Page 5 of New in Town

She continues further in, making her way to a door across the living room. A spacious bedroom greets her with a pristine new bed. On the phone earlier this week, the attorney in charge of Henry’s affairs had explained this was newly ordered for her, according to the request in the will. Off the bedroom is an ensuite bathroom with enough space for an elegant clawfoot tub beside the shower.

Throughout the apartment, there are exposed brick walls running along the perimeter and white walls built up between to divide the space. The windows are tall, and she’s already imagining how the sunlight will pour in. She had expected a man cave, the place maybe a little unkempt, but this isn’t anything like she expected. It is…cute.

She leaves her bags and heads back out to the Jeep for the rest of her things. After three more trips, she has everything inside. In the center of the living room is a gray low-slung sofa that looks extremely inviting after her day. She takes a seat and pulls out her phone to text Jules that she’s arrived.

As Maddie is doing so, a bookcase in the corner of the room catches her eye. Getting back up, she crosses over to it. It’s mostly emptied out like the rest of the apartment; the attorney had clarified Henry’s will requested it be done before her arrival. She is still marveling at his confidence that she would arrive. How did he know?

But there, one of the few things that remains amongst a small handful of books, is a framed picture of Henry holding a newborn baby. She knows the picture. Picking it up and running her finger along the gold frame, she takes in the image she only saw for the first time this week. There is a copy of this in her box, on the back the wordsMadelyn and Dadwritten in Henry’s handwriting.

“He had this in his home,” she muses, feeling her eyes starting to mist. “Who were you, Henry? And why did you stay away if you wanted me around?”

* * *

West & Honey is not on city coffee shop hours. She had agreed to meet Arlo at the clinic for her first day at seven in the morning. West & Honey doesn’t open until eight.Eight. What coffee shop opens that late?

Defeated, and in need of caffeine, she makes her way over to the animal hospital. Strolling up Main, she feels her phone vibrate in the pocket of her scrubs. She withdraws it to see her mom’s name on the screen. Pausing to open the text, she reads it with a huff.

Charlotte

I still can’t believe you’re there. Just please, honey. Remember. NO COWBOYS. They’re no good.

As if I need the reminder, she thinks, shoving her phone back into her pocket. She is in the middle of a quarter life crisis, turning her whole life upside down because of the cowboy that brought her into this world. She certainly didn’t have the time or energy to add a second cowboy to the mix.

She turns down a side street, proud that she remembers the way there already. When the clinic comes into view, she takes a moment to settle herself. She inhales the fresh mountain air and the smell of the blooming trees lining the street. It is easy to admire the picturesque town she now, apparently, calls home.

Arriving at her new job, Maddie finds Arlo there with two cups of coffee in hand. A thankful smile stretches across her face, eliciting a chuckle from the elder vet.

“Good morning, Madelyn,” he greets her warmly, handing her one of the cups.

“Good morning, and Maddie please. And thank you for this! I’m going to have to order a coffee pot for home immediately. Does every place run on odd hours like the coffee shop?”

“Things are a little slower in town compared to city life. But I have a pretty good machine set up back here in the kitchen to make up for the odd hours.” He leads her through the waiting room filled with white chairs against a wall of windows, and narrow plank wooden floors. There’s a reception desk space at the back wall across from the door she’s entered through, however Maddie notes no receptionist.

“Who mans the desk?” she asks.

“Us,” Arlo replies simply.

He shows her the consult rooms, medication storage, testing space, and packaging space to send out specimens for more specific needs. They stop in the kitchen long enough for him to show off his state-of-the-art barista station, and then finally he leads her to a near empty room. There is a wooden desk in front of a wall of windows, and a leather chair tucked into it, two cream armchairs facing the desk, and a wooden bookshelf in the corner.

“This is your office, and mine is next door.” Arlo motions to his left as she walks to the desk and runs her fingers along the handmade edge. She glances out the window to see the mountains rising into the skyline before her. It all feels so comfortable here, the feeling taking her by surprise. So far, it seems she may beTeam Small Townafter all.

“Will this do?” he asks nervously.

“This will definitely do,” she responds, turning towards him, a broad smile on her face.

4

MADDIE

“Did you prefer domestic emergencies or livestock work?” Arlo asks her from across his desk. His office is lived in, and feels settled. She relaxes into the moss green velvet armchair and looks at the floor to ceiling shelves, stocked with books and mementos. She only has enough things to take up one shelf in her office next door. Vets don’t get their own space at the emergency center in Denver, only a locker.

“I never could decide, it’s why I ended up with both specializations,” she replies sheepishly.

“That works just fine. We’ll divide up office duties and ranch calls. Now for this introductory period,” Arlo says with a glance down at the notes. “We’ll set the benchmark at 30 percent. Once 30 percent of our client base is treated by you rather than me, then your ninety days will begin. Does that sound fair?”

She leans forward in surprise. “My ninety-day trial periodbeginsthen?”

“People can be stubborn in this town. I won’t hold it against you if they need time to warm up. And as for the ninety days period, it’s not about if I’ll keep you on here. As far as I’m concerned, I hired you, that’s that. It’s ninety days of at least thirty percent of our patients to become my partner.”

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