Marvelous May

By Kirsten Osbourne

The second of the Calendar triplets, May is a quiet, critter-loving woman who enjoys being around her family but has issues with strangers. When she goes to the doctor for yet another animal-related injury, she is surprised to see the grown-up version of the little boy she did everything with from her first day in kindergarten to her last day of high school.
Adam Petrowski moved back to Cauldron Valley after medical school simply to be able to reconnect with the girl of his dreams, May Calendar. He wants nothing more than a quick wedding and a happily ever after with the sweet girl. When she walks into his office with an infected squirrel bite, he knows his dreams are coming true. A supper invitation starts them down the road he's been praying for.
Will Adam be able to convince May that they need to be together for always? Or will she refuse to give love a chance?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Unlimited Dreams
• Release date: May 28, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201921378

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Chapter One

May Calendar scowled at the angry looking wound on her hand. Her squirrel, PJ, hadn’t meant to bite her, and she’d done her best to hide the small wound from her parents, but now that it had red streaks coming out of it, she knew she was going to need to call the doctor.

Dr. Clements had been treating her for animal bites since she was knee-high to a grasshopper, and though she loved him, she was tired of the lectures he gave about her love of wild critters. And tame critters. She just loved animals, plain and simple.

She pulled her phone out of her pocket and called the doctor on speed dial. She’d heard he was retiring soon, and she hoped she’d get in before that happened.

When a voice answered, she said, This is May Calendar, and I’m afraid I have another animal bite. It looks like it’s getting infected. Does Dr. Clements have any openings today?

Dr. Clements is officially retired. Would you be willing to see the new doctor?

May debated. She really wanted someone with experience, but she also didn’t look forward to being lectured again. Yes, I’ll see the new doctor.

Come now then. I can get you in twenty minutes from now. Your records are on file?

The new doctor must have brought new staff with him. Dr. Clements staff all knew her. She had been in almost monthly her entire life with one animal injury or another. She’d once brought a frog in to see the doctor as well, and that hadn’t gone over well. Her mother hadn’t been any more pleased than the doctor’s staff had been when she’d removed the frog from her pocket to show the doctor the strange growth on the animal’s leg.

Yes, they’re on file. I’ve seen Dr. Clements my entire life.

Go ahead and come in then. We’ll see you in a few minutes.

May sighed dramatically. It was a good thing she wasn’t going to be doing an animal lesson that day. She worked for the girls’ ranch her family had run for years, but she didn’t have a class of her own. She would sometimes bring critters to one of her sisters’ classes, and when one was ill, she would teach them in the ranch’s library.

She went down to the kitchen where Berry was baking bread with her mother and Brunie, her great aunt. I’m headed to the doctor.

Which one? her mother asked, a scowl on her face.

There was no doubt in May’s mind what her mother meant. PJ accidentally bit me. I was holding out a nut for him, and he got my hand.

Is it bad? Berry asked, pausing in kneading the bread dough.

May shrugged. Looks like it’s getting infected. I’ll go get antibiotics and all will be good.

Her mother sighed. I wish you would let PJ go. He needs to be in the wild!

When I try, he just comes back. Remember when he sat on my windowsill for a month? Squeaking all night because he knew I was there? May shrugged. I’ll be back. Don’t worry about me.

Do you need someone to drive you? Berry asked.

May shook her head. Nah. It’s not that bad this time. She headed for the door. I’ll be back for supper! Not that she ever wasn’t there for supper. Where else would she go? There certainly weren’t any restaurants around that were half as good as her sister’s cooking.

As she drove toward town, she thought about the friends she’d had over the years. She usually was with her sisters. Back in school she’d had a crush on a boy who had seen her as his best friend, and they’d been close, but they hadn’t really kept in touch after he’d gone off to college. Not that he hadn’t tried. She’d just known deep down that she couldn’t have a long distance friendship with him without spending all her time pining away.

May had done her post-secondary education from home, not wanting to live the dorm life. She was still in school. She had her master’s degree and was slowly working on her doctorate. In zoology of course. It fit her and made her happy.

She pulled into the doctor’s office and got out, hurrying inside. She was there barely on time.

She went to the desk, and sure enough, the two women behind it were people she didn’t know. I’m May Calendar.

One of the young women smiled at her. Of course. The doctor is ready for you. She stood up and walked to the door to the back, opening it. I’m Rachel, by the way. Judging by your chart, we’ll be seeing you often.

May nodded. She wasn’t comfortable with strangers and preferred not to say a lot. Seeing a new doctor was both uncomfortable and good at the same time.

She was led to a small room at the back and Rachel took her vitals, chatting all the while about what she liked about Cauldron Valley. For some reason, every time someone mentions one of the Cauldron men, people lick their fingers and raise them in the air. It’s so strange.

May sighed. It’s the silly superstition about triplets. Makes me crazy.

Why? Rachel asked.

I’m a triplet. My sisters April and June and I are the only actual siblings my parents adopted.

Rachel blinked a few times. And how many children did your parents adopt?

Twelve. May smiled at the shocked look on Rachel’s face.

Why?

May laughed softly. Mom always wanted to have thirteen children. You know, for the luck thing? Anyway, she could only have one child, so she adopted the other twelve. All girls, named after the months of the year.

So, you have a sister named January? Really?

She goes by Jana, but yes, I do.

Huh. Rachel didn’t seem to know what to say to that, so she got to her feet. I’ll send the doctor in.

May rubbed the back of her neck. She really wished Dr. Clements was there now, even though she knew she’d be lectured. It didn’t seem to matter as much as having to meet a new doctor and explain why she had a squirrel bite on her hand.

It was less than a minute later that the door to the examination room opened and a familiar looking man walked in. Hello, May. His voice was deep, and as soon as she heard it, she knew why he looked so familiar.

Adam? Her heart fell to her stomach. He had been her best friend in high school, but when he’d moved away...well, he’d sent some emails and had called, but she had never responded or even answered the phone. Part of the reason was she didn’t want him to think he had no choice but to keep writing an old high school friend. But most of it was her worry over how lost she felt without him.

He smiled. As soon as I was finished with my medical training, I knew I had to come back to Cauldron Valley and my favorite girl.

She smiled, and it took everything inside her not to throw herself into his arms. She’d worked hard to convince herself she wasn’t living her life in wait until they saw one another again, but it didn’t work. When your parents moved to Florida to escape the cold, I was sure I’d never see you again.

You should have known better than that. I’ll always turn up...like a bad quarter. He walked to her, taking her left hand in his and peeling off her bandage. "Did you know the rest of the world says turning up