Beth had let herself in through the studio she'd added when she became a long-arm quilter, having owned the house for more than thirty years before giving both it and the shop to her niece earlier in the year.

"How late did you have to stay up to finish it?"

"Not all that late. Aiden canceled dinner, so I grabbed a quick snack and kept working until it was finished."

"Trouble in paradise?"

"He's leaving for Ephrata.” Harriet looked at her watch. “In about two hours."

"What's he doing in eastern Washington?"

"He's not supposed to be talking about it, so you have to promise not to tell everyone,” Harriet cautioned. She knew her aunt could keep a secret when she had to, so she continued. “A really bad pet hoarder situation was raided a week and a half ago. So far, they've kept it from the press, but Aiden says it's horrendous.

"It's by far the biggest animal abuse case in the history of Washington State and maybe even in the country-just awful. And it's hard on the vets who have to work on the animals, both physically and emotionally, so they rotate them in and out from animal clinics all over the state."

"I suppose Aiden has to go because he's still the newest vet in the clinic,” Aunt Beth guessed.

"Actually, it's because of the research he was doing in Uganda. He also worked at a free clinic in his village, and I think he saw more extreme problems than the average vet stateside."

Harriet got Fred's prescription cat food from the refrigerator and scooped a gob into his fish-shaped ceramic dish.

"How long will he be gone?"

"He said their schedule is a work in progress. The first vets on the scene worked thirty-six hours straight and then collapsed. They're hoping he can stay a week. He thinks he'll be able to do more, but that could be his youth speaking."

"Are you ever going to let go of the fact that he's ten years younger than you?” Aunt Beth scolded. “Age isn't all about the calendar, you know."