No Vacancy (The Aveline Series Book 2)

Chapter 13

DARCY

I rolled over and groaned,listening to my alarm beep incessantly. I did not want to get up and go to work, but if I didn’t, Lettie would murder me. Katy Purry would be in for a rabies vaccine, and she was notorious for being a giant pain in the ass. I crawled out of bed, basically falling out, and slipped my feet into my slippers before shuffling to the bathroom to get ready.

I was known for my ability to sleep for long hours. I enjoyed my sleep and would often grow anxious when I knew I wouldn’t be able to get eight hours of consecutive beauty rest a night. Among my affinity for sleep, I was also not a fan of mornings.

“Mondays,” I groaned to Bernie—barely visible beneath his shavings—as I brushed my teeth. “Why does Lettie have to open at eight in the morning? If I owned my own practice, I wouldn’t start until ten.”

I grabbed my book, The Lady’s Courageous Tale, and placed it into my bag, taking my phone from the side table. I brewed my coffee and put a couple of slices of bread in the toaster, flipping through social media while I waited.

I swiped absentmindedly until I landed on a Publisher’s Marketplace report that made my heart drop.

Publishers Marketplace

Category: Fiction: Romance

Imprint: Delmont

Kayla Waldorf’s LOVE IS IN THE FAIR, a romance novel that follows two carnival employees who get stuck in a ferris wheel and discover there is more to life than corndogs and slushies, to Francie Bridger at Delmont, in a major deal, by Tony Boretti at Boretti Literary.

Kayla Waldorf graduated from college with me, and while I went on to work at the clinic, completely wasting my degree, Kayla went on to work for a major magazine. Now, apparently, she had not only a book deal but a major book deal, and I was sitting in my kitchen with zero ideas in my brain and nothing on my resume.

I was happy for Kayla despite being disappointed in myself.

I liked her photo and clicked off the screen. That was enough of that.

I had gone to school with the hope I could be a writer, filling my day with words and books, but by the time I was finished with school, I realized I had been hit with writer’s block and my hope for the author life sort of dissipated. There weren’t many jobs around Aveline for English majors, and so there became a difference between what I wanted to do with my life and what I needed to do. That’s where Lettie came in. Lettie took over the vet clinic when Teddy Burton retired, and she lovingly gave me a job as her second hand, even though I had known nothing at all about animals. I have certainly learned a lot more since then.

I arrived at work, and Flo, the receptionist at the Aveline Pet Clinic, was sitting at her desk. She had been working as the receptionist since the clinic’s inception and refused to ever retire, which was completely fine with us. No one could possibly do what Flo did. She kept the place running smoothly and wasn’t afraid to hound people for their payments—namely Barty McDaniels who always tried to skip out on the bill.

“Morning, Flo. Is Lettie here yet?” I dropped my bag under the big desk and took a gulp of my water before setting it down.

“Not yet. I saw her and Mr. Tuck walk into The Baking Tin, so I expect she’ll be here any time.” Flo pulled out a chart and handed it to me. “We’ve got Tony, Abigail, and Katy Purry this morning.”

“All cats?’ I groaned. “What do we have this afternoon?” I took the charts from her and began walking them to the exam rooms to set up.

“Umm...” Flo looked at the calendar. “Mrs. Fitz is bringing Bernice in at one, and Pickles the Parakeet will be in after, and then we have Poppy the Pomeranian.”

I sighed. Mrs. Fitz was always bringing her bulldog in for diarrhea after feeding her chocolate. It was a miracle the dog hadn’t keeled over yet, and no matter how many times we’d told her not to do it, she couldn’t help herself. Mrs. Fitz’s short-term memory wasn’t what it used to be. “I like Bernice. Pickles bites, though. Do you know where I left my gloves? Ugh, and Poppy always growls at me.”

“Yep.” Flo reached into the bottom drawer of her desk and handed me a pair of gloves as Lettie walked through the back door carrying a cup holder with three coffees and a white paper bag with what I could only assume were donuts inside.

“Breakfast of champions. Fresh from Tuck himself.”

I welcomed the donuts, considering the news of Kayla’s book deal this morning had resulted in me completely forgetting my toast. Now, my stomach was growling worse than Poppy.

“What would we do without him?” I asked as I took a donut from the bag and bit into it. “I mean, I would probably starve.”

Lettie checked the schedule as she took a sip of her coffee. “Katy Purry and Pickles? Flo, were you trying to kill us today?”

Flo giggled and pushed her glasses up. “I must have been. I can’t believe I scheduled you poor girls with those two.”

We finished our donuts and headed to the first room when Lettie grabbed my arm. “So?”

“So, what?” I replied, confused at what she was insinuating.

“So, Penn! You saw him yesterday. How was it?” Lettie’s eyes were wide. She had her red hair pulled up in a bun on the top of her head and her stethoscope around her neck.

I scoffed. “Leave me alone! I split my basket with him, and that was it. I didn’t even let him have the basket. He got a plastic sack, and then I sent him on his way.”

She eyed me suspiciously. “Rumor has it the two of you were spotted together on Magnolia yesterday after the basket exchange.”

I rolled my eyes. “Oh my God. Mrs. Porter told everyone, didn’t she? No, we weren’t together. He was just chatting away on his cell phone in the middle of town square, and I thought the oldies were going to send him to the gallows. I made one comment, suggested Airpods, and left. That’s it.”

“Hmm,” Lettie said. “Lenora said she’s got a feeling about you two, and you know she predicted Tuck and me the moment I came to town, so it would be wise to believe her.”

Lenora was Teddy Burton’s wife and had owned The Baking Tin before she gave it to Tuck and Lettie. Lenora and Teddy had taken Lettie in when she got to Aveline, and they were more her parents than her biological ones ever had been. We all adored Lenora, but I didn’t believe she was some fortune teller for love.

“Lenora also predicted Millie Jones and Henry Pearson would end up together, and those two have hated each other for years.”

Lettie giggled. “Yeah, but you know what?”

“What?” I placed my hands on my hips, annoyed at her accusations.

“They don’t really hate each other anymore, so you never know.”