Chapter 2 #2
“I hope so.” He rubs the back of his neck, looking defeated.
“And by the way, you should know that Robin isn’t a he. She’s a female cat.”
“Huh, what do you know.” He stares at her in amazement.
Robin lets out a low purr under my hands. “I think we’re ready. She’s calmed down. Exactly what we want before we rile her up again.” Scooping the feline under my arms, I walk her over to the sink and place her inside. The moment her paws enter the inch of tepid water, she squirms.
“Anything I can do to help?” Fernando asks with a hint of concern.
“If you can grab the shampoo and two of the containers of warm water, that would be great. I’m going to rinse her first, then scrub the more stubborn clumps.”
Unsurprisingly, Robin is not tolerant when it comes to baths. By the time I finish washing her hindquarters, I’m drenched, but thankfully, scratch free. I run the towel over her fur one final time. Fernando opens the carrier. I place her inside with a clean towel on the bottom and zip it closed.
“Phew.” I sag against the rim of the sink. “That’s my workout for the week.”
“Doctor, I feel awful about this!” Fernando’s eyes rove the mess of towels and puddles of water littering the floor. It looks like we’ve had a small tornado hit the inside of the exam room.
“It’s fine.” I wave him off. “Comes with the territory of being a vet. I’ll mop and toss the towels into the laundry. I’ll have my receptionist tackle the rest of the mess tomorrow.”
Fernando shakes his head. “You already did all the work cleaning up Robin. Let me take care of the room.”
“You don’t have to do that.” I frown.
“You didn’t ask. I’m offering.” He begins rolling up the sleeves of his button-up, exposing forearms corded with muscles. I swallow hard. “Where do you keep your cleaning supplies?”
“In the cupboard.” I point to the corner of the room.
“Bueno.” He claps his hands together. “Leave everything to me,” he insists.
As I open my mouth to protest, my phone starts to ring. Reaching into the deep pocket of my scrubs, I spy Dylan’s name flash across the screen. I hesitate. Normally I’d never let a client clean up after their own animal, but I do want to talk to Dylan.
“Go. Answer your phone. I’ve got this.” Fernando winks.
“Hey, stranger.” I hold my phone to my ear and shut the door to the office with my hip. A surge of excited energy floods my body and I’m suddenly wide awake.
“Hi, Ava.” Dylan’s voice, on the other hand, comes out exhausted.
“How’s it going?”
“I’ve been better. I’m only just reaching the Nevada state line. There was some roadwork around Bakersfield that backed traffic up for miles. It took hours to get through.”
“I’m sorry.” I inhale sharply. “Are you still going to stop in Vegas for the night?”
“Yeah. It’s only about an hour away and I’ve already prepaid for my hotel room. How has your day been?”
“Oh, you know, same ol’, same ol’. I did a few routine exams and vaccinations. Things don’t change much around here.”
He sighs. “That’s the nice thing about Sequoia Valley—it’s predictable from one day to the next.”
“Are you missing it already? You can always come back,” I tease.
“Nope . . . well maybe a tiny bit,” he admits. “I am nervous about what I’m getting myself into.”
“Dylan, you’ve been talking about the move for months. All your doubts will disappear as soon as you’re back in Fort Collins.” I sit in my chair and lean back. “Remember how it was when we first moved to California? You had the same sort of anxiety.”
“Yeah . . .”
“And what happened here?” I push.
“We opened the practice we always talked about.”
“Exactly! If it worked out here, it’ll work out in Colorado.” I try and sound positive.
“But you won’t be here.” Dylan’s voice drops.
“I won’t.” I dry swallow as a lump forms in my throat. “But I’m only a phone call or video chat away.”
“I’ve been thinking about you a lot over the last couple of hours.”
My pulse begins to pick up. “I’ve thought about you too.”
“You’re such an important part of my life. You have no idea how difficult it was to leave you in Sequoia Valley.”
“Dylan,” I start, my body humming with energy. This is it! This is my opening! It’s now or never. “Hearing you say that means everything to me. You know . . . this morning there was something else, but I chickened out.”
“Ava?”
I lick my lips. “The truth is I . . . I . . . I love you. I have for a long time!”
“What are you talking about?” he sputters.
“You’re one of my best friends. We know one another inside and out.” My heart is hammering so loudly, it’s almost hard to hear. “There’s always been a strong connection between us. Haven’t you felt it?”
“No. I haven’t,” he says slowly.
I freeze and nearly drop the phone. It’s as if somebody has taken an IV of ice water and inserted it into my veins. “No?” I repeat.
“No, not like you’re thinking. You’re a good friend and great business partner, Ava, but that’s all you’ll ever be to me. How do I put this? You’re like . . . my favorite bossy older sister.”
My mouth opens and closes. I’m at a loss for words. Fat salty tears flow down my cheeks. All these years of waiting and he only sees me as a sister? There’s a crackling sound. My heart is being crushed into a million pieces and tossed into the wind to scatter.
“Please don’t take this the wrong way, but if I were romantically interested in you, we would’ve gotten together a long time ago.
I’m not saying this to be insensitive to you, but you’re not my type.
You have a lot of great qualities that I’m sure some guy out there would be lucky to find, Ava, but you’re, um, a little too focused on work for me. ”
The more he says, the more it stings, like pouring rubbing alcohol over a fresh cut. I wish I’d never opened my mouth. I was better off being left in the dark.
“Look, Ava, I, um, have a lot of driving to do still. I’ll text you later.”
“OK,” I manage to say.
The phone clicks and all I hear on the other end is an empty dial tone. I drop my phone onto my desk, and my body shakes with sobs.
“Dr. B?” Fernando knocks on my door.
I’d forgotten he was still here. “Just a second,” I say, using the back of my hand to dry my eyes. They’re probably red rimmed and swollen. Maybe in this lighting, Fernando won’t notice.
“Dr. B? Is everything all right?”
Well, that was wishful thinking. Fernando stands in the doorway, his brown eyes are wide with concern. They’re the color of toffee, one of my favorite candies.
“No, but I’ll be fine in a few days.” I sniffle.
He enters the room, pulls a box of tissues from the top of Dylan’s old desk, and hands them to me.
“Thanks.”
“Is there anything I can do to help?”
I shake my head. “No, I appreciate the offer. I just need some time to let everything settle.” I blow my nose.
“That’s a little better.” I take a deep breath, stand on shaky legs, and change the subject.
I can’t take any more emotional pain today.
“I feel guilty for leaving you alone for so long. Let me finish cleaning the room. That way you and Robin can head home.”
“Actually, I was coming in here to let you know I was done.”
He’s finished? I know I was in my office for a long time, but it couldn’t have been more than an hour.
“I was also going to ask if I could treat you to dinner as my way of saying thank you for all your help, but . . .” He rubs the back of his neck. “That might not be the most appropriate offer right now.”
“No, it wouldn’t.” All I want to do after this is go home, eat my pint of ice cream, and feel sorry for myself. We walk together down the hallway to exam room two. “You don’t owe me anything. Just promise me that you’ll keep a watchful eye on Robin and try not to let her sneak out.”
“I’ll do my best.”
As I push the door open, I have to blink a few times to make sure I’m in the right room. It looks cleaner than when I arrived. “You mopped, cleaned the sinks, waxed and polished the floors, and did all the laundry?”
“I did.”
“I wish I could hire you.”
He laughs. “If I didn’t already have a full-time job, I’d consider it. Being around animals every day would be a dream come true.”
“Do you have any pets?”
“No.” He shakes his head. “Work used to take me on the road all the time before I settled in Sequoia Valley. I didn’t have a permanent home. But now that things have changed, maybe it’s something I’ll consider.”
“Well, if you decide you’re in a good place to adopt a cat or dog, let me know. I always have leads on animals who are looking for a good home.”
“I promise, Dr. B, you’ll be one of the first calls I make.”
My breathing has become more stable and my voice not as shaky. Fernando may not know it, but talking with him gives me the calm I needed after Dylan ripped through my heart.