“Do you need me to?”he asked softly.
I expected a flatno—something sharp I could latch onto and turn into anger.Instead, his voice held something earnest.Something steady.It caught me completely off guard.I didn’t have the bandwidth to sort through the shift that rippled through him.Or the one that cracked open inside me.
I hated him.I was sure I did.
But suddenly, I wasn’t quite as certain why.
“He’s my brother,” I managed, my throat tightening.“I’m not putting him up for adoption.I’ve got to go.I have to stop by the funeral home again and then get Vinny from school.”
I grabbed my bag with shaking hands and bolted for the front door before the confusion and the grief swallowed me whole.
Before leaving, Marty called out, “Can you take a shift watching Petey tonight from eight to one?”
I gave her my bestno-wayglare.“I don’t work here.”
“Seems like you do.”Her voice lowered to a whisper.“Dr.Hurst worked all night the last two nights.He did two farm calls last night.He hasn’t slept more than four hours in three days.If we can give him four to six hours to rest, I think he can think straight enough to handle tomorrow’s appointments.”
Don’t be a pushover.Don’t do it.“Fine.Eight-ish to midnight, but I’ll have to bring Vinny.I can’t stay later because he’s got school tomorrow.Are you keeping track of these hours?As I said yesterday, you’re paying me a relief vet fee since I have no contract.”
The front door alarm chimed, and in breezed Milly like she owned the place.
Two visits in one day.Lucky me.
She’d transformed from this morning, now wearing what appeared to be an aggressively engineered push-up bra.Her hair was curled into soft waves, the kind that required either a professional stylist or a frantic lunchtime beauty session at home.Her tight, low-cut white shirt paired with painted-on skinny jeans?Yeah.This was an outfit with a target.
Standing next to her, I felt like something that lived under a bridge—unkempt, exhausted, and completely outclassed.It hit harder than I wanted to admit.
Milly called out in her thick Southern drawl, “Lordy, what have you been up to, Erika?You look…” Her eyes slid down and back up my body, filled with judgement.“Rumpled.”Milly’s tone dripped with insult that stung like lemon juice on a paper cut.
Her smile was sweet enough to rot teeth.
“I just finished surgery,” I said, pushing hair back from my face with a hand that still faintly smelled like the pre-surgical scrub.“It’s surprising to see you twice in one day.Josh never mentioned you might stop by.”
The faint pinch of her lips was a tiny victory.She hadn’t liked that.Not one bit.
“I’m dropping off a late lunch for him,” she said, lifting a takeout bag like a trophy.Then she raised her voice.“Honey?Are you back there?I brought you some burgers!”
Marty said, “He’s busy with a client, Milly.I’ll hold onto those for him and get it to him when he’s out of appointments.”
“Your father sure was a legend around here.He’ll be missed.”Then, with a tilt of her head and a practiced pout, she added in a voice thick with fake empathy, “I bet you’re ready to sprint back north the second the memorial service wraps up.”
“Remains to be seen,” I said, steady and flat, refusing to give her the satisfaction.
She gave a soft chuckle that felt like claws on glass.“You’re adorable.Truly.But thank goodness Josh came to his senses when he let you go in high school.”
“Are you worried I’ll take one look at his luscious ass and decide I want him back?”I asked, flashing her a too-bright smile.
Milly leaned in, whispering like she was delivering a state secret.“That ass will never be yours.”
I grinned slowly.“It’s barely yours right now, from what I hear.”
Milly huffed, plopped the food bag in front of Marty, and stormed out.
I caught Marty’s gaze from behind the counter—steady, knowing, the calm eye in the middle of this tornado of small-town insanity.I crossed the room and leaned in.“The women in this town are nuts.I’ve been warned away from Dr.Hurst three times in the last twenty-four hours.I don’t know what sort of player he’s turned into, but if he can’t keep his pants zipped, karma’s going to sink its teeth right into thatass of his.I’ll be back around eight-ish.”
Marty’s hand brushed mine, warm and conspiratorial.She whispered back, “Thank you.And, honey, they’re all aflutter because youterrifythem.And rightly so.”
ChapterTen
