it shaded her face so he couldn’t have recognized her in a single-person lineup. Confused by the costume change, he frowned. “What’re you doing?”
“I don’t mind being in the background, but I don’t want my face splashed all over the internet for people to see.”
People, meaning Richie, Drew added silently. He wished there was some way for him to assure Bekah that she was finally safe from her abusive ex, but he’d been around long enough to understand she had to come to that realization on her own. “All right, we’ll do it your way.”
She rewarded him with a bright smile, and he decided that giving in to her just this once hadn’t been so bad, after all.
Catching the small deer around the shoulders, Bekah took an apple slice from the pocket of her coveralls and held it in her palm for the critter to sniff. Once he’d gotten some stills, Drew discreetly toggled his digital camera into video mode to catch the sight and sound of a true animal lover doing what she did best.
“Who’s a good girl?” Bekah cooed, scratching the fawn up and down her back in a motion that made the animal squirm with delight. When the attention stopped for a few seconds, the deer butted against her in an unmistakable demand for more. Laughing, Bekah obliged her, and Drew kept the camera as steady as he could while he held in his own laughter.
There was nothing quite like watching her with the animals, he thought in honest admiration. It didn’t take a genius to guess that she felt a connection with these lost and abandoned creatures, and they seemed to sense her compassion for them. She loved them, and they knew it.
When the small doe had gotten bored, Bekah let her go and brushed fur from the front of her pants. Then, out of nowhere, one of the pygmy goats hopped from the bale of straw he’d been standing on and into the pen with Bekah. Taking aim, he ran straight at her and bumped her hard enough to knock her back a step.
Drew kept the camera on them, capturing the spontaneous play session complete with the goat’s nah-ing and Bekah’s breathless laughter. He chased her around the pen, getting in a shot whenever he could, while the wide-eyed fawn watched their antics from a safe corner behind the water trough.
“I surrender!” Bekah finally announced, plopping down on the ground to make it official. The small goat danced and jumped in place, as if he was celebrating his victory over her. Being from a large extended family, Drew had seen his share of entertaining children, but he couldn’t recall ever seeing anything quite so adorable.
“He’s a real handful, isn’t he?” Drew asked, capping his camera to protect the lens while he scratched the little terror between the ears.
“We found a family who wants to adopt him,” Bekah told him with a bright smile. “They have a Great Dane who needs company when they’re at work and school, and they thought this little guy would be perfect. They have a big, fenced yard, and three boys to play with. He should be really happy there.”
Although she sounded pleased with the arrangement, Drew caught the wistful tinge in her voice. Stepping over the fence, he sat down on the edge of the water trough and gave her a sympathetic look. “You’re gonna miss him, aren’t you?”
“Yeah.” Reaching out, she gathered him into her lap for a hug. “I’m gonna miss all of them when they go. But that’s what we’re supposed to do—find them a home or get them back to the wild where they belong. They aren’t meant to stay here forever.”
Something told him she wasn’t only talking about the animals, and he felt his own mood sinking to match her tone. “Are you thinking the same thing about yourself?”
“I wish I could afford to stay,” she confided sadly. “But much as I love it here, I have to be practical.”
“If money’s a problem—”
“It’s the biggest one we have, which is why I’m working so hard on Animal Palooza. If we can make it through
“I don’t mind being in the background, but I don’t want my face splashed all over the internet for people to see.”
People, meaning Richie, Drew added silently. He wished there was some way for him to assure Bekah that she was finally safe from her abusive ex, but he’d been around long enough to understand she had to come to that realization on her own. “All right, we’ll do it your way.”
She rewarded him with a bright smile, and he decided that giving in to her just this once hadn’t been so bad, after all.
Catching the small deer around the shoulders, Bekah took an apple slice from the pocket of her coveralls and held it in her palm for the critter to sniff. Once he’d gotten some stills, Drew discreetly toggled his digital camera into video mode to catch the sight and sound of a true animal lover doing what she did best.
“Who’s a good girl?” Bekah cooed, scratching the fawn up and down her back in a motion that made the animal squirm with delight. When the attention stopped for a few seconds, the deer butted against her in an unmistakable demand for more. Laughing, Bekah obliged her, and Drew kept the camera as steady as he could while he held in his own laughter.
There was nothing quite like watching her with the animals, he thought in honest admiration. It didn’t take a genius to guess that she felt a connection with these lost and abandoned creatures, and they seemed to sense her compassion for them. She loved them, and they knew it.
When the small doe had gotten bored, Bekah let her go and brushed fur from the front of her pants. Then, out of nowhere, one of the pygmy goats hopped from the bale of straw he’d been standing on and into the pen with Bekah. Taking aim, he ran straight at her and bumped her hard enough to knock her back a step.
Drew kept the camera on them, capturing the spontaneous play session complete with the goat’s nah-ing and Bekah’s breathless laughter. He chased her around the pen, getting in a shot whenever he could, while the wide-eyed fawn watched their antics from a safe corner behind the water trough.
“I surrender!” Bekah finally announced, plopping down on the ground to make it official. The small goat danced and jumped in place, as if he was celebrating his victory over her. Being from a large extended family, Drew had seen his share of entertaining children, but he couldn’t recall ever seeing anything quite so adorable.
“He’s a real handful, isn’t he?” Drew asked, capping his camera to protect the lens while he scratched the little terror between the ears.
“We found a family who wants to adopt him,” Bekah told him with a bright smile. “They have a Great Dane who needs company when they’re at work and school, and they thought this little guy would be perfect. They have a big, fenced yard, and three boys to play with. He should be really happy there.”
Although she sounded pleased with the arrangement, Drew caught the wistful tinge in her voice. Stepping over the fence, he sat down on the edge of the water trough and gave her a sympathetic look. “You’re gonna miss him, aren’t you?”
“Yeah.” Reaching out, she gathered him into her lap for a hug. “I’m gonna miss all of them when they go. But that’s what we’re supposed to do—find them a home or get them back to the wild where they belong. They aren’t meant to stay here forever.”
Something told him she wasn’t only talking about the animals, and he felt his own mood sinking to match her tone. “Are you thinking the same thing about yourself?”
“I wish I could afford to stay,” she confided sadly. “But much as I love it here, I have to be practical.”
“If money’s a problem—”
“It’s the biggest one we have, which is why I’m working so hard on Animal Palooza. If we can make it through
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