Ch. 30 Layla/Prem
T wo Days Later
“Come on, Sunny. You got this.” Layla held the sling aloft as the orange tabby took uncertain steps across the exam table. His back legs trembled but held. He moved one leg forward. Then another.
“Yes! Yes! You’re doing so good!” Layla encouraged him. Sure, she was still holding most of his weight with the sling, but not all of it.
Sunny was walking, really walking!
If he could take a little of his weight now, then it was only a matter of time before he’d be able to walk unassisted. All he needed was more time, more patience, more love.
Well, Layla was happy to shower him in all of the above.
The scent of sage and pine drifted over her moments before Prem’s arms draped across her shoulders from behind.
“How’s our patient doing,” his voice rumbled in her ear.
Layla shivered. Her heart launched into an all-out sprint. That part of her tingled.
“We’re at the clinic,” she whispered, scandalized even as her body eased into his.
“Sunny won’t tell,” Prem said over her shoulder. “We’re buds.”
The cat took another shaky step forward.
“You’re gorgeous.” Prem nibbled on her ear.
Layla began to melt. Not all at once, but slowly, like a hunk of butter on a warm stove top. Her muscles loosened. Her thoughts eased away.
Prem kissed her jaw. The side of her neck.
Layla lowered the sling and turned to face him.
The back door opened.
“Morning!” Deja called from the other side of the building.
Prem and Layla sprang apart like high schoolers caught fondling under the bleachers. They looked at each other. Heat rushed into Layla’s cheeks. Prem smirked at her, then quickly stepped to the cabinets, where he picked up the Come to Llama mug he’d claimed as his own.
By the time Deja made it to the kennels, Layla had resumed Sunny’s PT.
“Morning,” Prem grunted.
“Morning,” Layla squeaked.
Deja looked between them and smiled. “Who has two thumbs and is actually early today?” She pointed proudly to herself. “This girl!”
*
Two Days After That
Prem grabbed a quick lunch in his office. In 20 minutes, he had to start prepping a cystotomy that would take up a good chunk of his afternoon. Removing bladder stones was a relatively routine procedure, but the patient, a Border Collie named Michael Bolton, was 10 years old.
Older animals required special considerations during surgery. They were more sensitive to anesthesia and needed careful hydration and blood pressure management throughout.
Prem dropped into his chair, smiling just a little when it greeted him with its familiar squeak.
“Afternoon, chair,” he murmured as he pulled up Michael Bolton’s blood work results on his tablet to review. Reaching for his Come to Llama mug, newly filled with life-giving caffeine, he paused.
A bright pink sticky note sat in the middle of his desk. He set down the tablet and read the note.
You are surrounded by supportive and uplifting people!
Prem smiled and brushed a thumb across the neat, looping letters. Carefully, he peeled the note away from the surface of his desk and stuck it to the bottom of his computer screen next to the note Layla had left yesterday. The border of his computer was almost completely filled with the notes she snuck into his office each day.
Prem read today’s note again.
You are surrounded by supportive and uplifting people!
Right. Kate would be assisting with the cystotomy. She would closely monitor Michael Bolton’s blood pressure, hydration, temperature, and breathing. Prem didn’t need to worry about everything. He wasn’t alone.
Supportive and uplifting people.
Kate.
Deja.
Prem pressed two fingers to his lips and touched the pink sticky note.
You most of all, Layla, he thought.
*
Three Days After That
Layla tucked herself into Prem’s side, his warmth a blanket of safety and his scent a drug she was already starting to carve.
Garbo slept soundly on his lap.
Prem was the tabby’s new favorite person. Layla wasn’t jealous. She understood. Prem was her new favorite person, too.
On screen, Lieutenant Dan, looking dashing in his suit, slowly walked up to Forrest.
“Lieutenant Dan. You got new legs,” Forrest said in wonderment.
Layla sniffled and curled deeper into Prem.
He cleared his throat.
She looked up at him. “Are you…are you crying?” she whispered.
On screen, Forrest said, “Magic legs.”
“No. Course not,” Prem croaked.
“I’m crying,” Layla told him. “It’s okay.”
“Not crying.” His voice was tight.
Forrest wed Jenny.
Prem sniffled.
“Not crying,” he insisted again as tears flowed from Layla’s eyes.
*
The Next Week
Prem knocked on the now familiar blue door decorated with a massive floral wreath hanging above a cutesy wooden sign announcing Home Sweet Home.
The door swung open. Layla grinned at him, took his hand, and pulled him inside.
“Prem!” Dede sped out of the kitchen like a rocket. “You don’t have to knock! Layla, tell your boyfriend he doesn’t have to knock. Our door is always open to you.”
Boyfriend?
He didn’t even have a chance to process the word because Dede flung her arms around him. “It’s been forever!”
It’d been exactly three days since he’d visited the house. And yet, she wasn’t wrong. In a way, it did feel like forever. Prem missed this house with its busy wallpaper and shelves bursting with colorful knick-knacks. Dede’s house felt alive. Warm and welcoming.
Prem relaxed into Dede’s embrace. He was starting to get more used to this. The hugs. The enthusiastic greetings. The laughter. The sheer ease of being.
He put his arms around Dede. “I’m sorry, it’s been busy at the clinic.”
“We had a bunny with a broken leg today,” Layla spoke up. “Prem performed emergency surgery. Sugar should make a full recovery.”
“Should,” Prem said, stepping back from Dede. “She’s coming in for a follow-up next week.”
“Prem, you never cease to amaze me,” Dede declared.
“Hi.”
A hand landed on his shoulder. Prem spun around. Layla smiled at him.
“Hi,” he answered.
They’d seen each other all day at the clinic. Didn’t matter. Each time his eyes landed on her, it felt like breathing after an hour underwater.
Layla stepped into his arms and tipped up her face. Prem looked sideways at Dede, and she winked at him.
He kissed Layla deep and long, just like he wanted to every minute at the practice. Not touching her, not kissing her was a form of slow starvation. Now, he took his fill.
When they finally parted, Dede looked at them with sparkling eyes. “You two are magic,” she said wistfully.
Prem finally remembered the bag in his hand. He held it up. “I brought dinner from Valentina’s Catina. I hope that’s okay.”
Dede’s face fell. “Oh, I was going to make dinner. I had this amazing idea for a casserole with beets.”
He caught Layla’s eyes, and she made a little heart with her hands.
*
Three Days After That
Layla closed her eyes and tried to exist in the moment. She felt the soft mattress under her body. The cool sheets against her face. And Prem’s body over hers.
He slowly rolled up the hem of her blouse and placed gentle kisses on her belly.
It was nice. Beautiful. Layla tried to relax. She let out what she hoped was a convincing moan.
His lips left her skin.
“What’s wrong?”
Her eyes fluttered open. Prem looked down at her, that familiar furrow digging between his brows.
“Nothing.” She smiled and took his face in her hands. Lifting up, she kissed him. “Keep going.”
He nibbled her ear, and his thumbs stroked her nipples over her bra. Layla arched. For a moment, she was with him. Connected. The heat flickered to life in her belly. But just as quickly, the flame guttered. Her mind drifted.
She tried to play along. Groaned again. Pulled her hands through his hair.
Prem sighed, laid his forearms on each side of her head, and stared down at her. “Tell me.”
“What?”
He kissed her forehead gently. “Tell me what’s wrong.”
Layla was quiet for a moment. Then her lip wobbled. “Ginger Snap,” she whispered.
Prem lifted off her and repositioned himself, tucking her into his body so that her head rested just under his chin. He kissed her shoulder. “We caught the lymphoma early, and it’s low-grade.”
Layla nodded, but her voice trembled. “I’ve known Ginger Snap since he was a kitten. What if the chemotherapy doesn’t work?”
Prem wrapped her in his arms. “I’ll do the best I can. And no matter what, we’ll make sure Ginger Snap isn’t in too much pain.”
“He looks just like Sunny,” Layla whispered.
“I know.”
“I’m sorry. I can keep going.” She kissed his collarbone.
“Hey.” His thumb stroked across her cheek as his dark eyes caught her gaze. “You’re not in the mood. It’s okay. We don’t have to do anything tonight.”
Layla shook her head, guilt flooding her. He’d spent Sunday caring for a sick horse at Geranium Stables, then worked late on Monday, and yesterday had been her shift volunteering at the homeless shelter. This was their first night together since Saturday.
“I’m okay,” she said.
“Layla.” His voice was stern. “You’re not okay.” His brows came together. “We don’t have to have sex when you’re not in the mood. You know that, right?”
Actually, she didn’t know that. Because Cal was always in the mood, and she could only beg off so many times before he’d sigh, his gaze filled with disappointment, and start mentioning how she needed to “loosen up.”
And so, over the years, she’d learned how to shut off her brain. Groan and kiss and allow him inside of her even when her body felt cold and distant.
“Don’t ever downplay your feelings or do something you aren’t comfortable with,” Prem said, snapping her into the present. “I don’t want that. I don’t want you that way.”
Tears sprang to her eyes. “But there are so many times when I’m not in the mood. After a stressful day. Or if something terrible happens in the news. Or I just feel tired.” A tear slipped down her cheek. “What if I can’t keep up? What if I’m not enough?” The words were whispers. Her deepest fears dredged from a too-vulnerable heart.
“You don’t have to keep up with me,” Prem said. His thumb caressed her jaw and swept away the tear. “You couldn’t if you tried. You have no idea how bad I want you, Layla Sandoval. When I see you in the morning, I want you right on the reception desk. I want you in the back on the exam table. I want you in my office. And every night. And every morning.”
“But how?” She snuggled closer to him. “Aren’t you sad and worried about Ginger Snap?”
“Layla.” He tipped up her chin so their eyes met again. “Men are masters of compartmentalizing. A world-shattering meteorite could be speeding toward the earth this very moment, and I’d still want to get in one last romp with you before we were all blown to smithereens.”
She laughed. Hiccupped. Laid her forehead on his chest.
“But only if you were willing,” he amended. He cupped her face in his hands. “Always be honest with me,” he commanded. “Because you’re enough exactly as you are.”
And then she was crying. Sobbing. And she didn’t even know why, except she did.
This, Layla thought. This is love.
*
Four Days After That
Prem’s shoulders ached. His eyes felt like a sandbox after a long day at the clinic. Yet, when her knock sounded on the door of his apartment, his exhaustion vanished.
He opened the door, and Layla smiled at him over a multi-colored bouquet of roses.
“You…bought me flowers?” Prem asked with a laugh.
“These are from my mom.” Layla swept into his apartment. “I told her how the place needed some…um…” she looked at the empty walls, the black leather two-seater in the middle of an otherwise empty living room, “help,” she concluded.
“Help? My place needs to commit suicide and hope it gets reincarnated as the apartment of an interior decorator,” Prem answered.
“That’s not nice.” Layla buzzed past him into the small kitchen. “Don’t listen to him, apartment. You’re wonderful. You’ve just been neglected, that’s all.” She pulled open drawers, swung open cabinets, then turned to him with an adorable frown on her face.
“You only have two bowls?”
Prem beckoned to the boxes stacked next to the dishwasher. “The rest are in there. I haven’t needed more.”
Layla set the flowers on the table and planted her hands on her hips. “Prem Dhawan, you’ve lived here for two months now, and you haven’t unpacked all your bowls?”
“I live at the clinic,” he corrected her. “I just sleep and shower here.” He looked up at the ceiling, suddenly self-conscious. “Sorry, apartment.”
But there was something else. When Prem thought of the word home, this dark apartment was the furthest thing from his mind. Instead, he saw a too-large wreath, a sign that said Home Sweet Home , a bright blue door, and, more than anything, the gorgeous woman on the other side.
He heard scraping from the kitchen and watched in amusement as Layla dug into his boxes.
“I don’t suppose you know where you packed your vases,” she said.
“Ha.” Prem stuck his hands into his pockets. “Joke’s on you thinking I even own a vase.”
She snorted.
Exactly five minutes later, Layla leaned against his side as they both stared into the kitchen. She looked up at him, lips pursed.
“Are you sure?”
In the middle of the kitchen table, the roses sprouted from the top of his mother’s prized bronze tea pot — the one she’d insisted he take to college. The flowers offered a riot of color against the muted backdrop of his kitchen.
“It’s perfect,” he said.
*
Two Days After That
Layla’s shoes beat hard against the trail as each long stride ate up more distance. Her pumping legs felt invincible, like she could run to the moon itself fueled by high-octane happiness.
“Are…we…there…yet?” Alanna demanded.
Layla checked over her shoulder. Her sister and Tess jogged just a few feet behind her.
“Not too far,” she sang to her companions. At her side, Jax kept pace, her short, dark ponytail swinging like a metronome, her face glued into an expression of intense concentration. Over the past month, Jax had blossomed into a strong runner, seeming to get faster every week.
“You want to go ahead?” she asked Jax.
The younger girl gave her a guilty smile. “You sure?”
“Just go,” Tess groaned from behind. “Make us all look bad. It’s fine.”
“Love you all. See you at the parking lot.” Jax turned and blew them kisses before picking up her pace and pounding ahead.
“I think I hate her,” Alanna noted.
“Yep, consensus is that we hate her,” Tess agreed.
“I can still hear you,” Jax called back to them. “Your hatred and wanton jealousy only fuels me, so keep it coming.”
“You’re amazing, Jax. We’re all so proud of you!” Layla called to her. Truth was, she couldn’t imagine hating anyone. Not when the sun was so bright in the sky, and the sweet chirps of birds echoed around them.
She’d come out an hour and a half before the rest of The Crazy Cat Ladies to put in 10 miles before their group run. And, after finishing these five miles, she’d put in another five on her own to bank a total of 20 for the day.
The miles didn’t scare her anymore. Every weekend she’d added a few more to her training, and her body had adjusted. Sure, her muscles ached afterward, but she found that she loved pushing herself. The trail had become her happy place. Its quiet serenity helped settle her soul.
Plus, whenever she started to lag, all she had to do was picture Prem’s face to instantly lift her spirits and inject energy into her heavy legs.
Like right now. She pictured his strong nose, his liquid dark eyes, and that trim body beneath his button-up and slacks. To the outside world, Prem Dhawan might seem stern and strict, but she saw the beautiful man beneath his professional veneer. She saw the heart he tried to hide.
With a new burst of energy, Layla jogged easily around the last bend of the trail and into the parking lot.
Jax was waiting and stuck out a hand to receive an enthusiastic high five.
“You…two…are…disgusting,” Alanna huffed, stumbling into the lot a few seconds after Layla.
“And showoffs,” Tess added, shuffling to a walk and then sagging against her dented black Jeep.
“Aww, stop, you’re going to make me blush,” Jax responded before bringing a water bottle to her lips.
Layla took a sip from the water tube attached to the small pink water pack she wore.
“Did someone check on Everly?” Alanna asked as she clasped her hands behind her head.
“I did,” Layla answered after swallowing. “She’s a ways back, but she’s coming. She’s been making such amazing progress. I’m so proud of her!”
“See!” Jax hissed to Tess. “There she goes again.”
Tess shook her head. “She’s always like that.”
Layla raised an eyebrow. “Are they talking about me?” she asked Alanna.
“Yup,” her sister answered. “There’s actually a whole text chain dedicated to you.”
“What?” Layla squawked.
Tess pushed off her Jeep and looked sheepishly at her running shoes. “It’s just that you’ve been, well…
“Too happy,” Jax said bluntly.
“Too happy?” Layla repeated. “That’s not even a thing!”
“Is too.” Jax opened the passenger door of her lime-colored Bug, rummaged around, and straightened with a lollipop between her fingers.
“I actually didn’t even see it,” Tess admitted. “I mean, you’re always extra happy.”
“Layla is definitely more happy than usual,” Alanna said. She sniffed delicately at her armpit and wrinkled her nose. “It’s weird and disconcerting and Everly totally agrees with us, assuming she isn’t dead a mile back on the trail.”
“Everly isn’t dead!” Layla growled. “I don’t even understand. You think I’m too happy?”
“Something’s going on,” Jax said. She glared at Layla, her eyes almost golden in the sunlight. “You’ve been even more Disney princess than usual. Care to explain?”
“Nothing,” Layla squeaked.
Alanna caught her eye and mouthed, hot vet?
Layla looked down at her dingy running shoes.
Okay, so she hadn’t exactly told her best and closest friends that she might be madly, completely head over heels for her boss. What if they judged her for jumping into a new relationship so soon after Cal? What would they think about her falling for her boss?
Layla sighed. She knew exactly how the women would react. They’d support her, celebrate her…and ask roughly a million questions.
“Layla, it’s really none of our business,” Tess said quickly. “We shouldn’t have been talking about you behind your back.”
“It’s totally not our business,” Jax agreed. “But we still want to know.”
Surreptitiously, Alanna made an O with her right hand and pumped her left index finger through it. She lifted a pale eyebrow questioningly.
“I…hate…you…all,” Everly huffed, staggering into the parking lot and collapsing into a patch of grass.
“Great job, Everly!” Layla said, glad for a break in the convo. She looked at her watch. “You’ve taken three minutes off your five-mile time. That’s amazing!”
An arm lifting from the grass, ending with a jutted middle finger.
Tess snickered.
Layla looked around at the women, and her throat tightened. Her Crazy Cat Ladies, her friends, were all out here running to support her. They deserved her confidence.
“There’s someone new in my life,” she admitted. Every pair of eyes immediately turned to her.
“Thank the fucking lord!” Alanna sang. She stomped over to Layla and pulled her into a side hug. “Is it the hot vet?”
“The hot vet!” Jax whistled. “Good job, Layla!”
“Well, we’re actually not sure how hot he is,” Alanna amended.
“No, I’ve seen him!” Everly cried from the ground. “He’s so hot he’s on fire. I burned my retinas just looking at him.”
Layla giggled as Tess pulled her into a sweaty embrace. “I’m so proud of you,” the leader of the CCLC whispered in her ear.
“Someone get me up!” Everly demanded. “And then, Layla, you are going to Tell. Us. Everything!”
*
The Next Day
Val’s call came just before Layla stepped out the door for her morning run. By the time Layla rushed the box into the vet clinic, still wearing her purple tank and blue running shorts, Prem was waiting for her with two heating mats spread across the exam table in the back.
As soon as she set down the box, he gently reached inside and pulled out the first pink, wriggling animal.
“Eyes still closed. Can’t be more than three days old,” he murmured, turning the tiny puppy around. “Undernourished. Hypothermic.”
“Chaz found them in the dumpster behind The Buzz & Brew,” Layla told him. “He called Val right away, but we don’t know how long they were there.”
One by one, Prem plucked the shivering puppies from the box and placed them on the heated mats. Layla counted eight quivering bodies. Most were brown or gray, splashed with white spots. Some of the larger puppies lifted their heads, mewling for milk, but the smaller ones barely moved at all.
The smallest puppy was coal black and completely still. On instinct, Layla picked it up. The tiny body was cold in her hands, but she felt a faint shiver.
“Come on, little one,” she whispered, pulling the puppy into her chest and laying it against her skin. “Stay with us.”
Prem glanced up at her. “I’ll examine each one and then we’ll need to put them in the incubator and get some formula into them.”
Layla nodded. “Come on, Lovey,” she whispered. She rocked the tiny puppy. “The world is a good place, I promise. There’s someone out there who is going to love you. Who needs you. Just stay with us.”
Prem sighed. “Don’t name him, Layla. It’ll just hurt more.”
*
Later That Day
“You are my sunshine, my only sunshine,” Layla sang as she rocked tiny Lovey in her arms. “You make me happy, when skies are gray.”
“Meow!” an indignant voice called at her feet. Layla looked down at two frustrated green eyes.
“Sorry, Sunny, I know that’s your song,” she told him, “but Lovey needs my attention now.”
The skinny tabby rubbed against her leg, his cat cart bumping her shin. Lately, Prem had allowed him out during the day as long as he stayed in the back of the clinic.
Layla glanced at her phone sitting on the table of the small break room. Her break was officially up, but she’d been working with Lovey for 15 minutes, and the tiny pup still hadn’t taken the bottle.
“You can do it, Lovey,” she said, guiding the tiny bottle to his lips again. “I believe in you.”
His body was quickly cooling. He’d need to go back into the incubator soon.
“Come on, darling, she urged.
The trembling black puppy nudged against the nipple of the bottle and took slow, weak pulls.
“Yes! Yes!” Layla’s eyes burned. “There you go! Look at you! So strong!”
She wasn’t a doctor, a vet, or even a vet tech, but she knew hearts didn’t jump. Still, as Lovey’s pulls got stronger, her heart leaped with joy.
A noise startled her so much that she almost dropped the bottle. Her phone. She glanced at the screen and registered the unknown number. Must be a patient. She always patched the clinic’s calls to her cell during her breaks.
“All Paws and Claws, how can I help you?” she said, awkwardly tucking the phone between her shoulder and ear while she continued to feed the puppy.
“Oh, this might be a wrong number,” said a cheerful, vaguely familiar voice on the other end of the line. “I was calling for Layla Sandoval?”
“That’s me.” Layla adjusted the phone. “Sorry for the confusion. I’m at work.”
“Layla, oh good,” the woman gushed. “This is Brittney from Glamor Gown. Guess what? Your dress just arrived! I was getting so worried when the label pushed back the completion date, but we should have just enough time for the alterations before your big day.”
Dress?
Big day?
Layla’s stomach dropped. Apparently, the body could do all sorts of things that defied science.
“I was hoping you could come in as soon as possible for a fitting,” Brittney chattered. “We’ve got to get on those alterations ASAP. We also have all the bridesmaids dresses in. If you all want to come in for fittings together, we can definitely arrange that. Or, if it’s easier, each girl can make her own appointment. Whatever you want.”
Lovey mewled in Layla’s arm. She’d lowered the bottle from his mouth without realizing it.
The wedding dress.
She'd left it up to Cal to cancel all their wedding arrangements since he’d paid for it all. Everything, that is, except the dress. She’d chosen and paid for her dress. And now it was waiting for her at Glimmer Gowns like a gorgeous, sequined ghost from her past.
“Hon, are you still there?” Brittney asked on the other end of the line.
Layla pulled in a deep, calming breath.
“Yes, I’m here.” She looked down at Lovey and smiled. The dress represented the magical, perfect wedding that would never be, but she wasn’t going back. And she was sure as heck done feeling sorry for herself.
A bold, crazy, wonderful idea ricocheted through her brain.
“Brittney, I’m confident the dress is perfect just the way it is,” Layla said into the phone. “I’ve got a little bit of a work emergency on my hands, but I’ll be in touch to pick it up soon.”
*
That Night
The windows of the clinic had grown dark how long ago? Prem couldn’t even remember. It’d only been a single day, but it felt like a week.
He stared into the incubator. The runt was showing some signs of improvement, but it was so small and still struggling to retain heat. He’d discovered a heart murmur in a brown puppy with a wedge of white on her chest. She wasn’t feeding well.
“Go home.”
Prem spun to see Kate standing behind him.
The mature vet tech crossed her arms over her chest and glowered at him. “I’ve got first watch. Then Deja. And Layla said she’ll stay until open.”
Prem felt too tired to respond with anything other than the truth. “I can’t afford the extra hours.”
“Lucky for you, I’m an enthusiastic volunteer,” Kate deadpanned. “Go home. You’re even less enjoyable to be around when you don’t sleep.”
He stared at her, teetering. He’d been at the clinic late the past three days caring for a rooster with a bad foot infection. Trumpet had gone home today strutting as proudly as ever, and Prem desperately needed shuteye.
“Go,” Kate ordered.
Prem didn’t argue.
*
The Next Morning
The next day, Prem watched in amazement as a stream of people entered the clinic, each one leaving with a blanket-swaddled puppy in a carrier.
All the puppies had survived the long night, and most were stable enough to leave the incubator. Layla had been on the phone all morning arranging the fosters. Some wore faded flannel and beaten jeans. Others arrived clad in summer dresses or pressed khakis. All were willing to take on the grueling challenge of caring for bottle babies that needed three-hour feedings and constant monitoring.
Layla introduced each foster as they arrived.
“This is Theresa from church.”
“This is Amy. We were in cheer together. She saw my post about the puppies on Instagram.”
“Eduardo is one of our best fosters at the Rescue House.”
“Mike is my mail carrier. His dog passed away last year, so I called him.”
“Stefan volunteers with me at the food bank. His daughter has been begging for a puppy. He saw my post too.”
“You know Val.”
The director of the Yucca Hills Animal Rescue gave him a two-fingered salute on her way out. “What’s one more animal in my zoo,” she told him.
By the afternoon, only Lovey and Pizza remained, both still requiring the incubator.
Prem and Layla fed them after the clinic closed, Layla snuggling Lovey while Prem fed a reluctant Pizza.
“Do you know everyone in town?” he asked her.
“Not everyone.” She waited a beat. “Almost everyone.”
Magic and magnificen t, he thought.
*
The Next Morning
Prem heard the back door of the clinic open, then the sound of her cheerful steps approaching. He saw her legs first, her feet tucked into the sequined butterfly sandals he loved. A chip in the pink polish on her right pinky toe.
Layla’s massive purse settled on the floor with a groan, and then she lowered herself next to him.
Her eyes were wide and worried. Then she saw what he held in his hands.
“Oooooh,” she whimpered. “Pizza.”
“The heart murmur,” Prem said dully. “Maybe if she’d gotten milk from her mother. Bottle babies are always weaker. They don’t get the immunity. Or if some asshole hadn’t thrown her away like she was trash.” His voice croaked.
He was a veterinarian. He saw death almost every day. Sometimes on his operating table right under his hands.
But it never got easier.
And this. A brand-new life tossed away like it was nothing.
“I shouldn’t have given her a name,” he said.
Layla gently took Pizza from his hands. She replaced it with a warm, squiggly body.
“Look, you saved Lovey. He’s doing so well,” she said softly. “And the other puppies. Seven puppies. They all would have died without you.” Layla settled next to him, tucking her legs under her.
“Why are people like this?” he asked her. “How can they be so cruel?”
She laid her head on his shoulder. “One person threw those puppies away, but Chaz found them and called Val. Val called me. You cared for them. Deja and Kate spent all night with them. Theresa is fostering one of them. So are Amy and Eduardo and Mike and Stefan. By my count, that’s one bad person and 10 good people.”
Prem stared at the tiny black puppy in his hands. Lovey nudged at his fingers, looking for a nipple. He smiled. His throat grew tight. He breathed in the scent of Layla’s strawberry shampoo.
In the darkest moments, she was his light.
His hope.
She was incandescent.