Chapter 12 #2
Troy smiled. "Douglas has that effect on people. He makes you want to do the work right."
"The next day, he was offered the barn as his permanent assignment," the chief continued. "Daniel actually called me at work to tell me. It's the first time he'd ever reached out like that."
A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. "And ever since, it's been 'Doc McCandliss this,' and 'Doc McCandliss that.' He hasn't been in a lick of trouble since."
Beth glanced at Douglas, who cleared his throat, a faint blush coloring his cheeks at the unexpected praise. She hadn't seen that much of Douglas, as he worked mostly with horses and livestock, but it didn't surprise her at all that he'd had such an impact on the troubled teen.
"I remember that," Troy mused. "We had a staff meeting with the partners and our office manager. Douglas, you remember? You asked us if you could have Daniel in the barn on a regular basis."
Douglas's eyes narrowed, his expression thoughtful. "I do remember. Daniel has a natural way with the horses - they responded to him immediately. And he asked such intelligent questions about their care. You could tell he was really thinking things through, not just going through the motions."
"He earned everyone's respect pretty quickly," Troy added. "Even Barbara started bragging about him to clients - and you know how particular she is about the staff."
Douglas's face softened at the memory of the mare and her foal. She'd heard snippets about that particular horse from other staff members - how dangerous she'd been when she first arrived, how no one but Douglas would go near her stall.
"Firefly was a special case," Douglas said quietly. "She'd been badly abused before she came to us as a rescue. They wanted to put her down, claimed she was too dangerous to handle. But I could see the fear in her eyes. She wasn't mean - she was terrified."
"Daniel told us how you'd spend hours just sitting near her stall," Chief Flynn continued, his voice carrying quiet admiration. "Reading paperwork or making phone calls. How you never pushed her, never tried to force her to accept you."
"Sometimes that's what healing takes," Douglas replied. "Time and patience. Letting them come to trust you at their own pace."
Beth's thought of Todd, and how carefully he was planning his own escape from an abusive situation. Some wounds needed more than just time to heal - they needed the right person to show them a path forward.
"The respect has been mutual," the chief assured him.
"In great part, it was due to Dr. McCandliss's work with that mare.
Daniel saw all the time he spent with her, standing outside her stall just talking to her.
Putting treats on the stall door and retreating so she felt safe to come take them.
Daniel had heard the stories from the other employees, of course, about how vicious she was, how she could never be tamed, but Dr. McCandliss never gave up on her. "
He chuckled, shaking his head. "It made such a huge impression on Daniel, when the foal was born, he took us all out to dinner to celebrate—his mother, his little sister, and myself—and insisted on paying with the money he'd made working in the barn.
He spent the entire two hours at dinner telling us all about the foal and how pretty she was, and how Doc McCandliss let him groom her. "
Beth noticed Douglas's throat work with emotion as he heard how deeply the experience had affected the boy. Pride and wonder filled his features as he remembered that breakthrough.
"We were all pretty excited. None of us ever thought Firefly would come around, and now she lets my kids, Molly and Benny, sit on her back while we lead her around."
Chief Flynn's stern expression softened further. "Daniel showed us pictures on his phone. He was so proud of being part of her rehabilitation." He looked at Troy. “I know Daniel appreciates the extra hours you’ve given him to help out at your place as well.”
Troy smiled. “Daniel seems to have a special touch with horses. They like and trust him. I’m glad to have his assistance. We were all sorry to lose him when he went off to college.”
Chief Flynn shook his head as if in disbelief. “When I think that just a few years ago, I had despaired of my son. And now he plans to be a veterinarian himself.”
Chief Flynn's expression shifted from proud father back to professional police chief, though warmth lingered in his eyes.
"Those letters of recommendation you both wrote made all the difference in Daniel's college acceptance," he said, nodding to Douglas and Troy. "The admissions board was particularly impressed by your detailed observations of his work with difficult cases."
"He earned every word," Douglas replied. "His dedication to learning proper horse handling techniques was remarkable."
Chief Flynn straightened his shoulders, authority settling back over him like a familiar coat. "Now, about the security situation. After Dr. Shelton's wife appeared on that talk show, we've been monitoring social media chatter. There's been an uptick in anti-shifter sentiment locally."
"Having private security is a smart move," he said. "Especially for your night shift staff. We've increased patrols in this area, but we can't be everywhere."
"Katerina knew going public would stir up reactions," Troy said quietly. "But she felt it was important to show that shifters are just regular people living regular lives."
"And most folks have been supportive," Suzanne added. "The hate groups are a vocal minority."
Chief Flynn nodded grimly. "True, but sometimes the loudest voices cause the most trouble."
Troy's expression was thoughtful. "Actually, Chief, we've been surprised it took this long to have any real trouble. When Katerina went public, we knew the clinic would become an obvious target."
"Exactly," Suzanne said. "That's why we contracted private security before any incidents occurred. We wanted to be proactive rather than reactive."
"The night shift was our biggest concern," Troy continued. "Fewer staff, darker conditions, more isolation. Beth and our other night employees are particularly vulnerable."
"The security team has been excellent," Beth offered. "They maintain a constant presence without being intrusive. Our regular clients don't even notice them, but they're always there if needed."
Troy's smile reached his eyes for the first time that evening. "They responded immediately when that woman started causing trouble. Within minutes, they had the situation under control, while our staff called 911."
Chief Flynn's shoulders relaxed slightly, and he nodded in approval.
"Having security is a wise move. As you can imagine, law enforcement has been scrambling since the start of this, from the big cities to smaller communities like ours.
Having our local celebrity coming forward as a shapeshifter made a big difference in swaying public opinion, I will say. "
"We did lose some clients right away," Douglas added. "But for every one who left, we gained three new ones. People specifically seeking us out because they want to support shifters."
Beth grinned as she remembered the impact of Katerina's going public.
The fashion designer's graceful revelation of her shifter nature on national television had indeed changed many minds locally.
Beth had witnessed it firsthand - the way regular clients now smiled knowingly when they spotted the familiar Maine Coon lounging on the clinic's front desk, understanding it was actually Katerina in her cat form.
"The interview helped put a familiar face to it all," Troy agreed, pride evident in his voice as he spoke of his wife. "People who've known Katerina for years suddenly realized they'd been interacting with shifters all along without even knowing it."
Beth remembered Liam telling her how so many of the staff had reacted when they learned the truth - not with fear, but with delight that they'd had shifters around them all along, and finally understanding why the clinic's "resident" cats - that would be Katerina and Kester - had always seemed so intelligent and aware.
"It's certainly made our job easier," Chief Flynn continued. "When people see someone they already know and respect is a shifter, it's harder for them to buy into fear-mongering propaganda."
Beth couldn't help smiling as Chief Flynn's professional mask dropped away entirely, revealing the proud father beneath.
"My wife is a fan of Katerina's, and she's over the moon. And I must say she's quite disappointed, like Daniel, that it wasn't catching."
Troy laughed, his eyes crinkling at the corners. "Yes, that was the general consensus at the staff meeting we had when we informed everyone that we had shifters here, before Katerina's appearance on the talk show. Everyone wanted to know if they could become a shifter themselves."
Douglas chuckled. "I think every staff member had the same question that day—why couldn't they become shifters too? We had to explain it's genetic, not contagious."
"Like Daniel," Chief Flynn said, shaking his head with fond exasperation. "When he found out, all he could talk about for weeks was how cool it would be to transform into a horse. Said it would make understanding their needs so much easier."
Beth's smile widened, picturing the enthusiastic young man she'd met briefly last summer, with his shock of red hair and freckles so like his father's. She could easily imagine his disappointment at learning he couldn't simply become a shifter through exposure.
"It's funny," she said. "Most of us who are born shifters never think about how special it is until we see that reaction from humans who wish they could experience it."