Lily undressed, crawled under the quilt, and, for the first time in a long time, fell right asleep.
She awoke to a gentle knocking on the bedroom door. Despite the fact that she wasn’t sure where she was, she called, “Come in.”
Jack entered carrying a tray. Lily couldn’t see what was on it, but she smelled the coffee, and the aroma of caffeine, was enough to make her sit up. “Good morning,” she said.
“It sure is,” Jack replied. “Nobody called, so I got to sleep in.”
Lily glanced at the Timex on the nightstand and saw it was eight-fifteen. Since when was sleeping till eight o’clock “sleeping in”?
“I hope you don’t mind me bringing you breakfast.” Jack set the tray down before Lily.
Lily surveyed the spread: hot coffee, toast with butter and honey, and a blue bowl filled with sliced Georgia peaches. “It’s lovely, Jack. Thank you.”
Jack shrugged. “I’m not much of a cook, but toast and coffee I can handle.”
“Care to join me?”
“I ate about an hour ago. I’ll keep you company, though.”
Jack sat on the edge of the bed while Lily ate her peaches and toast and honey. The peach slices were sweet and juicy and sunny-tasting, and Lily felt almost uncomfortable eating them in bed in such close proximity to Jack. Eating peaches in bed near another woman was the closest thing Lily had had to a sensual experience in quite some time.
“Hank was still in bed with you when I got up this morning,” Jack said.
“Yeah, he was good company — a much less obtrusive bedmate than Mordecai.” Lily sipped the coffee, which was strong but good. “I had a cat that died about three years ago. She was fourteen years old. I loved her so much I’ve never been able to get another cat. I just don’t think I could stand that kind of loss again.”
“Hmm.” Jack reached into the bowl and popped a slice of peach into her mouth. “When I have to put sick animals down — which is the hardest part of my job, believe me — I always tell the owner to go out and find another pet. They won’t be able to love the new pet the same way they loved the old one, but maybe they can find a new way to love.”
Lily looked into Jack’s clear blue eyes and wondered if it was really pets they were talking about.
“So,” she said, opting to change the subject as soon as possible, “do I get a tour of the farm before I go?”
“Sure.” Jack’s tone lightened. “I tell you what. Let me take your tray. You get yourself cleaned up, and just knock on the door of my room when you’re ready. There’s clean towels in the bathroom and a new toothbrush.”
After Lily made herself presentable, she entered Jack’s room to find her working on a computer, which looked incongruous with the rustic farmhouse surroundings: IBM meets American Gothic. “Hey,” Jack said, looking up at Lily. “Even horse doctors keep their records on computer, these days. Speaking of horses, I’ve gotta vaccinate a couple mares on Wednesday. You wanna come?”
“Sure. I’ve not gotten to sketch any horses yet.”
