Rescue My Heart

Rachel Carter gripped the steering wheel with both hands, her knuckles almost white despite the comforting warmth radiating from the truck’s heater. Outside, snowflakes drifted lazily through the early afternoon light, hitting the windshield like sprinkled powdered sugar. The pines lining the road were getting a hint of white as winter was giving one last fight against spring.

Unbelievable, she thought as the voice from the GPS on her dashboard finally announced: “You have arrived at your destination.”

She didn’t feel like this was the destination she was expecting. Six months ago, she was planning a vacation in the Caribbean with her husband and was considering selling the cabin she inherited from her aunt in this small mountain town called Oak's End. Now, she was driving to her new home.

The log cabin rose just beyond one of the many curves of the mountain road. It nestled at the edge of a ridge overlooking Oak's End. She knew the view was impressive. She had spent many summers playing around when she was little. Thank God Jake doesn't like the countryside, otherwise I would have been homeless. She thought gratefully of her brother, who enjoyed a tad too much the rush of the Big Apple to consider fighting the inheritance. He had received money, less than half of the value the cabin was valued.

Smoke puffed from the chimney, a hopeful signal that the property manager had kept to his promise to warm up the cabin for when she arrived. Good. With this strange weather, this was one thing she wouldn’t have to worry about: cutting firewood.

“Well, Rufus,” she said, glancing at the tabby orange tomcat she had rescued a year prior, "we have arrived at our destination". Rufus lay on the passenger seat undisturbed by her comment. ”

Rachel put the car in park mode and stepped out, her boots crunching on the frozen gravel. The crisp, pine-scented air bit at her cheeks. She took a deep breath. It felt as if she was taking in a strong tonic. She felt a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She felt alive again. After the endless noise of New York— the traffic, the rush, the echo of arguments she wished she could forget—the silence here was heaven to her ears.

She grabbed a couple of duffel bags from the trunk and opened the door for Rufus, who got off in style, stretching his bum. She trudged up the wooden steps of the porch. A wind chime made from wooden tubes jangled in the same corner where she hung it when she was eighteen and celebrated her high school graduation. Her Aunt Anne-Marie had refused to take it down ever since. That was sixteen years ago. The sound was oddly comforting. Rachel imagined her aunt would have understood how hard it was to start over. A sad smile appeared on her lips.

The house manager had left the key on the beam from which the wind chime was hung. As she took it, her eyes met Rufus'. His disapproving look made her hurry—Rufus hated the cold.

The key turned smoothly in the lock. The moment she opened the door, Rufus dashed inside and went straight to the fireplace. He's not stupid, Rachel thought. Inside, the cabin smelled of cedar and old books. The fire crackled in the fireplace with a gentle, smooth rhythm. The slow pace she desperately needed. Her aunt’s presence lingered in the knitted throws, the shelves of rare books and veterinary manuals. Rachel had inherited from her aunt more than just a cabin. It was the love for animals her aunt instilled in her when she was little. Anne-Marie had been a woman of wisdom, a true mountain woman—strong at heart and body. A healer with a soft spot for both strays and stubborn animals. It was her who Anne-Marie wanted to be like when she grew up: a fantastic veterinarian who could heal animals and help them live a better life.

Rachel took a slow tour around the house. It was bigger than she remembered, but still cozy. It was her home now.

A new home, a new job, a new start.

Rachel took a deep breath as she stared into the flames. She wondered for the umpteenth time if she had made the best decision when she invested all her savings into buying the only vet clinic within a hundred-mile radius.

"Rufus, do you want to come?" She knew the question was pointless because Rufus's ears didn't even twitch in acknowledgement of her words. He was already sleeping deeply in front of the fireplace.

The clinic sat five miles down the road, just on the edge of the town, next to the Wildlife Research and Rescue Center. It was small, and most of the money it made was from sponsorships and donations. It barely clung to solvency when Rachel took it over, but she had plans. Rachel Carter hadn’t walked away from a ten-year marriage and a prestigious private animal hospital to dive into semi-retirement. She wanted to build something that mattered. Something that would keep her busy and make her forget the damn divorce. Her biggest failure.

Two hours later, her hair up in a messy bun and sleeves rolled, Rachel stood in the middle of the clinic’s exam room. It was quite a bit to clean up, and if she were to be honest, she didn't feel like cleaning. But she had to do it, regardless. Over the winter, the place had been ignored completely. A pipe had burst, leaving a nice puddle waiting for her in the middle of the room.

Apart from that, the place was in decent shape, leaving aside the obvious signs of small-town budget: old cabinets, worn wall panels, scuffed flooring, a functional fireplace, and a stove that had to be loaded with firewood.

No central heating, huh? Time seemed to have stopped, but Rachel didn't mind. It was the kind of environment she yearned for after the big city rush she had worked in for the past ten years.

The first thing Rachel did was mop the puddle, followed by cabinet cleaning and a careful inventory of unexpired medications. She had been at it for over a full hour already, focusing solely on the bottles and blisters spread all over the examination table- the biggest table in the clinic.

"Who are you?"

The sharp male voice coming from nowhere startled Rachel. She straightened quickly and screamed at the top of her lungs as she took a step back to see she was not alone anymore. The stranger had dark short hair and towered over her with his imposing figure. He was suitably dressed for the winter-like weather, snowflakes melting on his warm jacket and cargo trousers. Rachel noted that his boots brought in close to half a pound of mud on the floor she had spent a couple of hours cleaning.

"Who are you, again?" The man repeated, his demanding tone and dark blue eyes making her blush.

"Who are you?" She managed to say despite her body's unexpected response to the stranger's look.

"Ben Wyatt."

The man took two steps and swung his arm over the desk, sending all the bottles and blisters to the floor.

"What are you doing?" A wave of outrage washed over Rachel, replacing the initial shyness.

"In the back closet, on the top shelf, there's a blanket. Bring it here. I'll be back in a bit."

Rachel couldn't believe her ears. Who was he? How dare he give her orders like this?! Then she looked at the small figure he had left on the table. It was not moving.

"Oh, God!" She yelped and rushed to get the blanket from the closet. How did he know there was a blanket there? She wrapped the small animal in it, then shoved a couple more logs into the stove, filled the only pot available with water and placed it on the stove.

Ben returned with a bag of supplies: powdered milk, a small syringe, and a small plastic bottle.

"You have to throw away everything you found here. Nothing can be used."

She nodded, then her attention turned to the animal on the examination table.

"What is it?" Rachel dared ask but regretted it immediately when she saw Ben's eyebrow shoot up at the question.

"Call the doctor." He demanded.

"I am the doctor."

"No, seriously. Call the doctor."

"I'm serious!" Rachel insisted. "I am the doctor."

Ben looked her dead straight in the eyes.

"No."

"Yes, I am."

"Then what are you waiting for? Fix him!"

Rachel followed his look at the animal wrapped in the blanket. Before she could stop herself, she asked:

"What is it?"

"I thought you were a doctor?"

"I am!"

"Then stop asking stupid questions. You should know it's a wolf."

Rachel winced at Ben's crooked grin that said he was used to being obeyed, not following orders.

She turned her focus to the seemingly just-born wolf.

“What happened?”

“His mom came to my cabin and dragged me out, took me to where he was in the snow and asked me to save him."

Rachel scoffed, "yeah, right."

Ben continued, unfazed: "I saved his mom some years back. Over the years, she regularly came over to greet me and show me her pups. I was expecting her, but I didn't think things would go so wrong. It's because of this sudden snow. It's worse up in the mountain."

Rachel opened her mouth to deliver another sarcastic remark, then realized from his tone that he was serious. And worried.

"Do you know how to treat wolves?"

"I've never done it before, but he is so small, we can consider him a dog."

Rachel leaned over the wolf, careful and practiced. She got into full doctor mode, her moves precise and swift. Without hesitation, she checked the vital signs and quickly rubbed the wolf's chest until a soft whimper came out from his snout. She used the heated water to warm the frail body under Ben's attentive look.

Half an hour later, the puppy showed proper liveness signs. She fed him a full syringe of milk; the pup gulped it greedily, hungry for life. Rachel's lips curved under a soft smile. It was a promising beginning at her new job.

The warm blanket lulled the wolf to sleep. Rachel was finally able to rest. She sat on a chair and pointed to another one, "Sit. He will be fine but needs supervision for the next few days."

"Perfect. You do that. I'll come back to check on him in a couple of days."

"Excuse me?!" Rachel was taken aback by the sudden change of behaviour. Before she could argue, Ben reached the door and opened it.

"I'm a Wildlife Rescuer. I can't sit here for two days. I'll leave him with you for now. It's a clinic, isn't it? So just admit him as your first patient, doctor...?"

Rachel realized she hadn't told him her name. She blushed again, "Rachel Carter."

"Doctor Rachel. I'll come back sometime tomorrow. Good night." He paused. "And thank you." The tired smile accompanying his words was maddeningly attractive.

She shot him a look, but it was pointless. He was out the door already, a stream of cold air briefly kissing her cheeks. She stared at the door. That look he gave her haunted her. She hadn't felt like this in years.

Good night? What time is it?

It was later than she thought. She couldn't leave the puppy alone overnight. She had to return home to feed Rufus, so she couldn't stay either. After a moment's consideration, she extinguished the remaining embers and picked up the wolf.

"We need to find you a name," she whispered, tracing the pup's forehead with her index finger.

She stood for a long moment, listening to the wind picking up outside and the soft huff of the sleeping wolf. She remembered his smile before he left, and her heart pounded harder than it should have.

Did he flirt with her? No. Nope. It was impossible. She was not that attractive, especially after that exhausting year-long divorce. Not even a little bit. Besides, she didn't start anew to flirt with the first wildlife rescuer that entered her clinic.

She glanced down at the boot print smudged floor and sighed. She'll have to clean up again in the morning.

“Let's go home, Fang,” she muttered. "You have to meet Rufus."

The snow fell harder now. If she didn't hurry, she risked not being able to get home that night. As she got into her SUV, she remembered Ben Wyatt's dark blue eyes. Gorgeous, she inhaled sharply. If only things were different, she might have tried something, but she wanted to start anew: a new town, a new job, a new home, not a new love. Not now.