When Tomorrow Comes, page 13
Teague nodded. “I do understand, even though my struggle is different. You suffer from lack of focus, but I struggle with being too focused. I can’t stop once I start working on a problem. I need almost complete order in my life. Everything must be put back on the shelf, all my clothes properly put away or left in the laundry hamper. If you were to lock me in your house right now, I would go mad trying to put everything in order. I would clean up the trash, wash all the dishes, and scrub the floors with a brush.”
“That doesn’t sound so bad.” Baye smiled for the first time since Teague had arrived.
“But I would not be able to stop there. I would reorganize your closets and cabinets. I need uncluttered surfaces, so I would pack away any trinkets and knickknacks. I would not be able to stop until I had put fresh paint on your walls, ceilings, and trim. You have crown molding in your kitchen, but not in the living and dining rooms. That would irritate me until it was fixed.”
“Feel free to get busy in there.”
Teague shook her head. “Did you not notice the excessive organization in my bedroom closet? Or the absence of photographs or artwork on my walls?”
“I thought it was because you have a full-time housekeeper and didn’t like art.” She frowned. “My house could look like that, too, if I had someone cleaning up after me every day.”
“You are missing my point. I would not be able to eat or sleep until I had cleaned and painted every room in your house. Every minute I stood among your disorder, I was a step closer to a meltdown.” She knelt in front of Baye and took her hand in both of hers. “When you came to the cottage last week, I was in the middle of an obsessive episode. I could see the solution to the problem I had been contracted to solve but had to work out how to get to that solution. I could not break my concentration and stop to talk with you. I do not mean that I did not want to. I could not. That is my struggle.”
Baye’s eyes filled with tears. “What are we going to do with each other? We’re so different, yet so alike.”
“We are going to help each other, maybe with a professional to assist us.”
Baye made a face. “I’ve tried therapists. They put me on a lot of drugs that made me feel funny. I didn’t like it.”
“I have never met another person whose company I wanted, and I want you a great deal. I find that I want to touch you.” She brushed her fingertips along Baye’s cheek. “And, to my surprise, I like when you touch me.” She closed her eyes as she took Baye’s hand and held it against her own cheek. “I do not just tolerate but welcome your touch.” She opened her eyes. “So, please, can we try together? It will be difficult, but I have analyzed the odds of success and think it is possible.”
Baye’s lips on hers were warm and soft and tasting of peppermint.
“Yes.”
Chapter Twelve
Pretty, pretty.” Mac screeched as he half flew, half hopped toward them from the barn. “Bad dog. Bad dog.”
Teague bent to let him climb onto her forearm. “Who is being bad, Mac?”
Normally laid back and quiet, Snow was barking deeply and persistently, accompanied by Badger’s shrill yaps and Tommy’s frantic shouts.
Baye grabbed Teague’s other arm. “Something’s wrong. Hurry.”
Teague clasped Mac to her chest as they ran through the barn to discover Tommy, brandishing a pitchfork and shouting at a young black bear. Snow stood in front of Tommy, teeth bared as he barked at the bear, which was sitting on its haunches and unsuccessfully trying to swat Badger as he darted in and out from different directions. The bear roared when Badger landed a bite on its butt. Behind their line of defense, Abigail, along with her kids, Tater and Tot, was trying to escape, but they all kept falling down, then struggling to their feet after about fifteen seconds, only to fall over again. Asset brayed loudly, and Lucky whistled warnings as they stood guard over the sheep they had herded to a corner of the pasture.
“Baye, wait.” Teague didn’t have time to get the shotgun from the barn office. She put Mac down and sprinted after Baye and joined her in waving her arms and shouting. Only then did she see the radio collar around the bear’s neck. The pandemonium was clearly too much for the bear, and it turned, went over the wood fence, and disappeared into the forest beyond.
Tommy threw down his pitchfork and ran to the goats, all of them collapsing as he reached them. “He hurt Abigail and her kids.” Tears wet his face as he ran his hands over each one, and then, after a moment, they individually stood shakily.
Teague walked to him, careful not to trigger another fainting spell among the terrified goats. “Tommy, Tommy. They are okay. They are fainting goats and become paralyzed for a few seconds when something scares them. It is natural for them to do that. They are not hurt. They were just scared.”
“They fainted because they were scared?” He wiped his nose on his sleeve.
“Yes. Is that a carrot I see sticking out of your pocket?”
“I was feeding the bunnies when Snow started barking, and then I saw the bear.”
“You can feed it to Abigail and her kids to make them feel better.”
His face brightened. “I’ll do that. I’ll feed them the carrot. It’s a big one so they can share.”
Baye walked up, holding Badger wrapped in her T-shirt and lowering her voice. “Badger’s been hurt. When the bear was swiping at him, I think one of claws must have caught him on the side.”
“Let me see.” Teague kept her voice low, too, while sparing a glance to make sure Tommy was occupied with the goats. The wound was about four inches long, a clean slice through the skin and hypodermis. The muscle tissue underneath didn’t appear to be harmed. “He needs stitches.” Frantic monkey calls came from the barn. “Sounds like someone else needs to calm down, too.”
“Oh, no! Is Badger hurt?” Tommy, who had been all smiles while he fed the carrot to his goat friends, shifted uneasily from foot to foot, his face screwing up like he might cry again.
“He has a boo-boo on his side, so we’re going to ask his doctor to take a look at it,” Baye said. “The bear’s claw was probably dirty, and we don’t want it to get infected.”
“I tried to chase the bear away. I told Badger and Snow to leave it alone, but they wouldn’t listen.” Tommy’s big chest hitched with a sob. “I’m sorry, Miss T. I really tried to stop them.”
Baye rubbed a soothing hand up and down his back, and Badger licked his hand.
“He will be okay, Tommy. Badger and Snow were protecting you and the other animals. That is their job.” Teague wished she could comfort him, too. Her aversion to touching other people held her back, so she offered verbal reassurances and let Baye do the touching. They were a good team. “You were very brave, too, and smart to take the pitchfork with you. But next time, let the dogs do their job. We do not want you to get hurt.”
“That’s right,” Baye said. “All the other animals need you to take care of them.”
The big man shook his head. “I can’t do that. You can be mad at me if you want, but I can’t watch them get hurt.”
“You are a good man, Tommy,” Teague said. “Come up to the barn, and I will give you some treats for the rest of them. They were scared, too, even though they did not faint.”
Baye handed Badger to her and took Tommy’s hand to encourage him to follow her. “Are you okay, Tommy? Were you scared?”
“No, ma’am. I didn’t have time to be scared until after the bear was gone and my heart was beating fast.”
When Teague led them into the barn, Cappie made a flying leap to Baye’s shoulder, where he hid in her long, curly hair.
“Bad dog. Bad dog.” Mac fluttered down from where he was hanging onto a lead line and grabbed Teague’s pants leg to crawl up to her shoulder.
“That was not a dog,” Tommy said. “It was a scary bear.” Mac seemed to think over this new word, so he repeated it. “Scary bear.”
“Bad dog,” Mac said.
“Scary bear,” Tommy said again. “Scary bear.”
Teague handed Tommy a bucket and loaded him up with alfalfa cubes. “They all like these. Give Asset and Lucky two each. They did a good job guarding the sheep. Then give one each to the goats and the sheep.” She went to the refrigerator in the feed room and retrieved a tasty hambone. “And give this to Snow.”
“What about Badger? He bit the scary bear.”
“We better wait to make sure the vet doesn’t have to sedate him to stitch up his cut,” Baye said. “He’ll get lots of treats after the vet fixes his boo-boo.”
“Okay.” Tommy nodded, then walked back to the pasture with the bucket full of them.
Baye turned to Teague. “You don’t think the bear will come back, do you?”
“No. From his size, I would estimate he is only about two years old and may be out on his own after just leaving his mother. He was looking for food, but I doubt he expected the resistance he met after climbing the fence. Young bears are easier to scare away. He had a tracking collar on, and that is a national forest beyond the pond. I will contact the local ranger and report it. They will probably hunt him, tranquilize him, and relocate him somewhere that is not close to people. I will bring the animals into the barn, just in case.”
“I should call John and tell him what happened so he can be prepared if the bear shows up at the kennels. He might try to get in the feed room. We have a lot of dog food in there.”
“That is a good idea.”
* * *
Connie looked up from the potatoes she was peeling. “Where’s your shirt, young lady?”
Baye pointed to Teague, who was coming in behind her with Badger in her arms and Mac on her shoulder. “There was a bear in the pasture trying to get to the goats and sheep, and Badger got injured when he bit it. He has a cut on his side, so I wrapped him in my T-shirt to stop the bleeding.”
“Scary bear,” Mac said for the first time.
Connie’s eyes went wide. “Oh my God.” She threw the bowl of potatoes into the sink, hastily washed her hands, then went to Teague. “How bad is it?”
“He will be fine, but I think he needs a few stitches.”
“I’ll call Dr. Jayne and tell her we’re bringing him in,” Connie said, pulling her phone from her apron pocket. She punched in the vet’s number. “My poor, brave boy.” She bent to kiss Badger’s head. “Yes, hello. This is Connie at the Maxwell residence. A bear has injured Badger. Can you let Dr. Jayne know we’re on our way to your clinic? We’re ten minutes from you.” She took him from Teague, and the terrier licked her face. “I’ll hold him while you drive.”
“I need to call the forest ranger and report the bear,” Teague said.
“I’ll drive her,” Baye said. “Tommy can help you put the animals in the barn. Then will you guys go check on John? I’m afraid he’ll get hurt if the bear shows up there.”
“You aren’t dressed, Baye,” Connie said, carefully cradling Badger in her arms, tears filling her eyes as she kissed his head again.
Baye chuckled. “How about we all take a deep breath. Badger’s injury isn’t life-threatening.” She looked to Teague. “This is a sports bra, Connie. If you walked in a gym, you’d see a lot of women working out in this and some shorts.” She turned to Teague and began disengaging Cappie from her hair. “Can you loan me a T-shirt and take Cappie?”
“Yes. I will put them in their cages where they will feel safe.” She handed some keys to Baye. “Take the Jeep. Connie likes that one.”
Really? How many cars did Teague have?
* * *
Four.
Connie led the way to the door that opened into a four-car garage, the back wall containing shelves built around several rolling tool chests and a mobile workbench.
“Wow.” Baye saw Teague’s motorcycle at the far end of the huge room, and the rest of the garage was filled with the Jeep Grand Cherokee, a Hummer, a Mustang Shelby GT500, and a 2023 Corvette Z06.
“She likes those ridiculous muscle cars and that thing that looks like an army vehicle. She bought the Jeep for me to drive,” Connie said.
Baye opened the passenger door of the Jeep, helped Connie get seated since she had Badger in her arms with his head resting on her ample breast, and then climbed into the driver’s seat. She wanted to examine all the bells and whistles of the luxurious interior but knew Connie was anxious to get Badger to the vet. “Here we go,” she said, pushing the button to bring the engine to life.
* * *
“Yes. It was a juvenile black bear, only he was not black. He was light brown and had a green tracking collar. I am certain. I know the difference in body shape. This was a young black bear.” Teague listened to the ranger on the other end of her call. “No. I could not see the numbers on the collar or the ear tag or the sex. I was intent on saving my animals. It was not aggressive. I think it was just hungry. I have a donkey, a llama, and a Great Pyrenees mix that routinely guard my small flock of sheep and goats. I think it was more resistance than the bear expected. Also, my terrier joined in and bit it on the butt. I do not think the bear was injured, but my dog is at the vet getting stitched up. It is not a bad injury, mainly a deep scratch.” She listened again. “Yes. We have warned our nearest neighbor. They run a dog-and-cat rescue. The bear might try to get in their feed room, where a lot of cat and dog food is stored.” A long pause, and then she rattled off her address. “Thank you.”
Tommy looked at her expectantly. “They won’t hurt the bear, will they? I think you’re right. He was just hungry.” He brightened. “We could leave a bag of dog food in the woods for him to eat.”
“No, Tommy. You should never feed wild bears. They will learn to be dependent on people and keep coming back. This is a young bear that needs to learn to hunt. If he associates people with food, then he can become dangerous, and the rangers would have to kill him.”
Alarm showed on Tommy’s face. “They won’t kill him, will they?”
“No. The ranger said they have been looking for that bear because the battery went dead on its tracking collar. They will come tomorrow to track him, then shoot him with a tranquilizer dart to make him sleep. Then they will check to make sure he is not injured, put a new collar on him, and take him to a place where there are no people so he can live like a wild bear should.”
“Good. That’s good,” he said. “I don’t want the bear to get hurt.”
She gave his back a quick pat, surprising herself. She had initiated touching another person that was not Baye. “I do not want him hurt either.” She pointed to the pasture. “In case he does come back tonight, help me get the animals in the barn so they will be safe. Then we will go check on John.”
Tommy smiled. “Okay, Miss T.”
* * *
All in the small, crowded waiting room looked up when Baye burst into Dr. Jayne’s waiting room with Connie, still clutching Badger, right behind her. “We have Badger. We called ahead.”
A female vet tech in dark blue scrubs stepped out of the hallway. “Right this way,” she said. “Dr. Jayne is waiting for him.”
The veterinarian was preparing a surgical tray. “Lay him on the table, and let’s take a look.”
Connie put Badger down, and Dr. Jayne carefully unwrapped the T-shirt.
“Oh. This doesn’t look bad at all for a fight with a bear.”
“Will he be okay?” Connie’s voice shook a bit.
“From the looks of this, he’ll be fine. I’m going to sedate him for the stitches because I need to wash the wound out really well and take X-rays to make sure he doesn’t have any cracked ribs or internal injuries we can’t see. We’ll wake him up when we’re done so you can take him home with an antibiotic and something for pain.”
“You guys can wait out front,” the vet tech said.
“I’m not leaving him,” Connie said, arms crossed over her chest. Badger sat up and licked her arm, then growled at Dr. Jayne’s poking and prodding. “It’s okay, my brave little man. Dr. Jayne is going to fix you up so you can go home.”
Dr. Jayne turned to her assistant. “Patty, can you go tell whoever’s still waiting to be seen that there will be about a forty-minute wait while I handle this emergency? Judy can reschedule them if they prefer not to wait. Then tell Vic that I need him to assist me, and you can run the anesthesia.”
“Sure, Doc.”
“I’ll go to the waiting room,” Baye said. She realized it was going to get crowded in this small room. “Will you be okay, Connie?”
“Yes, dear.” She wiped a tear that had escaped her lashes. “I’ll be fine as soon as he is. I don’t know what I’d do without this little man.”
Badger’s short tail thumped against the examination table, and he licked her hand.
Baye followed Patty back to the waiting room and stood while she announced that everyone’s appointments would be delayed.
“Oh, no,” said one older lady, her arms around a trembling pit bull sitting on the bench next to her. “Is he hurt badly?”
“He’ll be fine,” Baye told them. “Unless Dr. Jayne finds some injury we can’t see, he just needs his wound cleaned out and stitched.”
They all nodded.
A middle-aged woman stood. “I’ve got to pick up the kids from soccer practice. Will Dr. Jayne be able to see me if I come back in about an hour?”
The vet tech looked to the receptionist who kept the schedule and received a firm nod. “Sure. We’ll stay until everybody has been seen.”
Baye took the woman’s seat. It had been an exhausting day of crises. She called Teague to relay what the vet told her and Connie. When she hung up, the other three people waiting were staring at her.
“What happened? Did he get hit by a car?” a man holding a chihuahua asked.
