Chapter One
LILY
“And what’s your name, little man?” I ask the most adorable black and white Border Collie puppy as I poke my fingers through his cage. He jumps up and down in the small space and licks my hand, making me giggle. I pull his chart from the slot below his cage and read over the information. “Peter…” I laugh, “… not quite the name I was expecting, but we’ll go with it.”
Tucking the clipboard under my arm, I make quick work of unlatching the door, pulling it open just in time to catch the little guy as he leaps at me from inside. His tongue tickles my face, slobber everywhere.
“Woah there, buddy. This is a first date, none of that,” I tell him, tucking him into my body and carrying him down the hallway to my examination room. “Looks like just a check-up today.”
Peter had come from one of our reputable breeders in the city. While some dog breeders didn’t care for their dogs properly and treated them like dollar signs, our vet clinic was connected with some amazing breeders from all around the state. They always bring their puppies in for health checks before they’re adopted out—a great peace of mind for prospective owners and just simply a caring heart.
Placing Peter on the table, I begin my exam. “All right, Petey boy, let’s see those ears,” I tell him cheerfully. Checking out his ears, I have a good look inside, moving next to his eyes, verifying there’s no discharge or anything suspicious.
“Don’t bite me now,” I jest as I use my fingers to pry open his mouth. He tries to wiggle away from me, whining softly as I take a quick peek inside at his teeth and the top of his mouth. I quickly let go, pulling his back toward me, making sure I give him a pat and some gentle praise.
I make quick work of the rest of his check-up, or at least I try as he wiggles around on the table, happy and excited, just like a puppy should be. This also tells me that the breeders have once again done a fantastic job at raising these little guys.
“Time for a cuddle!” I beam, signing off on my notes, giving Peter a clean bill of health.
I pull him into my arms and cuddle and coo over him as we walk back to his cage. “You’re so excited, little man.” I laugh as he wiggles in my arms, trying to reach my face with his tongue.
Suddenly, I feel warmth against my stomach and freeze.
Peter seems to freeze too upon noticing my frown.
“Really?” I know there’s dog pee all down the front of my mint green shirt. I can feel it, soaking through against my skin.
“Thanks for that, Peter.” I sigh as I place him back in his cage. He sits and whimpers at me, obviously knowing I’m not entirely enthused. It wasn’t his fault, though. I managed to excite him too much, and he couldn’t help it.
Petting him on the head, I smile at him. “It’s okay.” His tail starts tapping again, and his mouth opens, tongue rolling out to the side.
“What is that? ”
I turn my head toward the snarky voice. Steven—my boss—he runs the vet clinic. But if I’m totally honest, he never really does anything. I’m completely confused as to why he owns a place that cares for animals when it seems like he pretty much hates them.
“Peter got a little excited,” I tell him, looking down at the wet patch on my shirt.
He screws up his nose, his lips pursing, reminding me of a rabbit. “Go and get cleaned up before someone sees you,” he orders in disgust before stomping away, mumbling to himself.
I roll my eyes, giving Peter one last pat before shutting the cage door. “Pee on him next time, will you?” I whisper, conspiring with Peter, who jumps at the cage door panting and wagging his tail as though I’ve just come up with the best idea ever.
I giggle to myself while weaving down the hall and into the staff room. We have lockers in there. Even though there are only about nine staff members here, it’s nice to be able to keep my things locked away. I don’t particularly trust Steven not to snoop.
I pull out a spare shirt, rolling my pee-soaked one up and placing it in a plastic bag and putting it back in my locker. It doesn’t really bother me that much. I’ve had a lot worse things done than being peed on. I’ve had to search through poop for missing wedding rings, help deliver calves—which involves being elbow deep in a cow. Hell, I’ve even been sprayed by a skunk when a good Samaritan brought one in that had been hit by a car.
Being a vet nurse isn’t always pretty, it isn’t glamorous, but hell if it doesn’t make me smile every day.
I have dreams, dreams of opening my own practice, one far away from Steven and his bad attitude, and even further away from the city. Growing up on a farm gave me the experience of being around all kinds of different animals. Not just house pets like you find in the city, but cows and horses and deer, big beautiful animals.
I want to treat everything. I don’t discriminate. I love my work.
Unfortunately, that dream’s far off. I need to save money and build up my reputation. But I know one day I’ll get there.
***
Once work’s finished for the day, I begin my trek home, which takes me around ten minutes to walk. Luckily, the vet clinic is in the opposite direction of the building that exploded last month. There’s still a really strong police presence throughout the city. It still sends chills down my spine every time I see them on the normally bustling city streets. Shop owners are still cleaning the ash and dust off their windows, and everything seems to be a dusty shade of gray. Nothing seems bright anymore, and no one on the streets seems to be happy or cheerful. Instead, everyone’s faces are full of fear and unease. My feet tread the powdery concrete faster as I think about it, seeking the safety of my apartment.
People were killed in that explosion—they say thirty-two were found dead.
The word ‘terrorist’ is still floating around, but the reality is, no one knows who did it or why. And I think that fact has almost scared me more than actually knowing for sure.
I don’t particularly like unknowns.
I like to ask questions and to know facts. Information makes me feel safe, I think. It means I can work with it, devise a plan, and know how to approach something.
Unknowns have too many risks attached.
I narrow my eyes, looking around as I hear a tinkle, bells jingling maybe. It takes me a minute or so to realize the noise is actually coming from me—it’s my cell phone. I dig furiously through my handbag, cursing the fact that I always purchase bags that are far too big and consistently make me feel like freaking Mary Poppins as I search through them looking for keys, or tissues, or like now—my goddamn phone.
“Ah-huh!” I cry out in triumph as I pull it out and quickly hit answer. “Hey, Mama.”
“How’s my girl?” she asks, her voice soft and sweet just like always.
I sigh dramatically as I look both ways down the street, preparing to cross. “I’m good, Mama. Nothing new.”
“How’s work?” This time, I hear the tension in her question.
She knows I don’t like it there. If she and my dad had their way, I’d be running a vet clinic out of their barn. The idea’s not entirely horrible if I’m completely honest with myself, but it’s just not what I want.
My parents raised me to be a hard worker and fight for the things I want. I’d spend hours feeding out hay to the cows and helping Dad fix the fences. I’m not one to sit back and wait for things to be handed to me. And this is my dream, so I want to know that I’ve worked hard to get it.
“Haven’t seen you for a while…” she continues, “… think Nightlight might be pregnant. Want you to come home and check her out when you have time.” Nightlight’s one of our horses.
I bounce excitedly as I cross the road. “Really? That’s awesome!” We haven’t had any foals around home since I was a little girl.
“Yup. So you need to come home, bring a giant pregnancy test.”
I giggle. “Yeah, Mama, I’ll come soon, I promise.” I look at the ground as I walk up the staircase to my floor. “I do miss you guys.”
“We miss you, too. And we aren’t that far away. I’ve been trying to get your father to come with me to see you, but you know what he’s like when it comes to the city and traffic.” She giggles, and I can hear a low voice grumbling in the background, only causing her to laugh harder.
My daddy’s a countryman, through and through. I know he’ll never be disappointed in me, but the day I told him I was moving to the city, I almost thought he was going to have a stroke.
I laugh to myself, the sound quickly changing to a loud oomph of air as I strike something hard. Two strong hands wrap around my upper arms, stopping me from stumbling backward down the stairs.
“Shit,” I grumble.
My eyes run up his body, my mind trying to compute exactly what I’m seeing. He’s wearing blue scrubs that stretch tightly across his chest and thighs. A name badge hangs from the right side of his chest, and I don’t even catch the name as I realize whose picture is on it.
My eyes shoot up, my neighbor staring down at me with his eyebrow raised. I try to calm down, suddenly realizing just how close we are, his hands touching my body.
“I… I’m sorry.”
Realizing I’m now stable, he releases me, much to my disappointment. But he just stares at me for a few seconds. I can hear my mom in my ear asking if I’m okay and what the hell is going on, but it’s just background noise.
I lick my lips, drawing his attention to them, his eyes narrowing slightly. “I didn’t know you were a doctor,” I say, my voice a little shaky and strangely high-pitched.
As though my words strike him like a hot poker, his body tightens. “I’m not,” he mutters, stepping around me, his sneakers squeaking against the wooden floor as he jogs down the stairs. I watch him go, my brow furrows in confusion as to what just happened.
Pushing myself to move, I head down the hall toward my apartment, stopping outside the door.
“Hello… Earth to Lily!” Mom calls, clearly frustrated.
“Sorry, Mom. What?” I ask in a daze as I stare back at the staircase where my mysterious neighbor and I have just officially met, after two months of me obsessing over who he is and wanting to get to know him.
“Who were you talking to?” she asks with a deep sigh as though she’s already asked me a million times. Which I bet she probably has.
My mind’s focused entirely on him, though. He was wearing scrubs and had a doctor’s ID pinned to his chest. But he said he wasn’t a doctor.
I bite my lip. “It was just my neighbor,” I answer, once again pulling open my ridiculously large handbag in search of my keys.
“Ooh…” she says. “And he’s a doctor?”
Finally fishing them out, I push my key in the lock and turn it before pushing the door open. For some reason, I turn my head and take one last look back down the hall.
“Who is he?” my mom asks with a little too much enthusiasm in her voice.
I laugh and shake my head. “You know, Mom… I really have no idea.”
But I’m going to find out.