Amelia Lawson stopped the rough-running truck
in the Wildlife Reserve parking lot, pushing the gear selector up into park.
Shutting off the engine, she sat there, attempting to allow her breathing to
normalize and her hands to stop shaking.
She hadn't always hated driving, only
since that night.
Blowing out a shaky breath, she glanced up
and out the windshield at the entrance gates of the Wildlife Reserve.
So far, returning to work wasn't as easy
as she had hoped it would be. Perhaps she should have taken Kristina's offer to
drive her to the Reserve for the first day. Amelia had thought she had her
panic attacks under control.
The way her hands shook as she grabbed the
door handle spoke differently on the matter.
She had been doing fine for the first part
of the drive, until she was out of the town, heading towards the Reserve on a
long stretch of road. That was when some impatient someone had roared past her
in a sporty car along a curve and was forced to cut in front of her when a
grain truck appeared coming around the corner, blowing their horn.
It had just been just a little too similar
to that night. After the danger had passed, she was forced to pull over to
gather her frayed nerves as images from the night replayed on repeat.
Now, she was nearly half an hour late.
As she was about to pull herself from the
seat, she changed her mind and abruptly pulled the door shut. She needed to get
a grip, force herself to calm down before she went in if she ever hoped in
proving that she could still do her job effectively to the new manager they had
hired while she was in the hospital. She could only imagine what this new
person thought of Amelia coming back after four months in the hospital and a
whole year of physical therapy to regain most of the use of her legs.
Most, being the operative word.
Knowing she couldn't stall forever, Amelia
pushed open the driver's side door once again. Grabbing the fabric of the cargo
pants that covered her left leg, she dragged it off the truck seat.
She gritted her teeth in familiar
frustration as it dangled there uselessly. Reaching over to the passenger seat,
she grabbed the crutch that was used to take the place of it. Leaning on it
heavily, she cautiously slipped down from the truck. Something she had done
millions of time before without thought. Now, the act itself was a chore that
left her slightly breathlessly by the time she shut the door.
In that moment, Amelia wondered if perhaps
Kristina was right. Perhaps returning to the Reserve where she used to help
take care of a variety of animals, and even go on rescues, wasn't such a good
idea. What made her think she could resume her responsibilities? What made her
think she could do anything that she once could?
The nerves in her legs were dead. She
couldn't feel anything but a persistent ache in her hip and the pain in her
thigh where the muscles worked overtime for such simple actions. Anything below
that was numb. Dead. A useless lump of scarred flesh that the doctors had
fought valiantly to save.
And they did. But the feeling hadn't
returned like they had hoped, not like it had in her right leg that now was
forced to take the blunt of all of her weight when she walked.
"I got this," Amelia muttered to herself
as she breathed in deeply, then slowly let it out as her physical therapist had
taught her when the pain became too much. Once her heartbeat had normalized,
Amelia lifted her chin and started towards the entrance, her left leg partially
dragging along the pavement as the crutch kept her upright.
Could she do this?
Perhaps working with animals could help
with your recovery, not just physically, but mentally and emotionally. Her physical
therapist's recommendation came back, but she wasn't sure he had intended for
her to go back to work. He had probably meant something safe, like volunteering
at a dog shelter, not rescuing wild animals.
But the Reserve had been such a huge part
of Amelia's life, of her heart. If she lost that, then Mason really would have
taken everything from her.
She couldn't let that happen.
Determination came flooding back as she
picked up her painfully slow pace. As she entered the gates, she felt as if she
had come back home. The familiarity of everything was like a balm to her
exhausted soul, making a smile tug at her lips.
The front part of the Reserve was mostly
buildings. The offices, supply and feed sheds, garages that housed the off-road
vehicles. The habitats were further out back, covering thousands of acres to
give the animals the closest thing to a real home while they recovered and
prepared to be released.
Though Amelia had worked at the Reserve
three years prior to the accident, she still did not know who funded everything,
how they could afford such a vast operation. All she had been told when she
asked was that it was funded by a powerful corporation that believed in good
causes. She hadn't asked again, and it hadn't been part of her job to know. She
had just been grateful for it.
Nerves began to bound in her stomach as
she approached the office where the new manager said she would be.
Amelia knew nothing of this new woman,
Danielle Conway, except that she had been hired when the last manager had
retired, along with her brother, Grant Conway, that now ran the day-to-day
operations. That had been Amelia's job before. No doubt that now, Amelia
wouldn't be allowed to go on rescues any longer.
But the woman had agreed to meet with
Amelia about hopefully returning to work there in some kind of capacity. Now if
Amelia could just convince Danielle that she was truly capable of that, even
though she was beginning to doubt that herself.
Blowing out an anxious, pent-up breath,
Amelia knocked on the office door that was part way open before glancing in.
An empty office greeted her.
Amelia glanced at her sport wristwatch
with a grimace. She was half an hour late. Not the greatest way to make
a good impression. Ms. Conway had probably already given up waiting for her.
"Great," Amelia grumbled to herself with a
huff of disappointment. Maybe she had already blown whatever chance she had. Now
what did she do? Did she try to find the woman and try again, or did she just
give up and go back home and sulk?
"Can I help you?" A man's voice somewhere
behind Amelia made her jump and turn around as quickly as she could manage
without tripping herself. The owner of the voice was walking towards her,
pulling off well-worn, leather work gloves from his large hands as he
approached from the supply building. "We're not really open to visitors. This
isn't a zoo."
Amelia set her chin, despite a sudden rush
of unease washing over her at the realization she was now alone with a strange
man that didn't look pleased. This man hadn't been working here when Amelia had
been, but that was no huge shock. A lot could change in two years.
"I know," Amelia swiped her damp palm down
the front of her jeans, partially angry at herself for her nervous reaction.
She tried to remember the self-confident woman she had used to be. She seemed
as a stranger now. "I'm here to see Danielle Conway."
The man skeptically assessed her, gaze
dropping to the crutch she was using. She wasn't sure what kind of image she
presented.
"You must be Amelia," the man concluded
with a single nod, the disapproving tone gone and replaced with a friendlier
one. "I'm Grant Conway. Dani's my sister."
This was Grant? The man that had taken her
place? She wasn't sure why, but he hadn't been what she had been expecting.
Though if she was honest, she didn't even know what she had been expecting.
Somehow, this man in faded blue jeans, and grey tee-shirt that was damp around
the collar from sweat and had the Reserve emblem on the breast pocket, just
wasn't it. Light sandy blond hair peeked out from edges of the ball cap he
wore, shading his grey eyes and strong features.
If it had been three years before, Amelia
would have called him handsome, but now, she tried not to notice things like
that. She had learned a painful lesson on how deceptive good looks could be. They
hid a multiple of dangerous facets.
"I'm a little late," Amelia apologized,
trying to keep the disappointment from her tone. She wasn't sure she succeeded.
"Just a bit," he agreed with an amused
grin, glancing at his own wristwatch, but he didn't seem upset. "Dani's a bit
of a stickler when comes to being on time, but I suppose I could take you to
her. I was on my way to where she is anyhow."
She supposed this was a good thing. After
all, she did want to come back to work. But she couldn't help but think
perhaps it would been better if she had just went home, to just…give up. After
all, why not? Could she really resume even half of her responsibilities here?
"I'd appreciate that," Amelia finally
caved. Grant nodded as he bent down and picked up a bucket full of meat chunks
with ease. Something that she had once done as well without thought. Now, she
wondered if she could even pick it up. Much of her muscle had degraded while
she was in the hospital. While physical therapy had helped to restore most of
it for daily life, she knew she would never be able to do half the things she
had once been able to.
Like run two miles every morning before
work. That had been the favorite part of her morning routine. And now she was
lucky to make it to the kitchen.
She was feeling sorry for herself, she
knew that. But she couldn't help it, not when the most important part of her
old life was so close, and yet so much of it was so painfully out of reach.
If Amelia had any hope of convincing
Danielle that she could still work here at the Reserve, she'd have to stop
feeling sorry for herself. She took a breath to fortify herself and set her
chin before following Grant, who purposefully kept his long stride short to
allow her to keep up.
She appreciated that, but it made a part
of her frustrated. She didn't want anyone to feel sorry for her. She already
felt sorry enough for herself without anyone's help. Oddly enough, that was
what fueled her determination, and she made up her mind that one way or
another, she would prove that she could still work here, that this was where
she belonged.
She wasn't going to let Mason take this
way. She couldn't. He'd already taken everything else.
"I heard about your accident," Grant
attempted to fill the rather awkward silence as Amelia followed him along the
walk-paths between habitats. Surely, there were other topics he could have
chosen from other than that. What did Amelia even say, other than that he had
taken her job? It wasn't like she could blame him for that. She had been in the
hospital and the animals needed someone to take care of them.
She risked a glance sideways at him to
find that he looked to had regretted his choice in topics by the way he was
grimacing and shaking his head at himself.
"I uh," he cleared his throat awkwardly,
"It's good to see you're doing better?" It came out sounding as a question as
if he truly didn't know what to say now that he had started down this avenue of
conversation.
"Thanks… I think," Amelia muttered, unsure
what else to say.
An even more awkward silence followed
broken only by the crunch of gravel beneath their feet, the trees rustling in a
warm summer breeze.
"So, do you think that you can do this
job?" Grant stunned her by asking a few moments later bluntly. She casted a
stunned look at him. "Danielle mentioned that's why she was meeting with you,
that you wanted to come back. I think it's great," he rushed to reassure with a
grin. "It's just that…with your leg the way it is…" he let the sentence drop
off with an apologetic grimace. "I didn't realize how…extensive your injuries
were. That sounded insensitive of me, I'm sorry."
Amelia wanted to be upset but found it
difficult to as he rubbed the back of his neck that had begun to redden. And
oddly enough, the blunt, if not insensitively structured, question was just
what she needed to make up her mind and bolstered her determination.
His expected doubt spoken aloud had
suddenly made her want to prove him wrong.
"I can do it," Amelia declared with a
determined nod, even though she had just been doubting herself a few minutes
ago. "My physical therapy has strengthened the rest of my muscles to make up
for not having the use of my leg, and that's until my leg brace arrives. When
that gets here, you'll be the one keeping up with me." Perhaps that was an
exaggeration, but it had erased the sympathetic look from his grey-blue eyes
and replaced it with a hint of admiration as a smile kicked up his lips,
exposing a slight dimple.
"Alright," he nodded, pleased. "In that
case, Speedy, maybe we could pick up the pace?"
The challenge only took her aback for a
moment before she set her chin, knowing her right leg would be angry with her
in the morning. "You're the one walking so slow."
"Alright then," he chuckled as picked up
his stride to a more normal one. Amelia would never admit aloud how difficult
it was for her to keep up with him, but a hint of pride swelled when she
realized she actually could. She could feel him glancing sideways at her, as if
gauging if he should slow down.
He didn't. And she was grateful.
Somehow, she felt she had passed some sort
of test. And she had to admit, it did more for her damaged confidence than any
amount of physical therapy had.
"Hey, Dani," Grant called out as they
approached a woman that was talking to a younger man in a Reserve uniform,
signing documents. She glanced at her brother's call, a skeptical gaze studying
Amelia. She handed the clipboard of documents back to the younger man and said
something. The young man nodded and walked away down the large corridor with
cement walls on each side as Danielle turned and started towards them. Grant
set the bucket of meat down with a soft clank as his sister approached.
"You must be Amelia," Danielle attempted
to hide her skepticism with a polite smile as she approached, holding out a
hand.
"I'm sorry for being late," Amelia
immediately apologized, realizing just had badly she truly wanted this. "There
was a…situation."
"Is everything alright?" Danielle asked,
gaze dropping the crutch Amelia was using.
"It is now," Amelia set her chin
stubbornly. "I'm just going to cut to the chase if that's alright. I would like
to come back to work here."
The woman seemed only moderately surprised
by Amelia's bluntness, trading a questioningly look with her brother. Grant
gave a subtle nod that Amelia nearly missed and probably wasn't supposed to
see.
There was a moment of silence as Danielle
pondered this, hands shoved into the back pocket of her cargo pants, similar to
the ones Amelia wore. They were the normal attire at the Reserve.
"Alright," Danielle nodded. "See you
Monday."
Amelia was taken aback. "What? Really?
Just…just like that?" Amelia had been expecting more resistance, more questions
and doubts like Grant had done. At least he had asked if she thought she could
do this job.
"Well, you don't strike me as a woman who
would just give up just because I said no." Danielle grinned, raising a brow.
"Or am I wrong?"
"Uh, no," Amelia quickly regained her
composure and shook her head. "I wouldn't have." Even if she had been thinking
about doing just that.
"Okay, then," Danielle shrugged, "I'm just
saving myself the headache. We'd love to have you come back, Amelia. The last
manager spoke very highly of you, saying that you truly loved your work and the
animals. That's what we need, and frankly, we're shorthanded. We need the
help."
Amelia for some reason glanced to Grant,
who nodded in agreement, but also with a kind of encouragement. She wasn't
sure, but she got the feeling he wanted to see her succeed. But he barely knew
her.
Amelia didn't want to make them doubt her
now, but Amelia couldn't help but ask. "But…aren't you worried my leg will
hinder me…or something?"
Danielle merely grinned with a dismissive
shrug. "So? Prove me wrong." She patted Amelia's arm as she walked by. "Monday.
Eight sharp."
Amelia nearly couldn't believe, turning to
watch the woman walk away, mouth agape. Stunned, she looked to Grant, who simply
shrugged.
That had gone way better than Amelia could
have ever hoped for. It took a moment for her to process it, but when it did, a
smile spread across her face. A real, genuine smile. The first since the
accident.
"Congrats," Grant grinned. "See you on
Monday, Speedy."
"That's not going to become a thing, is
it?" Amelia asked with a grimace as he began to walk away. "That 'speedy'
nickname."
Grant nodded with a grin of mischief walking
backwards. "It's definitely a thing."
Amelia scowled, but it turned to a smile
of relief as he turned his back and jogged to catch up to his sister. She
looked around in stunned excitement, realizing that she would truly be coming
back to the work she loved.
Her gaze fell to one of the observation
windows and limped over to it, unable to squash her curiosity. At first, she
saw nothing in the artificial habitat that they worked hard to make as
realistic as they could with real trees, rocks and water.
She doubted it was empty, but was about to
walk away until she saw something move behind a bush, making it rustle. It took
a moment before she saw the set of golden yellow eyes watching from behind the
limbs.
She couldn't see the animal that they
belonged to, but a strange feeling flittered through her the moment she saw
them. She couldn't explain it, and it puzzled her, making it difficult to look
away.
There was no doubt, though. The eyes that
were fixated on her were the eyes of a predator.