Chapter 31
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Cassie was just filing the last of her medical school reference books on a shelf when another knock came from the front door. She jerked and nearly brought the whole thing tumbling down. What was it? Surely not another emergency. For fuck’s sake, they weren’t even open yet.
She really needed to get a smart doorbell. She pulled up the security cam app and surveyed the street outside the clinic. No one was waiting outside, but a bundle had been left behind.
She descended the stepladder and cautiously poked her head out into the hallway. The odds that it was a murderer dropping off a dead body to frame her were low…but not zero.
She crept forward in time to see Noah’s truck pulling out of the parking lot and onto the street. What was he doing here? He’d only left two hours ago.
Taco dutifully followed her to the front door and supervised as she let in a burst of humid summer air.
In front of her was a beat-up laundry basket with a take-out container that smelled delicious, some kind of flannel fabric, a pillow, and what appeared to be an air mattress and pump.
There was a note on top.
Since you’re too stubborn to leave.
-N
A wash of feelings hit her all at once. Noah had gone out of his way to take care of her, even though he was fully judging her for her decision. What did it mean?
Nothing. It meant nothing. As everyone in this town had told her, they take care of their own. They were neighbors who occasionally explored each other’s bodies, that was all.
She brushed a finger over the note. Noah’s handwriting was just like him—strong, no-nonsense.
She picked up the laundry basket and carried it back to her office, pausing to peek at Mochi. He meowed at her, and she put the basket down to boop his nose.
Though he was still a bit disgruntled about his confinement and nonconsensual activated charcoal application, his vitals were holding steady, and his initial lab work had been good.
As long as his urine output stayed consistent and tomorrow’s labs trended in the right direction, he should be comfortably on the road to recovery.
Thank god. It would’ve been awful if he’d passed away under her care.
She returned to her office and unpacked the laundry basket. Her stomach growled at the smell of the take-out container. She lifted the lid and groaned in delight.
A perfect Maryland crab cake and crab fries—two things she couldn’t get while living in San Diego. In fact, she’d never bothered to order a crab cake outside of Maryland.
She ripped apart the plastic silverware packet and was about to take a forkful of fries when something stopped her.
It was a lot of calories. Saturated fat. Not to mention the carbs. Her hand tightened into a fist around the fork.
“Shut the fuck up, Dave,” she said out loud.
He didn’t control her anymore. If she wanted to eat the damn fries, she’d eat the damn fries.
Wow, she really needed to schedule another appointment with her therapist. Old traumas were starting to slip through the cracks again. The stress of the move and setting up the clinic must’ve gotten to her.
She set down her fork and closed her eyes. Taco nosed her hand, and she used him as a grounding point.
“I am safe,” she muttered. She blew out a long, slow breath. “Carbs nourish my body—well, maybe not these carbs specifically, but many kinds of carbs—and I’m allowed to eat them.”
She opened her eyes, then stabbed into the fries and shoved a forkful into her mouth. God, they were good. Worth every bite.
Hours passed as she meticulously unpacked and organized supplies. It would be so much easier if the new exam cabinets were ready, but Noah had already done so much for her. He didn’t owe her a rush job on office furniture.
The rest of the day slid slowly into nighttime. She let Taco out into the small fenced-in yard behind the clinic to do his business. He sniffed around with zeal, even though no other dog could’ve used the space for at least six months.
They retired to her office together after another check on Mochi.
The clinic was almost eerie at night—too quiet, too dark.
She busied herself blowing up the air mattress and spreading out the sheets.
Flannel might have been an unusual choice for June, but they were soft, clean, and deliciously cozy.
There was another knock at the front door, and she jumped so hard that Taco barked. She really needed to turn on some music or something before she drove them both crazy. A quick check of the security camera app revealed Andi standing at the front door.
“Hey,” Cassie said as she opened the door a moment later. “What’s going on? Are the chickens okay?” She couldn’t handle another animal crisis.
“What? Yeah, the chickens are fine. I’m just here to bring you this.” She brandished a cardboard box full of clothes at her.
“Are these…mine?” Cassie frowned.
“Yep. You really should lock your back door. Oh, and this is from Vernon at the steak house.”
Andi squatted and handed over another take-out box. Taco jumped up on his hind legs to smell it, but she held it out of his reach. “He heard what you did for Lyra and insisted they made too much.”
Another mouthwatering smell. She was spoiled today.
“Thank you,” Andi said. “For what you’re doing for Mochi. You’re a good sister.”
Cassie squished her face up. “You’re going to make me cry.”
Andi grimaced. “No need for that. These are out here too,” she said, nudging a vase of flowers with her foot.
Cassie bent over to pick them up. Chrysanthemums and carnations were nestled with purple aster.
“Who’s it from?” Andi asked.
“It doesn’t say. It just says ‘Congrats on the new clinic.’ Maybe my sister sent them,” Cassie mused.
“Where’s Taco’s leash?” Andi asked.
Cassie set the flowers on the reception desk and gestured at the hook underneath. “Why?”
“I’m taking him on a walk before you cry all over both of us. He has to be bored, cooped up in here all day.”
“I don’t know if he’ll go with…oh, look at that.”
Taco, who had been timid around a few of the townspeople, sat on Andi’s foot and looked up at her adoringly.
Andi snapped on the leash and left without another word.
The next morning was more of the same. Fran from the Bay Breeze Inn showed up bright and early with a stack of lemon blueberry pancakes and an iced coffee. Lyra brought lunch and visited with Mochi.
Mochi persisted. Though there was a small dip in his kidney function, overall, he was powering through.
He seemed to have forgiven Cassie for the charcoal incident, and they spent a couple hours sitting on the floor of the kennel together next to Taco, snuggling while Cassie tapped one-handed on her laptop.
As challenging as it was to spend two days in a place that wasn’t specifically meant for overnight habitation, the extended stay had led to her getting all the final pieces in place.
Minus the new exam cabinets, the clinic was ready. Now all they needed was the staff to start. And patients. She also needed to figure out when to offer home visits for large animals—weekly? Biweekly?
There was still time to figure it all out.
On Tuesday morning, there was another knock at her door. Lyra wasn’t due to pick up Mochi for another couple of hours—she still needed to run one final set of tests.
A quick check revealed Akshara, one of the technicians she had hired.
“Hi, Dr. Thompson,” she said when Cassie opened the door.
“You’re a week early,” Cassie said with a smile. “What can I do for you?”
“I heard what you did for Lyra. We’ve been friends since elementary school,” Akshara said.
“I’m off on Tuesdays, so I thought I’d come over and see if you wanted me to watch Mochi for a little while and get the lay of the land so you can go home and take a shower.
Not that you need it or anything,” she said hurriedly.
“I just know that I would be super uncomfortable and smelly by now. Plus, you’ll have to trust me with watching the animals sooner or later.
I thought this could be a good trial run. ”
Cassie hesitated. She’d done background checks, and Akshara had come up completely clean.
And she was right—she was going to have to trust her eventually.
The old doctor had raved about her when Cassie called for reference checks—at least she thought he did, since she could barely hear over the Jimmy Buffett songs playing in the background.
“I’m not expecting you to pay me or anything,” Akshara said. “I just think you deserve a break.”
Cassie narrowed her eyes. “Are you a people pleaser too?”
“What? No. I’m not trying to suck up. I just really need this job.
I can’t keep stocking yogurts at Harris Teeter.
It’s so cold, and I had to get a new apartment with three roommates.
They all have different dietary restrictions, and last night, a fight almost broke out over gluten-free pasta.
I don’t even recognize my life anymore.”
Cassie smiled. Just like that, her decision was made. She needed to put trust in her new staff, and Akshara was qualified. It was time to start delegating.
“I’ve been there,” Cassie said. “I really appreciate you stepping up like this. And you’re right, I totally am starting to smell. We’ll count this as our first trust exercise, but I will be paying you for your time.”
“Understood. Can you run me through Mochi’s vitals before you leave?”
“Absolutely.”
Cassie left the office and tipped her chin to the sun. It felt good to be outside—even if it was oppressively humid and a mosquito had just buzzed past her ear.
Taco tugged her to the car, and she realized with a start that she wasn’t even nervous about leaving Akshara in charge of Mochi. Maybe it was foolish to trust someone so soon, but she saw a lot of herself in the new tech. People pleasers did not let their new bosses down.
When she arrived home, her grass was way shorter than it should’ve been after so many days of neglect. It kind of looked like her front flower bed had been weeded as well.
She caught sight of Noah’s truck in the driveway, and her guts twisted. She hadn’t seen or heard from him since he dropped off the care package, but she had a feeling he was responsible for this surprise upkeep too.
Tomorrow was the horse race. What could she even say to thank him for all that he had done?