“Hey, Lyndsey,” she greeted without checking the caller ID.
“How was your day?” her cousin asked.
“Good,” she answered for what felt like the tenth time that evening.
“Just good?” Lyndsey questioned. “You’ve been waiting years to get to clinicals and you’re only giving me a one-word description?
It wouldn’t have taken her this long if she hadn’t been stupid and dropped out after…
With a firm shake of her head, she pushed those unwanted thoughts aside and refocused on her cousin’s question.
She plopped down on the couch. “It was amazing. I got to help treat a female who had a bad reaction to sunblock. A child with a cough and fever. An inebriated man who fell down a flight of stairs, and a farmer who had a run-in with a tractor and nearly took off two of his fingers.” Inhaling, she played with her ponytail. “That was my favorite. One digit was hanging on by—”
“Okay!” Lyndsey interrupted. “I get the picture.”
Isla laughed. “You’re the one who wanted more description.”
“But maybe not so much detail.”
“Says the woman who deals with battered and neglected animals.” Isla knew how awful some of the cases were because her cousin had often sent her photos.
“Yeah,” Lyndsey said. “But I seem to handle four-legged injuries better than two-legged. You were always the one who wanted to help humans, while I wanted to help animals.”
She nodded. “True.”
Even at a young age, Isla played doctor with dolls while her cousin would pretend to fix stuffed animals. Back when the world was wonderful, and her parents were still alive.
“I’m proud of you. You know that, Isla, right?” Lyndsay asked, sending a sudden stinging to her eyes and throat. “And your parents would be too.”
Inhaling, she tried to swallow past her tight throat. “Even though I took a few years off after their…”
It’d been ten years and she still hated to say the wordmurdersout loud.
“After their deaths?” she said, after clearing her throat.
“Especially because you went back and are now finishing your degree. Your dream,” Lyndsey said, her voice soft yet firm. “We are all proud of you and the way you persevere. You rock.”
She chuckled and it sounded watery even to her ears. “Yeah, one made of foam, maybe.”
“No. More like solid granite,” Lyndsey corrected. “You’ve overcome so much. This is your year. I’m so happy you chose to finish your schooling in Harland County so I could be around to see you shine.”
“Aww, thanks, cuz.” She sniffed. “You’re the reason I chose it, and why I moved to this cottage.”
She understood the importance of family and wanted, no, needed the connection.
“I’m glad. And so is Emily,” Lyndsey said, bringing a smile to Isla’s face at the mention of her cousin’s best friend and former neighbor.
Growing up, whenever Isla had visited her cousin, Emily was usually around. Isla considered her a friend, too.
“She’s leaving the Houston Humane Society to work as an officer out of the Shadow Rock Shelter.”
Isla sat up. That was great news all around. “The funding came through?”
While at the shelter yesterday, she overheard her cousin talking to the owner. Apparently, a few months ago, he began the process of applying for permits, licenses, insurance, and whatever else was legally necessary to connect his rescue to the Humane Society so they could work with the law to cut back on the neglect they dealt with on a daily basis.
“Yes,” Lyndsey replied. “Everything got approved and Kade said his shelter will officially be a branch of the society in a few weeks.”
“That’s terrific,” she said. “It’s great news for Emily and the county.”
