Page 37 of Summer Ride

Carter was thankful that she had been such a strong person back then. She’d done what a lot of people in abusive relationships couldn’t. She’d walked away.

It had worked out well for her since she had gone on to marry one of the attending nurses that night in the ER, his father.

Bill Jameson was the reason Carter had gone into medicine. His mother, Jenny, who worked at Alaqua, was the reason he’d decided to help animals instead of humans.

There had been plenty of times growing up when the house had been full of rescued animals. While his dad was busy saving lives, his mother was busy rehabilitating and fostering animals of all kinds. It was in her nature as much as it was in his to help animals in need. Actually, he was surprised that his mother wasn’t there today lending a hand.

“Have you seen my mother recently?” he asked Leslie as he worked.

She glanced over at him and answered with a smile. “They’re in the Bahamas this week.”

“Of course they are.” He chuckled at himself. He should have remembered. His mother had sent him a text a couple days ago about them standing on the deck of the cruise ship. “Now that dad’s retired, they’re down there every other month.”

Leslie smiled. “She messaged me early this morning to tell me that she was sorry she couldn’t be here to lend a hand.”

Maybe someday he and Kara will go on a cruise. For now, he supposed a trip to St. George would have to suffice.

He was proud of his parents. After his father’s retirement two years ago, they’d taken off and done things they’d been talking or dreaming about doing all of his life. First, it had been a monthlong trip to Europe, where they’d traveled all over England, France, and Italy. Then it had been a two-week trip to Australia, where his parents had climbed to the top of the Sydney Harbor Bridge. The following year they had actually gone skydiving in Hawaii.

He doubted that they would be slowing down anytime soon. Not until they had a reason to, at any rate. His parents, especially his mother, had been hinting to him about moving his relationship with Kara along faster. She kept mentioning how wonderful it was for all of his friends who were having babies and settling down.

He knew she wanted a grandchild. Hell, he was hoping for kids himself soon. Every time someone he knew got pregnant, his dreams filled with little Karas or Carters running around the farmhouse.

The new information about her past had only made him want to show her that life could be better than what she’d been through.

She’d mentioned an older brother and a younger sister. He wondered if she thought about getting in touch with either of them now. After all, from the sound of things, it was her parents that had pushed her away, not her siblings. They must have been kids still when she’d been found and put into juvenal hall. Had either of them tried to reach out to her over the years?

Even after she’d told him the truth about her past, she hadn’t talked about that. Now, however, with everything out in the open between them, maybe it was time they talked about it.

It couldn’t hurt to ask her what she thought about getting in touch with them, at any rate.

Shortly before leaving the sanctuary for the day, he found Leslie in her office, arguing with someone over the phone. When she hung up, he asked, “Problems?”

“No, just red tape we have to jump through with the city every time we bring in a bunch of animals.” She rolled her eyes. “Are you done for the day?”

“Done for the week. I’ll swing by early next week to check on a few of them. Make sure you keep them in quarantine, blah, blah, you know the drill.”

She nodded. “Thanks for all your help.”

“Sure thing. Let me know if anything changes with any of them. Oh, and keep this one available.” He pulled out his phone and showed her the image of the little black and white girl puppy.

“Finally!” Leslie practically shouted with joy, and he jumped slightly. Then she surprised him by pulling a notebook from her desk. “Damn it, Karen had you down for this month.” She shook her head.

“What?” he asked with a frown.

“We had a standing wager on how long it would take you to finally adopt a pet.” She showed him the chart, much like the birth charts they did at the camp for each new baby.

“You guys had a bet going on when I’d adopt a dog?” he asked with a chuckle.

Leslie shrugged. “Since you were a teenager and first started working here.”

“Well, then…” He leaned a little closer and lowered his voice. “I guess Karen didn’t really win, since it’s Kara that’s interested in this little girl, not me.” He waved his phone.

“It’s the same thing,” Leslie said with a smile.

He thought about that all the way to the local grocery store, where he picked up a couple of steaks for dinner. As he walked around the store, he was slightly surprised when he bumped into a rather tall, dark-haired man who seemed to know him.

“You’re Carter Jameson, right?” the guy asked, his eyes narrowing slightly.