“Bear and I are friends. He comes into the sanctuary now and again with orphaned or injured wildlife. He knows the names and faces of every person in town. I’m not sure how he remembers everyone, but he does.” Winona pointed with a nod of her head. “There’s my clinic.”
A one-story U-shaped building stood on the corner behind a sign that read “Aspen Wildlife Sanctuary,” a grove of aspen trees out front.
“It’s yours?”
Winona nodded. “I started it after I finished my residency with the help of grants and support from the people of Scarlet.”
Naomi was impressed. “What kind of animals do you treat?”
“Everything from hummingbirds to mountain lions and black bears.” Winona turned the corner and pulled into the driveway of a beautiful two-story Victorian house. “Here we are.”
The roof was steeply gabled with a little tower rising to a spire on one corner, the lacy trim painted white. A wrap-around porch held a few chairs and a wooden swing, bird feeders, and baskets of flowers hanging from arched supports. A tall cottonwood stood in the front yard, strips of yellow, white, black, and red cloth tied to one of its branches and fluttering in the breeze.
Naomi couldn’t help but smile. “It looks like a gingerbread house.”
Winona laughed. “Don’t let Chaska hear you say that. He wanted a cabin, something a little more masculine. He got over that when he saw the workshop out back. We merged this parcel and the land the clinic stands on to build Shota’s enclosure. Let’s get you inside.”
While Winona carried Naomi’s things, Naomi made her way up a brick walkway to the covered front porch and then took the stairs one at a time, still uncertain on her crutches. Winona held the door as she stepped inside.
“Wow.”
The interior of the house was bright and airy, sunlight reflecting off the polished wood floors. The entryway led to a wide staircase with a wooden banister. To her left, there was a sitting room with a big stone fireplace. To her right, there was what looked like a study with a drafting table and lots of books.
“That’s Chaska’s office. When he’s not climbing, he’s designing climbing gear or propulsion systems for satellites.”
Satellites?
“He must be super smart.”
“He thinks so.” Winona gave a laugh then gestured toward the back. “I put you in the guest room behind the kitchen. You’ll have your own bathroom with a shower, and you won’t have to deal with the stairs.”
“Thanks so much.”
The big, sunny kitchen had a checkerboard floor of black and white tile. The white cupboards looked like they were original, with carved detail that must have been done by hand. The appliances were all new, their aluminum surfaces gleaming. A simple dining table of polished maple sat together with six chairs in the adjoining dining room.
“This is lovely.”
“Too bad neither of us likes to cook.”
“Really?” Naomi loved to cook.
“Here’s your room.” Winona waited for Naomi to enter. “The bathroom is just through there.”
The room was small but clean and bright. The twin bed had a plain, white coverlet, a green Pendleton blanket with white buffalo on it folded neatly at the foot. A pine nightstand with a lamp sat beside the bed, a wooden rocking chair in one corner. Green drapes that looked like they’d been sewn by hand hung by simple fabric tabs from a metal curtain rod. Then Naomi saw it.
A medicine wheel.
It hung on the wall across from the bed. Except for its size and the bald eagle feather hanging from its center, it looked like the one Naomi wore around her neck.
“My grandmother made that as a gift for Chaska when he left home.”
The quillwork was exquisite. “It’s beautiful.”
Naomi didn’t want to get drawn into a discussion about her heritage, so she changed the subject. “Thanks so much for taking me in like this.”
Winona smiled. “You’re welcome. I need to get back to the clinic. I’ve got a baby raccoon waiting for surgery. She was hit by a mountain biker and has a broken leg.”
Naomi could sympathize. “Poor little thing.”