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“I promise to walk your dogs any time, day or night,” I add.
“Famous last words.” Kayla stands and walks to the door. “Go call Margaret.”
The reality of how my life changed in the past twenty-four hours becomes clear when I walk into the vet’s office. I planned to spend my Saturday behind my desk. Now, I’m preparing to welcome a dog wearing a plastic cone into my home. As if sensing my heavy dose of what-have-I-done, Luna turns her head, cone and all, to look at me. Then she squats on the exam room floor and pees.
I glance at Kayla and Dr. Marianne. The vet swapped her cat pajamas for green medical scrubs covered in rainbow paw prints. They are deep in conversation about Luna, but neither one appears concerned with the mess on the floor. I look around the room and find a paper towel roll.
Time for operation clean up.
And really, I should get some practice now.
“Luna is fine,” the vet says for the third time. I glance back at Kayla. She’s still not buying Dr. Marianne’s claim. Kayla’s gaze travels back and forth between the massive cone around Luna’s neck and the shaved patch of fur on her back.
“She needs to wear the cone until the stitches dissolve,” the vet continues.
“Does it hurt her?” I ask as I approach the puddle with half the paper towel roll.
Dr. Marianne’s brow furrows as she glances at me. “No. She will experience a bit of tenderness and pain, but not from the cone.” Then the vet turns her focus to Kayla. “Your girl is lucky. Whoever fired the shot planned to kill something, but his aim was off. The bullet went through her back, and left a clean exit wound, but it didn’t hit anything major.”
“That is good news,” Kayla says.
“But without a bullet, I don’t have much information to offer the detectives,” Dr. Marianne explains. “Lucie called this morning to let me know she was opening an investigation.”
“I’m more concerned with Luna’s health than finding out who did this,” Kayla says.
We’re not on the same page about that, I think as I crouch down beside Luna and gently nudge her to the side. I want the nighttime hunter in jail. Lucie and her officers should arrest him for attempted murder as far as I’m concerned.
I drop the paper towels on the mess and try to focus on my plans for the next few days. Should I tarp the crazy expensive rug that my interior designer installed? Cover the couches?
But the mental images of my furniture wrapped in plastic quickly fade. And my mind wanders to the, what if the hunter shot Kayla picture.
“What are you doing?” Kayla’s voice draws me back to the present.
She’s safe. No one hurt her.
“I’m practicing for when Luna moves to the city with us.” I look up from my position on the floor and meet the vet’s amused gaze. “I proposed to Kayla last night. We’re gett
ing married.”
The vet’s mouth forms a wide O shape. I use her moment of shocked silence to stand and step away from the paper towel mess.
“Okay. Time to go,” Kayla says. She clips a leash on Luna’s collar. From the look she gives me, I have a feeling she wishes she could do the same to me. “Thanks for everything, Marianne. I’ll call if I have any follow-up questions.”
“Yes. Of course.” The vet stumbles over the words. “And congratulations!”
“Thanks,” Kayla says dryly. She shoots me another look, probably considering what it would take to muzzle me.
“I’m writing a new rule,” Kayla mutters as we leave the vet’s office. She slows down once we reach the parking area. “I decide when and how we share the ‘good news’ with people in town.”
“I’ll add it to the legal pad.”
CHAPTER 6
GAVIN
We took a vote and decided to move into my Manhattan apartment tonight. Kayla was the only one who wished to wait until Sunday morning. Thankfully, the dogs sided with me—or at least they ran to my side when I proposed a democratic resolution to my change in plan. The dog treats in my pocket probably helped my case.
But it was time to go. I’d had my fill of the countryside. Plus, I was eager to launch our plan. I’d left a voicemail for Margaret announcing the good news and received a text back that she was in the middle of a different crisis. She would be in touch soon. If we slipped into my apartment tonight, there was a chance she would still be consumed with her other client.
