Healing Gabriel by Elizabeth Kelly Read Free Book Online Page B

stirred it carefully and she inhaled
again.  “Oh man, that smells so good.  I skipped lunch.”
    “How come you’re not out with Andy tonight?” 
    Christ, he hadn’t meant to ask that.
    She shrugged.  “I hung out with him last night and Thursday
night.  He wanted to come over but I said no.  I like my space you know?”
    He nodded as she boosted herself up and sat on the counter,
swinging her legs idly.  “We’re going to his parent’s house tomorrow night for Sunday
night dinner.”
    He grunted in surprise and she raised her eyebrows at him. 
“Too soon yeah?  I mean, we’ve been going out for three weeks and I’m meeting
his parent’s already?  I once dated a guy in the city for nearly eight months
before he introduced me to his parents.  Is moving this quickly a small town guy
thing or what?”
    “I wouldn’t know.”  He said honestly.
    She sighed.  “I tried to get out of it but he was quite
insistent.  I guess we’ll see if I embarrass myself.  Of course, it’s not like
I haven’t tripped and fallen flat on my face in front of people before.”
    The little frown line appeared between her eyes.  “Hmm, I
think I’d better wear pants.  Flashing your underwear does not make a good
impression with the parents.”
    “Yeah, probably not.”
    She stared at him thoughtfully.  For the first time since
she met him he wasn’t actively trying to hide his scars from her.  She
considered that progress.
    “How’s Daisy doing tonight?”  She asked.
    “She’s good.  The swelling in her leg is almost gone and the
infection in her eye socket has cleared up nicely.”
    The vet had given Daisy a surprisingly good chance and after
only a week, she had improved so much that he was letting her into the pasture
to graze with the sheep.  Every night Morgan went to the barn and visited with
her, feeding her grain and hay and petting her gently.  She was a sweet and
gentle cow and he had to admit it was nice to have a cow in the barn again.
    “That’s great.  I’m going to go to the barn in the morning
and give her a good brushing.  You know, I think she recognizes me now.”  She
gave him a grin of delight.
    “I’m sure she does.  Cows are much smarter than people
think.”
    “Do you think she’ll start producing milk?”  She asked.
    “If we breed her and she has a calf, she will.”
    “Are you going to breed her?”
    He shrugged.  “Maybe.  She’s still pretty young so as long
as she’s healthy enough, it’s a possibility.”
    “A baby cow would be so sweet.  If she does have a baby, will
you teach me to milk her?”
    “If you’d like.”
    “I really would.”  She said enthusiastically.  “My mom would
laugh so hard if she could see me living in the country and learning to milk a
cow.”
    “How did your mom die?”  He asked quietly.
    She sighed softly.  “Liver cancer.”
    “I’m sorry.”
    “Yeah, me too.  I miss her a lot.”
    There was a few moments of silence and then she smiled at
him.  “How old are you?”
    “Twenty-nine.  How old are you?”
    “Twenty-seven.  And you’ve lived here your entire life?”
    He nodded.  “Yeah.  Why did you leave the city?”
    She shrugged.  “After my mom died, it just didn’t feel like
home anymore.  The house was too empty and the city felt too – too big you
know?  I found the ad for the job here in Martinvale.  It was a bit unusual
because I started halfway through the year.  I guess the previous teacher had
to move for her husband’s job.  Anyway, I applied and got the job and now here
I am.”
    “Here you are.”  He echoed softly.
    “Did the sheep have their babies yet?”  She asked curiously
as he stirred the soup.
    “The one did.  I think the other one will probably give
birth sometime this week.”
    “Really?  When did she give birth?” 
    He smiled at the excitement in her voice.  “Friday night. 
She had twins.”
    “Oh my gosh!  Could I see them?”
    “Sure.  I’ll