The Bequest
Chapter 34—Amanda

"Don't get your hopes up. I gave him my number," I say, "but he never called."

"Are you sure he didn't call?" Ethan asks. "I mean, more often than not, we have no reception." Why didn't I think of that? "You're brilliant, young man. Now go, and let me call the guy."

"Remind him that Jed died and that we just got here." He makes prayer hands, but that jostles his horse, who tosses his head and starts to trot toward me. Ethan swings him around and they take off.

My hands feel jittery as I search for a listing for a vet in Manila. Only one pops up. Edward Dutton. Before I have time to think it through, I hit talk.

"Dr. Dutton's office," a woman says.

"Oh." I clear my throat. I'm not sure why I didn't expect a woman. "Uh, is Dr. Dutton there? I was hoping to talk to him. About calf stuff."

"Calf stuff?" I hate the sound of suppressed laughter in her tone.

"Well, I have some cows, and I have some questions about the cows."

"Cows?" she asks. "Or calves?"

"Is he there?"

She laughs. "Here he is."

Was he listening that whole time, while she mocked a paying customer?

His tone is light and happy when he answers, which makes me think he was. "Hello, this is Eddy."

"Dr. Dutton," I say. That's as far as I get. I can't think what else to say. I want to ask why he didn't call. I want to ask if he did call, but he only ever got my voicemail, and if that's the case, why didn't he leave me a message? Instead, I sit here stupidly, thinking of his grin.

"Are you there?" His voice is smooth, like a whipped coffee.

"Sorry," I say. "I know you're busy."

"Is this Amanda?"

My heart stops dead in my chest.

"Amanda Brooks?"

"Uh, yes," I say. "That's me."

His voice is bemused. "You have a cow question for me?"

"More of a calf one," I joke. If they're laughing at you already, you may as well show them it doesn't bother you.

"Then shoot."

I think that means to tell him, not that he think something's gone wrong. "I bet you remember that Jed died not that long ago."

"Yes, I hadn't forgotten that."

I'm not sure I can do this over the phone. Asking a favor's kind of an art, and it's not something you just call and blob out, especially with someone you barely know.

Someone who didn't call when they said they would.

"I tried to call you, you know."

Can he read my mind? "Sure you did," I say.

"No, really. I even tried the home line for Jed's house a few times, but once it rang and rang, and once a little kid picked up. No matter how many times I asked him to get Amanda, he just made farting noises."

I can guess which kid that was. Maren may not be doing very well, but she's not a maker of crude sounds. Gabe, on the other hand, is at the age where he thinks anything related to poop is uproariously funny. "I'm sorry about that, but why didn't you call my cell?"

"You didn't give me your number."

I thought he was smarter than that. "I saved it under-" Saying You Wish sounds so conceited. "Under another name."

"You told me, that but I couldn't find it anywhere."

"It was under You Wish," I finally say. "I guess it wasn't worth the effort of wading through the 9,657 other girls' numbers to find the one that wasn't a real name." I'm trying to turn it into a joke, but it actually makes me sad he didn't search diligently enough.

"You're on speaker phone now, and I think my sister Krystal can back me up here. There's no number saved for anyone named You Wish."

"There really isn't anything there," Krystal says. "Is there any chance that you somehow didn't save it?"

That's when it hits me. "He had an incoming call-Claire someone when I hit save. Maybe it didn't go through as a result."

"You're saying I searched through his phone three times for no reason? Amanda, I had to wash my hands in industrial strength bleach and spray my eyes with Windex after being in such close proximity to his high-tech little black book." She squawks. "Ow."

I hear Eddy mutter, "I said back me up, not stab me in the back."

They're kind of funny. It makes me wish I was close to one of my brothers. "Well, I'm not saying that I believe you-"

"How about you grab coffee with him right now," Krystal says. "I mean, it's not like he has anything else going on." There's some kind of scuffle, and she mutters again. "Hey, I'm helping you, loser."

"Sorry about that," he says, his voice clearly coming directly from the microphone-no more speakerphone reverb. "Sometimes I trust my family a little too much, apparently. She's kidding, of course." I'm not sure what to say.

"Unless you wanted to get coffee. Then she was serious."

"About you calling? Or about you having nothing to do?"

"Most of today was blocked off for reviewing files, but I'd rather eat my own toenails."

I snort, and then cover my mouth with my hand. What is happening to me? I haven't snorted since I was a teenager.

"Amanda?"

"I'm still here. Sorry, we have awful reception out here." Yes, blame the cell company, good one Mandy. I clear my throat. "Actually, coffee sounds nice."

"Does it?"

"Mhmm."

"Hey, that's great. The thing is, Manila's so small that there aren't dedicated coffee shops. But, I can pick you up and bring you some coffee. I have a great blend-" "I'll come to you," I say.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure."

From the outside, his vet clinic looks nicer than I expected for a town of this size. I suppose that when most people are ranchers or living on property, there's plenty of work for a vet year round. It's a newish, large brick building, with a beautifully carved wooden sign that reads: 'Dutton Animals.'

I've barely parked and opened my van door when Eddy shoots out the front of his building, two cups of coffee in his hands.

"Wow," he says. "Nice ride."

"You didn't notice this baby last time?" I wiggle my eyebrows. "It's pretty impressive. If things get rough, it's good to know I could take side jobs kidnapping small children."

"Nah," he says. "Your van has windows."

"Well dang. This was all the rental agency had no windowless ones at all." I grimace. "I tried telling them that I have two kids, not twenty."

He laughs. "It takes a pretty confident woman to make a full-size van look good, but you manage it fairly well." He hands me a cup.

"How did you know I was craving..." I sniff the coffee. "Flat black coffee?"

"O ye of little faith." He sets his cup on my hood and whips a handful of things out of his pocket. "Sugar, creamer, and for the grand finale." He tosses some pocket lint on the ground and brandishes a piece of striped hard candy. "Peppermint, to offer the taste of Christmas all year round."

He's ridiculous. "One creamer and three sugars."

"She likes it sweet, folks."

"I hate to tell you this because you seem like the kind of guy who likes an audience," I whisper, "but there's no one else here."

"Downtown Manila on a Monday." He half bows. "Very impressive, I know."

"Hey Eddy," an older woman with grey hair hollers from across the street. "Keep it down."

He laughs, and I join him.

"Do you want to go for a walk?" he asks. "Or sit and whisper in the car?"

"Who's that?" I ask.

"That's Dolores Jenkins. She has a huge flower garden, and she insists that her plants hate the sound of my voice. If I speak louder than a murmur outside of my office, she becomes... agitated." "You're kidding."

He shakes his head solemnly.

"Walk?"

"Right answer." He helps me dump my sugars in and stir them, picks up his coffee, and takes my arm.