Rain Shadow (17 page)

“Rain would do just fine; she’s intelligent and level-headed. Plus, she’s an Arabian. They excel in distance sports. If you change your mind give me a call. I’ll be your partner, show you the ropes.” The vet smiled and walked toward the door. Taylor followed.

“What do I owe you for the farm visit?” She cringed inside, imagining the $23.51 that made up her checking account until pay day.

“Nothing. First visit’s on me. Just remember that water.”

“Dr. Wilson … ”

“And call me Jacob, please.”

“Are you sure? I feel bad.”

Jacob paused before pulling the truck door open. He looked at her. “It was an honest mistake.”

Taylor bit her bottom lip, feeling as if she might cry again.

“You’ll do fine, Taylor. Give a call if you’re worried and remember what I said about Ride and Tie.” He smiled and disappeared inside the dark interior of the pick-up truck.



Chapter 21

“Y

ou’re late.”

Taylor handed change and a triple shot mocha through the window to a woman in a yellow Volkswagon and heard the door click shut behind her. She turned and watched Melissa push her small backpack into the cubby beneath the cash register. Instead of the usual headband her hair hung long and  heavy, a dark fringe that obscured her face. When she rose and made eye contact Taylor stared into eyes naked of makeup. They were rimmed in red.

“You look like crap.”

Taylor waited for a comeback. Melissa said nothing. Instead she began scribbling on a sheet of paper by the register.

“What are you doing?”

A car had pulled up outside. Taylor hurried to take an order for a skinny latte then crossed her arms and waited for Melissa to respond.

“We need syrup. Crème de menthe I think.”

“No we don’t.” Taylor jerked her head toward the double shelf of syrup behind them. The tall glass bottles were arranged alphabetically, labels perfectly aligned like soldiers ready for action. “You just went through the syrup order last week, did you forget? Nobody uses crème de menthe anyway. It’s gross.” Taylor wrinkled her nose. “But, if you want to be useful you can empty the used grounds. While you’ve been filling in for Sleeping Beauty I’ve sold a ton of mochas.” Again Taylor waited for a response.

In the four months she’d been working morning shift, Melissa had never been late, or forgotten anything that had to do with the coffee stand. Some days it seemed as if she was already the owner, ready to take Holy Grounds to the pinnacle of small business success.

Taylor watched her remove the plastic tub under the machine. The pressure of expressing made the coffee grounds into compact brown discs. They looked like miniature hockey pucks. As Melissa tapped out the container Taylor noticed her hands shaking.

“Are you okay?”

Melissa straightened and replaced the tub. “Yeah, just had a hard night.”

Taylor furrowed her brows. “And … ”

Melissa dropped her arms to her sides. Her shoulders sagged and she seemed ready to burst into tears. “Can I ask your advice on something personal?”

Taylor glanced into the parking lot outside the kiosk and, seeing there were no approaching customers, grabbed the ‘closed’ sign and stuck it to the drive-up window. She pulled the shade down to obscure their presence.

“Of course.”

“My sister called me last night. She’s pregnant and considering an abortion. Her boyfriend doesn’t want the baby … I don’t know what to tell her.”

Taylor saw tears shining in Melissa’s eyes. Her own stomach churned into a knot. “Good thing she has you to talk to.”

Melissa did not look her in the eye. Instead, she leaned her back against the wall and slid to the floor keeping her knees pulled tight to her chest.

“Hmmm … there’s one problem,” Taylor slid down beside her. “You don’t have a sister, Melissa. You must have forgotten telling me about being an only child. Remember
—
‘The one thing we have in common?
’
” Taylor imitated her husky voice.

A sob caught in Melissa’s throat. Taylor felt her own cocktail of emotions rising inside. She said a silent prayer, the only prayer she was capable of saying anymore
:
God, please help me.

“So, you’re pregnant.”

Melissa gave an almost imperceptible nod. Her shoulders trembled. “Really dumb, I know. I should have used protection every time. I knew better. I have a future to protect.” Melissa gestured around the kiosk,
“
Ha
d
a future.” She put her head in her hands and sobbed.

“What does your boyfriend think?” Taylor tried to think of one thing she knew for sure about Peter besides his affinity for protecting the environment and all things sold at REI.

“Peter says now is not the time to have a child. He wants me to have an abortion; he gave me the money already.”

“D
o
yo
u
want to have an abortion?” There were so many words, so many feelings inside that wanted to come out. Taylor wished she were older and wiser and that the perfect words would magically come out and make the situation better. Instead she waited. And listened.

“I don’t know. The counselor told me every child deserves to be wanted. I think that’s true, don’t you?” Melissa wiped at her eyes and searched Taylor’s face. Her chin trembled.  “I’m not ready to be a mother; you know my plans for this place. Plus, Peter doesn’t want it. What does that mean fo
r
u
s
?”

Taylor wondered if the truth was written all over her face as she heard Melissa repeat the familiar words
:
Every child deserves to be wanted; He doesn’t want it; Whatdoes this mean for us
?
She squeezed her eyes shut.

She hadn’t thought seriously of the future of “us” when she’d started sleeping with Ian. Somehow she didn’t want to have to think about details when he’d wanted her and just being in his presence felt like enough. When she started loving him it seemed like that, too, would
be enough, enough to figure out the details of life with another person
—a home, jobs, personal habits. An unplanned baby.

Didn’t everyone say love was enough? How did you know the love you experienced with someone was big enough for something as life changing as a child? There were levels and limitations to love,
a
Note to Sel
f
  for future relationships. She’d suddenly, painfully, understood the limitations to love when she saw the look on Ian’s face after she told him. She could still see him pull out his wallet and count the hundred dollar bills, hear him say to himself as she left without drama, “It was worth it.”

Love shouldn’t hurt that much.



Chapter 22

M

innie glanced hopefully at the door. When Taylor ignored her she whined and jumped up on it, resting there with her front paws. Turning her tiny head she stared at Taylor.

“You can’t possibly be ready to play again. Plus, it’s cold out there. Give it up, Min.”

Taylor returned to the computer and typed “business loans” into the search engine. There simply had to be a way to find money for Melissa’s dream. It had become an obsession.

Minnie waited a few moments more at the door then began trotting around the small house. Alert and purposeful, she made rounds of the kitchen before disappearing into Taylor’s bedroom.

“It’s not in there, Min,” Taylor called in exasperation after the little dog, “I hid your ball. And for obvious reasons.”

At the sound of the wor
d
bal
l
, Minnie raced back into the living room and looked expectantly at Taylor.

“Oh, all right. I’ll throw it a few more times. Mom should be here any minute to pick you up.
”
And won’t she be surprise
d
, Taylor thought.

She glanced at a paper bag of Minnie’s things that sat by the door, awaiting her mother’s return from a post holiday Mexico cruise. She’d used none of its contents: a doggie purse to carry Minnie around in, several outfits, and doggie shoes in case it was overly cold when she took Minnie for a walk. Ridiculous.

Her mother would be shocked to discover that her pampered “child” loved the farm life and, especially, playing fetch. She had even gone after small rocks Taylor had thrown into the icy waters of the Nooksack River. Plunging her head under water, she’d retrieved the rocks over and over again like a tiny Labrador. Taylor had laughed until her sides ached, a new respect for the dog blossoming inside.

Later, she snuggled Minnie in a warm towel beside her on the drive home, amazed that dog sitting the “useless” Miniature Pincher had turned out to be so much fun. She couldn’t wait to tell her mom about the athletic ability that lurked inside five pounds of pampered pooch. She’d make sure to neglect certain parts of the dog’s stay on the farm. The river outing, for instance, and the fact that Minnie had certainly consumed her weight in horse manure in the last ten days.

“Ready?” Taylor held up the toy dog sized tennis ball she’d bought and Minnie gave a sharp bark.

The ball sliced through the chilly fog and flew across the driveway and into the cemetery. Minnie resembled a black torpedo as she raced after it, disappearing into the fog for a moment before reappearing with the ball in her mouth.

“Be careful near the road, Twit. You gotta watch where you’re going.”

Taylor wrestled the ball out of Minnie’s mouth and the dog panted happily, a doggie grin plastered across her face. At that moment Taylor heard tires crunch as her mother’s car pulled into the drive.

Barking hysterically, Minnie ran to the car.

“My sweetie!”

Taylor watched in silence as her mother scooped up the little dog.

“Dear me … look how wet you are, Min
Min. You must be freezing … and you stink.” Ann wrinkled her nose.

“Hi Mom, welcome back.”

“Thank you, Taylor Ann.” Her mother smiled for an instant, then
turned serious. “You should have put a sweater on Minnie, she’s shaking
like a leaf. This kind of weather isn’t suited for a fragile, short-coated dog like Min. Let’s get her inside.”

Taylor watched her mother fuss over the dog as if she were a newborn. Finally she spoke up.

“I think you’ll be amazed to know you
r
fragil
e
Minnie is a hoot.
We’ve had lots of fun outside together playing fetch. She’s like a Labrador
Retriever, Mom. It’s a crack-up.”

Her mother looked skeptical. “Retrieve?”

“Yeah, you’ve gotta watch her before you leave. Seriously, she’s hilarious.”

“It’s too cold for her.”

“No, she loves it. Wait and see.”

Her mother’s brows remained furrowed so Taylor continued.

“It could be good blogging material. Let’s see … unexpected potential in a client? Untapped opportunities in a property? You could talk about Minnie’s new skill and tie it into real estate in your next posting.”

Taylor wasn’t sure why it felt imperative to show off Minnie’s new talent except perhaps to prove she had done something right, as if getting close to the Pride and Joy would somehow help her get closer to its owner.

At the mention of the blog her mother softened. “I suppose just once would be okay.”

“Hey Min,
wanna get your ball?”

Catapulting out of her mother’s arms, Minnie pranced around Taylor’s
feet, tongue hanging happily out of her mouth.

“Ready?”

Her mother stood, arms crossed, and watched Minnie give a sharp bark. Taylor suddenly paused, “You should do it, Mom. Come on.”

Taking the wet ball with manicured finger tips, her mother drew back an arm and flung it in a wide arc in the direction of the street. Before it had even left her hand Minnie bolted in the direction of the throw.

Taylor didn’t hear the car approach. It appeared silently out of the mist, cresting a swell in the asphalt just as Minnie plucked the ball from the roadway. Like a film in slow motion, Taylor watched in horror as the tiny black dog disappeared under a front tire.

“Minnie!”

A shriek split the thick moist air and several things seemed to happen
at once. Taylor saw her mother sprint for the asphalt and a cacophony of noises—her mother’s frantic breathing, the car’s tires crunching on the gravel as it pulled over, her own heart beat pounding, and the agonized cries of a wounded animal—jumbled together.  Taylor raced after her mom.

“It just came out of nowhere!” A man wearing a cowboy hat called to them as he exited the car and made his way over.