“Cami.” Her voice was soft, almost a sob.
I sat forward in my chair. Bella picked up on my anxiety and came over and plastered herself against my leg. “Gina, what’s wrong? Did Scott come back? Are you all right?” Myheart pounded so hard in my chest, I could hear it in my ears. “Are you hurt?”
“No, I’m fine. Everyone is fine. But...” She hesitated and I waited, rubbing Bella’s head for emotional support. “I got into the clinic about five minutes ago,” she finally continued. “And I got a phone call from a reporter.”
“A news reporter? About what?”
“About the headline on today’s lead story they’re about to publish. He wanted to speak to you to get a comment.”
My shoulders tensed and a chill hit me. I shivered despite the heat and humidity. “Why would he want a comment from me?”
“Because the headline isLocal Veterinarian Held for Questioning in Drug Smuggling Case.”
“What?!” I jumped to my feet. Bella jumped back. I knelt in front of her, apologizing as I rubbed her ears to calm her. “How do they know about that? And why are they making it sound so sordid? That wording makes it seem like I’m still in custody.”
“I have no idea how they know,” Gina said. “I didn’t tell anyone, I swear. And it’s not like the police have come back here looking for you.”
“The police.” I turned that over in my mind. “Do you thinktheyleaked the story?”
“Why would they?” Gina asked. “If it’s some kind of ongoing investigation, why would the cops tip off the press?”
“I don’t know.” My stomach churned as another worry occurred to me. “Gina, do you think this will impact business?”
She sighed. “I didn’t want to mention this, but the staff have already been asking questions about you leaving so suddenly. Clients, too, but we’ve been telling them you’re on vacation. The staff knows better.”
I was terrible about taking vacations and usually spent weeks ahead of planned time off preparing my colleagues for my absence. This time, I’d only given a day’s notice.
“I considered telling them you’re sick,” Gina said.
“No, don’t lie to them, and don’t worry them. Just tell them I need time off to deal with an emergency.”
“And if anyone asks about the news story?”
In a small town like ours, it wasn’t a question ofif, but ofwhen, and my best guess on that wasvery soon. I’d lay odds on it being before noon. On days like these, I hated being the boss, making these sink-or-swim decisions for the business. “Tell them it’s a misunderstanding, a mischaracterization.” I let out a worried sigh. “Do you think the reporter knows about Bella?”
“I don’t know,” Gina said. “He wouldn’t give me the details, and I tried. But I can watch for the story and let you know.”
“No, thank you. I’m setting a google alert on my phone as we speak.” Besides, I had a feeling Kyle and his team were being briefed on the details of it that very moment. “And I have to come back into the office. As soon as I can talk to Kyle about this?—”
“Cami, don’t jeopardize your safety. We’ll figure it out on our end. You keep your head down and do what the hot hero tells you until the danger passes. Speaking of the hottie, I haven’t gotten my morning update on him.”
I rubbed my temples. It wasn’t even 8:00 a.m. and I’d been through the wringer. I couldn’t muster the energy to talk about Kyle, about our amazing time last night or my crushing doubts in the cold, harsh light of day. “How about I give you a double dose tomorrow, okay?”
I must have sounded terrible because Gina agreed immediately. We said our goodbyes. I sat down cross-leggedon the warm wooden boards of the deck. Bella half climbed into my lap and we comforted each other. Rescuing her and finding a forever home for her had been the only good things to come from this debacle. Unless I counted Kyle and me, but I wasn’t sure I should anymore.
“You’re totally worth it, you sweet girl.”
A few minutes later, her tail thumped against the deck and I knew Kyle was heading our way. He approached the glass doors looking handsome as ever, now wearing black shorts and a light green tee shirt. He stepped outside, took one look at my face, and dropped to his haunches beside me.
“You heard about the news story.”
I shrugged. “I know about its existence, but not the details.
He laid his hand on top of mine.
“What do you know about it?” I asked.
“Nothing...”
