Firebird by Savannah Swan

Author:Savannah Swan [Swan, Savannah]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: romance, Military
Published: 2018-09-09T23:00:00+00:00

17

Reese

Reese was in a haze as she drove back to the barn, and it was only the feel of Cocoa’s fur and her worried whining that brought her back to reality.

What in the world had happened with Jean?

Reese had only wanted to help, and she would have backed off if she’d thought Jean was really upset… But Jean’s emotions were so dull and her baseline was so low that it was hard to tell when she was upset.

A niggling sense of guilt tugged at Reese’s heart and she pushed it away. Sure, maybe she had been too forceful, but was Jean really in such bad shape that she’d refuse help from a friend? Didn’t she know how much Reese cared?

That was exactly the problem—Reese cared too damn much. It was okay when she cared about the animals, because that was her job, but when she let herself care too much about other people… She just didn’t understand them enough to give them what they needed.

Animals were simple. They wanted food and safety and for their pain to be alleviated. Reese could provide all that. But humans were so much more complex. What did Jean want? She didn’t want to be cared for, that was for sure. She wasn’t the kind of person who would allow it.

She reminded Reese of some of the older predators she got, the ones who were so wary of humans Reese had to wear gloves every time she interacted with them.

Reese recalled a bobcat she’d rescued once. It’d had scars all over its sides and its ears practically had holes in them. It was older, she could tell, partially due to the arthritic joints it hid very well. It wasn’t often you saw an animal that old in the wild. And Reese had been afraid that it wouldn’t survive its injuries, which it had probably received in a fight with another bobcat.

But it did survive. It had taken a while, given its age, but the bobcat had eventually become healthy enough to be released. But Reese hadn’t enjoyed working with the creature, and had a scar on her wrist from its claws. She’d enjoyed getting to see its magnificence up close, but it hadn’t been an easy patient.

When she’d let it go, into the forest where she’d found it, it had dashed away into the underbrush, never to be seen again. Reese had felt relief, but she’d also felt sad. It had been nice having the bobcat around, just to look at. It was easily one of the coolest animals she’d ever had to care for.

Reese shook her head. What exactly did that have to do with Jean, anyway? Jean was like the bobcat initially—averse to getting close with other people—but it was apparent that she had a gentle nature. She wanted to stick around around and be close with Reese. But Reese had crossed her boundaries.

Reese sighed. It couldn’t be that simple, could it? But Reese knew it was. A lot of people didn’t really

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