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“Yes, that really is too bad.” Now, it was Bennett’s turn to smile at Stephanie. They were dancing all around it. He knew none of it sounded very natural, but Annie would never guess the truth. No one would.
Stephanie sat down in front of the computer and looked through the appointments for the day. “Let’s see. Looks like Mrs. Pratchett has the first appointment for her Yorkie’s acupuncture treatment. Could you ready Exam One for that, please?”
“Acupuncture for dogs, hm? I’d be interested in seeing that,” Bennett commented, remembering the little gold needles that’d been in the back of his neck the day before.
“I don’t think that’ll be a problem,” Stephanie replied with a knowing smile. “Annie, we’ve got Porkchop coming in right after that, but it’s just for his regular shots. Do you think you can handle that? Then I’ll just pop in and check on him right after I’m done with the acupuncture.”
“Sure thing.” Annie headed off down the hallway.
“I hope you won’t be too bored following me around all day,” Stephanie said quietly when they were alone. “The magazine thing was the best idea I could come up with.”
“It gives me an excuse to be near you, and that’s all I need.” It was honest to a fault, but he could hardly help himself when it came to her.
And as the day went on, Bennett almost wished he really was a journalist of some sort. Stephanie was kind and gentle with every patient, and she explained each procedure thoroughly to the animal’s owner both before she began and during the process. He hadn’t even known about these naturopathic remedies before, but he probably wouldn’t have given them a second thought if he hadn’t seen that every one of Stephanie’s patients left the office looking much better than they had when they’d come in.
Then there was Annie. It was odd to know that Stephanie had a child with another man, a child that could’ve been his if he’d only made different decisions. Whatever regrets he had were quickly overtaken by the sheer delight of being around these two women. They laughed and joked, easing into their normal routine despite his presence. Annie looked up to her mother, listening carefully and taking her work there seriously. They obviously had a great relationship. Bennett knew that he’d hurt Stephanie when he’d left her, but he took comfort in knowing she had such happiness in her daughter.
7
“I’m just so worried about her. I know something must be wrong.” Mrs. Cabrera fretfully stroked the little border collie mix’s head, smoothing back the swirl of black and white fur.
Stephanie knew there was some advice patients simply didn’t want to hear. She still had to tell them, though. “I’ll be honest. Sundae here is pretty overweight. That’s the first thing my mind goes to when you tell me she’s struggling to get up.”
“But she burns up so much energy when she’s running around in the yard, and then she’s always hungry. I don’t really feed her that much,” Mrs. Cabrera protested. “I think it’s just her natural body shape.”
“It’s very easy to overfeed our house pets,” Stephanie replied. “We can get you in for some nutrition counseling.”
“I don’t think she needs anything like that,” the woman answered quickly. “There’s no reason she has to look like a bikini model.”
Stephanie refrained from arguing with her. The results would come from concrete testing, probably the only thing that would make this woman understand what she was doing to her dog. “We’re going to start with some X-rays to eliminate any fractures or things of that nature. My assistant and I will take Sundae into the back, and we’ll have her ready to head home in just a minute.”
“I don’t think she’ll sit still.” Mrs. Cabrera scrunched her fingers through Sundae’s fur. “She’s a very nervous dog, you know.”
“She’ll do just fine.” Stephanie put her arms under the dog and scooped her off the exam table, causing Sundae to issue a groan of discomfort.
Bennett followed her out into the hallway. “It seems like you have to comfort the owners just as much as the animals.”
“You’re not wrong,” she replied with a smile. “People don’t want to hear that their pet is overweight because it means the blame is on them. The thing is, it’s not really about blame. It’s about doing what’s best for the animal. If this girl doesn’t drop a few pounds, she’ll only continue to struggle. I’ll get her sorted out, though.”
“You’re impressive to watch, you know. You have a lot more patience than most.”
Stephanie laughed. “Either that comes from being in the business, or it was something I already had before I started. Regardless, it’s pretty necessary.”
“Yes, I can see that. I don’t think I could do what you do, but I’m sure I’ll write a fascinating article about it.” Bennett had already made friends with Sundae at the beginning of the exam when the dog had surprised her owner by wiggling her way right over to him to say hi, even though she was supposedly terrified of strangers, particularly men. He reached up and scratched her nose, making her close her eyes in pleasure.
“I think you’ve got a knack for this, too. All these dogs are crazy about you.” She knew it really wasn’t just coincidence, either. Stephanie hadn’t told him yet about her psychic ability. She almost had on the way there, but when circumstances had stopped her, she’d let it go. Bennett had shared one hell of a secret with her about who he was, but this was a secret that Stephanie sometimes still doubted herself. She saw the flashes of imagery and felt the emotions of the animals around her. It was a lot of what made her good at her job. With the lack of concrete evidence that she was doing it right, though, it wasn’t easy to talk about.
If she had even the slightest bit of talent, it showed every time one of these animals was around Bennett. Rambo emanated warm fuzzy feelings every time he saw his owner, but it didn’t have to be an animal who knew Bennett well for her to pick up on these reactions. Sherlock had been thrilled to see him when they arrived, and Stephanie was quite convinced that he recognized Bennett as the wolf in the woods. Sundae adored him, and even a cat that’d been in earlier that morning was more comfortable getting out of his cage for Bennett than he was for his owner.
“Hey.” Annie stepped out of an exam room, the whiff of sterilization products following her. “I’ve got this one all ready to go. Doing an X-ray?”
“Yeah, can you help?” Though it was possible to do it alone, Stephanie preferred to have help. It would give the best results and be safest for the dog.
“Of course.”
“Bennett, if you don’t mind, I need someone trained on this. You can wait in the office if you like, or you can go make friends with everyone in the lobby. I’m sure they’ll all be happier to see you than anyone else.”
“Sure thing.” He gave her one last smile before he retreated down the hallway.
