Page 17 of Refurbished

“I can’t wait.” His smile made me feel good. “Let’s go eat some food. I cooked for us.”

“You did? I can’t wait.” We left the enclosure and walked side by side toward the medical building, where I had stashed the cooler with our meal. “Why can’t you have the large animal nursery? Is it space?”

That wasn’t the question I had expected, but it also proved he had listened to me. It hadn’t been something I realized I’d wanted, but it felt good to have someone hear me. “No, we have the space. To be honest, it’s money. The donations I receive cover the cost of providing the animals with proper food. The enclosures I have are safe, and I am barely using any of my land.”

I wasn’t sure how much to tell him. Complaining about how hard my life was, especially after the money he had just given me, didn’t sit well. I’d been managing since the accident, when I took my insurance money, bought a bunch of land, and adopted the little fawn that had become an orphan. Sure, the orphan didn’t need the acreage, but I did. We walked together toward the enclosure where the small herd of deer lived. Annabelle was in there; she was the one who started this place. Annabelle and Barnaby were the ones who helped me heal.

“How much land do you have?”

Nobody knew I spent my settlement money to buy this land. Yet I wanted to share with Angus because it felt natural. I also knew if I didn’t want to answer, I could tell him that, and he wouldn’t be offended. “I have ten thousand acres, and I am dedicating it all to the Sanctuary. You’re about to meet the girl who was the reason for starting this place for healing.” My voice hitched a little, and Angus stopped moving, looking up at me.

“Another story for later?” I couldn’t speak, not expecting emotions to surface. This was something I had only told my therapist. I nodded, and he nodded back.

“What is the name of the lovely lady I am about to meet? She must be important if she is the reason you bought all this land. What an honor to be introduced.” He smiled.

“Her name is Annabelle. I’ve packed some sweet feed for her in our cooler. I wanted to make sure she would come over and visit with us. She currently has a couple of babies of her own.”-

“I’m excited to meet her.”

We entered the enclosure, and I knew exactly where I wanted to set up. The meadow was a popular place for the deer to graze, and there was a small lake where they would come to drink. Both of us got situated on a blanket I had brought, and we leaned our backs against a fallen log. When Angus sat down, he was much closer than a casual friend would sit. I didn’t mind it one bit.

“Eion? Did you think you were feeding an army?”

I looked at the spread in front of us and realized how much food I actually packed. It didn’t matter how much there was; I hoped he would find something he enjoyed. Panic started to set in. I took a long look at his body and started to worry that he might not eat this kind of food; maybe he only ate raw, organic vegetables. “I. Well. Shit.” Great, the anxiety arrived, and I couldn’t form words. “You. Food. Okay?”

He reached for my hand, putting our palms together, then lacing our fingers. His skin was warm and comforting. He looked me in the eye and mouthed the word breathe. Focused on how our hands felt together, I took some deep breaths and let them relax me.

“Did you want to ask me a question?” Even though I was rock hard, he calmed my mind enough so I could talk. “Is this food okay? You look like that. I should have asked about your diet.”

“Thank you for worrying, but I don’t have diet restrictions. I work out every day but don’t deny myself food.”

I sighed, glad that he would be able to eat some of what I made. Then I explained everything I brought, and he smiled at me the entire time.

“All of it sounds good. Can I have some of all of it? How about you give me a fork so we can eat from the containers? I’m not snooty.”

I laughed and grinned. “That’s a great idea.” We took the lids off all the food. I handed him a fork and held the container of pasta salad toward him. While I stared at him, he took a bite, and I watched.

“It’s really good, Eion.”

I knew it was obvious that I relaxed, but I followed his lead and took my own bite. Then we leaned back and enjoyed our picnic, passing the containers back and forth. “I want you to meet all the animals. You’ll like Orlando the Giraffe. He hears all my secrets.”

“I didn’t know you had a giraffe.”

“Yeah. You’ll like him.” I looked toward his enclosure but didn’t see him.

“I’d like you to meet my friends, too. I don’t have a lot of them, but the few I have are really special.” Angus added between mouthfuls of food.

I couldn’t believe he would want me to know his friends. The grumpy man in me didn’t want to believe it. “I’d like that.” Shocking myself, I actually meant it. I packed up our leftovers and got ready to show Angus the superpower nobody knew I had. I handed him the bag of sweet feed, then helped him up. I moved us to a stump closer to the water. When I sat, I pulled him down with me.

I turned to him, and he looked at me. “Something wrong?”

He must have sensed something on my face that I hadn’t intended to be serious, but went with it. “You can’t tell anybody my secrets.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t. What’s between us stays between us.”

“Okay. Watch this.” Not releasing his hand, I started to make a chirping noise. Barnaby appeared from somewhere, knowing what was coming. Changing tone and length, I made more noises and carefully watched the tree line. About a minute later, I heard the snap of branches. I couldn’t wait for Angus to experience the magic that was about to happen. The pitch of my whistle was brought up higher. From experience, it would only be another minute, and then I saw them.

I lifted our held hands and pointed. When I looked at him, his eyes were huge. The deer herd came out of the forest, one at a time. There are currently fifteen in the group, but I let them breed and live a natural life, so undoubtedly, there will be more.