Her Four Cowboys

1

LUCY

Trekking up to my old bedroom, I threaded my way through the boxes and duffels that I still hadn’t gotten around to unpacking and got to the old bed in the corner that had been sitting unmade since I’d gotten up for work that morning. Sitting down on the edge of the bed, I heaved a sigh of relief as I started pulling off the new black shoes Doc Boyd recommended that I buy before starting to work at the clinic. They had been helpful in taking the strain off my lower back from a full day of appointments and examinations in the office, but not even the most comfortable shoes could change the fact that I’d been on my feet for the whole freaking day. I rubbed my foot absentmindedly, going over the events of the day.

“Hey, sweetie.”

I looked up at the soft voice, blinking at my mom as she smiled through the doorway at me. I gave her a tight smile back.

“Hey, Mom.”

“How was your day?”

“Fine,” I said, sighing in relief.

It had been a long day, and I had a weird feeling it was about to get longer.

“I have some of your laundry for you,” she said, weaving through the mess in my room expertly. I winced a little as I watched her moving carefully through all the belongings that I’d brought home with me from Utah.

“Thanks,” I said, reaching back behind my neck and rubbing out the knot that I’d been feeling growing there all week, after the lifting and packing and unpacking of boxes and then the hours in Doc Boyd’s clinic.

After setting the basket down, she stood up, taking a deep breath as she looked around at her surroundings. “You know, sweetie, I think that it would be great for you if you were to do some unpacking this weekend. Maybe some organizing?” She huffed another sigh. “I just don’t think that it’s good for you to be mired in this mess, you know?”

“I know what you’re saying but me being here is temporary. I don’t really see a point since I’d need to pack it all up again as soon as I find a new place anyway.”

“Oh, Lucy,” she said, coming over to the bed to sit next to me as she put her hand on my shoulder. “You know that Dad and I would love for you to stay here with us now that you’re home. We’ve missed you so much.”

“I know,” I said, leaning over to rest my head on her shoulder. “I’ve missed you guys too.”

I had. Really, I had, but after almost a decade of living on my own terms during college and veterinary school, there was no way I could see myself giving that up again, as much as I loved my parents.

She turned to me, pressing a quick kiss to the top of my head. “Just think about it. Okay, sweetie pie? We don’t mind having you around for as long as you want to stay.”

“Yep. I’ll think about it.”

She gave me another smile before standing up and once more weaving her way through the maze of stuff that stood in her way. I sighed once more, reaching back to pull the black hair tie from my hair and letting it fall around my shoulders.

I grabbed the towel from where it lay draped over my desk chair and went to one of the duffel bags that sat next to the door.

It took digging through a few different duffels before I found the clothes that I’d been looking for, draping them over my arm before I headed down the hall toward the bathroom. Maybe Mom had a point about the unpacking and the organizing. Digging for my clothes each time I got dressed could getting annoying, really quickly.

I went into the bathroom and shut the door, turning on the water for the shower and shucking off the clothes I’d worn to the clinic.