She had finished her cone. “Kelly is going to need someone full-time. My guess is that she wants to see how you fit in with the town and with her beloved animals.”

“How do you think I’m doing?”

She felt blood rush to her face. Thanks to her, he wasn’t doing well at all. As Forey said, people were laughing at him. He was a man who couldn’t even find what he needed to be able to sew up a cat. Caitlyn was the reason he might lose his job. She’d never before done anything like that to anyone and it didn’t feel good. She was ashamed of herself. “I think I owe you. I’m sorry. I was planning to spend tonight reorganizing Kelly’s files.”

“Yeah? Betty will have a fit.”

“No, she won’t because I’m going to fire her.”

“You’re going to discharge Taran’s mother?”

She knew his sound of shock was fake, but still... “He and I are not a couple. I hardly know him. We were in some classes together in high school, that’s all. And I’ve seen him at a few town events but not many.”

Coop pantomimed taking a notebook and pen out of his pocket and making a list.

“It’s not like that.” She was laughing.

He faked putting the notebook away. “Okay, no Taran the Great. What about Betty the...? What is she?”

“The Infallible. Never made a mistake in her life, but she’s always wrong.”

As he started the engine, he laughed and it was a nice sound. “Mind if I help you reorganize the files? By the name of the owner, right?” He pulled onto the road.

“We need to establish search bases. Name, dates, types of treatment, even the animal’s name.”

“And color,” he said seriously. “I really want to see the Hattens’ blue cow.”

“I spent half my childhood at the Hattens’ and never saw a blue cow.” She’d meant it as a joke but a vision of her and Jared in a sunlit field came to her.

He glanced at her. “If you start remembering, so will I. Want me to tell you about my wedding? The cake had pink roses on it and there were two little girls carrying baskets of flower petals. And—”

“No!” She put her hands over her ears. “I can’t take it.” She put her hands down and looked at him. “We must do our best to forget the past. Move forward.”

“Does the future include a job for me?”

“Of course. And a town.”

“And a house, I hope. No offense, but that trailer...”

“Hey! Dad and I lived in it for the first three years of my life.”

“That makes sense since it’s the size of a playpen. I can almost touch both walls. If I wore a hat, my head would scrape the ceiling.”