He pulled something out, dropping the bag and revealing two dried tree roots the length of his forearm. “Pick one then answer.”
She pointed to the smaller one on the left and he grunted, nodding as though he’d expected as much. “Well?”
She didn’t really have any people. “People usually call a doctor.” She answered politely before biting her lip. “Do you need me to call a doctor, sir?”
His smile was so broad it made his sparkling eyes disappear. “Why would I need one, lion tamer? I already have a healer standing in front of me. Kaya thought I needed you and you came. You’re a nurse, aren’t you? And please don’t sir me while I’m traveling. Call me Will.” He turned and opened the sliding glass door, stepping out into the warm sunlight.
“How did you know I was a nurse?” She’d told Kaya and Bailey a few things about her past, but no one but Liam knew what she’d done for a living. She’d been told by her lawyer to keep all details of her past as limited as possible. Now that she had a new life and a new name, she wasn’t sure if that was still what she was or wanted to be.
The old man disappeared down the slope of Kaya’s hilly backyard. “Wait. Will, wait for me.”
She jogged over to him just as he’d bent to look into one of the bright blue gardening pots. “What is this?” He shook his head in dismay. “All this land and she grows her corn in a bowl?”
“This is a rental,” Dani defended instinctively, still thrown by his knowledge. “I don’t think she’s allowed to plant anything.”
“As if anybody has the right to choose what grows where.” He shook his head and looked around, inspecting everything as if memorizing it for later. He was quiet for so long it started making her nervous.
“She misses you,” Dani spoke hesitantly into the silence. “I know it’s not my place to say, but it’s clear how much you and your family mean to her.”
A flicker of regret, so quick she almost missed it, flared in his eyes. “She is where she needs to be, lion tamer.”
“Why do you keep calling me that?”
“Isn’t that your name?” His bushy eyebrows rose high. “Daniel tamed the lions with the strength of his faith, I’m told.”
Dani grimaced. “According to my records, I was named after a tropical storm that flooded the town a few months before I was born. In my case Trouble Magnet might be more accurate.”
Will hummed. “Or you were the gift of sunlight after a time of darkness. I suppose it depends on your point of view. Ah, I found it.”
She moved closer, fascinated. “Found what?”
He sat down on a stump in the shade of a juniper tree, his expression content. “The perfect spot. Every home has one if you know how to look for it. There’s clarity and peace here. If I know my granddaughter, and I do, this is where she comes to think when she has a problem to solve.”
Will reached into the pocket of his frayed jeans and pulled out a small, gleaming carving knife. “Now we can talk about what’s troubling your heart. Sit down.”
She lowered herself to the ground like an obedient child, unable to resist the kindness in his expression. “How did you know I was a nurse?”
The old man turned the root in his hand, studying it carefully. “The same way I know this is a root from a strong cottonwood, but it’s something else as well. I can see the shape it is now, as well as the one it was meant to be. Everything about it tells me, if I’m paying attention.” He pierced her with his sharp gaze. “Some things can be altered, but what it is at its core is the same. And you are as much a healer now as you were yesterday. Kaya has chosen her friends well. Your empathy shines from you. It defines all your actions. You can’t help but care for others, often more than you care about yourself.”
“I don’t think I deserve the compliment.”
He scoffed. “You’re sitting here talking with an obnoxious old man because you care about your friend and the wellbeing of a stranger, even when you believe your own world is ending. And every day, you hold back what you truly feel from others because you put their happiness above your own.”
“I don’t—”
“You do.” His tone brooked no arguments. “But a healer isn’t a seer, and that’s your problem. You think you know better than everyone else. You believe that pushing people away from you is the right thing to do, because you can’t see a path where you’re allowed to be happy for long, and you don’t want others sharing your fate. You’re not the only one around here with that problem.”