Chapter Nineteen
Blake
S tepping out of my car, I stretch my arms above me and let my head fall back for a moment. It’s colder today than it’s been all week, but the sun is bright and still feels warm on my skin. It makes me feel hopeful for a quiet Sunday morning.
I crack one eye open as a car door slams a few spots away. When I see his lazy smirk, I can’t help but smile in return. While my head is still tipped back, I let it fall to the side. “Good morning, Storm Cloud,” he says smoothly as he makes his way toward me. I watch his long, languid strides—letting myself get lost in his presence for a moment.
I’ve become accustomed to the nickname over the last week, except it still sends a spark of electricity through me every time I hear it.
Adrian stops in front of me and doesn’t hesitate for a second as he pulls me into him.
His muscular arms wrap around my shoulders, letting one fall to my back while the other lightly curls around my neck, holding me to him. I’m certain it’s the best type of hug to ever exist. And I really hope he was planning to make this a normal thing now.
When I step further into the hug and wrap my arms around his waist, he whispers, “That’s better.” His lips are right by my ear, and his chuckle feels like what I’d imagine his knuckles would, brushing down the side of my neck.
I’m probably holding him a little too tightly, but I really don’t want to stop. He doesn’t seem like he’s in much of a rush either.
My suspicions are confirmed when he keeps one arm around my shoulders, tucking me into his side and walks us toward the door.
“I thought you were opening this morning?”
“My dad let me sleep in since we don’t have anything scheduled for another hour or so,” I tell him. My eyes are fixed on his handsome face as he opens the door and leads me inside, without ever losing contact.
“That was ni—Polly?” Adrian asks cautiously, dropping his arm. I peek around his large frame and can see the old woman sitting by herself, twisting her hands in her lap.
Slowly, she turns her head to face us, tears silently sliding down her cheeks. He slowly walks toward her, falling into the seat across. I follow, suddenly feeling guilty that I agreed to my dad’s offer.
“Hey, wanna talk about what’s going on?”
Polly takes a deep breath and sits up straighter. “Benji the Beagle is in surgery with Dr. Miller. I didn’t know what was wrong when—” her voice cracks and even my bitter heart does too in response. “When he was trying to cough something up and could barely move this morning, so I brought him right here.”
“Does Dr. Miller know what’s going on now?” Adrian glances toward the hall to the back operating rooms. As a vet assistant, he can’t perform surgery, but I know every day, he’s itching more and more to be able to help in a bigger way. It was one of the first and few similarities between us I noticed.
She sighs and lightly rolls her eyes. “Yes, we know. The landscapers were over yesterday and left a pile of branches in the corner. They’re coming back today to finish so I didn’t think much of it.” She shrugs and bats the tears away. “He ate them. Not all of them but enough to puncture his salivary glands and fill his stomach. I don’t know much else than that right now.”
“Oh, Polly. I’m so sorry,” he comforts. “You’d be surprised how many times a month someone brings a pet in for eating something they shouldn’t have.”
“Yes, well, that little shit has really done it now, hasn’t he?”
Gaping, I glance at Adrian. I have never heard this woman swear, and the thought of her saying anything bad about her dog is even crazier. He bites his lip, trying his best to stifle his laugh.
“Listen, why don’t I go check on Benji the Beagle and Dr. Miller, then I can come back and sit with you for a while?”
She starts to nod but I cut her off. “I can wait with Polly.” She and I share an unsure glance; her husband passed away a few years ago and I doubt her daughter can be here unless it’s an emergency. No one, not even the biggest pain in my ass, deserves to be alone in a moment like this. “We don’t have a lot of appointments today, so I can come sit with her when I’m not at the desk.” I tilt my head toward the back hallway. “They’ll need more help than I will.”
Polly and Adrian look like I’ve grown a second head. “Hey, it’s called compassion,” I snap.
“Oh, honey, we know what it’s called”—Polly absentmindedly pats my leg—“we just didn’t think you had any.”
I turn my head back toward Adrian and find him biting back another laugh. “See? We will be fine.”
“I don’t know about that…” He plants his hands on his thighs and pushes up to a standing position. “But I’ll go check on Benji an—
“The Beagle,” Polly and I add in unison. I don’t miss Adrian’s amused smirk.
“My apologies, Polly. Benji the Beagle and I’ll report right back.”
T hree hours later, Polly and I haven’t moved much. About forty-five minutes ago, after Adrian’s last check-in to let us know that surgery is still going as expected, she grabbed my hand in a death vice and hasn’t let it go unless someone goes to the desk. I can’t say I’d be any different if it were my dog, though.
Only three people have come in with their pets, so I’ve had a lot of time to spend with her. I know that she was sitting alone for about thirty minutes before we showed up. She won’t talk much about the time between finding him sick and when I walked in, which is okay. I don’t think I want to hear the details anyway.
Thankfully, it’s not often that someone comes into the clinic alone or in an emergency, but it does happen. And whenever my workload allows it, I always find myself in the same position—sitting with them and offering a hand to hold when needed.
Most of my life, I’ve felt like I’m just wandering through the days aimlessly. There are some things I’m certain of—like how I want a big family, and I never want to lose my love of swimming again. But neither of those things feel like my purpose in life either. I want to dedicate my life to something good , something fulfilling. I’ve grown up watching my parents make an impact on our small community without even trying. While my mom’s best friend, Bonnie Davies, and her four children have been treated as Amada Beach’s sweethearts since moving in, my parents took on a different role when we arrived in town a month later. Tim and Selena Miller are the caretakers of those who need it and the backbone of everything they’re a part of.
They’re who I aspire to be and always have been.
But I’ve never felt even a spark of desire to work in any sort of medical field, nor in childhood education. Yet, in these moments, when I can offer quiet fortitude, it feels like maybe I do have a purpose. There are other times when this job ignites a small flame in my soul—like helping Lela when Chispa first got sick, or when I volunteered with my parents at the local shelter a few times.
Placing my other hand on top of our interlaced ones, I give her a little pat, a sign of support between us, even if I’m still lost in my own thoughts. I’m not very good with words, and I can’t say Polly is much better herself, so I hope it’s enough.
Finally, almost four hours after my dad took Benji the Beagle back, he comes around the corner. His shock of seeing me with Polly quickly morphs into fatherly pride. She doesn’t notice, so I stand, gently pulling her with me.
“Everything went great.” The old woman slumps against my side and starts crying in earnest now. “Liane’s with him in the room, and he should start waking up soon enough. How about you walk back with me?”
Making my way back to the front desk, I feel Adrian following close behind me. Before I can plop down in the chair, his large hand snakes around my waist as he gently turns me toward him. He assesses me for a few seconds, before asking, “You okay, pretty girl?”
My heart melts into a puddle at his shameless concern and another sweet nickname. Placing my hand over the one he still has on my waist, I offer him a squeeze in reassurance. “I’m okay. But mostly I’m glad Benji is.” Nodding in understanding, he releases his hold on me and rolls the extra chair closer to where mine is. We sit quietly, both trying to make our mundane busy work seem like it takes more focus than it does. I’m organizing pre-appointment paperwork and confirming the appointments made online, while Adrian scrolls through a few of the afternoon patients’ charts.
I glance up at him, just watching the way his eyes squint when he’s concentrating on something he may need to know about the animal, and how he double taps his finger on information, like pointing it out will help him remember it later.
He looks up at me with his signature lazy smile right as one of the exam room doors opens to my dad leading only Polly out. There’s a burn behind my eyes as I remind myself that my dad and Adrian said things went as great as anyone could’ve hoped for. As my worry for the dog starts to fade, I realize that he’s probably just staying for long-term care. It’s not abnormal for animals to require extended medical supervision after a big surgery.
“Thank you so much, Tim,” Polly says in a raspy voice, still raw with emotions.
Placing his hand on her shoulder with a soft squeeze, he just nods. “Of course, Polly. You don’t need to thank me. Benji the Beagle is a staple around the clinic. We wouldn’t want anything to happen to our little friend.”
I choke down another wave of emotions and try my best to offer Polly a friendly smile, feeling like we may be turning over a new leaf today.
She clearly has other plans.
“Blake, sweetheart,” she pauses, one hand on the counter, and I stupidly think she’s going to thank me for being with her today. Nope. “It’s not professional to leave the desk so often during your shift. What if someone else had needed something?” she tsks and turns to offer Adrian a smile on her way out.
I sit there, jaw on the ground and eyes glued to the old woman’s back, completely shocked. My dad just chuckles and stands on the other side of the desk. Adrian leans forward with an amused smirk of his own and gently closes my mouth with his pointer finger.
My death look swings toward him. “Have I ever told you that woman is a pain in my fucking ass?” My dad doesn’t even bother to correct me. He knows my relationship with Polly well.
“You have, Storm Cloud.” His use of my nickname in front of my dad for the first time freezes me in place but simultaneously sends a warmth through my entire body. “You know that’s just Polly’s way of thanking you. It’s been a hard day for her. She can’t rock the boat too much, okay?”
I roll my eyes and lean back with crossed arms, but nod anyway.
My dad leans across the desk and affectionately squeezes my shoulder. “I’m very proud of you, honey. She may not know how to show it, but I know it meant a lot to Polly that she didn’t have to be alone today.”
I know he’s right, and I like the confirmation that I was able to help in a significant way today.
Adrian just watches me with a growing smile, his eyes taking in every detail of my face, and I can tell he’s contemplating something, I just don’t know what.
“What?” I finally snap. My dad chuckles again, and for the first time in my life, that sound is getting a little annoying.
Okay, no. Not annoying. Just overwhelming.
“Do you have plans tonight?” Adrian retorts. I glance at my dad, feeling my cheeks warm. I shake my head, not trusting my voice to come out strong. “Will you go to dinner with me?” His smile is shy and tentative, but he doesn’t cower from either of our gazes.
“Oh, um.” I glance around, feeling a million pairs of eyes on me even though we’re the only three people in the room right now. Clearing my throat, I add, “Yeah, dinner sounds great.”
“Can’t wait.” He taps the arm of the chair and starts to push off. “I’ll pick you up at seven.”
Before I can process what just happened, he’s pushing through the double doors to the back hallway. And maybe I’m imagining it, but there’s a small swagger to his step that wasn’t there before.