Chapter 34
brAXTON
The custom-made, paw-print dog tag clipped to the deep brown leather collar in my hand swings as I walk, clinking against Hades’ rabies tag. There’s an obvious skip in my step, and it makes my smile grow into a cheek-pinching grin.
I swagger into the shelter, and a sense of comfort falls on my shoulders when I notice my boy waiting for me in his pen.
His tail swings faster and faster the closer I get, and a whine fills the space between us.
It’s been too long since I’ve had the time to come see him, and I’m planning to make up for the time apart with a long walk in the warm evening air.
“Hey, baby,” I coo, making quick work of unlatching the pen door. He runs at me and stands on his rear legs, placing his front paws on my thighs. “We have so much to catch up on. I freaking missed you.”
He pants, his tongue swiping at my chin and cheeks. I dig my fingers into the short hairs around his neck and give him some scratches.
“I got you something. I figured you needed a nice new one. This one is all yours.”
He just stares at me as I slip the collar around his neck and fasten it. The brown looks perfect on him, and my eyes burn as I place a kiss on his snout.
He looks like somebody’s pet, not the broken fight dog he used to be.
I pinch the dog tag in my fingers and read back over what I had the guy at the shop written on it.
Name: Hades
Allergies: Please no gluten
Special instructions: I don’t like small spaces and please no cats.
Owner contact: Heights Animal Clinic, Braxton Heights. 439-555-9099
There was a moment when I wondered if I shouldn’t have put my personal cell phone number and included the clinic’s number instead, but it was instinct, I guess. There’s nobody I trust the same as I do myself. Not when it comes to Hades.
The door opens behind me, and I look over my shoulder, offering Marco a smile. “Hey.”
“The collar looks great. Matches the little patches all over his tummy,” he notes.
Hades is watching Marco with cautious eyes, but he’s much calmer than he was a few weeks ago. The fear is still there, coming out when he feels threatened or surprised, but I think he’s started to feel comfortable here. Possibly even safe.
“He seems to like it enough. We were about to go show it off to the neighbourhood.” I glance to my side to see Marco wandering closer, hands shoved deep in the pockets of a pair of sunflower-speckled scrub pants.
“Do you wanna come? Sapphire over there hasn’t gone for her walk yet tonight, and I told Sadie I would get her out before I went home. ”
He looks at the butt-wiggling German shepherd two pens over. “Hades does okay with her?”
“He does, actually. Sadie usually takes them together.”
Grabbing two leashes off the long line of leashes hung on the wall beside the door, he swiftly hands me the black one I’ve been using for Hades and takes the blue one to Sapphire’s pen.
“Sounds like a plan. I haven’t hit my steps for the day yet, anyway.” He laughs as Sapphire bolts out of her pen and nearly takes him down. “This one’s going to be a great addition to someone’s home someday. Hopefully a family with a bunch of little kids.”
Hades turns his head to look at his wild-child friend, puffing out a breath at her energy.
“I’m hoping they’ll all find a home after the adoption day, but I’m trying not to get my hopes up.”
We have nine dogs at the shelter right now, and it pains me to leave them here every night. Even taking Hades and Sapphire out for a walk while all of them just sit and watch us leave has my stomach in knots, but knowing they’ve all already been pampered today helps soothe some of the discomfort.
“They all deserve something better than to spend their days in a pen waiting for the chance to find someone who will love and cherish them. I know we do everything we can to make them feel at home here, but they’re still locked in pens.
We would never survive being locked up all day, every day,” I add, holding Hades a little closer.
Marco leads the big dog over to us and tells her to sit, which she does happily. He scratches her behind the ear, and her tongue flops out of her mouth.
“I get that. Hell, if I could adopt every dog out there that doesn’t have a home, I would. You’re right. They deserve better.”
“I’ve never wanted to own a shelter,” I blurt out as we head out the back door of the shelter and step onto the street.
Hades falls to a slow trot beside me. “I briefly worked at a place like this when I was a teenager, and I went home crying nearly every night because I hated leaving the animals there. If it weren’t for all of their cute faces, I wouldn’t have bought this place. ”
Marco’s eyes go wide for a brief moment. “Do you regret it? Buying this place, I mean?”
I roll my lip, contemplating that. “No, but also . . . maybe a little? I’m doing what I love, and I thought that if I had my own clinic, I would be more successful?
Crap, I don’t know. I guess I’m just not sure that all of this is what I had pictured when I graduated.
I rushed into the decision to run my own place because of my daddy issues.
Wanted to try and do the impossible of making him proud, you know? ”
He nods, and I push a few curls out of my face, embarrassed at this rant I’ve dumped on my co-worker.
“You didn’t ask for all of that. I’m sorry.” My cheeks burn.
His smile is warm, genuine. “I don’t mind. That’s what friends are for, right? And for the record, if your dad isn’t proud of you, it’s because he’s an idiot. You deserve the praise for all you’ve accomplished, even if all of this isn’t what you expected.”
“Thank you, Marco,” I mutter, stopping by a lamppost when Hades starts to sniff at it. “Have you ever wanted to run your own clinic?”
Sapphire steps into Hades and pushes her snout against his, sniffing at the scent they’ve both found. My heart warms at the sight of him at ease with another dog.
“If given the opportunity? I think so. I was exploring my options before I contacted you about working here, but I couldn’t find the right place to start on my own.”
I nod and give Hades a gentle pull. He rushes back to my side, and we continue walking.
“I think you would be really great at it.”
“You’re great at it too, you know? I love coming to work every day because of how much I genuinely like the clinic and its staff.”
“Sometimes I just think I’m in over my head.
Especially recently with how crazy my life has gotten.
I just think that I pictured myself having a lot more freedom, not being latched onto such a heavy chain of responsibilities.
I always thought I would be one of those vets who works on my own schedule and is able to move all over the place, helping pets in need. Maybe that’s stupid.”
“Like a travelling vet?”
I shrug. “There might not even be much work down that line.”
He guffaws. “Are you kidding? You would be able to work wherever you wanted, for as long as you wanted. There are tons of clinics looking for that kind of work.”
I try to ease some of the excitement that follows those words, not wanting to start getting too many crazy ideas just yet.
“I just figured I would come back home after being away so long and feel like this was where I was supposed to be. But it just isn’t the same as it was before I left. Home isn’t Vancouver anymore. It’s—”
“Maddox?” He chuckles when I glance at him, surprised. “Yeah, I figured that one out quick. It’s obvious. Have you talked to him about this?”
Not yet. “I should. I’ll wait until after the playoffs are over, though. Maybe by then, I’ll have my crap more figured out. The last thing I want is to mess anything up. Things are going so good right now.”
He bumps his shoulder against mine. “If you were going to pick a partner to support you through the career you’re wanting, it would be a man who travels for his own. Sounds pretty perfect if you ask me.”
“You’re a lot more insightful than I thought,” I admit with a loud laugh.
“Well, if you had ever taken me up on any of the dinners I’ve asked you on over the past few weeks, maybe you would have figured that out.”
I look at him, unsure of whether he’s truly upset about all the times I’ve turned him down, but I find him grinning, totally at ease.
“You’re not wrong,” I say.
“Eh, I won’t hold it against you. It’s hard to compete with a guy like Maddox Hutton.”
My cheeks burn. “It wasn’t about him. Not at the beginning.”
“I don’t need an explanation, Braxton. I’m just bugging you. We’re colleagues anyway. Technically, you’re my boss. It was the right move.”
“Thank you.”
A comforting feeling settles in my belly. It’s nice to clear the air and actually make a friend. It’s been a long time since I’ve made a new friend.
“Speaking of Maddox. It’s game one of the third round tonight, right? The Warriors are doing amazing this year—do you think they’ll make it all the way?” he asks as we turn the corner and the clinic comes back into view. I blink at the sign, not expecting to see it so soon.
There’s a lot of pressure resting on the team tonight, but they’re ready. Maddox is ready. I’m looking forward to tonight’s game more than the others I’ve been to so far for that reason alone. They’re going to be amazing.
“Honestly? Yes. The team is hungry.”
“They’re playing Minnesota now, right?”
Nerves prick the skin at the back of my neck. “Yeah.”
“I’m excited. I would love to see the cup back in Vancouver.”
“You and me and the rest of Van,” I say, coming to a stop outside of the clinic doors, Hades heeling beside me. Marco’s phone starts to ring as he opens the door for us, and I hurry inside while he answers it.
Micaela is gone, and the clinic is empty, the floors shining from the much-needed mopping I asked her to do before she left. I take a long look around and exhale.
This is all mine, yet I don’t feel any pull toward it. It doesn’t feel like I’ve really accomplished anything, even though I know that is the furthest thing from the truth.
“Sorry about that. Would you like me to help you close up, or are you okay on your own? I hate to take off, but my mom’s at my house an hour early with dinner, and she forgot her key,” Marco rushes out, his cheeks flushed with the worry I find in his eyes.
“Go. I’ve closed alone more than enough times. Enjoy your dinner. And thank you for the company.”
He smiles warmly and reaches to squeeze my forearm. “Anytime.”
I take Sapphire’s leash from him and watch as he quickly collects his bag and coat from his office and then rushes out the door, waving at me from inside his car before he peels out of the parking lot.
A frustrating pang of jealousy hits me as I think of how that could be my mother and me if my father would just back off and stop trying to control everything.
“Let’s go get you both tucked into bed before I get lost in my thoughts,” I tell the two dogs before locking the front doors and leading them back through to the shelter.
If I fall into that rabbit hole, I won’t be able to climb back out before the game tonight.
I’m running late.
My hair is a mess, and there’s still dried drool on my chin—Hades or mine, I’m not sure.
Falling asleep in Hades’ pen wasn’t part of the plan, but he convinced me to sit with him for a while after I got Sapphire put away and started getting him settled in by giving me those damn pouty eyes, and apparently, I was more tired than I thought.
If it weren’t for the weird spout of barking a few minutes ago, I probably would have spent the entire night in his pen.
Now, I’m rushing out the door, feeling groggy and a bit out of my body. This feeling is exactly why I try not to take naps. More often than not, they mess you up more than they help.
It’s dark outside as I slip out the clinic doors and lock up. My feet carry me slowly through the parking lot as I pick my car key from the very cluttered key chain in my hand and click the button to unlock the doors.
The sound of breaking glass beneath my shoes has me finally looking up. Despite the warm weather, a cold breeze travels down my spine.
The only car in the parking lot is mine, and while I didn’t notice it before, there’s a puddle of broken glass on the pavement by the driver’s door. I swallow my fear and take a couple of steps toward it, finding the front window smashed.
My legs freeze, muscles turning into lead as I use shaky hands to pull out my phone and dial Maddox’s number. It rings and rings and rings before his voice fills the night, telling me to leave a message.
I curse myself out for falling asleep, realizing that he’s probably already at the rink. Stay calm, I tell myself. Blowing out a breath, I start to back away from the car and call Cooper. I blink back tears when he answers right away.
“Hey, love.” His voice is so soothing it makes my body shake with relief.
“Can you come to the clinic, please? There’s glass all over the place, and I need . . . I need you to come get me.”
Why didn’t my car alarm go off? Did I have anything important in my car? Where’s the person who did this?
“I’m on my way. But what do you mean, there’s glass everywhere?” His voice has gone steely, and I clutch the keys in my hands.
I keep moving backward until my heels hit the concrete step in front of my building.
I go to step back onto it when a force at my back has me flying forward.
A gasp leaves my parted lips as my phone flies from my hands, skittering across the parking lot.
I slam my palms to the pavement to catch my fall and hiss at the pain that flares as they scrape and tear open.
My head hits the pavement, and I bite down on my cheek to avoid crying out.
I hear a muttered “Shit” as I try to push myself back up, and by the time I look for the asshole who pushed me down, I’m alone. Just like I thought I was in the first place.