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“What’s going on with this sweet little thing?” Annie held open the door to the back room where they kept their larger equipment and then shut it once Stephanie was inside.
“Her legs are hurting her.”
“I think I can see why. You’re a pudgy little baby, aren’t you?” Annie held out her hand for Sundae to sniff before she stroked her fur. “Just a chunky monkey, huh?”
“Don’t say any of that in front of her human,” Stephanie said with a laugh as she let Annie take Sundae and began setting everything up. “She’s convinced it’s something else, but we’ll see what the X-ray says. She’s also worried about Sundae sitting still.”
“Sundae? Oh, that’s the cutest name! I can see why, too. This little swirl of brown on her head against the white makes her look like a hot fudge sundae. And she’s going to be good, aren’t you? You look like a smart girl. Come here.” Annie put her on the table and put on her protective vest.
“We’ll start her out on her side. Perfect.” Stephanie put on her vest as well.
“Hey, Mom?”
“Hm?”
“Have I told you what a terrible liar you are?”
Stephanie blinked and swung her head over to look at her daughter. “Excuse me?”
Annie laughed. “Come on. I don’t need your psychic abilities to know that this Bennett guy isn’t just some old friend of yours.”
“He is, though,” Stephanie protested. “I’ve known him since high school.”
“Okay, I’ll give you that.” Annie placed a marker down near Sundae’s feet so they’d be able to tell later which side of the dog they were looking at on the X-ray. “Good girl. Stay.”
The machine clicked and whirred.
“But even if you did know him back then, you can’t seriously expect me to believe that he’s some sort of journalist. He looks like he spends a lot more time at the gym than behind a computer, and I haven’t seen him take a single note since he’s been here.” Annie encouraged Sundae to get up and then lay down on her other side so they could be sure they had a good image of her whole body.
Stephanie’s hands were on autopilot as she did her work. It was a good thing since her mind was floundering. It wasn’t like she could tell Annie the truth about Bennett. There wasn’t a single bit of that truth that would sound any better than the lies she’d already committed herself to. A wave of guilt came along with that. Shit. She hadn’t really meant to lie to her own daughter. Annie wasn’t a kid anymore, and she’d understand plenty as an adult. Still, all of this business with Bennett was a lot, even for Stephanie to comprehend.
“Then there’s the way he looks at you,” Annie continued as she changed out the marker. “That alone is enough to make me think there’s more here than a professional relationship.”
Annie was the only person who knew about the unique way Stephanie could communicate with animals. “Looks at me how?”
“Oh, you know. Like you’re some lost treasure, and he’s been searching all the ancient temples in the world for you. Good girl, Sundae.” Annie gently lowered the dog to the ground and watched her walk around the room, cautiously sniffing.
“Really? I think you’ve been watching too many late-night movies.” Stephanie shut off the machine, feeling her face heat as she realized just how she and Bennett must appear. She’d seen all those looks from Bennett, of course, but she hadn’t realized they were so obvious to anyone else. What must her clients have thought? Hopefully, they were more focused on their pets.
“Don’t be weird, Mom. You guys like each other. That’s okay. There’s no reason to hide it.” Annie opened the treat jar, took out the smallest one she could find, and offered it to Sundae. The dog looked up at her with forlorn eyes for a moment, white rimming the deep brown irises, and then gingerly took the tidbit from her hand.
Stephanie let out a sigh as she watched Sundae move through the room, analyzing her for any signs of illness or injury. The computer was working on the images, which would be ready shortly, but simply observing the patient could tell her a lot. “I’m sorry, Annie. I didn’t mean to deceive you. The whole thing is new to me, and I haven’t had much time to think about it.”
“I guess that means you’ve finally forgiven me for going on that date with Travis Hanson when I told you I was at the movies with Courtney?” Annie teased.
“Yes, I suppose so,” Stephanie laughed, though she hadn’t thought about that in a very long time. “But only if you’ll forgive me. I don’t know exactly what’s happening between Bennett and I, so it’s difficult to explain.”
“There’s no explanation necessary, really,” Annie reasoned. She bent down and scratched her fingers through the dog’s thick fur. “You deserve some happiness after what happened with Dad.”
“I don’t know about that,” Stephanie hedged. She checked the computer, wanting to return to Mrs. Cabrera with the X-rays ready. “That was a long time ago, and it doesn’t really affect me anymore.”
“Sure it does,” Annie insisted. “You’re not angry at each other, and I can’t complain about that. I was always glad that you guys didn’t have a bitter divorce. Going back and forth between you two was easier than what other kids I knew had to go through. That makes it sound like it’s all hunky dory, but what about you?”
“What about me? Ah, here they are.” The images had finished processing, and she looked them over. Nothing was there that indicated any skeletal issues with Sundae. There could still be a swollen tendon or some nerve damage, so she’d have to investigate further to find out for sure.
“You’ve never done anything for yourself,” Annie explained. “You were either involved in your work and developing your practice, or you were taking care of me and being a good mom. As far as I know, you’ve never really dated anyone else after you and Dad split up. Unless there’s something else you’re hiding from me, young lady.” She gave her mother a mock, stern look.
“No, ma’am,” Stephanie replied innocently. Or at least she wasn’t hiding anything that was her secret to tell. “I’d better get Sundae back to her owner. I’m going to double-check for any inflammation issues I might’ve missed, but I still think my first diagnosis was the correct one.”
