a cute town in the mountains to go with it.”

Jules flips her strawberry blonde hair over her shoulder as if to say the discussion is settled, that she’s right. The thing is, Maddie has a feeling Jules is right, too. She just isn’t ready to admit it to herself.

* * *

Gripping the key tighter, Maddie throws her tote onto her shoulder, takes the handle of her suitcase, and rolls it up the walkway. She comes to a stop in front of the same apartment door she was at just a few days prior. This time, she has no choice but to go in, this is her home now.

She unlocks the door and steps inside. The evening light doesn’t make its way into the stairwell, and she fumbles for a light switch to make her way up to the apartment above. “This is at least better than seven flights of stairs,” she says to herself, dragging her suitcase up behind her.

Rounding the corner at the top of the stairs, she pauses to take in the space. The apartment is larger than she expected from the outside. With a sizable kitchen and living space, the main room is open and inviting. The ceiling is adorned with white tongue and groove boards, the flooring a real hardwood throughout. The kitchen is made up of dark olive-green cabinets and pristine white counters.

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